Common Core changes closer after Arizona Education Board vote

The State Board of Education moved a small step closer to meeting Superintendent Diane Douglas’ goal of adopting Arizona-based learning standards when the board voted Monday to officially allow changes to Common Core-based standards.

The move continued a longstanding debate between Douglas and State Board of Education President Greg Miller over Arizona's learning standards.

This time, the sides argued the significance of a vote Douglas touted as "a great victory for the people of Arizona" and which Miller called "a reckless attempt at the wrong point in time."

The 6-2 vote was something of a technicality — albeit a significant one — in which Board of Education members formally severed ties with the copyright that accompanied Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards, formerly known as Common Core. The vote allows the state to make changes to its 2010 adoption of Common Core-based standards.

Erin Hart, chief operating officer of Expect More Arizona, an education-advocacy group, said that the Common Core copyright was a nonissue and that the board always had the ability to make changes to Common Core.

"There was nothing that ever prohibited states from making changes to the standards, including a copyright," Hart said in an e-mail.

The vote does not mean that there will be any immediate changes to Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards. Douglas said after Monday's meeting that the board's decision would have no impact on the AzMERIT test scores schools began receiving this week.

But Douglas said severing the copyright removes the first, immediate barrier for her plans toward replacing the state's Common Core-based standards with ones she said would better fit the needs of Arizona's children.

Douglas has pushed for changes to Common Core-based standards since she began campaigning to be Arizona’s schools chief last year.

"I think that fully repealing standards and saying we instantly have to go back to an old set of standards would've caused a lot more upheaval to the system than anyone wanted to see," said Charles Tack, spokesman for Douglas. "But again, I think this sends a clear message and hopefully, this will be the first step in getting standards back in the hands of Arizona."

Miller, the board president, called the decision "political" and said it would do little for the state in the grand scheme of things. Miller and board vice president Reginald Ballantyne were the two no votes.

"It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean a thing to any kid going to school tomorrow or any teacher showing up for work," Miller said after the meeting.

The decision will not affect the amount of federal funding the state receives, Tack said, because no changes to the actual standards were made.

It also will not affect a Board of Education review process that's already underway.

The board voted in May at the request of Gov. Doug Ducey for a yearlong review of the state’s K-12 learning standards — including those based on Common Core. Miller, who is in favor of Common Core, has previously said the Board of Education would not be able to make changes to any of the state’s standards until next spring, when the review process is complete.

Douglas introduced a 156-page report earlier this month that included proposals — which primarily call for less testing and tougher standards — she said would overhaul the state's education system.

Monday’s vote was another step in that direction.

“I think our parents are going to be very delighted to see that the education of their children is back under their control and they can count on a higher quality education coming out in the future," Douglas said during brief remarks with reporters after the meeting. "It’s a very loud and clear message.”

"We know that they’re not ‘college and career ready standards’ because they have huge omissions. We’ll make the federal government very happy, because our standards will be even higher now."

The vote brought immediate confusion and mixed reaction from the education community.

"We hope this isn't the final word, and that the standards committee will not completely abandon the rigor of Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards," said Craig Pletenik, spokesman for the Phoenix Union High School District. "With all the classroom work, resources invested and professional development done over the last five years, I am sure the teachers will be frustrated that we can't stay the course."

Daniel Scarpinato, spokesman for Ducey, said that while the vote might be perceived as symbolic, "Any action that moves us closer to repealing Common Core is a positive. The governor has made it clear that it’s time to replace Common Core with Arizona standards and wants to see the board proceed with its process."

Monday's meeting was the first board meeting Douglas attended since August, when she reported Miller to Department of Public Safety Officers, saying he grabbed her hand during the meeting. Miller said any contact as he was trying to take Douglas' microphone away was accidental.

Since then, the superintendent boycotted two meetings, saying she wouldn't attend another meeting unless the board agreed to vote on whether to formally sever ties with Common Core-based standards.