Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has announced a public review of the state's K-12 academic standards in English and math. The process will include input from teachers and the public from across the state.
Typically, these standards are reviewed every six years. The current academic standards are in their fourth.
Today, Haslam defended his announcement from claims that he's wanting to move away from traditional academia. The Associated Press reports:
PULASKI, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam insists that his decision this week to hold a public review of Common Core doesn't signal a retreat from the education standards in view of heavy criticism from teachers and tea party groups. Haslam said he wants to clear up misconceptions about Common Core but stressed that "we're not moving on standards." The governor a day earlier announced the formation of panels to review the math and English components of Common Core and make recommendations at the end of 2015 — months after the state Legislature adjourns for the year. Haslam, who faces little serious opposition in next month's election, said he doesn't expect the review to increase political pressure to make wholesale changes.
In the coming weeks, a new website will become available to Tennessee residents to review each current state standard and give their feedback.
The Southern Regional Education Board will act as a third party and collect and analyze that data.
From there, a group of advisors will review the state's current standards and make recommendations to two teams of committees who can then make propose new legislation to the Tennessee Board of Education.
