Common Core trainingNASHVILLE -- The state House voted 97-0 this afternoon to repeal Tennessee's Common Core education standards and replace them with more state-based standards that maintain high standards.
The Republican-dominated chamber applauded passage, hoping it may put to rest a several-year controversy over Common Core, a states-initiated effort to come up with national standards that ignited opposition from conservatives after it was embraced by President Barack Obama.
There was no debate on the bill, which now goes to the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Billy Spivey, R-Lewisburg, enshrines Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's current review process of state K-12 education standards in math and English language arts and also formally repeals Common Core.
But it also adds a new 10-member committee that both examines and votes on whether to send recommended changes to the State Board of Education. The new committee will include four appointments by Haslam with the House and Senate speakers each getting three appointments.
Haslam said his review process is intended to allow critics of Common Core to have input with an eye toward making them more of a Tennessee-centered set of standards while maintaining world-class standards.
Some critics have said charged Haslam's review process is little more than a "re-branding" of Common Core.