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Last year, Republican State Rep. Andy Thompson of Marietta introduced House Bill 237 that would stop Ohio from implementing the new set of learning expectations for K-12 students in math and English known as the Common Core.And after learning of Indiana's decision to drop the standards, Thompson questions whether the move goes far enough, especially with critics saying the state's future standards may end up being too similar to the current Common Core plans."Is Indiana getting out of jail in this case or are they just rearranging their jail cell," he said.
As for here in Ohio, Thompson's not giving up hope on his anti-Common Core bill, and says there are still people who also want the state to ditch the standards within the near future."At the grassroots level I think there might be a revolt of other people, conservatives and liberals, to say that this isn't the way we want education to go," Thompson said.But one of the Common Core's fans isn't quite jumping on that same train of thought.The Fordham Institute's Research and Data Analyst Aaron Churchill says there's been strong continued support for the Common Core in the Buckeye State, from legislators in both the House and the Senate, along with the Board of Education and the Department of Education.So he's not convinced that Indiana's exit from the Common Core Initiative will have a lot of influence."I don't know how much Indiana has to do with Ohio," he said. "It's a separate state. Obviously Ohio is sovereign over its own public education system and can do as it generally pleases in terms of standards and accountability."Thompson's anti-Common Core bill has had two hearings, and has yet to be passed out of the education committee.Committee chairman Gerald Stebelton is a supporter of the Common Core, which may make it unlikely that the bill will make it to a house vote.