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Education board supports McDonnell on national standardsJune 24, 2010 By Anita Kumar Washington Post
The Virginia Board of Education voted
unanimously Thursday to oppose replacing Virginia's Standards of
Learning curriculum with a new national curriculum guide, providing key
support to Gov. Bob McDonnell's position on the issue.
McDonnell (R) decided that Virginia should drop out of the Race to the Top competition,
saying the potential federal money was not worth ditching the state's
15-year-old SOLs. The competition encourages states to adopt common
national standards.
The board, appointed by Democratic governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, followed Board of Education President Eleanor Saslaw's recommendation.
The board had previously endorsed the development of the national
standards, creating a possible perception that it was more supportive
of the new curriculum than McDonnell.
"The Board of Education supported -- and continues to support -- the
development of internationally benchmarked standards for states to
adopt outright or to use as models to improve their own standards,''
the board wrote in a statement. "The board, however, opposes the use of
federal rulemaking and the peer review process as leverage to compel
word-for-word adoption of the Common Core State Standards."
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