Oregon lawmaker’s bill targets Common Core

State Rep. Carl Wilson (R-Grants Pass) has introduced legislation that would prohibit the Oregon Department of Education from requiring school districts to align instruction or assessments with Common Core state standards.

So far, Wilson’s proposal, House Bill 2835, has not been heard in committee. Wilson said Monday he is calling on Rep. Margaret Doherty, House Education Committee chair, to schedule a hearing on this critically important bill.

“Common Core-based instruction has failed Oregon’s students, confounded Oregon’s teachers and is the bane of parents and school children everywhere,” Wilson said in a news release.

HB 2835 would also prevent the Department of Education from penalizing school districts for failure to align instruction or assessments with Common Core state standards.

“I’ve heard from parents and teachers statewide who feel that Common Core is ‘the worst’ in a long succession of failed education experiments foisted upon our kids,” Wilson said. “This bill would put a stop to this disastrous policy. I ask Chair Doherty to schedule a hearing for this bill immediately.”

Wilson is a member of the House Education Committee. He served as State Representative for Grants Pass and Josephine County from 1998 to 2003; he was reelected in November 2014 , and currently serves as Deputy House Republican Leader.