House Reinstates Funding for Common Core Standards Training
Air Date:02/24/2012
The South Dakota House of Representatives passed an amendment that funds teacher training in the common core standards. It nullifies an amendment passed yesterday that de-funded training. Yesterday lawmakers voted to give more than eight million dollars to school districts to use as they chose, rather than use it for training. The argument was that the core standards are nothing new, and schools should be able to choose how to spend the money. But today Representative Dean Wink says South Dakota has already adopted core standards and teachers need to be trained. He says yesterday's amendment hurts schools.
"The reason the $8.4 million comes in this bill is that South Dakota as a whole state has an economy of scale to provide that training and professional development that the individual school districts do not have," Wink says. "The money that would go to be as a one time yesterday, on top of the PSA, would not provide enough money. So what it would be, basically an unfunded mandate. It's going to cost the school districts more than what they receive through this $8.4 million."
The House voted to pass today's amendment restoring the funding by a vote of 41 to 27. It then went on to pass Senate Bill 192 by a vote of 64 to four.
By Jenifer Jones
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