EPSB adopts anti-PARCC, Common Core resolutions

The Evangeline Parish School Board adopted two resolutions during its meeting Wednesday, January 14, to voice support in the growing fight against Common Core standards and PARCC testing.
The resolution adopted by the board regarding PARCC assessment, a new form of end of course testing, was to ask the state to remove any sanctions that could possibly be leveled against students, teachers, schools or school districts due to PARCC testing this year. This resolution, copied from the St. Mary Parish school district, basically asks that penalties associated with PARCC testing not be in place this year, as school districts simply are not prepared for the change.
The second resolution adopted by the board asked that the state government remove Louisiana from Common Core standards and requests the state form its own, unique standards. While Common Core offers high standards for education, board members argued that there is no need for the federal government’s intrusion into state education and that the state is more than capable of developing equally high standards that are more suited to the culture of this state.
New school board member Mike Fontenot voiced his concern that allowing the federal government to dictate what happens in the classroom will give them the ability to develop even more mandates in the future. He argued that becoming too dependent on the federal government for funding would leave them with no choice but to follow their mandates or face funding cuts.
While the two resolutions won’t actually change anything, adopting them shows the Evangeline Parish School Board’s support for removing Common Core and PARCC testing penalties in the hope that it will influence the state to take action.