The Obama administration is asking a federal judge to throw out Gov. Bobby Jindal’s lawsuit accusing it of illegally coercing states to adopt the Common Core education standards. The Associated Press reports a request was filed in Baton Rouge federal court this week, asking for the Republican governor’s lawsuit to be dismissed.
Jindal’s lawsuit accuses the U.S. Department of Education of manipulating $4.3 billion in federal grant money and federal policy waivers to force states to adopt Common Core. The governor says that violates the state sovereignty clause in the Constitution and federal law.
Lawyers for the Obama administration say the use of Common Core was voluntarily decided by state leaders and Jindal hasn’t proven any arm-twisting occurred from the federal government. A hearing on the dismissal request has been scheduled for Nov. 20.
