U.S. Sen. David Vitter has changed his mind on the Common Core education standards. As recently as four months ago, Vitter, a Republican running for governor, described his strong support for the multistate standards. But this morning, the senator issued an email from his campaign saying Louisiana needs to stop using Common Core.
The position puts him at odds with business leaders and organizations who donate heavily to political campaigns, but it puts him back in the good graces of conservative groups that are leading the charge against the standards. In the email, Vitter says he changed his mind after listening to parents, teachers and others. He says he now believes Common Core is controlled by national groups and the standards are causing too much frustration for parents and teachers.
The gubernatorial candidate says Louisiana should establish its own standards and testing. Term-limited Gov. Bobby Jindal reversed course on Common Core earlier this year and is now a staunch opponent.
Speaking to the Press Club of Baton Rouge in May, Vitter said of Common Core: “I definitely support strong, stringent standards, standards that allow us to compare how our kids are doing relative to kids around the country,” adding, “But I also want to make sure we retain our autonomy” over curriculum decisions.
As the Breitbart News Network has previously reported, Vitter’s change of heart on Common Core first surfaced in an email to supporters in August. In that email, Vitter said he was prepared to “get our economy moving, hold the line on taxes, and protect our citizens from ObamaCare, the president’s insane environmental regulations, heavy-handed big government education policies like ‘Common Core,’ and all the rest.”
