New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who is mulling a 2016 presidential bid, reversed his position on Common Core and on Thursday proposed that New Jersey drop the education standards.
“It’s now been five years since Common Core was adopted and the truth is that it’s simply not working,” Christie said during a speech at Burlington County College, according to NJ.com. “It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents and has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work.”
Christie called for the state to develop new education standards to replace Common Core.
New Jersey adopted Common Core five years ago, and Christie initially supported the standards.
“We are doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue. And this is one of those areas where I have agreed more with the President than not,” Christie said in 2013 during a speech at a conference for the KIPP Public Charter Schools, according to NJ.com. “I think part of the Republican opposition you see in some corners in Congress is a reaction, that knee-jerk reaction that is happening in Washington right now, that if the president likes something the Republicans in Congress don’t. If the Republicans in Congress like something, the president doesn’t.”
But as Republicans increasingly opposed Common Core, Christie grew concerned about the education standards. In February, Christie said he had “grave concerns” about the standards during a speech in Iowa.
Numerous potential Republican presidential candidates have reversed their views on Common Core, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). However, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has not backed down from his support for the education standards.
