Gov. Rick Scott Withdraws Florida From Common Core Test

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida Governor Rick Scott sent a letter today to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, announcing the state’s decision to withdraw from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) - a key component of Common Core testing.  


Governor Scott said in a release that his decision to withdraw Florida from PARCC was "to protect Florida from the federal government’s overreach in education policy.

“While the debate surrounding Common Core Standards has become polarized into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ discussion, we heard during the Education Summit that most education leaders agreed on two things," Governor Scott said.  "We agree that we should say ‘yes’ to high standards for Florida students and ‘no’ to the federal government’s overreach into our education system. Therefore, I notified the federal government that Florida would be withdrawing from PARCC, and at the same time we will hold public comment sessions to receive input on any alterations that should be made to the current Common Core Standards. We are committed to maintaining high standards for our students. Period."

The Governor also issued an Executive Order which stated, in part, that the "Federal government lacked Constitutional authority to unilaterally set standards for Florida, nor any authority to unilaterally direct local school board decisions on curriculum and instructions."