Noel K. Gallagher reports:
In the wake of concerns from parents and educators, Gov. Paul LePage signed an executive order today reiterating the state’s policy of not sharing student data with the federal government that would jeopardize student privacy.
Privacy concerns have been raised by critics of new educational benchmarks that Maine and 44 other states have adopted.
[…]
Several Republican governors, all of whom support the [Common Core] standards, have issued executive orders similar to LePage’s that spell out that their state will not share student data with the government as part of the Common Core standards, and reiterating state control of educational policy.
“Maine students deserve the best education in the world that they will one day lead,” LePage said in a statement. “Higher standards play an important role in that, but the federal government does not. With my executive order, Maine is making clear that we set the standards for our state, that implementation of those standards is locally controlled, and that students and families have an unalienable right to their privacy that will never be infringed on so long as I am Governor.”
The Common Core website spells out that the states are not required to provide any student data at all.
Read more on Kennebec Journal.