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Judge Blocks Bobby Jindal from Repealing Common Core

A Louisiana judge on Tuesday swatted down Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to use his executive authority to repeal the Common Core in his state.

A Louisiana judge on Tuesday swatted down Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to use his executive authority to repeal the Common Core in his state.

Jindal is trying to unilaterally scrap the new academic standards and a related series of exams — a move that’s put him at odds with business leaders, the state superintendent, members of the board of education and many Republican legislators in Louisiana.

In a blistering five-page ruling, District Judge Todd W. Hernandez of Baton Rouge ruled that Jindal’s plan would cause “irreparable harm” to students, teachers and parents who have been preparing for the new standards for years. He also dismissed the administration’s argument that the state education department violated procurement law in the way it planned to deliver the Common Core tests to students.

Jindal’s chief of staff, Kyle Plotkin, vowed an immediate appeal.

“We think this judge is wrong on the facts and the law,” Plotkin said.

The ruling was a sharp blow to the governor, who once enthusiastically supported the Common Core but abruptly reversed course earlier this year as tea party opposition to the standards swelled. Jindal, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, has been hailed as a hero by the far right for trying to block the standards, but the governor has had a hard time convincing the educational and business establishment in Louisiana to go along with his change of heart.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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