U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., signed his name to a Florida group’s pledge to officially end the Common Core State Standards should he be elected president, according to a release sent to Sunshine State News.
Florida Parents Against Common Core (FPACC), a statewide group active gainst Common Core, opted to start at the top of the political chain to end the standards, after Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Department of Education failed to repeal the standards, which have already been implemented in Florida schools and in most states nationwide.
The group approached all of the Republican presidential candidates attending the Republican Party of Florida’s Sunshine Summit last week and asked them to sign a pledge to end the federal implementation of the standards should they be elected president.
Out of 14 candidates, only one -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas-- had signed the pledge by the end of the event.
On Friday, Rubio joined Cruz in signing FPACC’s pledge that he’ll eradicate Common Core if he wins in 2016. Rubio signed the pledge at the Family Leader Foundation’s educational initiative at the Presidential Family Forum in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, on Friday.
“Understanding that the massive federal bureaucracy of education must be stopped, and recognizing that the best decision makers for their children’s educational needs are their parents, Senator Rubio is committed to reinforcing his long standing support for the student health and school opportunity of each child,” wrote FPACC state coordinator Luz Gonzalez.
The group welcomed Rubio’s signing of the pledge as a good indicator of getting the nation’s education system back on the right track.
“[Rubio’s] strong voice in his opposition to federal involvement in K-12 education, and his prioritizing parental rights within the school institutional and learning structure assures parents that he respects their primary role as education stakeholders,” read a press release from FPACC.
Rubio’s signing comes after FPACC expressed concerns over Republican candidates simply opposing Common Core but not following through on their opposition to the national education standards, which have come under harsh criticism nationwide in recent years.
The group reached out to all of the presidential candidates attending the summit, which included some of the most vocal opponents against the standards including Rubio and Dr. Ben Carson.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, told the group he wouldn’t sign the pledge. Carson told FPACC he would get back to them on whether he would sign the pledge but, as of now, has not signed it.
As Sunshine State News previously reported, Rubio had remained silent on whether or not he would sign the pledge as of Thursday evening. .It’s uncertain at this point, however, whether other candidates will join in and also add their names onto the pledge.
