Governor Rick Scott is directing state education officials to change their role in a national consortium that would have developed tests for students under the new Common Core standards.
The standards – which take effect in Florida in the 2014-15 school year – involve meeting benchmarks in math and language arts. But Common Core has drawn backlash from tea-party conservatives, who say they would amount to a federal takeover of education in Florida.
And state leaders like Senate President Don Gaetz have objected to the nationalized testing that accompanies Common Core.
"We have a system here that hasn't been fully invented or vetted yet that we're being asked to comply with. That doesn't seem to make sense, particularly for Florida, when we've been a leader in developing standards."
The governor is calling for public comment on any changes that should be made to the current Common Core. He's also directing the State Board of Education to identify any "risks for federal intrusion in Florida's standards."