Mich. Board Makes Curriculum Standards Voluntary for Districts

By Lonnie Harp

In a rebuff to state lawmakers, the Michigan board of education has voted to make new state curriculum standards voluntary for school districts rather than set mandatory standards as the legislature had envisioned.

The board had distanced itself from the proposed definition of what children should learn in mathematics, science, social studies, and English since a Republican majority took control of the panel after last year's elections.

Its long-awaited decision on the matter came last month after nearly two hours of heated testimony, much of it by...