The South Dakota board of education adopted the Common Core State Standards in November of 2010, after a public comment period. But some of its state lawmakers think that process didn’t afford the state’s citizens enough time to speak up. So they are considering requiring the board to hold a second public comment period.
Local media there report that the state’s House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly yesterday in favor of a bill that would require at least four additional hearings around the state. The state senate has yet to vote.
The South Dakota department of education has launched a three-year professional-development project to prepare its teachers for the standards, and is a member of the SMARTER Balanced assessment consortium, one of two groups of states designing tests for the new standards.