Wisconsin committee to hear Common Core bill

MADISON, Wis. - School district superintendents from across Wisconsin are preparing to testify against a bill that would give the Legislature power to approve and write academic standards.

The Senate's Education Committee scheduled a hearing Thursday on the measure.

The Republican-sponsored bill would create a new state board tasked with writing model academic standards. Those could replace the Common Core reading and math standards the state adopted in 2010 that schools have since been working to implement.

The School Administrators Alliance is organizing opposition to the bill. They and other opponents say the bill will politicize the process of writing standards.

Supporters of the change, including Gov. Scott Walker, say new standards could be more rigorous and state-specific than the Common Core standards adopted four years ago.