While 45 states adopted both sets of the Common Core State Standards—mathematics and English/language arts—Minnesota adopted only one, in English/language arts. But that one set has sparked legislation that suggests unease among state lawmakers.
Both houses of the state legislature there have passed S.F. 1656, a measure that allows the state commissioner of education to approve academic standards only if the legislature votes to allow it.
That would represent a key change for Minnesota. As we told you when it adopted the ELA standards in September 2010, Minnesota is one of the few states in which standards adoption is up to the commissioner. (Minnesota has no state board of education, which is where standards decisionmaking power lies in most states.)
As you can see from state legislative records, the state senate passed the bill on March 1, and the house approved it on Monday. Now it’s before the governor.