Late Thursday, Gov. Walker urged legislators to repeal the Common Core education standards the state has been moving toward and create new ones.
Walker says the people of Wisconsin should set their own standards for student learning, instead of adopting the benchmarks a coalition of national education leaders recommended several years ago.
On Friday morning, state Senate GOP leader Scott Fitzgerald released a statement reading that while some people in Wisconsin may want to roll back Common Core, it would be difficult for legislators to develop new academic standards that would satisfy everyone.
Senator Luther Olsen wants the governor to pinpoint the Common Core standards he finds insufficient and in need of change. Olsen, who heads the Senate's Education Committee, says he does not think the Legislature should overrule school districts that have been aligning their curriculum to meet Common Core, because they prefer its standards.
In issuing his call Thursday, Walker became the latest high-profile Republican governor to reject Common Core. Others include Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Jindal signed an executive order blocking use of the tests tied to Common Core.
The Obama administration has tied some federal funding to the standards' implementation but did not develop them.
Supporters of Common Core claim it will help raise academic standards to those of many other developed countries.
Opponents contend education standards should remain a local issue.
