According to Louisiana’s Department of Education, replacing the Common Core standards would cost the state up to $25.2 million over the next five years and strain local school districts even more. The estimate comes days before a Wednesday hearing on a variety of bills that seek to alter Common Core standards in the state. The $25.2 million estimate comes from the costs of writing an entirely new set of academic guidelines, including cost of study, analysis, and training.
“In summary, our conclusion is that the financial implications of these pieces of legislation to both the state and local school systems are very significant,” Deputy Superintendent Beth Scioneaux wrote in a memo on the issue. “In every case, the cost implications reach well into the tens of millions of dollars.”
The $25.2 million dollar estimate wasn’t the only cost outlined by the department’s review. An additional $17.6 million would be simultaneously needed to return the state to its previous standards and assessments while new standards are written into legislation. The state would have to spend $22 million on exams for this year’s transition period and individual school districts would be required to reinvest in teacher training and instructional materials, spending as much as $6.5 million dollars on the process. In her memo, Scioneaux stated that neither this year’s proposed state operating budget nor the five-year financial plan include money to pay for new or modified education standards.
Last month, Indiana became the first state to drop the Common Core standards, though the new draft guidelines rely heavily on the Core.