Dive Brief:
- The Chicago Teachers' Union will lobby against Illinois' use of the Common Core now that its House of Delegates adopted a resolution opposing the federal benchmarks.
- The union, which is an off-shoot of the American Federation of Teachers, is asking the AFT for support as it urges the Illinois Board of Education to opt out of the Common Core.
- Illinois adopted the Common Core in 2010 and the standards have since been implemented in districts statewide.
Dive Insight:
The likelihood of the AFT supporting the Chicago Teacher's Union is low. Not only is AFT President Randi Weingarten a Common Core advocate, but the organization has accepted millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation over the years. This has led to something of a conflict in interest since Gates is one of the most vocal and ardent supporters of the federal benchmarks.
While Weingarten recently announced the AFT will no longer accept money from the Gates Foundation — a move to mitigate any potential political sway and appease the union's numerous Core challengers — the organization has publicly promoted the standards so much that asking Illinois to opt out now would be both confusing and out of character.
