Dive Brief:

• In an attempt to gain more Common Core supporters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a four-minute promo video featuring more conservative politicians and business leaders.

• The video includes a photo and quote from conservative Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. While Jindal initially threw support behind the standards, his excitement has waned since the state’s Tea Party became more vocal on the matter.  

• Jindal, who recently supported legislation to retract Louisiana’s support for the standards, was not pleased with his representation in the video. Jindal was not contacted before being featured, according to his spokeswoman.   

Dive Insight:

Business leaders backing the Common Core is not new; many business leaders believe academic standards like the Common Core are necessary to create a skilled workforce for the modern world. In a recent report by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education — which is also pro-Common Core — businessmen and women were interviewed and said students are currently not prepared for jobs in their sector.

While the video on its own is not necessarily newsworthy, the fact that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce includes conservatives who have since modified their stance has created commotion.  Whether this was done to point out the initial feelings of the politicians and to highlight that they originally were supporters of the Common Core is unclear.