Dive Brief:

• North Carolina legislators drafted a bill recommending the state replace the Common Core with new education standards.  
• The bill, which is expected to be presented early May, suggests new state specific benchmarks be created by the State Board of Education and an Academic Standards Review Commission, which would be comprised of appointed officials.
• The state implemented the Common Core standards in fall 2012 and has already spent millions on the execution of the federal benchmarks.   

Dive Insight:

While North Carolina's forays into the Common Core have not been smooth sailing — like many other states that have send opposition to the new benchmarks — many Democrats are opposed to scrapping all the work that went into implementing the standards.

While it would waste millions of dollars and probably create much confusion, creating new standards also runs the risk of feeling like a waste of time and being a mere repackaging of the Common Core. That is a complaint often cited in Indiana, where the Common Core was scrapped in favor of new Hoosier-created standards.   

Republicans pushing for the new standards say the Common Core could be legally out as soon as July, but would probably stay in place for another year until the new standards are ready.