Common Core Hearings Scheduled For Tampa, Davie And Tallahassee

Courtesy of Laura Zorc

Florida Parents Against Common Core protested a national meeting discussing the standards in Orlando in June.

The Florida Department of Education will hold public hearings on Common Core State Standards in Tampa, Davie and Tallahassee on consecutive days later this month, according to an email from House Majority Leader Steve Crisafulli.

Gov. Rick Scott asked the department to hold the hearings last month. Scott wants the public to present concerns about specific Common Core standards. Florida is one of 45 states which have adopted the standards, which outline what students should know in English and math at the end of each grade.

Florida is three years in to implementing the standards, which are scheduled to be used in every classroom starting next fall. But Scott said he wants to listen to community concerns about the standards. Activists on the political right and left have opposed the standards because of concerns about quality, loss of local control, cost, testing, data collection and more.

The hearings will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 15, 16, and 17th. The locations are:

Tuesday, October 15, 2013 – TAMPA
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Hillsborough Community College – Dale Mabry Campus
Student Services Building – Auditorium – Room 111
4001 West Tampa Bay Boulevard, Tampa, FL

Wednesday, October 16, 2013 – DAVIE
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Broward College – Davie Campus
Bailey Concert Hall – Building 4
3501 SW Davie Road, Davie, FL

Thursday, October 17, 2013 – TALLAHASSEE
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Tallahassee Community College
Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education Auditorium
1528 Surgeons Drive, Tallahassee, FL