Speaker appoints Common Core supporter to head Education Committee

Committee appointments have been released this year for the Missouri House of Representatives and it looks like things are different in Jefferson City this year.

Last year, the legislature passed HB 1490, a bill which called for new Missouri education standards to be created. A series of sessions have been held the past several months to create these standards with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education "facilitating" these meetings.

Make no mistake about it, DESE and the State Board of Education are moving full steam ahead on Common Core and consider these meetings to be a momentary distraction. Now it appears that the new Speaker of the House John Diehl is also leaning in that direction.

Diehl appointed Rep. Mike Lair, R-Chillicothe, to head the Standing Committee on Education. Lair made headlines last year when he made fun of the mothers who were fighting against Common Core by adding an appropriation of $8 to buy tinfoil hats for them:

But committee Chairman Mike Lair, R-Chillicothe, found $8 to address a pressing problem. The money is to be used “for two rolls of high density aluminum to create headgear designed to deflect drone and/or black helicopter mind reading and control technology.”

On the summary sheet handed out to lawmakers, the money is slated for “tin foil hats” and was tied to an amendment removing language barring the state from accepting federal grants to implement Common Core standards for public schools.

All education legislation will have to go through Lair.