After contentious committee hearings the Corbett administration has decided to delay Common Core Standards implementation until after July 1st.

A spokesman for the administration’s Department of Education said, “Upon consultation with the General Assembly, the Governor decided early today to direct the Department of Education to recommend minor modifications to the regulations governing Pennsylvania academic standards (PA Common Core) and Keystone Exams for the State Board of Education’s consideration.”

This change in tact reflects similar action from the state of Indiana who has as well, delayed the implementation of their new standards. The issue is under increased scrutiny across party lines. Conservatives voice their opposition over the plan allegedly taking away authority from the local school boards and the Senate Democrats say they oppose it because of the lack of education funding set aside to help students meet new standards.

The Education Department Spokesman stated there is a deadline of of July 1st to submit changes to the plan. A set of nationally written standards and their corresponding Keystone Graduation exams, created in 2010, are set to be put into place at the beginning of the 2013 school year without change. Now lawmakers will deal with any proposed modification to the standards in their fall session.

The goal of Common Core is to set new minimum achievement levels for students to reach in both Math and English. The standards are argued to provide comprehensive student assessment all throughout grade school.