NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee education officials trying to implement the federal government's new Common Core academic standards face opposition from a tea party-linked group that also objects to what it considers biased passages in some state-approved textbooks.
In September, the Senate Education Committee held hearings to discuss concerns about the standards designed to prepare students for college or jobs by the time they graduate from high school.
Two months later, the committee called hearings to review the role of the Tennessee Textbook Commission, which recommends its selection of books to the State Board of Education.
At nearly all the hearings were representatives of the Tennessee Eagle Forum, a conservative group that shares many tea party beliefs. It seems to have the strongest influence on Republican lawmakers proposing measures for the upcoming session that seek to change the standards and the textbook commission.