Group Opposing Education Standards Rallies in OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A group opposed to a set of public education principles known as common core state standards are rallying at the state Capitol and urging legislators to overturn them.

About 100 people attended the rally Wednesday sponsored by Restore Oklahoma Public Education.

Common core standards include basic requirements for students to learn in math, English, history, social studies and science.

But speakers at Wednesday’s rally contend the standards are part of a plot by the federal government to take over education in Oklahoma.

Paul Blair, the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, says the standards are a "dangerous Trojan horse" tied to a United Nations organization.

Laverne Republican Rep. Gus Blackwell says the standards were implemented in Oklahoma with the lure of federal money that Oklahoma never received.