There are two big debates that are happening in this story. One is the debate over Common Core and is it the best way to educate our children for the future. The second debate is the right of free speech and can a teacher criticize Common Core without fear of retaliation.

We're not going to solve the Common Core debate here, but there has been some clarification on the rights of teachers in the state to voice their opinion on the policy. Governor Bobby Jindal issued an executive order that guaranteed a teacher's right to free speech on the subject of Common Core. This action came about after it was reported that a Rapides Parish teacher was reprimanded for critical remarks about the curriculum on her personal Facebook page.

According to the story in the Alexandria Daily Town Talk newspaper,  the teacher in question was given a written disciplinary notice. Another teacher quoted in the article suggested that other teachers had similar concerns but were to afraid to speak up for fear of disciplinary action.

Louisiana Federation of Teachers spokesperson Les Landon says his group has not been officially notified that such actions have taken place. He did say his organization plans to investigate the allegations that were raised in the newspaper article.

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