Texas opts out of U.S. school standards

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AUSTIN, Texas, June 24 (UPI) -- Texas has become the fourth state to reject voluntary national standards for the teaching of English and math in public schools.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott decided Texas would not participate in drawing up the standards, The Dallas Morning News reported. Gov. Rick Perry agreed with Scott's position.

The National Governors' Association and the National Council of Chief State School Officers are supervising the standards design. The other states not participating are Alaska, Missouri and South Carolina.

"Texas historically has never been supportive of the idea of national standards for our schools," said Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for Scott and the Texas Education Agency. "We believe most Texans want to see our standards developed in Texas."

The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to meet standards measured by testing. But the law allowed states to select their own tests.

The federal government will provide up to $350 million in aid to help states implement the standards, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said recently.