WATERLOO - Progress toward establishing a state-mandated core curriculum bogged down last week, slowed by an amendment endorsed by members of the Iowa House.

Whether the overall proposal has enough support to get moving again remains an open question, but critics - those supporting local control and the autonomy of private schools - hope the measure dies.

"There are people who are concerned, and I think they probably have valid concerns," said former state Sen. Bob Brunkhorst of Waverly.

The Iowa Core Curriculum would require schools accredited by the state to implement course requirements specified by the state by 2012. Administrators for kindergarten through eighth grades would have until 2014 to get on board.

The Iowa Department of Education describes the core curriculum as "a guide to delivering instructional content that is challenging and meaningful to students." The proposal establishes models for teaching math, science and social studies with an emphasis on "21st century life skills." Those include civic literacy, financial literacy, technology literacy, health literacy and employability.

Brunkhorst helped get the ball rolling about two years ago by promoting legislation that raised academic standards in Iowa.

"The push back then was to make sure Algebra I, for instance, is somewhat synonymous throughout the state of Iowa," Brunkhorst said.

The goal was to set standards, not tell school boards, administrators and teachers how to reach those benchmarks, he added.

"Now the state is going beyond that," Brunkhorst said.

Lisa Goedken, principal at Walnut Ridge Baptist Academy in Waterloo, said if legislators do act, Iowa will set precedent.

"I don't think any other state has imposed (curriculum) on nonpublic schools," she said.

Goedken wonders what that might mean for her school, which, as its Web site states, teaches children "in the context of a Biblical world view."

Reviewing the science portion of the Iowa Core Curriculum, a 69-page document available online, Goedken found sample activities and underlying principles that cause her concern.

On page 59, Application D suggests students "list recommendations that you will use to convince your local legislators to support the funding and restoration of wetlands." Application B on that same page instructs student to use information they learned about a powerful pesticide: "Based on this knowledge and other research, write a letter to your legislator arguing against the sale of DDT to Third World countries when it is banned in the U.S."

While perhaps noble goals, Goedken doesn't believe the state should mandate moral judgments.

Tom Chapman is less certain a conflict exists. He is executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, a lobbying group that addresses "the Iowa Legislature on issues important to the church and society."

"Every document that you get from the state … embodies some value judgments," he said.

Laws prohibiting murder, for instance, stem from a moral position, Chapman said.

Chapman stops short of endorsing the core curriculum, however. Despite published reports claiming the Iowa Catholic Conference supports the proposed curriculum, Chapman said that is not the case.

"We are not opposing it. It's not the same thing," he said.

The Iowa Catholic Conference has other priorities this legislative session and is taking a wait-and-see approach to the core curriculum.

"From our perspective, (Catholic schools) will be able to work within the core curriculum as it stands in a pretty good way," Chapman said.

That could change if the state later decides to mandate instruction of some topics - sex education, for instance.

" There are some subjects that they might try to impose on our schools that we would find morally problematic," Chapman said.

"When there are content and things that we would oppose, we would do that at that time," he added.

The Iowa Association of Christian Schools is adamantly opposed to the state mandate.

"The private schools … are feeling strong-armed by the Legislature's push to require that rather than meet certain benchmarks for achievement, the schools will be required to teach specific curriculum," according to a prepared statement.

Counterpoint

Debbie Lee is secondary curriculum coordinator for Waterloo Schools and a member of the project lead team, which helped develop the Iowa Core Curriculum. She believes the authors relied on credible sources and synthesized the best practices and research.

"I have no problem accepting these," she said.

She points out the activities Goedken cites are only examples, not dictates.

"There is no social agenda in there," Lee said.

The team responsible for the science portion - teachers, administrators and education experts from across Iowa - could have "picked from a hundred activities," Lee said.

She also noted frustration that critics settle on minor points while overlooking the big picture.

"The Iowa Core Curriculum is exactly where we need to go," Lee said.

"Someone had to set standards," she added later. "I believe that is the responsibility of the state."

Brunkhorst said the original legislation set a different course, however.

"That the state should have control of classrooms day by day, week by week - that was never the goal," he said.

Jim Hawkins, director of Professional Educators of Iowa, also prefers local school boards maintain control of public and private schools. Those closest to the source and affected most directly by the result will work hardest.

"Are you an owner, or are you a renter? Owners take better care for their property as a general rule," Hawkins said.

Though he has not followed the debate closely, Bruce Johnson, principal at Valley Lutheran High School in Cedar Falls, believes enough space will be available to maneuver within the core curriculum.

"We are going to teach creationism and what we believe in at this school," he said. "And I believe we will be able to do so."

Uneven

Sister Jude Fitzpatrick sees both sides of the issue. She is a member of the State Board of Education, which approved the Iowa Core Curriculum under consideration in the Legislature. She is also vice chancellor for the Roman Catholic Church's Diocese of Des Moines and previously served as superintendent of the diocese's school system.

Fitzpatrick believes the mandate's best attribute is eliminating "the unevenness in curriculum opportunities."

"I see this core curriculum as a tool that can be used by all districts, and hopefully in the process we create an even playing field for all students in Iowa," she said.

Fitzpatrick notes, however, not everything will be equalized.

"Experiences will vary from teacher to teacher and from classroom to classroom, depending on the skills of a particular teacher and the needs of particular students," she said.

The Rev. Kerry Watkins, acting administrator at Walnut Ridge, said the Iowa Core Curriculum's one-size-fits-all approach is flawed.

"Our main objection to it would be that we are very, very different from a public school," he said.

"To slap a blanket across everything, typically it would help a few and hurt many others," Watkins said.

One of the basic reasons private schools exist is to give parents a choice on how to educate their children, Watkins said. If officials start down the path toward uniformity, soon no significant differences will exist, he added.

Bill Callahan, dean of the University of Northern Iowa's College of Education, was a member of the project lead team organized to begin writing the Iowa Core Curriculum. He believes the model will work - if state lawmakers and the Iowa Department of Education provide proper support.

"It's a vehicle. You can drive off a cliff, or you can drive across the country," Callahan said. " … If it's blindly implemented, it will not help."

Goedken has urged parents with students at Walnut Ridge to contact state representatives and to share their views.

Once on an apparent fast track toward approval, Chapman isn't certain lawmakers will resolve the issue this session.

"I think the ball's in the air now," he said. "I don't think we know if its going to pass. Time is getting short in the Legislature."

Contact Dennis Magee at (319) 291-1451 or dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com.