Religion & Law

It looks like we're going to have national education standards soon, as 48 states have come together, along with the Obama Administration, to support standards laying out what students should be learning year by year, from kindergarten through high school, in math and English. 

It's probably not too tough to guess the two holdout states: Alaska and Texas.  Texas Gov. Rick Perry explained that only Texans should decide what their children learn.  (In reality, I think Texans have a big role in deciding what all American children learn, but that's another issue.)

So how should fans of subsidiarity respond to the new standards?  It's reassuring that states seem to be taking the lead on this, and it will be up to the states to decide whether to adopt the standards.  More broadly, is there any harm in adopting a "best practices" model to ensure that all Americans are equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in an increasingly competitive and connected world?  Or is the danger related more to the trend that this represents -- i.e., if we can have national math and English standards, maybe we should have national standards on social studies, civics, service learning, sex ed, etc.  In other words, are the Texans just being Texans, or are they wise to stay on the sidelines?