Jackson Free Press

"Mississippi families need to know that their children's education is not going to be turned over to an outside authority, and I thank Gov. Bryant for this order."

—State Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, supporting Gov. Phil Bryant's executive order affirming the federal government would not take over the function of educating Mississippi students.

Why it stinks: Gov. Bryant seems to be continuing a bizarre trend of going on record to say Mississippi would disobey federal laws it disagrees with. Last year, it was the idea that President Obama and the feds wanted to take Mississippians' guns. This time around, it's the implementation of Common Core state standards for math and English, which some 40 other states have already adopted.

But if Rep. Moore, who serves as a chairman of the House Education Committee, believes Mississippi parents are concerned that an outside force might usurp their kids' education, he's way off base. Based on lawmakers' refusal to fully fund the public-education funding formula to the tune of more than $1 billion and growing, Mississippi parents should be concerned about internal forces—namely, the Repbulican-led Legislature—more than outside authorities.