South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill that will require the state to end the controversial Common Core standards initiative and require new educational standards be adopted. South Carolina is the second state to drop the Common Core standards behind Indiana.

“Governor Haley and the legislature have taken the first step toward pushing back against the federal government and special interests and putting South Carolinian citizens back in charge of their children’s education,” said Emmett McGroarty, Director of Education at the American Principles Project. “This is a great day for America’s constitutional heritage.”

The Common Core is a federally-mandated curriculum, which was developed by privately funded institutions. Education experts consider the standards age-inappropriate and inadequate and have growing concerns with many other aspects of the curriculum. Most significantly, the Common Core removes educational jurisdiction from parents and teachers and places it in the hands of the federal government.

Actual replacement of Common Core with “new” standards won’t take place until the 2015-16 year. The common core will remain in place in South Carolina for the 2014-15 school year.