Governor Nathan Deal is pushing back on critics of Georgia’s public school curriculum. Deal issued an executive order Wednesday It re-affirms that the federal government isn’t in charge of school curricula in Georgia.

The executive order comes just before this weekend’s state GOP convention.

Georgia and 45 other states voluntarily adopted a set of concepts all American students need to know by graduation. It’s known as the Common Core.

But some Georgia Republicans insist Washington is mandating what materials teachers use in the classrooms.

Deal disavowed this notion, again.

"It is hereby ordered that no educational standards shall be imposed on Georgia by the federal government," he read. "It is further ordered that all decisions regarding curriculum and instruction shall be made at the local level.”

He also said Georgia isn’t collecting any student data. Members of Tea Party groups who attended the announcement said they were pleased but still want Georgia to scrap the program

Tags: education, politics, Nathan Deal, executive order, curriculum, common core