INDIANAPOLIS – The words “Common Core” have become so politically toxic in the state of Indiana that lawmakers appear ready spend the $24 million it will cost taxpayers to ditch the new, nationalized learning standards and create new ones.

Dan Carden of NWI.com reports the Indiana’s top two legislative leaders – House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President David Long – have said they will direct the Republican-controlled Legislature to require the creation of unique college- and career-ready standards, separate from Common Core.

Even though most Democrats favor Common Core, it’s the views of Bosma, Long and Republican Gov. Mike Pence (who appears to oppose Common Core) that matters most in the GOP-controlled state.

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“This phrase ‘Common Core’ has now become such a distraction,” said Bosma. “It is the only thing that approaches the phrase ‘Obamacare’ with concern and violent reaction around the state.”

“To solve the argument about it we need to move forward independently, but incorporate and be compatible with the ACT and the SAT (college entrance exams), and I think we can make that happen,” he added.

Carden notes Bosma’s comments represent “a significant change from where Indiana stood just three years ago, when it was among the first states in the country to make Common Core it educational standards.”

It will be newsworthy if the Hoosier State pulls out of the Common Core experiment, and could inspire other states to follow suit.

It might also mark the beginning of the end for Common Core’s overarching purpose, which is to use the uniform learning standards to create apples-to-apples student data that will allow educational technology companies to create personalized learning software for students and researchers to unlock the “science” of how individuals learn and how good teachers teach.

Common Core supporters want the data because they believe it will lead to a K-12 revolution that will re-establish the nation as a world leader in education.

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Opponents say this experiment will compromise student privacy and lead to the loss of locally controlled schools.

Both of those arguments might become moot if Indiana and a handful of other states replace Common Core with their own learning expectations. Different standards would produce different data, and that might bring this entire experiment to a grinding halt.

Should that happen, look for many other states to shelve Common Core standards for something better – and homegrown.