Leaders of Georgia's Republican Party have voted to press state officials to withdraw from a national program that creates a basic set of educational standards.

Party leaders voted unanimously Saturday to ask that the state withdraw from Common Core — an initiative aimed at creating basic reading, math and language arts requirements. The initiative has been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Georgia Republicans want to withdraw from the program because they feel that state officials should maintain control over Georgia's educational standards.

The federal government was not involved in creating Common Core, but has encouraged states to adopt the standards under its "Race to the Top" grant competition.

Adoption of Common Core standards has also met opposition from local school boards.

Tags: education, Republicans, GOP, Georgia Republicans, Georgia GOP, Common Core State Standards, common core