Vic’s Statehouse Notes #329 – January 7, 2019

Dear Friends,

The Governor wants to speed up a law that would allow him to replace the State Superintendent of Public Instruction with an appointee who is not required to have experience as a K-12 teacher or a K-12 administrator.

Democracy took a hit in the 2017 session. The Indiana General Assembly passed a flawed law taking away the power of voters to choose the K-12 leader and leaving a loophole to allow appointment of someone without K-12 experience.

In the historic final vote on April 18, 2017, the power of voters to elect the State Superintendent of Public Instruction was ended after 166 years. The power taken away from voters was given to the Governor starting in 2025.

Now the Governor and legislative leaders want to take power away from voters sooner, starting in 2021. Identical bills to do this have been filed in the House (HB 1005) and the Senate (SB 275).

This is a bad idea for two reasons:

1) It ends even earlier the power given to voters in the Indiana Constitution. In our democracy, Indiana voters should retain the power to elect the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

2) The language of the law removing this power from voters is badly flawed. Loopholes and deceptive wording make it possible for the Governor to appoint someone with no experience in K-12 teaching or K-12 administration.

Contact your legislators to oppose moving this date up and to oppose allowing anyone without K-12 experience to lead our K-12 school system. Tell them that you oppose HB 1005 and SB 275.


The Law Removing a Constitutional Pillar in 2025 Has Flawed Language and Should Not Be Accelerated

Since 1851, voters have been able to elect a State Superintendent who had an independent mandate from the electorate as the education leader in Indiana. Now, more power has been handed to the Governor.

With this vote, democracy in Indiana was diminished.

Voters who want to influence education policy in Indiana had better focus on the race for Governor. If the privatization of public education in Indiana is to be reversed, voters will need to find a candidate for Governor who will be a champion for public education. Voters will no longer be able send a message to change the direction of education in Indiana by voting for a State Superintendent as they did in 2012.


Illusory Language in the 2017 Law Means K-12 Experience is Not Required for the Governor’s Appointee

Under the current law passed in 2017, the Governor will appoint a Secretary of Education starting in 2025. The illusory language of the law detailed below leaves the impression that K-12 experience is required but when the words are examined closely, K-12 is not mentioned. Track the details below:


The 2017 Law to End the Office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction (House Bill 1005): Resurrected from a Decisive Defeat

House Bill 1005, rising controversially from a decisive defeat to be passed and signed, took a nearly unprecedented path to reach the final vote in 2017:

• House Bill 1005 passed the House 68-29.

• SB 179, identical to HB 1005, failed in the Senate 23-26. Many thought defeating the bill would end the proposal for this session.

• Senate rules say that when a bill is defeated “that exact language or substantially similar language shall be considered decisively defeated and shall not be considered again during the session.”

• In a Senate Rules Committee meeting in which Democrats pointedly argued that the rules say “shall not be considered again during the session,” the Republican leadership claimed that they were making the bill “substantially different.” Republicans had the votes to win the argument.

• The “substantial differences” were found in three changes:

1) The date of the first appointment by the Governor was changed from 2021 to 2025.

2) A requirement of two years residency in Indiana was reinstated.

3) Qualifications were stated which give the illusion that experience in K-12 education is required to be appointed. In fact, K-12 experience is not mandated, a conclusion confirmed in a statement on the floor of the Senate by the bill’s sponsor Senator Buck while speaking against Senator Breaux’s proposed amendment which would have mandated K-12 experience: “While we are trying to consider the availability to the Governor of somebody that would be the administrator of our department of ed, I hope we realize that someone with the depth of experience of executive leadership and in higher ed such as former Governor Mitch Daniels would be excluded from that category . I think it gives the Governor a great deal of latitude in looking to somebody that has executive experience in the field of education.” (Senator Buck during second reading amendments, March 30, 2017)

• Read carefully the new slippery language on qualifications:

“(2) has demonstrated personal and professional leadership success, preferably in the administration of public education;”
“(3) possesses an earned advanced degree , preferably in education or educational administration, awarded from a regionally or nationally accredited college or university; and”
“(4) either:

(A) at the time of taking office is licensed or otherwise employed as a teacher, principal, or superintendent;
(B) has held a license as a teacher, superintendent, or principal, or any combination of these licenses, for at least five (5) years at any time before taking office; or
(C) has a total of at least five (5) years of work experience as any of the following, or any combination of the following, before taking office:

(i) Teacher.
(ii) Superintendent.
(iii) Principal.
(iv) Executive in the field of education.

• The word “preferably” has no meaning under the law. It can obviously be ignored. It is surprising that such a word is used in the bill. Using “preferably” means that it is not necessary to appoint a public education administrator to be State Superintendent. Similarly it is not necessary to appoint someone with a degree in education or educational administration.

• This “preferably” language and the phrase “Executive in the field of education” open the door to appointing a business leader with executive experience in an education field such as testing or technology. Superintendents in Indiana are no longer required to have a superintendent’s license.

• Another concern is whether it was written for a higher education official to be appointed. No reference to K-12 experience or degrees is included. It is not clear that those who wrote this legislation wanted a leader with K-12 experience.

• After the Senate Rules Committee added these amendments, the full Senate passed the historic bill 28-20.

• At this point, Speaker Bosma as bill sponsor had a choice. He could take the bill to a conference committee to restore the House’s bill language or he could ask the House to concur with the Senate language. After several days, he decided to opt for a concurrence vote in the House which passed 66-31 on April 18th.

Bi-Partisan Opposition and Partisan Support

Despite discussion of past Democratic leaders wanting this change, the final votes in both the House (66-31)and the Senate (28-20) on HB 1005 showed bi-partisan opposition and, except for one vote, partisan support.

• In the House, the yes votes were cast by 65 Republicans and one Democrat, Representative Goodin.
• In the House, the no votes were cast by 28 Democrats and 3 Republicans, Representatives Judy, Nisly and Pressel.
• In the Senate, all 28 yes votes were cast by Republicans.
• In the Senate, the no votes were cast by all 9 Democrats and 11 Republicans, Senators Becker, Bohacek, Crane, Glick, Grooms, Head, Kenley, Koch, Kruse, Leising and Tomes.

Contact Your Legislators

If you are concerned about who leads our K-12 school system in this unprecedented makeover of K-12 school leadership in Indiana, contact your legislators to say you oppose HB 1005 and SB 275. Tell them two things:

• The case is clear: Appointing Indiana’s K-12 leader has undermined democracy and the damage should not be accelerated. The Governor and the Republican leadership have suppressed future disagreement between the Governor and the State Superintendent by ending the independent mandate from voters held by the State Superintendent since 1851. Since Governors are elected on many issues and education is a minor issue in gubernatorial campaigns, voters have lost their direct power to correct the course of education when they are motivated to do so, as they were in the 2012 election. Removing public dissent on education in this manner aligns with Milton Friedman’s plan to gradually deconstruct public education and fund a marketplace of private schools with public tax dollars. This puts us on a slippery slope to a weaker and weaker democracy where the power of the ballot box is diminished.

• The language of the law must be changed to require K-12 experience before anyone is appointed to lead Indiana’s K-12 school system. The loophole language “Executive in the field of education” allowing leaders with only higher education experience or business experience related to education must be replaced with clear language requiring experience in K-12 teaching or K-12 administration.

Thank you for your active support of public education in Indiana!

Best wishes,
Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support the ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand represented ICPE extremely well during the 2018 session. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana. In April, I was honored to receive the 2018 Friend of Education Award from the Indiana State Teachers Association.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #261 – April 19, 2016

Dear Friends,

The new annual report on private school vouchers, officially known as Choice Scholarships, was issued by the Indiana Department of Education on April 14th. It carried a surprising finding:

Despite an additional 3500 students getting tax supported vouchers to attend private schools, the percentage of Indiana students enrolling in private and parochial schools from last year (2014-15) to this year (2015-16) showed absolutely no increase. It was 7.48% both years.

One would think that private school vouchers paid for by the taxpayer would be attracting ever increasing numbers of students to private and parochial schools.

They are not.

One would think that if the taxpayers are paying for roughly 3500 more vouchers at an average cost of at least $4000 per voucher ($14 million), we would see an increase in students and families enrolling in private schools.

We are seeing no such increase.

Instead it can be said that vouchers are propping up the private and religious school enrollment numbers which would otherwise be falling.

As parents made their choices in the intense competition of the school choice marketplace of Indiana, the attractiveness of public schools stood up well this year.

Enrollment Details

Each year in the administration of State Superintendent Glenda Ritz, a detailed report has been issued by the Office of School Finance of the Indiana Department of Education about the Choice Scholarship program. This year’s report was released on April 14th. The IDOE staff is to be commended on a thorough and objective report. The details reveal the following:

• Of the total number of 1,130,873 students in Indiana in 2015-16, 84,583 attended non-public schools, a total of 7.48%.

• Of the total of 1,130,312 students in the previous 2014-15 school year, 84,533 attended non-public schools, a total of 7.48%.

• Yet the taxpayers of Indiana paid for 32,686 vouchers in 2015-16 to boost the non-public school numbers, an increase of 3538 vouchers over the previous year of 2014-15. It was the smallest increase in the five years of the program.

• At a ballpark average of $4000 per voucher, taxpayers paid out over $14 million dollars more for vouchers this year than in 2014-15.

• It’s clear now that vouchers are not attracting big new numbers to private and parochial schools but instead are being used to pay the tuition of private school students who have always been in private schools. The choice was made not after trying public schools first but at the outset of the student’s schooling, and now the voucher expansion rules have been changed to figure out a way to have the taxpayers pay the private and religious school bills.

• To confirm this conclusion, the report found that 52.4% of students receiving vouchers had no record of previously attending an Indiana public school.

• A year ago in 2014-15, this figure was 50.4%.

• In the first year of the program, under Governor Daniels’ policy of trying a public school first, this figure was only 9.8% of voucher students with no record of attending an Indiana public school.

• Clearly the voucher law is now helping a minority of the voucher students follow the original intent getting help to transfer to a private school. The majority of voucher students are now having taxpayers subsidize the private and religious education that had already been chosen.

Governor Pence clearly changed the voucher program to an expensive subsidy for private and religious school education in his massive 2013 voucher expansion law.

The report explains that the program carried a price tag of extra costs to taxpayers of $40 million in 2014-15 and says the 2015-16 total costs will be available in June.

The Future is up to the Voters

After establishing the voucher program in the legendary legislative battle of 2011, vouchers have been given more funding and made easier to get by the General Assembly in 2013, in 2015 and now in 2016.

Do the citizens of Indiana want ever expanding vouchers programs to privatize our public schools bit by bit?

That is a question the voters will answer in the May 3rd primary and in the November general election.

I hope all public education advocates will participate in the vitally important primary and general elections of 2016, our bicentennial year.

Thanks for your support of public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand continues to represent ICPE during the 2016 short session. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #204 – February 18, 2015

Dear Friends,

The Senate voted yesterday on Senate Bill 1 to remove the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board. The bill passed 33 to 17. It now goes to the House, which passed a different version on the same subject in House Bill 1609.

After all the efforts to convince Senators that voters picked the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board and only voters in the next election should have the power to select a different chair, the bill passed with the opposition of 7 Republicans and all 10 Democrats.

Regarding House Bill 1639, subject of the previous “Notes #203”, which proposed giving the State Board an independent computer system to handle student records, Chairman Behning said at Tuesday’s meeting that he got the bill from an out-of-state source from a state where the State Board was the entity already handling data, and he didn’t intend to give the State Board a new set of powers. He said he would bring an amendment to put the Indiana Department of Education in charge of the parent testing information his bill envisions. He held House Bill 1639 without a vote. It is now scheduled for a vote tomorrow, Thursday, February 19th, at the final House Education Committee of the initial portion of the General Assembly.

Chairman Behning has not often acknowledged publicly that his bills come from out-of-state sources, but on Tuesday in front of all present, that is what he said.

Senate Bill 1

Over a thousand people came to Monday’s Statehouse rally to try to convince legislators that now is not the time to remove the elected State Superintendent as chair of the State Board. That change should be made by voters, if that is their will, in the 2016 election. Action by the House and the Senate on this topic usurps the power of the voters to direct policies by electing officials who can hold the powers given to them by the electorate until end of the term.

The General Assembly, in favoring Governor Pence in his fundamental policy debate with Superintendent Ritz over whether public support of private schools will dominate the future, has proceeded at the Governor’s request to approve bills removing the State Superintendent as chair of State Board, a power of office that the State Superintendent has had since 1913. This move is part of the deconstruction of public education in Indiana, a cornerstone of our democracy and our economy which so many have done so much to advance over the past 150 years. Jettisoning strong support for public education seems to be on Governor Pence’s list for ways to mark Indiana’s 200th birthday.

This episode marks a deep tectonic shift in the powers of the voter and the relationship of elections to the exercise of power. From this point on, will any elected official be able to carry out powers of the office as they stood at the time the voters elected the official? Or will those elected officials be “Ritzed” to the point of losing legal powers they had when elected even before the next election? Will there now be a move to eliminate other officials elected independently by the voters? Will more and more power be concentrated in the office of the Governor? Will education policy now become the dominant issue in the election campaign for the office of Governor since trying to change education policy by electing a new State Superintendent has been shown to be a path with no power?

Seventeen Senators heard the call to leave any changes in the State Board chair to the voters in the next election. They are Republican Senators Alting, Becker, Delph, Glick, Head, Leising, and Tomes and Democrat Senators Arnold, Breaux, Broden, Lanane, Mrvan, Randolph, Rogers, Stoops, Tallian and Taylor.

These seventeen should all be thanked for standing up to the Governor and the leadership of the Senate in this dispute whereby the power of voters in Indiana has been diminished. It remains to be seen in 2016 whether the voters will remember this reduction in the power of voters when votes are cast for members of the House and Senate.

Advocates for public education need long memories to recall who supports public education on key votes and who doesn’t.

Senate Bill 1 changes the State Board membership from 11 to 9 and cuts the Governor’s appointments to four instead of the current ten. Two would be appointed by the House Speaker and two by the President Pro Tem of the Senate. The State Superintendent would be the ninth member.

These are the key differences between Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1609 which made no changes in the number of members or the powers of appointment. The Governor would no doubt want the House bill to prevail to keep his current powers intact. The Senate may have other ideas. Stay tuned.

Thank you for your advocacy for wise policies, for the power of voters in our republic, and for strong public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith vic790@aol.com

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support the ICPE lobbying efforts. Joel Hand will again be our ICPE lobbyist in the Statehouse. Many have renewed their memberships already, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew now.

We must raise additional funds for the 2015 session, which begins on January 6th. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #203 – February 16, 2015

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all who made today’s Statehouse rally a rousing success! It was a great afternoon!

There is, however, no let up in the Statehouse battles over public education. The entire Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on Senate Bill 1, removing the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board. Let your voice be heard!

That’s not all; the salvos keep coming. A new bill deserves your immediate attention and action tonight to contact members of the House Education Committee:

House Bill 1639, scheduled for a hearing tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 17th) at 8:30am, would put control of a new system to expand access to student records in the hands of the State Board, not the Indiana Department of Education. For the first time, it would make the State Board an administrative agency, handling student data functions that have always been controlled by the Indiana Department of Education. The expanded data access through this data warehouse will cost $4.1 million as projected by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, requiring an independent computer staff for the State Board with a new stand alone computer system. The duplication of services is obvious.

The $4.1 million price tag is more than the current entire annual budget for the State Board of $3 million and of course far more than the annual budget for professional development, which stands at zero.

This is a major salvo in the battle to move functions out of the Indiana Department of Education under the control of State Superintendent Ritz and into the domain of the State Board controlled by Governor Pence.

The bill would also have the State Board prepare and require student and parent surveys to evaluate certificated staff at an estimated cost of up to $4.8 million per year.

Rep. Behning has scheduled House Bill 1639 for a hearing on Tuesday Feb. 17th at 8:30am in the House Education Committee in Room 156-C. It is also listed in the agenda for Wed., Feb. 18th at 8:30am in the same room.

Before that time, I hope all who believe that student data is too sensitive and too important to become a political football in the Governor’s power grab will contact members of the House Education Committee with a simple message: Delete the sections of HB 1639 giving the State Board a data warehouse and requiring student surveys of staff.

Expanded Access

The bill purports to improve parent access to student data and to help transfer data among schools. If that is truly a bigger priority problem in a state that has no money for teacher professional development, lawmakers could give the $4.1 million for computer work required by this bill to the Indiana Department of Education, the current trustee of student records.

This bill doesn’t do that. It gives the authority and the resources to the State Board, a policy making board that now for the first time would become an administrative agency with complete control over student records. This would be a monumental shift in authority and makes the bill a power grab to boost the control of the State Board over the IDOE.

This bill as well as House Bill 1486 would be the first efforts to have the Indiana General Assembly assign an administrative function to the State Board. The State Board is authorized by law as a policy board. It is hard to believe that the General Assembly really wants to make the State Board an administrative agency as well, setting up total confusion about the administrative roles of IDOE in relation to the State Board.

The Risk of HB1639

In this proposed bill, Rep. Behning and the Governor are playing with fire. If the parents and teachers of Indiana’s students come to believe for one minute that student test data are being used as a wedge in a political dispute between Governor Pence and State Superintendent Ritz, the trust built up over two decades that student data is being handled impartially and appropriately could vanish overnight. If parents sense that the data of their students are being used for political purposes, they may well demand that any test results be given only to them and for use by their local school, and not for state use. Such a step would collapse the entire accountability movement that this General Assembly has slowly built since the A+ program of 1987.

There must be no hint of political maneuvering related to student test data. This part of the bill has politics written all over it and must be turned down or withdrawn.

There is no reason to involve any agency other than the Indiana Department of Education in student records. IDOE’s work in handling student data has been accurate and above reproach. Any claim to the contrary has been made for political purposes to support a takeover of data by the State Board, to further undermine the authority of Superintendent Ritz. This bill puts at risk the faith and trust of parents in state authorities that has taken years to establish.

The Development of Parent Trust in State Records

I am old enough to remember well a time when Indiana did not have a state test. When I began my career in Indiana in the 1960’s, all testing was local testing, and local parents and teachers could assess the progress of their students. There was great mistrust in that era that state test results kept in the Statehouse might be used inappropriately by people that did not have local ties and might not have the best interests of the students in mind. It took years of patient reassurance that the privacy and sanctity of state test scores would be maintained. State tests were introduced in the mid-1980’s and student ID numbers allowing the state to track individual students by number were introduced around 2002, based on the availability of high speed computers. Approval of that step required tremendous trust on the part of parents. This bill could put that trust in jeopardy overnight.

Why does anyone other than IDOE need to supervise student data? They don’t. I have observed over many years that the Indiana Department of Education takes very seriously the trust that is placed in them to maintain the accuracy and the privacy of student data.

Please contact members of the House Education Committee and other House members as soon as possible. Of course, if you read this after tomorrow’s hearing, it would still help if they know of your opposition to HB 1639 in the days ahead.

Student data must not be made part of a political tug-of-war, but this bill does that. HB 1639 is unwise public policy in two areas: giving the State Board control of an expensive data warehouse and requiring student surveys to evaluate staff at a projected cost of up to $4.8 million. Let legislators know how you feel.

Thank you for your advocacy for wise policies and strong public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith vic790@aol.com

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support the ICPE lobbying efforts. Joel Hand will again be our ICPE lobbyist in the Statehouse. Many have renewed their memberships already, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew now.

We must raise additional funds for the 2015 session, which begins on January 6th. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #198 – January 31, 2015

Dear Friends,

House Bill 1486 restoring peer comparisons to measure student growth in the A-F system and transferring operational authority in several areas from the IDOE to the State Board passed the House Education Committee Thursday morning (Jan. 29th) by a vote of 9-4, with 9 Republicans voting yes and 4 Democrats voting no.

Chairman Behning postponed until Thursday afternoon the hearing on House Bill 1609 removing the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board. After the hearing, House Bill 1609 passed the committee in a party line vote of 8 to 3.

On Monday Feb. 2nd, the Senate Rules Committee will hold hearings on all three Senate Bills which would remove the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board, Senate Bills 1, 452 and 453 in Room 431 after adjournment of the 1:30 floor session of the Senate.

On Tuesday Feb. 3rd at 8:30am, the House Education Committee will hold hearings on three bills, including House Bill 1009, the “Freedom to Teach” bill, a complex set of changes endorsed by the Governor.

On Wednesday Feb. 4th at 1:30pm, the Senate Education Committee will hold hearings on three new bills, including Senate Bill 566, a long bill changing ISTEP, end-of-course assessments, innovation school availability, teacher licensing and collective bargaining.

On Thursday Feb. 5th at 8:30am, the House Education Committee will hold hearings on two bills, including House Bill 1638, a massive rewrite of PL221 shrinking the time for State Board intervention in failing schools from 6 years to 4 years and defining failing schools that require State Board intervention to include D schools. Public schools advocates will want to be active on this bill.

House Bill 1486

Thursday’s continuation of the hearing on HB 1486 carried over two speakers who signed up for Tuesday’s hearing, starting with my testimony. First, I urged the committee to reject changes that would allow peer comparisons in calculating student growth in the A-F system. Second, I urged the committee to maintain the current line between giving the State Board control of policy and giving IDOE control of implementing that policy, rather than giving the State Board new powers of operational control. My complete testimony is attached.

The second speaker called by Chairman Behning was James Bentley, a State Board staff attorney who said he was asked to testify by Brad Oliver. He spoke in detail about several programs where the State Board wanted clarification about additional authority, including teacher evaluation, ISTEP contracts, turnaround academies and calculating A-F grades. He also detailed testing expert Damian Betebenner’s advice that Indiana law should be changed yet again to allow peer comparisons in student growth formulas.

Dr. Betebenner, the consultant hired by the State Board as requested by Dan Elsener to advise the 16-member A-F panel, is no stranger to Indiana. His center was the source of Student Growth Percentile data prominently used by the IDOE for many years and incorporated into Dr. Bennett’s A-F growth metrics. His center provided the peer comparison growth data under a contract. Presumably, no further contracts would be possible if Indiana continues its ban on peer comparison growth measures.

Mr. Bentley touted Dr. Betebenner as one of two national experts saying Indiana should return to peer comparison growth data, but he did not disclose the past contracts with Dr. Betebenner or the possibility of future contracts for growth data. If the State Board staff is going to hold up Dr. Betebenner as the national expert telling the Indiana General Assembly we should remove the ban on peer comparisons, they should also reveal past contract information in order for the committee to review whether financial interests are linked to this advice.

I am hoping that the General Assembly’s new found interest in ethics and the media’s recent flurry of investigations into conflicts of interest will be applied in this case to see if any conflict of interest exists in this situation.

House Bill 1609

When Chairman Behning moved the hearing on House Bill 1609 to the afternoon, I could not participate in the hearing. My written testimony was distributed to the committee, and it is attached if you care to read more. My main point of opposition is that voters now pick the chair of the State Board, and this bill removes that power of the voters and gives it to ten appointees of the Governor. That shift reduces the power of voters in Indiana and thereby diminishes our democracy.

It should be noted that the bill expires on January 1, 2016, which means it only applies to the last two years of the State Superintendent’s term. The voters who elected Glenda Ritz in order to chair the State Board would have the intent of their vote changed mid-term by this bill.

You probably have seen in media coverage that State Superintendent Ritz testified personally against the bill, and then the committee voted to approve the bill in a party line vote.

Bills to be Heard Next Week

I have been following the work of Chairman Behning’s committee since he first became chair of the House Education Committee in 2005. For the first time in ten years, Representative Behning has announced the bills for the House Education Committee a week in advance. He has already posted the meeting agendas for Feb. 3 and Feb. 5.

What accounts for this remarkable change? Democrats on the committee, especially Representative Smith and Representative Austin, have been vocally critical of the procedures of the committee and the lack of notice about agendas. They should be thanked for their efforts, and Representative Behning should be thanked for responding with earlier agendas, giving the public a longer chance to review bills and talk with legislators about bills coming up next week.

Many such discussions with legislators are in order. The most controversial bills in my list are Senate Bills 1, 452 and 453 (Monday), House Bill 1009 (Tuesday), Senate Bill 566 (Wednesday) and House Bill 1638 (Thursday).

Senate Bills 1, 452 and 453 would all remove the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board. It would be great to see a big turnout of speakers against these bills.

House Bill 1009 would create “transformation zone” schools which would not be covered by collective bargaining and would allow higher pay for highly effective teachers.

Senate Bill 566 would replace ISTEP testing with the BEST testing program.

House Bill 1638 would make D schools eligible for state takeover as well as F schools and would reduce the time to state intervention from 6 years to 4 years. These concepts were soundly defeated on the floor of the House in 2013 (in House Bill 1337) but they are back to be considered in HB 1638 by the request of the very active State Board of Education.

Contact Your Legislators

Contact members of the House Education Committee and the Senate Rules and Education Committees with your thoughts these important bills.

One good way to contact legislators is to go to the website of the Indiana General Assembly and click on the committee hearing the bill. On the left you will see the committee members. Then click on each one and click on “Send an email.”

Thanks for your efforts in support of public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith vic790@aol.com

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support the ICPE lobbying efforts. Joel Hand will again be our ICPE lobbyist in the Statehouse. Many have renewed their memberships already, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew now.

We must raise additional funds for the 2015 session, which begins on January 6th. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

DOE Performance Evaluation Results

April 7, 2014

ISTA released the following advisory to statewide news media today regarding the Indiana Department of Education's release of results for the 2012-13 teacher evaluation findings.

Evaluation Results Show Most Teachers Effective

or Highly Effective

INDIANAPOLIS-The Indiana Department of Education today released the results for the 2012-13 new teacher evaluation models that link teacher performance to compensation based on test scores. The positive data paints an optimistic picture for public school teaching in Indiana. More than 87 percent of teachers statewide received an evaluation rating of highly-effective or effective while less than 1 percent of teachers received an ineffective designation.

There has been no lack of controversy and contention surrounding the issue. Following legislation enacted by the 2011 General Assembly school districts were faced with a major challenge to adapt evaluations. School administrators were required to evaluate every teacher annually--creating a major shift in time spent evaluating versus leading educational programming.

The 2012-13 school year was the first year that the new evaluation model was implemented providing data results in four categories: highly-effective, effective, improvement necessary and ineffective. The results include data for all certified school employees--including administrators--in addition to teachers.

"Hopefully these results show what we have known to be true for some time," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith. "For the most part our teachers are doing a superior job in Indiana schools. Now educators can stop holding their breath and take a look at the results themselves."

The results send a strong message to educators and policymakers throughout Indiana. Hoosier teachers are performing at high levels and are demonstrating excellence in the classroom.

ISTA calls on policymakers to refocus their collective attention on providing resources to teachers, classrooms and student programs designed to help children learn. "With an upcoming and budget-writing legislative session ahead, it is time for legislators to turn from reforms centered on bureaucracy to improvements in learning opportunities for students," Meredith said.

The data from the Indiana DOE can be found HERE.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #171 – February 10, 2014

Dear Friends,

The “second half” of the General Assembly session begins today. Bills passed by one house now go to the other house for consideration.

The Senate Education Committee will hear the Governor’s preschool bill HB 1004 this Wednesday February 12th beginning at 1:30pm in the Senate Chamber. Before the meeting, public school advocates should send messages to the Senators on the committee and indeed to all Senators asking them to “strike Sections 10 & 11", the sections that award a lifetime private school K-12 voucher to any preschooler that gets at least $500 for a preschool scholarship.

If you have a strong interest in preschool, you may wish to attend the hearing yourself to ask Senators to support preschool without turning the bill into an expansion of K-12 vouchers.

Last week, Senate Bill 322 died when Senator Schneider decided not to call it for a third reading vote. Also, House Bill 1320 died when Representative Behning did not call it for a third reading vote. The messages you sent opposing these two bills had a strong impact.

House Bill 1004: Preschool

The Governor’s preschool bill flew through the House in record setting time. The committee hearing was on January 9th at 8:00am, after public notice for the hearing was posted in the frigid afternoon of January 8th. HB 1004 passed second reading amendments on January 13th and then passed a final vote in the House on January 16th.

The biggest point for public school advocates against this bill is the expansion of eligibility for K-12 private school vouchers written into the bill. Known as “Choice Scholarships”, a K-12 voucher would be automatic for every preschooler that gets at least $500 for a preschool scholarship, as written in Section 10. Then Section 11 follows saying that if family income levels go up later which would normally disqualify the student from a voucher, they could still keep the K-12 voucher all the way through high school.

This leads to the message to Senators: Strike Sections 10 and 11. While preschool scholarships are needed, making them a controversial expansion to the private school voucher program is totally unnecessary and harmful to public education.

Another key point in the upcoming Senate debate is that the bill never went to House Ways and Means for a fiscal review of the costs. There is great confusion on the fiscal costs. The LSA estimated the original bill would fund 4600 scholarships at a cost of $24 million plus an additional $1.6 million for the K-12 lifetime vouchers that preschoolers would be eligible for. Then Speaker Bosma announced in the first week of the session that the bill would only fund 1000 scholarships. Then the Governor’s Center for Education and Career Innovation issued a detailed fiscal estimate dated “February 2014” which says the 5-county pilot program would fund 1500 scholarships at a cost of $10 million and lowballs the cost for lifetime K-12 vouchers at $109,000 per year. After HB 1004 passed the House, LSA issued a revised fiscal note saying preschool scholarships would cost between $7.5 and $30 million plus an additional $480,000 to $1.9 million for K-12 private school vouchers guaranteed to the preschoolers as part of this bill.

Confused about the cost to taxpayers? Apparently the Governor and the leadership believe that confusion over the costs will help them pass the bill, but it is not clear that Senators will agree.

Many Senators agree with Senator Kenley who recently articulated his belief during a committee discussion that all programs should compete equally for dollars during the budget debate next year. He expressed reluctance to commit to new programs now which would need to be funded by the next General Assembly.

Will the Governor get favored treatment on a commitment now to spend dollars in the next budget? Senators may not want to go along with that idea.

It is time to contact your Senator and indeed all Senators on HB 1004, asking them to strike Sections 10 and 11 and make clear to the public how much this will cost.

Senate Bill 322: Voucher Schools

The short life of SB 322, an unbelievable attempt to allow voucher schools to ignore ISTEP accountability and allow them to use a nationally norm-referenced test of their choice instead, will always be remembered. The bill’s lasting claim to fame will always be as the bill that the committee voted on before the testimony was given.

Just when I thought I had seen about everything.

Given that history and the fact that the “voucher schools can ignore ISTEP” clause was deleted in committee even before the historic vote, it is very appropriate that Senator Schneider the sponsor never called the bill on third reading, letting the bill die on February 4th.

Public education advocates should be alert to efforts to insert the concept of the bill into other bills later in the session.

House Bill 1320: Student Records

HB 1320 started out as a $3.7 million initiative to equip the Governor’s new State Board of Education staff with the computer capacity to make student records available to parents online and to handle all student data. As the hearing on the bill began, Rep. Behning the sponsor announced he didn’t really mean to give this program to the State Board but instead he meant that the Indiana Department of Education would expand access to student records. He amended the bill to delete all “State Board” references and replace them with “IDOE.”

This welcome but totally unexpected development removed the bill as a leading wedge in the conflict between Governor Pence and State Superintendent Ritz. After it was amended, the IDOE was never sure that the money needed to implement the new plan for student records would be forthcoming. Apparently Rep. Behning didn’t find support for his plan and he never called HB 1320 for a third reading vote, giving it a quiet death.

Next Steps

Your messages on SB 322 and on HB 1320 made a huge difference. Now I urge you to go to work on messages to Senators regarding HB 1004, asking them to strike Sections 10 and 11.

If you are moved to testify on the preschool bill, please come to the Senate Chamber at 1:30 on Wednesday to deliver your message personally: strike Sections 10 and 11.

Thanks for your active support of public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. The 2014 session of the General Assembly is now half way in its deliberations. We need your membership to help support our hard working lobbyist Joel Hand. Many have renewed their memberships already, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew by going to our website.

Although ICPE entered this session of the General Assembly in better financial shape than in any previous session, we still need additional support to fund the commitments our board has made for our lobbying efforts. We are counting on your financial help during the session.

We have raised the needed money in past sessions, and we must do so again. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #168 – January 27, 2014

Dear Friends,

I am happy to report that I believe your notes and emails last night and this morning on House Bill 1320 made a difference. In the House Education Committee meeting this morning, Chairman Behning opened up discussion of his bill by saying that what he meant all along would be that the Indiana Department of Education would improve access to student records, not the State Board of Education. He offered an amendment to HB 1320 that took out every reference to “State Board” actions and replaced each reference with “Indiana Department of Education.” His amendment was approved.

Then at the end of the testimony, Chairman Behning held the bill and did not take a vote.

His actions this morning have at least for now taken student test records out of the center of a potential conflict between the Indiana Department of Education controlled by State Superintendent Ritz and the State Board of Education controlled by Governor Pence.

I want to thank all those who sent last minute messages to legislators on HB 1320.

Access to Student Records

What is left in HB 1320 is an effort to improve access to student records to help parents and to help schools that need the records of transfer students. No one appeared this morning to support that concept or to explain why what we are doing now is inadequate. For the $3.7 million dollar price tag, legislators need to know that this is a high priority, so that they might support the expenditure of that much money when they have found no money for several years to support teacher professional development.

Even the Senator Ford Technology Fund which provides money in the state budget to schools statewide for much-needed technology and computer upgrades is funded at only $3.1 million each year. The General Assembly for reasons hard to understand in this age of technology has actually reduced technology funding for several budgets in a row.

Chairman Behning also added Rep. Thompson’s bill on data security to HB 1320. That amendment was taken by consent.

The future of HB 1320 needs to be tracked. At least for now, student data records are not the center of a dispute over the authority of the Indiana Department of Education. That is definitely good news.

Thank you for your messages to legislators in support of wise policies and strong public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. The 2014 session of the General Assembly has begun. Joel Hand will again serve as ICPE lobbyist for the session. We need your membership to help support his work. Many have renewed their memberships this fall, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew by going to our website.

As the session begins, ICPE has about half of what we will need to fund our lobbying efforts, a vast improvement over previous sessions in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when we started from zero each session. With your membership support, we have raised the money each session, and we must do so again. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #167 – January 26, 2014

Dear Friends,

This deserves your immediate attention and action tonight to contact members of the House Education Committee:

House Bill 1320, scheduled for a hearing tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 27th) at 8:30 am, would put control of a new system to expand access to student records in the hands of the State Board, not the Indiana Department of Education. For the first time, it would make the State Board an administrative agency, replacing student data functions that have always been controlled by the Indiana Department of Education. The expanded data access through this data warehouse will cost $3.7 as projected by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, requiring an independent computer staff for the State Board with a new stand alone computer system. The duplication of services is obvious.

The $3.7 million price tag is more than the current entire annual budget for the State Board of $3 million.

This is a major salvo in the battle to move functions out of the Indiana Department of Education under the control of State Superintendent Ritz and into the domain of the State Board controlled by Governor Pence.

Rep. Behning has scheduled House Bill 1320 for a hearing on Monday Jan. 27th at 8:30 am in the House Education Committee in Room 156-C.

Before that time, I hope all who believe that student data is too sensitive and too important to become a political football in the Governor’s power grab will contact members of the House Education Committee with a simple message: Withdraw or defeat HB 1320.

Expanded Access

The bill purports to improve parent access to student data and to help transfer data among schools. If that is truly a bigger priority problem in a state that has no money for teacher professional development or for preschool, lawmakers could give the $3.7 million for computer work required by this bill to the Indiana Department of Education, the current trustee of student records.

This bill doesn’t do that. It gives the authority and the resources to the State Board, a policy making board that now for the first time would become an administrative agency with complete control over student records. This would be a monumental shift in authority and makes the bill a power grab to boost the control of the State Board over the IDOE.

This would be the first time that the Indiana General Assembly has assigned an administrative function to the State Board. The State Board is authorized by law as a policy board. It is hard to believe that the General Assembly really wants to make the State Board an administrative agency as well, setting up total confusion about the administrative roles of IDOE in relation to the State Board.

The Risk of HB1320

In this proposed bill, Rep. Behning and the Governor are playing with fire. If the parents and teachers of Indiana’s students come to believe for one minute that student test data are being used as a wedge in a political dispute between Governor Pence and State Superintendent Ritz, the trust built up over two decades that student data is being handled impartially and appropriately could vanish overnight. If parents sense that the data of their students are being used for political purposes, they may well demand that any test results be given only to them and for use by their local school, and not for state use. Such a step would collapse the entire accountability movement that this General Assembly has slowly built since the A+ program of 1987.

There must be no hint of political maneuvering related to student test data. This bill has politics written all over it and must be turned down by this committee.

There is no reason to involve any agency other than the Indiana Department of Education in student records. IDOE’s work in handling student data has been accurate and above reproach. Any claim to the contrary has been made for political purposes to support a takeover of data by the Center for Education and Career Innovation, to further undermine the authority of Superintendent Ritz. This bill puts at risk the faith and trust of parents in state authorities that has taken years to establish.

The Development of Parent Trust in State Records

I am old enough to remember well a time when Indiana did not have a state test. When I began my career in Indiana in the 1960’s, all testing was local testing, and local parents and teachers could assess the progress of their students. There was great mistrust in that era that state test results kept in the Statehouse might be used inappropriately by people that did not have local ties and might not have the best interests of the students in mind. It took years of patient reassurance that the privacy and sanctity of state test scores would be maintained. State tests were introduced in the mid-1980’s and student ID numbers allowing the state to track individual students by number were introduced around 2002, based on the availability of high speed computers. Approval of that step required tremendous trust on the part of parents. This bill could put that trust in jeopardy overnight.

Why does anyone other than IDOE need to supervise student data? They don’t. I have observed over many years that the Indiana Department of Education takes very seriously the trust that is placed in them to maintain the accuracy and the privacy of student data.

Please contact members of the House Education Committee and other House members as soon as possible. Of course, if you read this after tomorrow’s hearing, it would still help if they know of your opposition to HB 1320 in the days ahead.

Student data must not be made part of a political tug-of-war, but this bill does that. HB 1320 is unwise public policy and should be withdrawn or defeated. Let legislators know how you feel about it.

Thank you for your advocacy for wise policies and strong public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. The 2014 session of the General Assembly has begun. Joel Hand will again serve as ICPE lobbyist for the session. We need your membership to help support his work. Many have renewed their memberships this fall, and we thank you! If you have not done so since July 1, the start of our new membership year, we urge you to renew by going to our website.

As the session begins, ICPE has about half of what we will need to fund our lobbying efforts, a vast improvement over previous sessions in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when we started from zero each session. With your membership support, we have raised the money each session, and we must do so again. We need additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.

###

ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s Creation of Education Agency

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 23, 2013
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Berry Graham
317 263 3321
kberry@ista-in.org

ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s

Creation of Education Agency

INDIANAPOLIS—In a surprise power grab today, Gov. Mike Pence released information that he has created a new agency called the Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI).

Pence claims that the Center will improve collaboration among Indiana’s public, private and non-profit education and workforce partners by aligning education and career and workforce training efforts. The governor’s release states that: “The agency will proactively engage and collaborate with a number of valuable partners in state government including the Department of Education, the Indiana Charter School Board, the Department of Workforce Development, the Commission for Higher Education and the Office of State-Based Initiatives. The Indiana Career Council, the Indiana Works Councils, the Education Roundtable and the State Board of Education, though functioning independently, will exist as part of the new agency.” Yet the Indiana Department of Education was not contacted by the governor about creation of the agency even though the agency appears to be absorbing various functions of the IDOE and thereby reducing the authority of newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz.

Following Pence’s announcement, a news release from the IDOE said: “Partnerships require communication. Unfortunately, Superintendent Ritz learned about the creation of this new agency—the impact on taxpayers yet unknown—through news reports, rather than from Gov. Pence. Superintendent Ritz has met with the governor on many occasions, including as recently as two days ago. However, neither he, nor his office, mentioned the creation of this new agency until this morning.”

“Like Superintendent Ritz, ISTA was dismayed by the announcement of this agency today,” said ISTA President Teresa Meredith. “We already have in place a Department of Education that works. ISTA is disappointed that the governor would choose to disregard the input of Superintendent Ritz and thousands of public school professionals.

“We are all in this together. Last November many of our members and the voters of the state voted for a change in direction for education and 1.3 million Hoosiers said that they trusted Glenda Ritz to run the Department of Education,” said Meredith. “And while teachers are always aware of the lessons they model for children, evidently some governors and their political appointees are not.”

For the full release from Gov. Pence’s office, go to:
http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=121572&information_id=187047&type=&rss=rss

For the full release from Superintendent Ritz, go to:
http://www.doe.in.gov/news/statement-indiana-department-education-response-governor-pence’s-announcement

###

Update on Major Education Stories

July 30, 2013

Your ISTA wants to keep you updated on two major stories related to Indiana public education:

BENNETT CHANGED SCHOOL GRADES

Emails obtained by the Associated Press were released showing directly and clearly that former Indiana schools chief Dr. Tony Bennett and his staff worked last year to change the letter grade of an Indianapolis charter school supported by a prominent donor to Bennett's political campaign and to others in his political party.

ISTA has made it clear that there is absolutely no excuse for the actions taken by Bennett and his staff. The emails in question show that the Christel House Academy charter school's letter grade was knowingly manipulated and retrofitted by the very people who have created and championed Indiana's new accountability systems for schools and educators - unfortunately, many of those officials continue to serve in important policy-making positions in state government.

"The revelation of these emails has created zero confidence among public school educators. This manipulation of data is wrong and needs to be addressed by state leaders to ensure that a system is put in place that is fair to all and above reproach," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith.

Bennett and his staff have created yet another situation for Superintendent Ritz and her staff to "clean up" - efforts that will take a great deal of taxpayer resources as well as time taken away from helping children.

ISTA will continue to monitor this story, assist Superintendent Ritz in any way we can and outreach to legislators from both parties to create and implement policies that will ensure that these kinds of abuses will not occur again.

LINK TO STORY: http://www.indystar.com/viewart/20130729/NEWS05/307290048/Report-Grade-changed-Republican-donor-Christel-DeHaan-s-charter-school

ISTEP+ REPORT

In response to the widespread problems associated with CTB McGraw Hill's administration of the spring ISTEP+, Glenda Ritz, Superintendent of Public Instruction, hired Dr. Richard Hill of the National Center for the Improvement of Education Assessment to review the results. He released that report yesterday.

The report showed that because of the efforts of teachers, administrators, students and parents, as well as the swift and decisive actions taken by Ritz, the average negative statewide impact on scores was not measurable. However, this does not mitigate the effect the interruptions had on students, parents and teachers throughout Indiana.

At this time, the exact impact of interruptions at the individual, classroom and teacher level cannot be ascertained.

"I want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Indiana students, parents, teachers, administrators and the employees of the Department of Education," said Superintendent Ritz. Because of their dedication and hard work, the impact of these interruptions was limited. However, let me be clear, the problems with the ISTEP+ contractor were absolutely unacceptable," Ritz said. "I have given local schools the flexibility they need to minimize the effect these tests have on various matters, such as teacher evaluation and compensation. I have also instructed CTB McGraw-Hill to conduct enhanced stress and load testing to ensure that their servers are fully prepared for next year's test and ensure that this never happens again."

ISTA applauds the actions taken by Ritz and her staff to deal with this situation as quickly and effectively as possible.

Educators continue to be concerned. Despite the fact that the report concluded there was no impact on scores, the impact on students, educators and families has been far reaching. Test interruptions caused stress for students who had to stop and start throughout the test before completion or restart the entire test.
ISTA will also monitor Indiana's high-stakes testing because these interruptions diminish confidence in our state's expensive system and raise concerns as we look ahead.

LINK TO STORY: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013307290014
LINK TO FULL REPORT: http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/news/hill-report.pdf

Statement of Indiana Department of Education Regarding ISTEP+ Damages

http://www.doe.in.gov/news/statement-indiana-department-education-regarding-istep-damages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, June 21, 2013
Media Contact:
Daniel Altman, Press Secretary
(317) 232-0550
daltman@doe.in.gov

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Education announced preliminary damages that it will seek from CTB McGraw-Hill related to ISTEP+ interruptions experienced by schools throughout the state this spring. These amounts are not final, and may well grow as results are reviewed by a third party and additional information is gained.

The preliminary damages amount sought will not be less than $613,600 and could reasonably go into the millions. That amount includes $400,000 in liquidated damages provided for in the contract between the Department of Education and CTB. It also includes $53,600 that the Department will spend to have a third party conduct an analysis of the scores of students that had their testing sessions interrupted and at least $160,00 for other related costs associated with enhanced reporting data.

In addition to the preliminary damages, additional damages may be sought after further investigation. Those potential damages include, but are not limited to:

-Reimbursement to Indiana schools for additional costs incurred to administer ISTEP+ during the extended testing window.

-Reimbursement to the Indiana Department of Education for additional costs incurred because of ISTEP+ testing interruptions.

“I have worked closely with CTB throughout the entire ISTEP+ testing process,” said Superintendent Ritz. “The consequences of CTB’s server failures were real and significant for Indiana schools. As Superintendent, I will work to ensure that schools are made whole while continuing to negotiate with CTB in good faith.”

###

FWCS School Grades Information

FWCS
Press Release
October 31, 2012


MAJORITY OF FWCS SCHOOLS RECEIVE HIGH RATINGS FROM THE STATE

Nearly 80 percent of the Fort Wayne Community Schools buildings received an A, B or C this year under Indiana’s accountability system.

Thirty-nine schools earned an A, B or C under the state’s revised grading system – the first year the system has been in place using new measurements.

Fourteen schools – Whitney Young Early Childhood Center and Arlington, Brentwood, Croninger, Glenwood Park, Harris, Irwin, Lincoln, Lindley, Nebraska, Saint Joseph Central, Washington, Washington Center and Weisser Park elementary schools – received an A. Adams, Franke Park, Haley, Indian Village and Price elementary schools and Northwood Middle School earned a B, and 19 more schools received a C, as did the District as a whole.

“Our focus has been and will continue to be continuous improvement,” Superintendent Dr. Wendy Robinson said. “Earlier this year when ISTEP+ results were released we saw that for the third consecutive year, we had more students passing the exams, and our growth was higher than the state’s at every level. While we are proud of our schools that received high letter grades from the state, our focus will continue to be on quality instruction every single day in every single classroom”

Prior to this year, state rankings were based on a combination of achievement and growth, with participations and performance under No Child Left Behind’s system also factored. This year, the complex system was based first on achievement with a requirement that a school must see at least a 70 percent passing rate on ISTEP+ to receive any points. A calculation based on individual student performance was used for growth and graduation rates and college and career readiness metrics were added for high schools. In addition, in previous years there was no limit on the number of special education students who could successfully pass an alternative exam, ISTAR or IMAST. This year, the state mandated a 3 percent cap on ISTAR and IMAST proficiency, resulting in hundreds of passed exams throughout the state being thrown out.

“Letter grades from the state will not solely define our schools,” School Board President Mark GiaQuinta said. “Our families know there is no better place for the children of this city to receive an education than Fort Wayne Community Schools. Each day we are educating students to high standards to ensure they become productive, responsible citizens. That is what defines our schools and sets them above all others.”

(Click the image for a larger view.)

 

(Click the image for a larger view.)

Tips To Get You Through Relicensure

Teacher License renewal and certification are quite varied in Indiana, depending on the type of license that you have. The process for renewing a license can be quite confusing, so it’s important that you understand the requirements for renewing your teaching license in a timely manner.

Remember that the Indiana Department of Education is struggling to keep up with license renewals with the new LVIS system. IDOE will not meet with walk-in applicants without a scheduled appointment.

To assist teachers in this important process, ISTA Vice President
Teresa Meredith, has create a short Slideshare program to bring them up to date on license renewal in Indiana.

Tips To Get You Through Relicensure

Tips To Get You Through Relicensure

View another webinar from ISTA Slideshow

Follow the Money: Indiana's Tony Bennett

Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, Tony Bennett, and his boss, governor Mitch Daniels, have received campaign money from corporate school reform businesses, including those who are set to take over the "so called failing schools" in Indianapolis and Gary.

Doug Martin, in Murdoch’s Wireless Gen. and Edison Learning Donated Money to Tony Bennett, lists the contributors to Bennett's (and Daniel's) campaign funds.

As the Indiana State Board of Education decides to hand over Indiana’s so-called “failing” schools to EdisonLearning, Charter Schools USA, and Rupert Murdoch’s Wireless Generation today, it is important to note that both Edison and Wireless Generation have donated to Education Reform Idol Indiana supt. of public instruction Tony Bennett’s campaign chest. In fact, Wireless Gen. even lavished money on Mitch Daniels and Indiana Republicans, the month before Murdoch acquired the company.

The list of donors includes corporate reform companies like Edison and Charter Schools USA, as well as standardized test giant, McGraw-Hill, Education Services of America (who has a contract with East Allen County Schools), and various charter and school choice advocates.

Simply following the money will help to explain why Bennett and Daniels are so eager to give away Indiana's Public Schools.

See also, Follow the Money--Bennett and Campaign Money at the Indiana Citizens for Public Education blog.

Teacher's Contract Lawsuit Filed Today

IDOE’s Teacher Contract Forms Not Contracts At All

INDIANAPOLIS –Dr. Tony Bennett and the Indiana Department of Education late last week issued the new teacher contract forms for the 2011-2012 school year. Upon reviewing the documents, particularly the regular teacher’s contract, the Indiana State Teachers Association believes that certain proposed terms violate both Indiana law and existing collectively-bargained contracts.

ISTA filed a lawsuit today requesting injunctive relief to prevent these documents from being forced upon Indiana’s dedicated and hard working public school teachers. ISTA also plans to request that these teacher contracts be modified to comply with Indiana law.

One major violation of the law found in the regular teacher’s contract form released by IDOE is a provision that allows school corporations to shorten or lengthen a teacher’s work day or the number of days a teacher works each year at will at any time during the school year.

Indiana’s new law clearly states that the individual teacher’s contract must contain “the number of hours per day the teacher is expected to work, as discussed pursuant to IC 20-29-6-7 (which is the teacher collective bargaining law). SEA 575-2011

The new DOE “contract” as stated below and in pertinent part, is in direct violation of that Indiana law:

“In exchange for the Teacher’s services described below, the Corporation and the Teacher agree that:

3. The Teacher’s expected work day shall consist of a minimum of _________hours daily, exclusive of any extracurricular or co-curricular assignments.

4. The number of days and hours may be modified by the Corporation during and after the term of the Contract.” (emphasis added)

“Once again, the Department (of Education) is proceeding under their theory of “proceed until apprehended,” said ISTA President Nate Schnellenberger. “The General Assembly enacted a series of laws this year that, frankly, have a multitude of ambiguities, gaps, and internal conflicts that ISTA is trying to now work through as the new school year approaches. However, the issues of a teacher’s expected hours, the discussion rights attributable to those hours, the bargainability of salary and wage-related benefits, and the content of the teacher contract itself as it relates to the number of hours (and not “minimum” hours) were not unclear and ISTA expects that the IDOE should be made to comply with the laws it promoted.”

ISTA is appalled by the contents of these contracts and especially incensed that they were issued just as teachers begin returning to school for the start of the 2011-2012 school year with little or no information from the Department of Education about the content or their consequences.
“Again, without collaboration, IDOE has taken it upon itself to “re-legislate” public education policy to suit its own agenda after the General Assembly adjourned,” concluded Schnellenberger.