Vic’s Statehouse Notes #201 – February 12, 2015

Dear Friends,

Put this bill in the category of “Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse for Public Education”!

Yesterday afternoon (Feb. 11th) the Senate Education Committee heard Senate Bill 470. It would allow private schools receiving vouchers to ignore ISTEP and to take instead “another nationally recognized and norm referenced assessment” of their own choice. The bill instructs the State Board to develop an A-F system just for the voucher schools taking alternate assessments.

Last year, a similar bill was quickly rejected by the committee because of the obvious reduction in accountability for voucher schools if they aren’t held to Indiana’s standards and assessed via ISTEP. This year, the Senate Education Committee passed the bill 7-3 on a party line vote.

Now we see why the State Board in House Bill 1486 wants to eliminate the current ban on using peer comparisons (norm referenced assessments) in the A-F growth metrics. It’s a complicated web they weave.

Governor Pence strongly endorsed the bill via his education policy director Chad Timmerman, who said that private schools should be able to “choose their own test.”

If anyone doubts that Governor Pence and the leaders of the General Assembly and State Board are favoring private schools over public schools in Indiana’s intense competitive marketplace of school choice, this bill should remove all doubts. The voucher program was sold in 2011 by promising that private schools would take ISTEP and would be measured like all public schools using the A-F system. Now just four years later the voucher schools want to change the rules but keep the money.

This bill would give private voucher schools a direct competitive advantage in the marketplace of school choice because they could attract parents who dislike excessive testing. Public schools would also like to reduce the excessive testing that the General Assembly and State Board have mandated, but this bill only relieves testing mandates for private voucher schools.

This is one more reason why you should come to the Statehouse rally to speak out against the ongoing assault on public education. Can you come to the Statehouse rally on February 16th at 2:00pm?

Senate Bill 470

Senator Schneider is sponsoring Senate Bill 470, which is similar to a bill he brought last year that did not make it to a floor vote. This time around, he has added State Board authority to craft an alternate A-F system for voucher schools using alternate norm-referenced assessments.

Ten speakers testified for the bill including several parents who denounced the excessive testing currently required by the ISTEP testing program. In the current turmoil over the amount of testing, public school parents might have given the same speeches.

Five speakers testified against the bill: John Barnes, IDOE; Sally Sloan, AFT-Indiana; Ronni Embry, ISTA; Scott Turney, Small & Rural Schools Association; and I. Joel Hand returned from testifying for ICPE in the House Ways and Means budget hearing literally five seconds after Chairman Kruse closed the hearing on SB 470. A copy of my testimony in opposition is attached.

In the vote, Republican Senators Yoder, Bassler, Leising, Schneider, Raatz, Pete Miller and Kruse voted yes. Democrat Senators Rogers, Stoops and Mrvan voted no. The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee next week.

Contact your Senator or all Senators to express your outrage at the double standard for accountability that SB 470 would establish between voucher schools and public schools.

Come to the Rally!

Senate Bill 470 is just the latest example of the lack of support for public education seen so far in this General Assembly. If you have had enough, you are invited to come to the Statehouse rally in support of public education this coming Monday at 2pm in the North Atrium of the Statehouse.

The rally messages are: to STOP taking powers away from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to STOP the ongoing assault on public education and to LISTEN to voters and teachers.

The rally is organized by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education and rally partners are ISTA, AFT-Indiana, Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education and the Indiana PTA. For more details, go to: www.icpe2011.com.

Share the message, bring friends and come to the Statehouse to the 2pm rally on President’s Day!

Thanks for all 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.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #200 – February 10, 2015

Dear Friends,

Can you come to the Statehouse rally on February 16th at 2:00pm?

Any voter who is outraged that the General Assembly is reducing the powers of the State Superintendent during the term that they elected her to hold those powers should come to the Statehouse rally if at all possible. It will be held on Monday, February 16th for a 2:00pm (EST) in the North Atrium of the Statehouse.

The rally themes are to STOP taking powers away from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and to STOP the ongoing assault on public education.

House Bill 1609 removing the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board of Education passed the House yesterday at 5:12pm by a vote of 58-40 after a long floor debate. The bill now moves to the Senate.

The leadership of the House and the Senate don’t get it. The turmoil on the State Board is not based on personalities but rather reflects monumental policy battles over the future of public education in Indiana. This bill takes power away from the elected State Superintendent in those policy battles and gives more power to State Board members.

Any change in powers before the next election can only be interpreted as a power grab to win the policy battles over education policy.

If you think the State Superintendent should not lose the power to chair the State Board that Dr. Bennett and every other State Superintendent have had since 1913, please come to the rally.

Bring friends!

The Vote on HB 1609

Twelve Republicans joined 28 Democrats in opposing the bill. They should be thanked for a difficult vote against Speaker Bosma and the wishes of Governor Pence. They are Representatives Arnold, Beumer, Braun, Davisson, Dermody, Harman, Judy, Koch, Mahan, Nisly, Saunders and Truitt.

All Democrats, except for Representative Goodin who was excused, voted against the bill and should also be sent a note of thanks. They are Representatives Austin, Bartlett, Bauer, C. Brown, Delaney, Dvorak, Errington, Forestal, GiaQuinta, Hale, Harris, Kersey, Klinker, Lawson, Macer, Moed, Moseley, Niezgodski, Pelath, Pierce, Porter, Pryor, Riecken, Shackleford, V. Smith, Stemler, Summers and Wright.

The remaining Republicans, except for Representative Morris who was excused, voted for the bill.

The Debate on HB 1609

The floor debate on the bill was characterized by passion and eloquence. Speaker Bosma, Representative Rhoads and Representative McMillan, the sponsor, spoke for the bill. Representatives Pelath, Wright, Delaney, Vernon Smith, Klinker, Porter, Pierce, Charlie Brown, Bauer and Austin spoke against the bill.

Representative Pelath led off the opposition by calling this a “troubling and embarrassing” bill and the result of what happens “when somebody runs afoul of the Politbureau.” The entire floor debate can be seen on the Indiana General Assembly website by clicking on “Video Archives” of the 2015 session, and then on “House Chamber” for Monday, Feb. 9th, Part 1.

What Will the People Say?

There is a long way to go on this issue to determine whether the General Assembly will overturn the will of the voters in the 2012 election about who will chair the State Board. Senate Bill 1 is also moving in the Senate which, in addition to cutting the State Superintendent’s powers, would change the composition of the State Board.

I urge you to get involved. Contact your legislators. If you can, come to the rally in the Statehouse on Feb. 16th at 2pm. Your actions will make a huge difference in letting our legislators know where the people stand.

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.

###

ISTA-Retired Legislative Update

The following is from Sherry Watkins, ISTA-Retired I-PACE Representative/ISTA-Retired Legislative Chair.

I have just returned from being out of state for a few days and am just overwhelmed and disheartened with the number of bills that are coming out of committees that are to diminish the power and authority of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the DOE, diminish the power of ISTA, and affect teachers by threatening their livelihood and their ability to teach as they know is most effective.

I talked with a teacher from New York while I was gone. She looked at me with disbelief and shock when I told her how Indiana education is systematically being privitized so that precious public education dollars (our tax dollars) are increasingly going to corporations. What two entities are the biggest obstacles in the fight to protect public education---Glenda Ritz, who was given a mandate by the citizens of Indiana to do so, and ISTA. So is it any wonder that there are so many bills to increasingly decrease the effectiveness of both?

I had lunch with Glenda over the holidays. I asked her how retired teachers could best help her. Her response was to follow the bills that would diminish her authority and to use the same methods used to help elect her to help her maintain authority. Currently these bills are Senate Bill 1, House Bill 1486, House Bill 1609 (click on General School Policy below). Below I have given you suggested activities, websites and Face Book pages of interest, and the 2015 Bill Watch directly from the ISTA website.

• I’m asking you to post and share information on Facebook and to utilize other social media (see informative sites below).

• Contact your legislators frequently telling them that the will of the people is being usurped. Glenda received more votes than the Governor, yet by diminishing her authority, the Governor and Legislature are nullifying her election.

• Talk with your friends and family informing them about what is happening and asking for their help in contacting legislators.

• Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper(s).

• Attend ISTA Lobby Days--not only to have the opportunity to meet with legislators, but to hear first-hand the legislative briefings by our ISTA legislative staff. March 17 is the Retired Teachers designated day, but attend others. Other Lobby Days are February 10 and 24, March 3, and April 15. Report to your members after each Lobby Day.

• Attend Third House meetings in your area and express your views.

• Check the ISTA website often to keep updated on bills that affect education and educators. https://ista-in.org/bill-watch

• Contribute to I-PACE--you may do this by check or by using the ISTA website, you may pay by credit card.

• Have I-PACE and NEA Fund fundraisers at each of your meetings.

• Have writing letters to policy makers a part of each chapter meeting.

Facebook and websites:
https://ista-in.org
https://ista-in.org/bill-watch
Indiana Coalition for Public Education
www.icpe2011.com
Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education
Indiana Bipartisan Support of Public Education
Indiana Department of Education
Ritz4Education www.ritz4ed.com
http://dianeravitch.net
Speak Up For Education and Kids

2015 Bill Watch
Below are categories of reports containing important bills that our Government Relations team is tracking for the 2015 session. By clicking the report you will be able to read a bill digest, last 3 statuses and if in a committee, that committee’s meeting time and location.

• Charter Schools

• Collective Bargaining

• Funding and Finance

• General School Policy

• Higher Education

• Labor Issues

• Political Action and Elections

• Pre Kindergarten

• Retirement

• School Safety

• Standards/Curriculum

• Support Staff

• Takeovers

• Teaching and Licensing

• Vouchers

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #199 – February 3, 2015

Dear Friends,

Senate Bill 1 removing the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board of Education passed the Senate Rules Committee by a party line vote of 7-4 about 6:45pm last evening (Feb. 2) after a long hearing which began about 4:15.

I gave the following testimony against removing the State Superintendent as chair:

“Make no mistake. These bills about who shall chair the State Board are skirmishes in a greater war about whether a strong public education system built over the past 100 years will survive in Indiana. These bills impact policy. They advance the policies of the current State Board backed by the Governor and they deny the policies of the current State Superintendent. While some have dismissed the debates as bickering and the result of personalities, this has been at heart a high-stakes series of contentious policy debates for the past two years about the future of public education in Indiana. Here are five examples:

Debate #1: A strong public education system is built on well trained teachers. Should the training standards for teachers be lowered to give licenses for the first time to individuals with no teacher training and let them learn on the job? The State Board said yes. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction said no. The State Board prevailed.

Debate #2: A strong public education system is built on respected, well trained principals. Should the teacher evaluations completed by school principals for the past two years be derided and ignored because some members of the State Board believe there can’t possibly be as many effective and highly effective teachers as the principals have said? Such attitudes explain why teachers are retiring early and advising young people to pick another profession. Should school principals be downgraded in the teacher evaluation process because their evaluations are wrong? Several members of the State Board have said yes, and they are making plans to change the teacher evaluation system to reduce the role of principals. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction has said no.

Debate #3: A strong public education system is built on well trained superintendents. Should licensing standards for superintendents be lowered to give temporary superintendents with no superintendent license a path to a permanent license with no further training? The State Board, which for the first time in our history has no superintendents or former superintendents appointed to it, said yes. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction said no. The State Board prevailed.

Debate #4: A strong public education system is built on a respected and valid system of grading schools. Should the directions of the 2013 General Assembly (in HEA 1427) to void the current A-F system by November 15, 2013 be delayed and ignored? Should use of the flawed current A-F system which measures student growth based on peer comparisons be continued contrary to the law that you passed? The State Board said yes. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction said no. The State Board prevailed. We are still using and will even use again next fall the system that you voted in 2013 to void.

Debate #5: A strong public education system is built on transparency and public input. Should the State Board use a private email meeting of dubious legality to take action to request that legislative leaders direct LSA to calculate school letter grades without the knowledge of the State Superintendent? The State Board said yes. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction said no. The State Board’s action prompted a legal battle over the Open Door procedures.

In all of these policy debates, and these five examples are but a sampling, the State Superintendent was representing the position of the voters who elected her to maintain our strong system of public education in Indiana. Under current law, the voters choose the chair of the State Board. These bills would remove that power from the voters and give it to appointees of the Governor. This clearly downgrades the power of the voters and tips the balance in these policy debates in favor of the State Board. Directly reducing the power of the voters before the next election diminishes our democracy.

Are these bills really the way democracy is supposed to work? The voters had a chance to ratify the State Board policies listed above in 2012 because they were the policies of State Superintendent Bennett, but they didn’t ratify them. They chose instead to elect State Superintendent Ritz, decisively. She received 1.3 million voters, more than Governor Pence received. The voters had spoken about education.

When it comes to education, the race for State Superintendent is the only office where the voters can focus solely on education policy. As the Governor and members of the General Assembly run for office, there are hundreds of issues that voters might focus on as they make their decision, but the State Superintendent electoral race is all about education, and the voters were extremely clear that they did not agree with State Superintendent Bennett.

While it was obvious that after the 2012 election that State Superintendent Ritz would be a lone voice in the Statehouse, at least it was clear to voters who elected her that she would have the power of the chair to slow down and try to correct several questionable policy proposals which Dr. Bennett had proposed. There were big issues on the table: how to grade our schools, how to evaluate our teachers and whether to lower our licensing standards for teachers and administrators as proposed. The voters had their say, at least for the next four years.

But according these bills, the voters were wrong. The voters do not, according to these bills, have the power to pick leaders who will serve until the next election when the voters can speak again. The Governor and his activist board members did not like the priorities and policies of the new State Superintendent. They have systematically worked for two years to diminish her power in order to win the philosophical battles of education policy. In my observation, this effort began in July, 2013 in the first meeting of the newly appointed board when Superintendent Ritz was presenting her vision for improving reading. She is after all a literacy specialist and she did after all win the election, but her presentation was interrupted and cut off by one board member and tabled before she could even finish the presentation. There has been a long-term effort to reduce her influence and these bills are part of that effort.

It is not fair to the voters in our democracy to change the powers of an office during the term of the office. This clearly undercuts the powers of “We the People”. This bill tries to raise the powers of appointed State Board members above the powers of the voters. This is just plain wrong, and if enacted it would absolutely and clearly diminish our democracy.

At the very least, if the General Assembly decides to favor the Governor’s position over the State Superintendent’s position in the monumental education policy debate that Indiana is now engaged in, the powers of the State Superintendent should be changed to be effective after the next election, and not during the term awarded to the State Superintendent by the voters.

Diminishing the powers of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is an obvious symbol of diminishing Indiana’s priority on public education. I urge you to maintain the powers of the office and to maintain a high priority on public education in Indiana.

We pride ourselves on being a democracy with powers of government derived from the voters. I urge you to withdraw these bills in order to maintain that principle and to respect the voters.”

Details of the Hearing

Senator Holdman was called on to discuss three bills he is sponsoring changing State Board governance, Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 452 and Senate Bill 453. His amendment to Senate Bill 1, accepted by consensus, in addition to changing the chair, would change the composition of the State Board to nine members, four appointed by the Governor, two by the House Speaker and two by the Senate President Pro Tem.

Chairman Long announced that supporters and opponents would each be given one hour to speak.

Speaking for the bill, in order, were Robert Summers from the Office of the Governor in Ohio; Caitlin Gamble from Hoosiers for Quality Education; Carol Owslander from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and Senator Kenley.

Speaking against the bill, in order, were John Barnes representing the State Superintendent and the IDOE; Sally Sloan from AFT-Indiana; Lynn Slivka speaking as a retired teacher and citizen; myself; Teresa Meredith from the Indiana State Teachers Association; Joel Hand from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education; and Kristina Frey speaking as a citizen and parent in Washington Township.

In closing, Senator Holdman said it “makes no difference who is chair” and asserted the only a “tiny majority” of voters knew that the State Superintendent would chair the State Board. Senator Tallian, before the vote, said it was a “travesty” to suggest voters didn’t know the State Superintendent would chair the State Board and called for elections and greater accountability to the voters if the governance of the State Board is to be changed. Senator Lanane said this bill would not reach the core of the problem because the friction is about policies and this bill shows “we don’t care about voters.”

Voting for the bill were Republican Senators Long, Hershman, Holdman, Kruse, Eckerty, Steele and Merritt.

Voting against the bill were Democrat Senators Lanane, Breaux, Arnold and Tallian.

Contact Your Legislators

Senate Bill 1 now goes to the floor of the Senate. Contact your Senator or other Senators with your thoughts this crucial bill.

Senate Bill 1 is an historic change. The State Superintendent has chaired the State Board since 1913 and State Board governance has not been changed since 1984.

Republican Senator Head in a Third House meeting in Logansport last weekend asserted that changing the powers of the State Superintendent should be done only when a Republican holds the office, to avoid the charges of party partisanship. It is clear that he will need lots of grassroots support for that position if it is going to gain favor against the Governor’s position.

Remember you can go to the website of the Indiana General Assembly and click on any Senator. Then click on “Send an email.”

Update on House Bill 1009

Representative Behning presented House Bill 1009 this morning in the House Education Committee. After a long hearing, he said he would hold the bill to discuss amendments with Representative Austin and bring it back for amendments and voting on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 8:30am.

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.

###

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.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #197 – January 27, 2015

Dear Friends,

The hearing on House Bill 1486 this morning in the House Education Committee was suspended at 11:00am. The hearing will be completed at the Thursday (Jan. 29th) meeting beginning at 8:30am in Room 156C of the Statehouse. The committee will then vote on the bill which restores peer comparisons to the measures of student growth in A-F metrics and transfers operational authority in several areas from the Indiana Department of Education to the State Board, as I outlined in Vic’s Statehouse Notes #196 sent out yesterday.

If you object to the return of norm-referenced growth measures in the A-F law or the expansion of powers of the State Board, you should contact members of the House Education Committee before Thursday morning.

House Bill 1609 is also scheduled for a hearing and vote at Thursday’s meeting. HB 1609 would remove the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board and allow board members to elect a chair annually, effective as soon as the law is passed. I strongly oppose HB 1609. If you feel as I do, contact members of the House Education Committee or come to testify.

House Bill 1486

After passing two bills 11-0, one on bargaining issues and one to give teachers a $200 tax credit for supplies, Representative Thompson presented his controversial bill to give the State Board more authority over several functions now controlled by the State Superintendent and the Indiana Department of Education.

I will reprint the list of points that I sent out last night in Notes #196:

HB 1486 would:

• Rewrite Indiana’s school accountability law Public Law 221 for only the third time since 1999, the legal basis for the A-F school grading system, deleting an important line added in 2013 that banned the “measurement of student performance or growth compared with peers.” This would open the door to reinstating the current flawed A-F system that is embedded with peer based growth comparisons, also known as norm-referenced measures.

• Delete the word “individual” from the definition of growth in the A-F system, allowing a return to the days of judging schools by results of large groups of different students and ignoring the before and after scores of the same individual student.

• Take away the power of the IDOE to develop ISTEP tests and give it to the State Board.

• Put the setting of ISTEP passing scores now overseen by IDOE in the hands of “independent experts” selected by the State Board.

• Change the State Board from a policy body to a nuts and bolts operations body by giving the power to “oversee the operation of turnaround academies” to the State Board.

• Give the State Board new authority to audit or evaluate any educational program based on data the IDOE would be required to provide.

• Put the State Board rather than the IDOE in charge of the teacher evaluation program, allowing the State Board to set “a minimum and maximum threshold for the use of objective measures of student achievement and growth in all staff performance evaluation plans,” taking away local control in the current law and pointing the way to Dr. Bennett’s often stated goal that at least 51% of each evaluation should be based on student test results.

• Change the control by the state over the local evaluation plan from “may” to “shall” language, leading to the loss of local control as districts set plans to evaluate their teachers.

• Remove the power of IDOE to determine which other subjects besides “the big four” subjects will have academic standards and give that power to the State Board.

• Mandate a “statewide assessment administered in grade 3 that serves as a determinant evaluation of reading skills in grade 3” which “shall be referred to as IREAD-3”. The 2010 law pushed through by Dr. Bennett made no mention of a test or of IREAD-3 which was mandated later via rules of the State Board.

State Board member Brad Oliver testified in favor of the bill. Six speakers testified against one or more elements of the bill: John O’Neill, ISTA; Joel Hand, ICPE; Scott Turney, Small and Rural Schools Association; Sally Sloan, AFT-Indiana; Brian Smith, ISBA; and John Barnes, IDOE. At that point, Chairman Behning said the other two speakers, including me, will be called on Thursday, followed by the vote.

John Barnes, representing Superintendent Ritz and the IDOE, said, “We see this as an irresponsible power grab.” He pointed to the duplication of services by the duplicate staff which could cost in the neighborhood of $5 million. He quoted Senator Kruse regarding the intent of the language on the teacher evaluation program: “Please quote me. I wrote this language. ‘Significant’ was the intent.” The proposed bill would change the word “significant” and have the State Board set a minimum and maximum percentage of student test data to be figured into teacher evaluations, which was suggested by Brad Oliver in his testimony to likely be 33% to 50%.

House Bill 1609

Several bills have been filed to reduce the power of State Superintendent Ritz. This is the first to be scheduled for a hearing. It would allow State Board members to elect a chair on an annual basis, and it would take effect immediately upon passage. It is sponsored by Representatives McMillan and Wesco.

I strongly oppose this bill. Changing the powers of the State Superintendent during the term in which she was elected is offensive to the voters who elected her to fulfill the powers of the office at the time they voted. This bill completely ignores and undercuts the power of Hoosier voters and in that way undercuts our democracy.

Contact House Education Committee Members before 8:30am Thursday

Contact members of the House Education Committee about your concerns about House Bill 1486 and House Bill 1609. Representative Behning is the chair of the committee. Republican members of the committee are Representatives Rhoads, Burton, Clere, Cook, DeVon, Fine, Lucas, and Thompson. Democrats on the committee are Representatives Vernon Smith, Austin, Errington and Moed.

Every email and phone call helps!

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.

###

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #196 – January 26, 2015

Dear Friends,

House Bill 1486 was posted at 1:30pm today for a hearing at 8:30am tomorrow, January 27th. Reading HB 1486 late this afternoon motivated me to alert you to a series of controversial changes that I strongly oppose.

HB 1486 would:

• Rewrite Indiana’s school accountability law Public Law 221 for only the third time since 1999, the legal basis for the A-F school grading system, deleting an important line added in 2013 that banned the “measurement of student performance or growth compared with peers.” This would open the door to reinstating the current flawed A-F system that is embedded with peer based growth comparisons, also known as norm-referenced measures.

• Delete the word “individual” from the definition of growth in the A-F system, allowing a return to the days of judging schools by results of large groups of different students and ignoring the before and after scores of the same individual student.

• Take away the power of the IDOE to develop ISTEP tests and give it to the State Board.

• Put the setting of ISTEP passing scores now overseen by IDOE in the hands of “independent experts” selected by the State Board.

• Change the State Board from a policy body to a nuts and bolts operations body by giving the power to “oversee the operation of turnaround academies” to the State Board.

• Give the State Board new authority to audit or evaluate any educational program based on data the IDOE would be required to provide.

• Put the State Board rather than the IDOE in charge of the teacher evaluation program, allowing the State Board to set “a minimum and maximum threshold for the use of objective measures of student achievement and growth in all staff performance evaluation plans,” taking away local control in the current law and pointing the way to Dr. Bennett’s often stated goal that at least 51% of each evaluation should be based on student test results.

• Change the control by the state over the local evaluation plan from “may” to “shall” language, leading to the loss of local control as districts set plans to evaluate their teachers.

• Remove the power of IDOE to determine which other subjects besides “the big four” subjects will have academic standards and give that power to the State Board.

• Mandate a “statewide assessment administered in grade 3 that serves as a determinant evaluation of reading skills in grade 3” which “shall be referred to as IREAD-3”. The 2010 law pushed through by Dr. Bennett made no mention of a test or of IREAD-3 which was mandated later via rules of the State Board.

Enough Said! Contact Members of the House Education Committee

This is a lot to digest in the 19 hours between posting the hearing and the 8:30am meeting.

I would love to take time to amplify my concerns, especially the first two bullets above that open the door to a return of norm-referenced growth comparisons that were debunked to the point that the 2013 legislature voided the A-F system and required a new system.

At least they thought they did.

The Governor and many current State Board members have embraced the old flawed system that Dr. Bennett created, which has been used to grade schools three times now with a plan to use it once again next fall. Now this proposed bill would allow them to keep it permanently.

I must stop here and urge you to contact members of the House Education Committee about your concerns about House Bill 1486. The chair of the committee is Representative Behning, who sponsored the 2013 bill on A-F (HB 1427) which would be reversed in part by this bill. Republican members of the committee are Representatives Rhoads, Burton, Clere, Cook, DeVon, Fine, Lucas, and Thompson. Representative Thompson is the sponsor of HB 1486. Democrats on the committee are Representatives Vernon Smith, Austin, Errington and Moed.

Make as many contacts as you can about one or several of the points above. Every email and phone call helps!

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.

###