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Two anti-public education bills in the Indiana House need your attention and your response TODAY:

PARENT TRIGGER ACCELERATION HB 1358
ATTACK ON TEACHERS' RIGHTS HB 1339
HB 1358:
Tuesday; House Education Committee will hear the accelerated "Parent Trigger" bill to enable a minority of parents to take over community-based public schools and convert them to charter schools run by corporate "lead partners".--HB 1358 (Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers).

• WHAT HB 1358 DOES:
  Indiana's existing conversion charter school law is repealed (which requires both the school board and parents to agree on a conversion). 
• That law is replaced with a model that solely enables 51% of parents in a school that is labeled in the bottom two categories for three (3) consecutive years to:
  • take over the school by petitioning the state board of education to assign a "lead partner" to operate the school; and
  • place the school under the most draconian of sanctions that currently attach to schools in the bottom two lowest categories for five (5) consecutive years. 
• When is 51% not a majority?  When parents are given multiple votes based upon the number of children they have in a school.  Because parents are given "weighted" voting rights based upon the number of children then have in a school, a minority of parents can fundamentally change the focus, the governance, the scope of teachers' rights, and the framework of a local community-based public school.

HB 1339:

• Teachers: 
  • Due Process:  Repeals the law concerning the continuing effect of an individual teacher's contract.  Without this law, contracts will terminate on their face annually and a teacher, "effective or not," will not be protected from arbitrary termination until a new contract is signed. 
  • Collective Bargaining:  Relative to the pro rata member/nonmember composition on committees-states that all "discussion committees" fall under this pro rata framework.  Existing law exempted the bargaining team from having to adhere to the member/nonmember composition because under law, the bargaining team is the EXCLUSIVE representative.
  • States that the existence of a voluntary sick bank is bargainable but the terms of the sick bank policy are not.  This reneges on the 2011 pledge that wages and benefits are bargainable.  A voluntary sick bank is a benefit.
  • Removes the provision authorizing the continuing effect of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) when agreement has not been reached.  The whole point of the new collective bargaining law was to get to the point of agreement.  There has been only one case in which agreement has not been reached---and that situation was created by allegations of unfair labor practices having occurred.  In a case such as this, the party that committed an unfair labor practice should not be "rewarded" by terminating the existing CBA.
  • Suspension without pay:  Removes from law the requirement that a teacher who is subject to suspension without pay is entitled to a full statement of the reasons for the proposed suspension without pay and to be heard and to present the testimony of witnesses and other evidence.  Also repeals the law that enables the school board to appoint an agent or attorney to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses for either party at the hearing to suspend a teacher without pay.
• Teacher Compensation:  Requires that each school district must submit its compensation model to the DOE and the DOE, the State Board of Accounts, and the IEERB and these bodies shall report any noncompliance to the State Board of Education -which is then required to take "appropriate action to ensure compliance."
• Virtual Charter Schools: 
  • Enables a virtual charter school to provide up to  90% of its program "virtually" and still qualify for state funding.  Current law says 50% of instruction must be "real."  The likely effect is to enable more home-schooled students to be virtually-instructed at the state's expense.  There is no funding attached to this.  There is no requirement that a student first attend a public school.  Also, note in HB 1338, virtually funding was increased from 87.5% of Indiana's per pupil funding to 100% of Indiana's per pupil funding.  The funding for these new students will come from existing public school k-12 funding.
  • Repeals the law that requires the DOE to report to the state on virtual schools in Indiana.
• Charter Schools:
  • As to charter school performance reporting on the DOE website, enables each charter school authorizer to develop its own performance framework in terms of the data reported (existing law says that the annual performance data for charter schools must include the same demographic and performance data required of every other public school).
• Administrators:
  • Provides some of the same due process "protections" to administrators that teachers have.  However, because most administrators have multi-year contracts, the consequences for cancelling a contract will likely not play out in the same fashion-that being, contracts with out-going administrators generally come with some form of buyout.

Please let your representative and every member of the House Education committee know TODAY you oppose HB 1358 & HB 1339
For additional information on these two bills and to email legislators, visit:www.keepthepromiseindiana.org

Legislative Lunchbox v.3

"Do legislators deserve the same apples teachers get for their efforts in education? Every Friday, "Hoosier Mom on Politics" makes that decision, giving two legislators a good or bad apple, depending on their support of Public Education and Indiana’s children. Check back every Friday at lunchtime to see what the Hoosier Mom packs in the Legislator Lunchbox for the week!

For this post of the “Legislative Lunchbox”, I chose to pack a lunch for Senator Karen Tallian(D-Ogden Dunes)and for State Representative Jim Lucas (R-Seymour).

Senator Karen Tallian received a good apple in her lunchbox for authoring SB 469 which provides that Full-Day Kindergarten become mandatory and, more importantly, that each Kindergarten Pupil counts as a full student in the annual ADM. Sen. Tallian, kudos to you for not only recognizing the need for a continuum of early childhood education provided through Indiana's public schools, but for actually standing up and doing something about it. So many legislators pay lip service to the educational needs of Kindergartners, sometimes taking action simply to publicize and further their own political careers. But not you Senator Tallian! This bill is simple and to the point - not only does it outline mandatory Kindergarten but it counts Kindergartners as full students so Public Schools can receive full-funding for the education provided. But here comes the sticking point - this bill hasn't even received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development. Bills are getting heard which expand vouchers to fully-fund preschool but apparently the legislative rationale is that during the magic year of Kindergarten, Indiana children only deserve to have their education only halfway funded. Where the heck is the common sense in that? Come on Senate Committee on Education and Career Development: listen to Senator Tallian on this matter. It is time for Indiana to have a hearing on this bill.

Representative Jim Lucas received a bad apple in his lunchbox for his letter to an Indiana voter concerned about the voucher expansion bill (HB 1003)which cleared the House Committee on Education Thursday. Mr Lucas writes, "I am aware of the potential for the growth of vouchers, and yes, this growth may come at the expense of what is referred to as our public system, but as long as that child is receiving an education, and better yet, an education of the choice of the parent, then I fail to see the negative of this." There are so many levels of 'wrong' in this statement (let alone the whole letter), where is a Hoosier Mom to begin? First of all Mr. Lucas, "what is referred to as our public system" is the public education system which you, as an elected official, are required to provide (please read Article 8 of the state constitution, Mr. Lucas if you are unsure of what I reference about your job). I understand that this is your first term and you aren't particularly familiar with all the 'ins and outs of serving your constituents, but I can guarantee you that if you take this kind of "my way or the highway" approach, you will be out of this job soon enough and back shilling awnings in Seymour. I don't think I need to remind you but this is the first time in a while that a Republican has been elected to district 69, and if you continue with your back-handed comments about public education, I can guarantee that reelection is not in your future.

Just in case you weren't aware Mr. Lucas, most all of your constituents received their education via Indiana's public school system and most all of your constituents with children are sending their kids to public school. These are your constituents: as an elected representative it is your duty to serve the best interest of the people, not the best interest of a few private religious companies that seek to receive government hand-outs (via corporate welfare) on the backs of hard-working Hoosiers. As a tax-paying mom and life-long Hoosier, I can tell you that I don't care to pay for some other parent's education "choice". If a parent chooses to send their child to a private school, then they can pay for their choice - I and the other taxpayers in Indiana aren't financially responsible for their personal preference and you should stop trying to make us pay for it. However as a taxpayer, I strongly believe the money I give to the state needs to go to the betterment of most ALL Hoosiers, not just a few. Public Education is the only means and method which effectively and efficiently provides for a common education of Hoosier children. It is time you learned to not only vote in the best interest of your constituents, but also in the best interest of Hoosiers on the whole.

The Hoosier Mom hopes all the readers will spread the word about the Legislative Lunchbox. Feel free to email me with suggestions for next week’s lunch: for whom should I pack lunch and why?

The Race To Waste $46 Mil In The House

An Open Letter

To The Members of The House Committee On Education,

HB 1003 is scheduled for a hearing and you are expected to vote on this bill today. As a mom of 2 children that attend Public School in Northwest Indiana, as a woman raised on a grain and hog farm in Central Indiana, and as Hoosier through and through, I implore you to vote NO on this measure. It needs to stop where it is at in an attempt to bring a little bit of common sense back to your actions.

Indiana's voucher program (the LARGEST voucher program in the country) has been legally challenged as it conflicts with the Indiana Constitution on two grounds. First, that you as Representatives are charged with creating policy in line with the Constitution which directs you to educate children through a system of common schools - Indiana's "so-called" Public Education system. Second, you as Representatives are charged with creating policy that would not compel "We The Taxpayers" to pay taxes which support religious institutions.

This legal challenge has not been resolved and to be quite frank with you, the Legislators interested in "reforming" Indiana's Public Education System might be surprised how it ends. Now you plan to expand a program this session, that will potentially be deemed unconstitutional? Where is the common sense in that action! This isn't the Indy 500 - you don't have to pass it now - time is on your side and you should use it to your advantage. Sit it out, let us see what happens in court before moving forward in any method or manner on this Bill.

Finally, I will argue and I believe MOST of the taxpaying and voting citizens agree on this...It is NOT your responsibility to pay for - with my tax dollars - "school choice" in Indiana. My tax dollars should be going to the benefit of Indiana citizens as a whole, to the betterment of most all Hoosiers, not just a few. Private and Religious Schools can not and will not serve most all Hoosiers. If a parent chooses to send their child to a Religious School - so be it, that is their choice. They should have to deal with the financial implications of their choice. The rest of the children in the State of Indiana should not pay for their choice.

Now, you vote how you want, but don't forget the rest of us regular hard-working Hoosier moms and dads are watching - and we will vote in less than 2 years. And if Public Education continues to be dismantled, I guarantee you - my vote will go with Public Education.

Sincerely,

The Hoosier Mom On Politics

STATEHOUSE NOTES FROM VIC SMITH

Very important new statehouse notes from Vic Smith.
Dear Friends,

The House Education Committee will vote on House Bill 1003, the enormous $47 million voucher expansion bill, on Thursday morning, Feb. 7th at their 8:30am meeting in Room 156C. Please contact members of the committee listed below over night to express your deep opposition to this damaging bill.

Unbelievably, the tax deduction for ...home school and private school parents would triple under this bill while public school parents still get no deduction for textbooks or school expenses. The gross inequity of this provision is obvious and should be made clear as you contact members of the House.

House Bill 1003 – The Hearing

The Tuesday hearing on this major voucher expansion bill was not announced to the public until 1:30pm on Monday. That late announcement put public school advocates into quick action to try to find people who could testify against the bill early Tuesday morning. All those who showed up to speak against HB 1003 on such short notice should be thanked profusely. When the hearing began, it became clear that those speaking for the bill had no such problem of short notice. It was obvious that speakers coming from as far away as Mishawaka and Madison were well-prepared for an 8:30am appearance. It is unfortunate that Chairman Behning doesn’t see fit to give all sides of this crucial issue equal notice and equal preparation time.

After House Bills 1427 and 1443 were both passed unanimously, the hearing on HB 1003 began about 9:00am and continued without a break until 1:20pm when the committee was adjourned because the House was coming into session at 1:30. In that time, 20 speakers testified for the bill and, despite the short notice, 13 testified against the bill. Joel Hand spoke strongly for ICPE in opposition. Passionate arguments flowed on all sides, reminiscent of the 9 hour hearing held on HB 1003 in the historic 2011 voucher battle. When time ran out, seven speakers had still not had a chance to speak and were told the meeting would resume after the House floor session. Of course, no one knew exactly when that would be, so all but two had to leave before the meeting resumed about 6:00pm, including strong public school advocate Karen Combs, who had driven in from Lafayette and sat all day with another great speech which, due to the circumstances, remains undelivered.

House Bill 2003 – The Fiscal Cost

HB 1003 is for the most part not about expanding choices for families to bring new students to private schools. Many of the students given vouchers in this bill are already in private schools:

1) Special education students currently in private schools become eligible.
2) Children of veterans who are in private schools become eligible.
3) Older siblings of current voucher students become eligible.

Thus, this bill is about giving financial relief to the parents of current private school students, parents who already have a student enrolled in a private school who are in one of these categories.

Giving financial relief to parents of private school students would be a generous thing for the state to do, but other parents would wonder why they aren’t being favored by the state with financial relief as well. Currently, private school and home school parents get a $1000 tax deduction for textbooks. LSA reported that the cost to taxpayers for this deduction was $2.7 million last year. This bill would extend the tax deduction to $3000 per student, costing at least an additional $5.4 million to taxpayers. Public school parents have been asking for financial relief for school textbook rental for over a decade. Why, they will ask, are private school parents getting relief when we are not?

This bill if enacted would mark a major change. Until now, all voucher students have had to transfer from a public school to a voucher school. Based on that move, each voucher would save the state money when students transferred from the public school to the less expensive private school. With this bill, for the first time, students could get a voucher without transferring from a public school. Each voucher then would become a new fiscal expense for the state, ending the rationale that vouchers save money. This bill therefore has a fiscal impact and would require new additional state funding to cover tuition support.

How much new additional state money would it cost? The LSA fiscal note on this bill said the increased payments for Grade 1 – 8 vouchers would cost between $3.8 million and $7.6 million. Under the bill, caps on vouchers would rise from $4500 to $5500 next year and to $6500 the second year.

LSA then reported that the current average scholarship is $4083. Consider costs for the three groups above:

1)Special education fiscal costs: If we multiply $4083 by the 4211 special education students already in private schools(IDOE website, latest figure available), the cost to the state would be over $17 million.

2)Children of veterans costs: If only 3% of current private school students have a parent who is an honorably discharged veteran, the cost to the state would be $8.8 million. (3% of 72,000 times $4083)

3)Sibling costs: If only one out of five of the current voucher students (20%) would have a sibling eligible for a voucher, the cost to the state would be $7.4 million dollars. That dollar figure comes from multiplying the average voucher $4083 by 1827 students, just one fifth of the 9135 who now get a voucher.

These conservative estimates for only portions of the bill add up to more than $47 million dollars.

1. $5 million – Tax credits for preschool listed in the bill 2. $5.4 million – additional tax deductions for home and private school
3. $3.8 million – minimum LSA estimate for Grade 1-8 increased caps
4. $17 million for special education students already in private schools
5. $8.8 million for children of veterans already in private schools
6. $7.4 million for siblings, assuming 20% have a sibling.

If the state has $47 million dollars available, it should be used to repair cuts to public school funding made during the Great Recession that were never restored and not to use it for a new program of financial relief for private school parents.

House Bill 1004 – Early Childhood Scholarship Pilot Program

House Bill 1004 will also be heard tomorrow morning in the House Education Committee. It provides scholarships for 3-5 year olds for preschool students which are certainly needed in Indiana. Unfortunately, the last section makes these students eligible for vouchers. Rather than entwining preschool education with the highly controversial voucher debate, this last section should be dropped to let the preschool assistance stand on its own without turning this program into a feeder system for voucher schools. You may want to contact members of the House on this point as well.

Contact House Education Committee Members

I urge you to contact members of the House Education Committee to express your opposition to HB 1003 before the vote tomorrow:

Chairman: Representative Behning

Republican Members: Representatives Rhoads, Arnold, Burton, Clere, DeVon, Huston, Lucas, and Thompson

Democrat Members: Representatives Vernon Smith, Battles, Errington and VanDenburgh

Then contact your own Representative to express your concerns about expanding vouchers and tripling tax deductions for home and private school parents while public school parents still get no relief.

Thanks for making your voice heard!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith vic790@aol.co