Bloated school deregulation bill passes out of senate committee
02/12/2015

 

SB 500 Deregulation (Sen. Pete Miller, R-Avon) was voted out of committee and recommitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee due to fiscal impacts. The original 300 or more page bill made more than 400 changes in Indiana law. But, this bill was so flawed that the committee took the rare step of amending it during three separate committee meetings.

 

There are still several problems with SB 500. Some of the issues ISTA has with this bill include:

 

• Permits a school corporation to RIF a teacher at any time during the school year.
• Eliminates the requirement that the School Improvement Team has input in professional development plans.
• Eliminates the current mandatory reporting of illegal activity on school property by changing “shall” to “may”.
• Adds a hidden increase for parents buying textbooks by allowing the district to charge higher fees.
• Allows advertisements on school buses. Current law does not allow this nor have prior bills in the General Assembly that have called for school bus advertising passed.
• Reduces school board and administration transparency and accountability by removing the mandatory reporting of certified teacher numbers, how many are teaching in their certified area, and the amount of Nationally Board Certified teachers.
• Makes school accreditation voluntary.

Many of the remaining portions of this bloated bill originally stood alone in previous sessions. They are now attempting to sweep them away with no meaningful debate. Certain school districts initiated the drafting of this misguided bill with its attempts to circumvent state law and protections. ISTA feels this bill is so encompassing that it should, at most, be sent to a summer study committee to be thoroughly examined for both intended and unintended consequences that might result.

 

ACTION:  Please contact every member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and your state senator to urge their rejection of SB 500, and call for, at most, this idea to become the subject of a new study.