ISTA tells committee to open mentoring programs to all teachers
02/11/2016
HB 1005 (Dale DeVon – R, South Bend) was heard in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday for the first time since passing the House.
The bill would allow a school administrator and two teachers the ability to create a “career pathway and mentor” program. Following State Board of Education approval, all of the teachers involved in the school or within this program’s purview (which could be district-wide), would no longer be in the existing bargaining unit—changing the educational, salary and bargaining landscape for every teacher at once. Career pathways may sound familiar, because it was originally enacted last session as a pilot program under Innovative Network Schools. Now, with zero data gleaned from that pilot, HB 1005 seeks to roll this out statewide.
ISTA is weary of new governance models not supported by data. However, effective programs teachers recommend continue to fall on deaf ears. For example programs helping new teachers through mentoring or supporting experienced teachers to become Nationally Board Certified. Some legislators continue to ignore the experts – classroom teachers.
The bill’s proponents tout the mentorship aspects. Yet HB 1005 does not require a mentor program in the career pathway model established by the two teachers and administrator, and does not fund a mentor program.
HB 1339 (Rep. Randy Truitt-R, West Lafayette) authored a bill to create a new statewide mentor program—a real mentor program for all new teachers in Indiana. Unfortunately, the bill was allowed to die in the House Ways & Means Committee without a hearing. HB 1339 was a result of the Blue Ribbon Commission’s work and recommendations. The Blue Ribbon Commission was made up of close to 50 practitioners from all educational levels and areas who discussed ways to alleviate Indiana’s teacher shortage through an aggressive set of multiple working meetings.
Another component of HB 1005 creates a grant program promoting the System for Teacher and Student Advancement (TAP). The bill allows TAP to be used for multiple career paths, ongoing professional growth, instruction-focused accountability, and performance-based compensation. Many school districts have, through their local association, bargained TAP and TAP-like components, however HB 1005 does not provide any new funding for this work. ISTA does support one section of the bill that would allow teachers rated “ineffective” or “improvement necessary” to be eligible for salary raises.
However, HB 1005 is in need of some significant changes to warrant support and ISTA plans to work with committee members and Rep. DeVon to markedly improve this bill so that it is not divisive within our schools nor exacerbate the teacher shortage.