Senate committee discusses replacing ISTEP and weakens bargaining rights in same bill
02/05/2015
SB 566 - Education (Mishler, R-Bremen), is an omnibus bill that was discussed in Senate Education and Career Development committees yesterday. It includes the following:
(1) Replaces the current ISTEP+ statewide test with a modified “formative” test (named the BEST test; Benchmarking Excellence Student Testing) beginning July 1, 2016. Representatives from the Department of Education (for Superintendent Ritz), the AFT Indiana, School Boards Association and the Superintendents Association testified in support of a modified formative test. ISTA testified that its members wanted these issues settled in a manner that makes testing relevant to them (helps them understand where student deficiencies are) and makes sense with the standards Indiana has adopted. Whatever is developed must be calibrated correctly, because the state places consequences on districts, schools, teachers and students for the results. ISTA also urged that whatever happens with testing, the General Assembly should use common sense supported by U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan and cease consequences placed on teachers in terms of evaluations, until we know how the test will pan out.
(2) Creates Innovative Network Schools statewide. These provisions mirror the law that was enacted for IPS last year and enables local school districts to reconstitute an existing public school within the district or contract out with a special management team. ISTA testified against this proposal—noting there are sweeping exemptions of law and that there is no data to support this expansion. Though the bill does enable the employees to collectively bargain, they will be at-will since they are treated like charter school employees in every other respect.
(3) Recognizes the attainment of relevant master’s degrees as a method for a bump in salary, yet makes this non-bargainable. ISTA recognized the improvement and that these degrees have value—but also urged that these monies be bargainable—and the legislature in 2011 said salary goes back on the same pledge.
(4) Weakens collective bargaining agreements. ISTA testified that SB 566 turns collective bargaining agreements into suggestions by enabling the administration to spend money throughout the year, then claim the school is in deficit financing and force accommodations be made through adjustments in the CBA. This is simply unfair. At some point (set by law), an agreement must be reached for professionals to rely on. It is unfair to both the process of bargaining and teachers who need to know what to expect in the coming year.
(5) Brings in more bureaucracy to regulate CBAs and individual teacher contracts. This bill sets up a process through which the Indiana Education Employees Relations Board has control, not only over the content of CBAs, but also the laws dealing with individual teacher contracts. ISTA testified that these provisions were not necessary. CBAs that have been deemed noncompliant with such statutes were due to a result of these laws being new. There is no need for these provisions.
(6) Creates a new performance pay formula and makes these monies non-bargainable. The new formula in this bill improves the current system by expanding the definition of who can receive these funds—to include professional and paraprofessionals who require a license, as well as all of the cooperative school employees. However, this bill also makes the disbursement of these funds non-bargainable. ISTA testified in support of the expansion, yet opposed making these monies non-bargainable. ISTA argued that IEERB recognized in the previous year that these funds were salary and wage-related and should be bargained. Further, having these decisions made (by the exclusive representative) has value for all parties. If these funds are allocated at the employer’s discretion, issues of favoritism and fairness may arise. At the end of the day, these are salary and wage-related matters per what the 2011 collective bargaining law provided. Anything less goes back on that pledge.
The bill was not voted out of committee and will likely be heard again next Wednesday.
ACTION: Please contact members of the Senate Education Committee and tell them that you do not support combining important testing change provisions with bargaining issues, innovative network schools, and urge them to oppose SB 566 until it is understood that: (1) salary increases for additional degrees and performance pay funds stay bargainable (as they are salary and wage-related issues) and do not carve out exceptions; (2) the sections on deficit financing that give IEERB new authority over collective bargaining agreements and innovative network schools be removed.