A measure some lawmakers say is meant to deregulate education passed out of the House Education Committee Wednesday.
Lawmakers amended the bill to address certain concerns flagged during its last hearing. But Democratic lawmakers still oppose provisions that would gut some requirements for the state secretary of education and allow public school districts to become charters.
HB 1002 removes language in Indiana code that says a school operator that establishes a charter school must also operate a traditional public school. That could allow public school districts to fully transition to charter schools.
Democrats worry that could leave areas devoid of traditional public schools — especially in the wake of another bill that would require public schools with low enrollment to become charter schools. That bill was also assigned to the House Education Committee — but has not yet received a hearing.
Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) proposed an amendment to keep the original wording in Indiana code.
“To me, this is a stunning admission of how far the charter movement has gone. It’s to the point that only charters matter and that every school has to be some unique, special place,” he said. “No. I think you’re attacking the fundamental underpinnings of our state constitution by saying, you know, you don’t need a common school. You don’t need a uniform system at all. In fact, that’s undesirable.”
Multiple Democrats on the committee expressed concern that some charter schools don’t have the resources to teach students who have disabilities or need accommodations.
Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette) said a public school in Lafayette recently received 20 students mid-year from a charter school that was unable to accommodate them.
“Our charter schools say, ‘Well, we just can’t meet the need of those kids, so we have to send them back to public schools,’” she said.
Rep. Bob Behning (R-Behning), the bill’s author, said charter schools are technically public schools and are legally required to accept all types of students. He said school operators should be able to choose what works best for their districts.
“I don’t know why a parent would care whether it was traditional public or charter if they’re receiving services and not paying for those services if they’re a free and open public school, which a charter school is,” he said.
An amendment to restore the original language was defeated by Republican committee members.
Another provision in the bill would remove requirements concerning residency, licensure and education for the state’s secretary of education, who is appointed by the governor.
Democrats like Rep. Vernon Smith (D-Gary) said the secretary of education should have education experience. Smith introduced an amendment to replace those requirements.
“It seems like there’s a misnomer that people have accepted that anybody can do anything in education out of any other career,” he said. “I disagree with that totally.”
That amendment was rejected by Republican committee members who say strong managerial skills are more important.
DeLaney proposed a compromise between the bill and Smith’s amendment. It would have required secretary of education candidates to have two years of administrative experience in education. However, that amendment was also defeated.
The measure now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair .
