Capitol Insider

Capitol Insider

May 5, 2023

Standing together

            The 2023 Indiana General Assembly has adjourned.  We have worked together with others throughout this session to curtail the constant attacked on public education that affects students, families, and school employees – all of us.  Seeing our losses is pretty easy.  Finding our wins not so much.  It is important that we continue to build coalitions with all stakeholders who are affected by the legislative dismantling of public ed.

            Remember you are the U in UNION.  It’s not a just about paying dues, it’s about getting involved and supporting efforts that enhance our profession, improve student learning conditions, keep all safe within our buildings, and continue to thrive.

            More than ever, it should be perfectly clear that how we vote matters.  We must vote our own best interest.  It behooves us, those of us in public education, to work to educate those who are not as closely associated with public ed about what is happening legislatively.  Will you commit to doing that before the 2024 election?  Contact your union president to volunteer.  If the president needs info, be sure to call the AFT Indiana staff representative who serves your local.  We can help.  We want to.

2023 Wins are far and few between

• HB 1036, HB 1074, and SB 188: School board elections.  The bills that would have required school board candidates to file by party died early in the session and amazingly didn’t get added to other bills.  I guess that’s a win.
• SB 177: School board candidate filing deadline. Not a total loss, so must be a win.  Candidates must file 60 days earlier, yet after to primary, therefore party declaration is not part of the legislation.  It passed in the Senate 448-0 and 95-0 in the House.
• HB 1338 Education matters. Another bill that died before moving beyond the House.  The bill included anti-CRT language.  Of course, public schools don’t teach CRT, but convince certain legislators and outside groups of that. 
• SB 326 Gary Community School Corporation control.  It’s hard to tell if this is a win or a loss.  It’s not where the Gary Community wanted to be.  It is a step, ever so meager, towards regaining self-control and an elected school board.  Just not yet. An appointed board will continue to control.

Sorry for the short list.  Maybe next year.  It will only change when the make-up of the House, Senate, and Governor’s office change.  Your vote matters.

CCR – Conference Committee Report

Green fill = Senate vote

Peach fill = House vote

Bill #/ Roll Call                    Explanations of roll calls used in the vote tallies that follow

• SB12/181: This bill was a repeat from last year called “Materials harmful to minors.” Check out where your Senator landed on this. While the bill itself died in the House because it was not heard, the language returned in HB 1447.
• SB391/526: Charter Schools. The bill requires traditional school corporations to share certain referendum dollars with charter schools.  Has several changes for charters that receive these dollars.
• SB486/474: Education Matters. (Ha!) This vote was on Conference Committee Report #1 (CCR). The important part of this final version is it repeals the discussions mandate for administration with the exclusive representative (statutory jargon for the UNION)! This is the senate vote.
• SB486/134: Education Matters. This vote was on amendment #2 that would have restored discussions language.  See your Senator’s vote.
• SB486/438: Education Matters. This vote is the House 3^rd reading repeals the Union’s right to mandated, exclusive discussions.  Senate roll call #474 is on the same language.  Be sure to see your Representative’s vote.
• SB486/405: Education Matters. House Amendment #2 would have restored Union rights. Obviously, it failed.
• SB486/404: Education Matters. Amendment #3 found a place where discussions had not been deleted (repealed) and deleted it.  Not a friendly amendment.  It passed.
• HB1001/538: The budget.  This is the Senate vote on the CCR. Reduced funding to traditional public schools, massive increase to voucher funding and access. The budget is always a tough bill to vote against since architects of the bill always try to get something that will force a yes vote despite some really ugly language.  None the less, this budget ultimately harms our public schools.  The budget also failed to provide retirees any increases either in a 13^th check or COLA.
• HB1001/565: The budget.  This is the house vote on the CCR.
• HB1002/531: Education and workforce development. This roll call is the Senate one on the bill that establishes among other things, the career scholarship account program (CSA program) and the career scholarship account program fund.  Scholarship is code for vouchers.  We have major concerns about this including safety for students.  The bill provides funding to private employers who create a vocational apprentice program outside of our schools.
• HB1002/558: Education and workforce development. This roll call is the House one. Just a bit of other info, the author of this bill owns his own, non-union, electrical company.  Do you think he will benefit from this new law?
• HB1008/382: Pension investments.   An attempt to prohibit the INPRS board from investing in any ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) policy groups. It prohibits the board from making an investment decision with the purpose of influencing any social or environmental policy or attempting to influence the governance of any corporation for nonfinancial purposes.   Says the board shall discharge its duties solely in the financial interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the system as it already does.  INPRS is not broken – another legislative solution looking for a problem.  It will have found one as it now makes the state treasurer a member of the INPRS board.  This roll call is the Senate vote.
• HB1008/488: Pension investments. This roll call is the House one.  There is a caveat in the bill that if INPRS wants to ignore the treasurer’s recommendation, it can.  Huh?
• HB1447/520: Education matters. Senate vote. First, this is where SB12 language regarding “materials alleged to be obscene or harmful to minors” or a.k.a. “book banning and jail the librarian” ended up. It also restricts data collection by 3^rd party vendors regarding personal analyses, evaluations, or surveys.  Puts more restrictions on schools. School employees cannot “incentivize” students to engage in “(1) political activism; (2) lobbying; or (3) efforts to persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the federal, state, or local level; the state agency, school corporation, or qualified school or the employee of the state agency, school corporation, or qualified school shall not require the student to adopt, affirm, affiliate, or take any action that would result in favoring any particular position on the issue or issues involved without offering an alternative option for the student to complete the assignment or receive extra credit or other incentivization that allows for the favoring of an alternative position.”
• HB1447/535: Education matters.  House vote.
• HB1591/534 Various Education Matters.  Senate vote. By various, it means a gob of changes in the legislation making it a challenge to interpret.  [Editorial: Is this the goal of this legislature?]  The language addresses changes to records retention and format including electronic.  Requires public schools provide information concerning physical injuries to employees caused by students, reporting to DOE, and DOE publishing on its website. Changes current law requiring schools expend at least 45% of state tuition on teacher compensation to 62% and now includes not just 50% instructional teachers, but also school counselors, adjunct teachers, and permanent substitute teachers.  Changes “teacher salaries” to “teacher compensation” to include supplemental pay, stipends, and interlocal agreements or consortium. Grants “null” or “no letter grade” for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. Much more including changes for pre-K, at-risk services, and more.
• HB1591/560: Various Education Matters. House vote.  How the change from 45% to 62% affects bargaining will be impacted by the change to definition of 50% teacher.  [Editorial comment: it is possible that it will mean less money required to be on the table].
• HB1608/345: Education Matters.  Senate vote. Schools may not provide any instruction to a student in prekindergarten through grade 3 on human sexuality (and they DON’T now). However, a school employee is not prohibited from responding to a question from a student regarding certain topics. It requires a school to notify in writing at least one parent of a student, if the student is an unemancipated minor, of a request made by the student to change the student's name or pronoun, title, or word to identify the student.
• HB1608/489: Education Matters. House vote. Various Education Matters. House vote. Just FYI, in different iterations of the bill was potential for disciplining a teacher who used a pronoun, name, etc. other than birth assigned. 1608 is the start of Indiana’s “Don’t say gay” legislation.

1 = Correct vote         blank = incorrect vote           E=Excused                   NV=Not voting