Political clashes in the Indiana state government might have sparked policies that reform education.
Legislation that intends to modify the Indiana State Board of Education was introduced to the Indiana Senate on Jan. 13.
The proposed legislation would change current laws regarding how members of the SBOE are appointed to their positions, particularly in regards to the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The bill, Senate Bill 1, was authored and ?introduced by State Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle. Holdman is the assistant majority whip for the ?Indiana Republican Party.
“Effective education, from top to bottom, is one of the most important assets a state can provide to citizens,” Holdman said in a press release. “Senate Bill 1 provides a fair-minded approach to ensure that the State Board of Education is fully functional and successful in leading Hoosier students and families.”
The Indiana State Board of Education is a committee that oversees K-12 education policymaking. It consists of 11 members, ?including the superintendent of public instruction and 10 other members who are appointed by the ?governor.
Under current law, the superintendent automatically serves as the chairperson of the board, but the new legislation proposes the other members of the board should elect a member of the board to replace the superintendent.
The legislation also would change the current statutes so that eight of the members would be appointed by the governor, one member would be appointed by the Indiana Speaker of the House and one would be appointed by the Indiana Senate ?President Pro Tempore.
There has been some speculation that this legislation is an attempt to unseat the current superintendent, Glenda Ritz, from the State Board of Education.
According to a story published in the Indianapolis Star last week, Ritz has “clashed with conservative lawmakers, board members and Gov. Mike Pence over Indiana’s education policy.”
A comment by Ritz was published in the same story. “I look forward to dialogue regarding not only education governance but learning more about the governor’s education proposals during this legislative ?session,” she said.
While the legislation would not remove Ritz from office, it would diminish the influence the position of superintendent would have by removing it as a permanent post in the State Board of Education.
Ritz, a Democrat, has been an educator since 1978 and has served as the superintendent of public instruction since she was elected to the position in 2012 after defeating incumbent Tony Bennett.
In addition to Senate Bill 1, Holdman also authored and introduced Senate Bills 452 and 453, both of which have similar goals of modifying the structure and appointment process for the SBOE.
SB 452 would allow the superintendent to appoint one of the members of the board, while SB 453 would allow the leaders of the General Assembly to ?appoint six of the members.
These bills will first be introduced to the Senate Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedure in order to allow for a complete analysis by legislators and input from the public to determine the best policy to pursue in order to make the board as effective as possible.
