The top 12 education bills we’re watching
01/25/2017

The 2017 legislative session is underway and the majority of the bills have been released. ISTA is tracking more than 150 bills that pertain to education and our member’s retirement security.

Below are among the top bills ISTA is tracking. Not every bill is guaranteed a hearing, ensuring its passage. It’s also important to remember that any of these bills could be amended at some point, for the better or worse.

SB 311 - School performance and evaluations (Boots, R – Crawfordsville)
Indiana would extend its hold harmless policy another year under SB 311. The bill would provide that a school’s performance category for 2015 – 16, 2016 – 17 and 2017 – 18 may not be lower than the grade for 2013 – 14. The amount a school may receive from performance grants would be calculated using the ISTEP for 2013 – 14 or the school year immediately preceding the applicable fiscal year, whichever is higher. ISTEP scores for 2015 – 16 or 2016 – 17 would not be used for teacher evaluations unless they would improve a teacher’s rating.

SB 409 – Collective Bargaining (Houchin, R – Salem)
SB 409 would push back the formal collective bargaining start date to Sept. 15 of each year. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) would provide both parties with an estimate of revenue available for bargaining from the funding formula before Sept. 15 in the first year of the budget biennium. The remaining timelines for bargaining would get pushed back as well allowing the same windows to apply to each phase of bargaining. This bill would enable the parties to better bargain real numbers associated with student counts and upcoming insurance costs.

SB 534 - Special education scholarship account program (Raatz, R – Richmond)
This bill would establish the Indiana Special Education Scholarship Account Program, a further expansion of private school support in Indiana beyond the state’s controversial private school voucher program. The legislation is a part of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bill portfolio.

Under the bill, students who have been identified as having a disability, which require special education services, would qualify for an education savings account (ESA). Unlike Indiana’s current school voucher program, the student’s family would receive 100 percent of the funding that their local public district would receive from the state, versus up to 90 percent for a school voucher.

Families would use the ESA funds to pay outside providers for special education services.

HB 1004 - Prekindergarten education (Behning, R – Indianapolis)
HB 1004 is a bill aimed at moderately expanding access to pre-K education, but would create a pipeline of new students into the state’s already costly private school voucher program.

The bill would allow students who receive a pre-K grant created under the bill to automatically become eligible for a school choice scholarship for grades K – 12.  

The bill would also increase the current income eligibility requirements for Indiana’s preschool program from 100 percent of poverty to 150 percent of poverty, mirroring the K – 12 voucher baseline guidelines and to subsidize through tax dollars more families with higher incomes. The bill would then provide for automatic K – 12 voucher eligibility if the family has an income of at least 200 percent of poverty. 

HB 1007 - Education course access program (Cook, R – Cicero)
HB 1007 is another ALEC model bill that would create a course “voucher" to attend online courses, paid for by the student’s public school corporation.

For-profit, online, or virtual, charter schools have a disastrous record of failing students and avoiding accountability, not just in Indiana, but around the country. It is unclear why Indiana would continue to divert even more funds from local community public schools to fund these failed experiments.

Just like Indiana charter schools and current private school voucher program, this bill would establish even more competition for public funding.

HB 1055 - Pension cost of living adjustments (Carbaugh, R – Fort Wayne)
This bill would provide a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for members of Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) and Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF), State Police 1987 plan and State Police pre-1987 plan. The COLA would be distributed by an increase of:

• 1 percent, if the member retired after Dec. 31, 1997.
• 2 percent, if the member retired after Dec. 31, 1985 and before Jan. 1 1998.
• 3 percent, if the member retired before Jan. 1, 1986.

There has not been a COLA since 2008. The general assembly has opted for what is called “the 13th check,” which is a sliding scale one-time stipend that does not, by its very nature, keep up with inflation or ensure commensurate purchasing power over time.

Various Bills – Teacher Compensation

SB 498 – Teacher compensation (Raatz, R – Richmond)
SB 498 would change “attainment” of a Master’s degree (i.e. the single year in which the degree is received) from “possession” (ongoing) for purposes of calculating compensation.    

SB 542 – Teacher compensation (Becker, R – Evansville)
Similar to SB 498, this bill would allow a teacher who possesses (rather than attains) a Master’s degree is eligible for supplemental pay or increments. It would also remove the prohibition on bargaining supplements.

HB 1114 – Teacher salary scales (Klinker, D – Lafayette)
HB 1114 would provide for a compensation plan created after June 30, 2017, a corporation may offer an increase or increment in a local salary range for a teacher who attains either:

• Additional content area bachelor’s degrees beyond the requirements for employment;
• Additional content area bachelor’s degrees and credit hours beyond the requirements for employment, if required under an agreement bargained under IC 20-29; or
• The attainment of a master’s or doctorate degree or credit hours necessary to obtain a master’s or doctorate degree.

HB 1630 – Teacher salaries (V. Smith, D – Gary)
HB 1630 would allow a school corporation to provide an increase to an increment or salary range for a teacher who receives a Master’s or Doctorate degree.

HB 1143 – Small school grants (Friend, R – Macy)
Under HB 1143, a school corporation with a current average daily membership (ADM) of less than 2,400 students would be eligible for additional grant money. If the ADM is not more than 1,000, the amount of the grant is determined by multiplying the ADM by $200.

If the ADM is at least 1,001, and not more than 2,400, the amount is determined by multiplying the ADM by $100.

HB 1220 - Staff performance evaluations (McNamara, R – Mount Vernon)
Under HB 1220, a teacher who is rated as highly effective or effective would be required to have an evaluation only once every five years. A probationary teacher, or teacher who receives an evaluation of improvement necessary, would still receive an annual evaluation. This bill reflects much of what ISTA has heard from members in focus groups as to how to improve evaluations — to enable administrators to focus their attention on teachers truly in need of improvement.

HB 1228 - Distribution of choice scholarships (Reardon, D – Munster)
HB 1228 would prevent tax dollars, in the form of school vouchers, going to a private school, if a local public school has a better performance record of serving students.

If a voucher school receives a lower school performance grade than the public school that resides in the same attendance zone, then that choice school would become ineligible to receive choice scholarship students.

Failing Indiana private schools received more than $16 million in vouchers in the 2015 – 16 school year.

HB 1253 – Early retirement of public employees (Culver, R – Goshen)
HB 1253 would replace the “rule of 85” with the “rule of 95,” thus ending early retirement options for most eligible employees in Indiana’s public retirement system. The bill would impact most any public employee after July 1, 2017.

This legislation deprives employees of an option they have historically been provided.

HB 1566 - Safe and supportive schools (Pelath, D – Michigan City)
This bill would direct IDOE to develop a safe and supportive school framework, similar to a model implemented in Massachusetts. Under the framework, a plan and grant money would support schools and districts to create whole-school safe and supportive environments that can serve as the foundation for all students, including those who have endured traumatic experiences, to learn and succeed. This is commonly referred to as supporting “trauma-informed” learning.