Education issues, public comment dominate first Legislative Update session
Teachers wanted to talk about education issues. Marian Harvey wanted to debate animal issues. And Ann Newton swung the discussion to human problems.
Overall, public comment rather than legislator's reports dominated the 90-minute first Legislative Update program of the 2016 Indiana General Assembly session Saturday morning at the Farm Bureau office in Greencastle.
And that seemed perfectly fine with the trio of legislators who represent Putnam County at the statehouse -- District 44 State Rep. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle), District 24 State Sen. Pete Miller (R-Brownsburg) and District 37 Sen. Rodric Bray R-Martinsville.
Educational items drew the most interest with a number of current and former teachers and school administrators in the audience.
Sen. Miller, a majority member of the Education and Career Development Committee, predicted that the "hold harmless" bill (HB 1003) for the much cussed and discussed ISTEP testing scores will be one of the first two bills the current Legislature will pass.
Rep. Baird noted that discussion now is about "uncoupling ISTEP scores from teacher performance."
The legislation will provide a one-year moratorium on the use of ISTEP scores for performance-based school and teacher evaluations, Miller noted.
"It's more than just your score," Miller conceded as he was essentially preaching to the choir.
However, the other two education issues he spoke about drew some fire from the audience.
Miller did make some news in regard to Senate Bill 379, however.
It is the controversial bill he has authored that would not only allow teachers to individually bargain their own salaries but address a state teacher shortage by establishing a beginning teacher residency program. It provides that an educator who teaches or is licensed to teach science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) or special education may voluntarily enter into an employment contract with a school corporation that contains terms that differ from those set forth in the collective bargaining agreement.
SB 379 is currently in the hands of the Education and Career Development Committee, chaired by Sen. Dennis Kruse.
"It's my bill, and it's not going to happen this year," Miller assured the group Saturday, telling the Legislative Update crowd it will effectively die this session because it will not get a committee hearing.
While that was good news to educators who called it "simply bad legislation" that pits teacher against teacher for raises, Miller still defended the idea.
"We're not allowing the market to work," he said. "Just because we pay someone more doesn't mean they are more important or have a more important position.
"Do we value someone more because we pay them more?" Miller asked.
The audience answered with a resounding "Yes, in this society it does."
Educators also took exception to HB 1325, which changes the "Rule of 85" to 95. Those figures represent the numbers of years worked as a teacher or administrator plus the person's age for retirement eligibility. For instance, a person age 55 with 30 years of teaching currently can retire with full benefits.
HB 1325 would raise that total to 95, and several educators said "it takes away our retirement" or at least delays it, even though many of them have planned their financial futures around the set of numbers currently in place for many years.
"It's a bad bill," noted former teacher Kim Fidler, a UniServ director for the Indiana State Teachers Association the past 10 years after 16 years teaching Spanish at South Putnam.
Fidler, who has filed as a District 44 candidate on the Democrat ballot, also announced her candidacy to the group.
The Republican who holds that District 44 seat, Rep. Baird, said the Legislature is looking at alternative programs to end the teacher shortage.
He spoke about ways that might provide incentives for young people to go into teaching.
One bill up for consideration would provide a $7,500-a-year grant for four years to new teachers as an incentive for getting into the profession and accepting an Indiana position.
"It's just in discussion," Baird cautioned, "but it's one of the options."
Meanwhile, self-described "local pacifist" Marian Harvey, offering lengthy comment about animal rights and intertwined agriculture issues, told the legislators, "We need more regulation, not less."
Longtime social worker Ann Newton, however, suggested that "human problems need attention, too."
She noted that Child Protective Services investigations have revealed a major connection between child abuse and parental drug use and asked the legislators for their help in getting something done about it.
A number of local children are injured each year by parents who are using drugs, she said.
Sen. Bray, who chairs the Senate Civil Law Committee, agreed there is an issue, noting that "children are far and away the biggest victims of drugs in our society."
"People don't stop having kids when they do drugs," Bray said, "but they do stop parenting, and that can come with tragic results."
The next scheduled Legislative Update session, sponsored by the Putnam County Farm Bureau, is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Farm Bureau office on North Jackson Street in Greencastle.