Hundreds of educators rallied at the Indiana State Teachers Association’s “Pack the House” event on Thursday, April 13, at the Indiana Statehouse. Photo by Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are one step closer to advancing a contentious bill to the governor’s desk that has been decried by the state’s teachers unions as “unnecessary” and “union-busting.”

The House voted 63-36 Monday, April 17—with seven GOP legislators opposed—to send the proposal back to the opposite chamber for final approval. The bill barely passed the Senate earlier this session after facing bipartisan opposition.

Educators and union leaders maintain that Senate Bill 486 would “silence teachers” by stripping their rights to discuss concerns over student learning with school administrators.

Specifically, the bill would no longer require school administrators to discuss topics like class sizes, curriculum and student discipline with teachers and their union.

Republican lawmakers in favor of the bill have said it’s a “deregulation bill” that will empower administrators and educators. They argued the changes would ensure discussions about working conditions are more open to non-union teachers and are not limited to the 16 topics in state law.

“This bill is all about flexibility for educators in the classroom—at the building level and at the system level,” said Rep. Jake Teshka, R-South Bend, who sponsored the bill. “The goal is to eliminate mandates that are either outdated or unnecessary so that our state’s teachers can focus on educating Hoosier children.”

“As we move more and more into a school choice environment where parents can rightly choose the education environment that works best for their child, there’s less need for us to be so prescriptive in our regulation of traditional public schools,” he continued. “This bill treats educators as the professionals that they are by trusting them to communicate with each other as partners, not adversaries.”

But the Indiana State Teachers Association has pushed back, saying the bill would further erode teachers’ collective bargaining rights.

The state’s largest teachers union rallied at the Statehouse last week. Among their demands was a call for lawmakers to kill SB 486 and “stop attacks” on the teaching profession.

Dozens of teachers returned outside the House chamber Monday, chanting and yelling in opposition as lawmakers debated and voted on the bill.

“We have had a union busting effort going on…this body is not dealing with the desires of the community,” said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, speaking Monday on the House floor. “…We are not walking with the people of these communities. (This bill) is destructive.”

Teachers rally against the bill

The legislation, authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, would let school administrators choose not to discuss decisions about classroom sizes, curriculum and other similar topics with their teachers’ union representatives. The bill also would strip down teacher training and evaluation requirements currently in state law, like those related to student homelessness.

The bill does not change requirements for districts to negotiate wages with teachers’ representatives, however.

Tensions rose in the House Education Committee last week as lawmakers debated the bill and an amendment proposed by Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, that would have deleted most of the language in the draft legislation. That amendment ultimately failed.

Democratic lawmakers held that the existing 50-year-old mandate requiring school administrators to discuss working conditions with teachers’ labor representatives is essential for ensuring collective bargaining between school districts and educators is mandatory, not optional.

During nearly three hours of testimony before the House committee, mostly from teachers speaking in opposition, educators said the bill will negatively impact students and worsen Indiana’s already historic teacher shortage.

“Bills like these are directly causing an effect on our teacher shortage,” said Joel Hand, speaking on behalf of the Indiana Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, a separate union with a significant Hoosier membership. “And when teachers feel like and have the impression that they’re not being listened to by their administration, by their legislators, they give up, they leave the profession, or worse yet, we have young people…who decide they’re not going to go into the teaching profession.”

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections.

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