An Indiana Senate committee Monday endorsed a bill that would make the state's school chief an appointment rather than an elected position despite debate over whether the Senate could even legally hear the measure.
The measure allows for the governor to appoint the state superintendent of public instruction, an issue the past six governors and current Gov. Eric Holcomb have pushed for.
But Democrats questioned Senate Leader David Long (R-Fort Wayne) over whether the Senate could hear the bill in committee because the chamber had previously voted against a nearly identical bill.
A Senate rule says when a bill dies or is defeated, any legislation with "that exact language or substantially similar language shall be considered decisively defeated and shall not be considered again during the session."
Long argued that the bill was substantially different because of several changes presented during the committee hearing, including one that changed the effective date from 2021 to 2025 and imposed a residency requirement.
The committee also added language that the nominee must have a college degree and five years of experience in education, have held a license as a teacher, superintendent or principal for five years or be currently employed as a teacher, principal or superintendent.
Both current Superintendent Jennifer McCormick and former superintendent Glenda Ritz would have met the requirements.
Sen. Timothy Lanane, D-Anderson, argued that the Senate rule means the bill shouldn't even be heard in committee. He tried unsuccesfully making a point of order to Long.
“The heart of the bill remains the same, that the position of superintendent of public instruction will go from being the elected position it’s been for hundreds of years to now being an appointed position by one person -- the governor,” Lanane said. “I know we can debate that but quite frankly I think we are diminishing the importance of the rules.”
The Senate Rules Committee voted 8-4 for the measure, with only the Democrats voting against it. The proposal now moves to the floor for amendments and a vote.
If the bill is approved on the floor, it will still have to head to conference committee for the differences between the House and Senate to be worked out. There was some concern over whether the bill could move back towards its original language.
Long said he could consider a minor amendment, but the bill had to remain different from the originally rejected language.
“With small verbiage that might change something, years of service or something or add an additional qualification, I would not consider that reverting back to the original bill,” Long said. “But short of that we’d have to keep the bill in the shape it’s in. Reverting backwards I don’t think can happen.”
The discussion over whether to make the position an appointed one is 45 years in the making.
In the early 1970s, the General Assembly passed a bill putting a referendum on the ballot that would change the language surrounding the Superintendent of Public instruction, allowing lawmakers to decide how the superintendent was chosen. The referendum passed, and soon after legislatures followed up with a bill saying it would remain an elected position.
House speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis), the author of the legislation, recalled speaking on behalf of the prospect of an appointed position over 30 years ago for then-superintendent H. Dean Evans, who was appointed only after Harold Negley resigned.
Since then, both Republicans and Democrats governors have pushed for the appointment of the position, in an attempt to remove politics from education.
“This is not a proper office for a check and balance on school policy,” Bosma said. “This is a proper office to administer ... the department and policies established by the General Assembly and State Board of Education.”
Long previously cited the contentious relationship between former Gov. Mike Pence and former superintendent Glenda Ritz as an example of why change is needed. They disagreed on key issues and Ritz’s influence was threatened when the General Assembly passed legislation that allowed for the State Board of Education to appoint its own leader.
But for more than 160 years the position has been an elected one, and opponents argue Hoosiers shouldn’t have to give up their right to vote.
“No doubt the governor would love to have the power to select the state’s superintendent, but that would remove the power voters have had to name an independent leader in Indiana education,” said Vic Smith of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. “Keeping that power in the hands of people is what democracy is all about.”