The prospect for Indiana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction to become an appointed position is still alive, despite the rejection of the original Senate Bill.
On Monday, the Senate Rules committee will hear House Bill 1005, which would grant the governor to appoint the top education position instead of allowing for Hoosiers to vote — one of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s top legislative priorities.
While the measure passed easily in the House by a 68-29 vote, the Senate voted to reject the similarly-worded Senate Bill 26-23.
The Senate has a rule that when a bill dies or is defeated, the chamber cannot vote on legislation with “substantially similar language,” so the future of the House legislation was also uncertain.
But House Speaker Brian Bosma (Indianapolis) and Senate majority leader David Long (Fort Wayne), both Republicans, said the bill would be different enough if amendments are approved in the Senate committee.
Bosma said the amended House bill would likely include a different start date for the change, residency requirements for the position and, potentially, a licensing requirement.
“None of those provisions are my favorite by any means,” Bosma said, “and I really like how the bill passed here in the house, on a bipartisan basis, by new members and those who’ve been around for a long time on both sides of the aisle.We’ll work it through.”
Even though the bill will have differences, it may not be enough to get more senators on board. The chair of the Senate Education and Career Development committee Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, still plans to vote no.
“I appreciate the effort that is being made to have it be a different version than what the Senate voted on, but I’ve been for election of the superintendent of public instruction my entire life and I will still support an election of the superintendent,” Kruse said. “I do not want it to be appointed.”
Although the bill pertains to education it was not sent to the Senate Education and Career Development Committee, but he’ll still have the chance to vote on it as a member of the Rules Committee.
The battle over whether the Superintendent of Public Instruction should be an appointed position has lasted for years, with most recent governors promoting the change. Holcomb made it a priority in his State of the State speech, and was backed by both Long and Bosma. Bosma was the author on the House proposal.
The call for the removal of politics from the position came to a head during former Gov. Mike Pence’s tenure, as he and former Democratic Superintendent Glenda Ritz were at odds on key legislative issues. Ritz’s power was threatened when lawmakers passed legislation that allowed for the State Board of Education to appoint its own leader.
“Depending on your perspective, you can point your fingers at who to blame. Having had a front-row seat, they both (were),” Long said. “They both struggled in that relationship. I do believe in the end, the state of Indiana and our kids and the schools are better off if we make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The current bill language would allow Superintendent Jennifer McCormick to finish her term before the changes are made, but the Senate could extend that date with amendments.
If everyone is present, three additional senators — or two senators and the lieutenant — will need to support the legislation for it to pass.