Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Republican-controlled General Assembly seem bent on revamping the way the state operates its public education system.
Those moves drew the wrath of the state’s teachers last week when thousands rallied in the halls of the Statehouse.
While we agree with the Republicans that change is needed in the state’s education system, we also understand why classroom teachers are upset.
Senate Bill 575 — one of two education reorganization bills pending — severely weakens teacher unions and takes away the teachers’ voice in the daily operation of the schools.
At issue the day of the teacher rally last week was the vast expansion of charter schools in Indiana.
While the charter schools are public schools, they don’t face as many regulations as regular public schools. And generally, the teachers in charter schools aren’t part of unions, be it the American Federation of Teachers or the Indiana State Teachers Association.
And charter schools draw money away from the school system from which the students came.
There is something conspicuously missing in what has become the great education debate: What what becomes of schools where there are academic problems? Those generally are the schools that the charter school students previously attended.
A recent survey by Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation and Education Policy addressed a host of education issues now being discussed in the General Assembly.
The results are something legislators should be considering as they go about changing the state’s education system. There were two notable statements made by those surveyed.
One is that just 7.6 percent of those responding support “offset tuition” or vouchers for students to attend another public or private school if their school was placed on academic probation.
But most significantly, 65.9 percent of the respondents support transforming schools, which would retrain teachers and principals, revamp instructional practices and extend the school day.
People are saying they want traditional schools and feel they are worth saving rather than letting the better students bail out for charter schools. It’s time for the state to heed the call.