State schools chief Jennifer McCormick shares 'wins and concerns' from 2018 session

“We felt like we had the listening ear of our general assembly,” McCormick said. “And I was really proud of our team and the efforts we made. We had some wins, we also had some areas we’re a little concerned with, but we will be good implementers and I think the special session will help with some of our concerns.”

Here are some “wins” and “concerns,” according to the Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction:

'WINS'

1) Teacher permits

Senate Bill 387 establishes eligibility requirements for a career specialist permit. It states that to be eligible to teach in a secondary school, an applicant must meet one of the following:

• Have a bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the content area the applicant intends to teach.
• Pass the approved content area exam in the content area intended to teach.
• Demonstrate proficiency pedagogy.
• Have, within the immediately preceding 5 years, at least 6,000 clock hours of documented occupational experience in the desired content area.

Considering the current situation of officials struggling to fill open positions, McCormick said she wanted more flexibility than they were given. However, since the bill expanded criteria officials can use to grant career specialist permits, she thinks it will help fill vacant spots.

Initial teacher licenses issued in Indiana has decreased by 20 percent from the 2011-12 school year to the 2015-16, according to data in the state's Annual Educator Licensing Summary Report.

"The flexibility we did get we think will be helpful in making sure that our schools can continue in some of the programming and making sure that our positions are being filled," McCormick said. 

2) High school diploma

In response to federal guidelines that may have cut about 8,000 diplomas with lower academic standards from Indiana's high school graduation rate in federal reporting, Indiana will switch to one-diploma starting with 2018 graduates.

McCormick said there was an issue of who could be counted into the state's graduation rate, but House Bill 1426 establishes one standard diploma for students who successfully complete requirements, with four designations for students who meet different academic achievements.

"We think that’s a good indication of performance for our local schools," she said. "So we were pleased for that."

3) School funding

A projected $22 million gap in education funding was addressed, McCormick said, which is "good for schools."

House Bill 1001 allows the state budget agency to transfer up to $25 million this year and up to $75 million next year from the K-12 state tuition reserve account.

"That was much appreciated because that was a big stressor for the local levels, so that was a good win," McCormick said.

'CONCERNS'

McCormick was disappointed to see the $5 million proposal for school safety grants die without a House vote before the legislative session ended last week. She hopes it will resurface during the special session.

While she wants the $5 million for the Indiana Secured School Fund, McCormick doesn't support everything in the school safety bill.

“As a department we were more aggressive in saying regardless of the school a child attends – whether it’s a public school, charter school or an accredited nonpublic school – we felt the threshold for safety should be the same,” she said. “Your traditional public schools are under pretty high expectations for safety here in Indiana. We all have to have a school safety specialist. We all have to have a pretty extensive plan. And we have to run drills."

Instead, McCormick said there is a “may” provision meaning they may or may not following the same guidelines. But that provision already exists, so McCormick felt it didn’t help.

“We say everyone should be under the same mandates that traditional public schools are under so we as parents, as educators and as students know that threshold is there,” she said.

Regardless if the money comes through, McCormick said officials will continue to work with schools, conduct audits and provide guidance through the school safety academy. She noted Indiana is one of two states in the nation with a safety academy.