By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
bradnere@courierpress.com
INDIANAPOLIS - Responding to concerns over cost, a panel of state lawmakers dramatically altered a plan intended to focus Indiana elementary schools' attention on literacy.
But rather than entirely rebuffing Gov. Mitch Daniels and state schools chief Tony Bennett, who are backing the proposal, those lawmakers - mostly Republicans, like Daniels and Bennett - kept the measure moving, albeit in a reduced form.
Senate Bill 258, in its original form, would have mandated that schools hold back third-graders who fail the language arts portion of the ISTEP exam - with some exceptions. It also would have required schools to set aside extra time to help students who are struggling with reading skills.
The plan was endorsed by Daniels in his State of the State speech last week, and was also backed by Bennett, the state superintendent of public instruction.
However, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, noted that complying with the bill's new requirements could cost school districts millions.
An amendment Kenley's committee approved Tuesday night on a 9-3 vote instead would have the State Department of Education and Board of Education craft their own plan to end the "social promotion" of students who aren't ready to move to the next grade.
The plan would be developed in two phases.
In the first phase, the board would instruct schools on cost-free steps to take this year. In the second phase, it would develop a proposal that could include some added cost for lawmakers to consider next year, when they work on the state's next budget.
The Board of Education "could have done this on their own," said the bill's author, Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn.
"The point of the original bill would have been more what we would call a state mandate on the local schools to do this, but now the mandate is gone."
The bill now does put in place a process through which school districts can ask for a public hearing if they believe the first phase of the plan that's eventually developed would cost them money to implement. It also requires schools to report retention data, which they do not currently have to do.
A Bennett spokeswoman said Tuesday night that lawmakers wield a great deal of influence in ending social promotions.
"Having the Indiana General Assembly directive to draft and implement a plan is imperative for this to be a sustainable and successful initiative," said Stephanie Sample. "Having the body's investment makes all the difference."
Tuesday night, the Senate Appropriations Committee also advanced casino-related legislation. But it stripped out a provision that would have allowed casinos to move ashore.
That change came after the Casino Association of Indiana, the lobbying arm of the state's 13 riverboats, said it opposed land-based gaming in large part because many of its members had recently invested in improvements to their boats.
"I personally think we're making a mistake by not going forward with that, but I didn't want to jeopardize other elements of the bill," said Kenley, who offered the amendment and then, after its passage was clear, voted against it.