Latest news with #Behning
Axios
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Lawmakers urge IPS, charter school collaboration on facilities and transportation
A new legislative proposal wouldn't force Indianapolis Public Schools and the charter schools continually cropping up throughout the district to merge facilities or transportation services — but it would look at how it could be done. The big picture: State lawmakers introduced several proposals targeting IPS this year, seemingly aimed at forcing the district to share more resources with charter schools. Bills to dissolve the district and take control of its facilities and transportation services haven't moved forward, though lawmakers are still contemplating changes to Indiana's property tax system that would affect schools statewide. Driving the news: The creation of an "Indianapolis Local Education Alliance" was introduced Wednesday morning in the House Education Committee as an amendment to Senate Bill 373, which deals with several unrelated education issues. The alliance would be a nine-person board tasked with conducting a facilities assessment for all public school buildings within IPS boundaries. It would also develop a plan for how to manage all facilities within those boundaries — those belonging to both IPS and charter schools — under a new governing body and provide transportation to them. State of play: Education committee chair Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, authored the amendment, which also included language from a bill Behning authored but didn't move earlier in the session. In addition to the IPS proposal, Behning's amendment creates centralized facilities and transportation pilot programs that school districts and charter schools may apply to participate in, looking for unique ways to find efficiencies together. Behning said the alliance idea came from IPS board members. Yes, but: At least two IPS board members, Gayle Cosby and Allissa Impink, oppose the alliance as written. "The original spirit of the concept was to provide technical expertise and shared planning to inform the district's work, not to circumvent it," Impink told the committee. Behning told Axios the only concerns he's heard have been about the makeup of the board and who gets to appoint people to it — including the governor, who currently gets three appointees. He said he's open to discussion about that. Context: The legislation aimed at IPS stems from a larger, yearslong discussion about charter school funding in the state. The charter school sector argues that it should be funded the same way as traditional public schools and given an equal share of local property tax dollars. IPS has grappled with how much money to share from the property tax referendums while some charters struggled to provide services like transportation. Currently, the district shares with charter schools it has formal partnerships with but not all within its boundaries. Between the lines: It's likely that lawmakers will force school districts to share some property tax dollars with charter schools. Behning told Axios it's possible that the tax sharing proposal, Senate Bill 518, will get amended into Senate Bill 1, the larger property tax overhaul proposal, but that it's likely that IPS (and all schools) will have to adjust to this new world. "If that is the world," Behning said, "what's the best way to share those assets?" What he's saying: Behning said his vision for the alliance's plan would be something akin to the county's capital improvement board, which would hold and manage all of the area's public school building and transportation infrastructure. "I'm trying to say, 'Think big,'" he said. The intrigue: Though not unheard of, it is late in the legislative session to introduce a brand new concept. Some opposed to the alliance questioned the timing, particularly with the opportunity for public testimony occurring during IPS spring break. What's next: The House Education Committee is expected to take a vote on the amendment and bill next week.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A-F grades set to return for Indiana schools as lawmakers consider new accountability system
An Indiana bill on the move seeks to return a statewide letter grade system used to evaluate school performance. (Getty Images) After a multi-year hiatus, A-F grades are likely to be used again to measure the quality of Indiana's schools. The return to a statewide letter grade system is outlined in Republican Rep. Bob Behning's House Bill 1498, which unanimously passed out of the House Education Committee on Wednesday. The bill now heads to the full chamber for further review. Behning's proposal would strip back much of the previous accountability framework and task Indiana's State Board of Education (SBOE) with building a new A-F rule — that looks beyond just academic performance and graduation rates — by the end of 2025. If approved, that means a new round of grades would be assigned to Hoosier schools around the start of the 2026-27 academic year. School grades have been effectively suspended since 2018, when Indiana shifted from ISTEP to a new state standardized test and later grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. Behning, who chairs the House Education Committee, said his bill seeks to put the state education board's recently unveiled accountability draft — or something like it — into action. 'We want to make sure that (the new model) is student centered, that it elevates the range not only of knowledge, but also of skill development and experiences that students need, depending on their unique goals,' Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said Wednesday, also emphasizing the need for a model that provides 'actionable feedback.' 'That's what accountability should be. It should never be a gotcha system,' she continued. 'This should really provide actionable feedback for our schools, and our teachers, and parents, and families, so that we can make sure we're doing everything we can for kids.' Indiana's current grading system measures schools in just two groups. Elementary and middle schools (grades 3-8) are evaluated only by students' academic performance and growth on the statewide ILEARN exam. High schools (grades 9-12) are judged by SAT scores, graduation rates and college and career readiness benchmarks. Jenner described the state board's intention to add IREAD scores, as well as rates for literacy, student attendance and chronic absenteeism to the third grade rubric. Students' proficiency in ELA and math, plus attendance data and amounts of advanced coursework taken would additionally be considered for those in grades 4-8. The education secretary recommended other add-on criteria for assessing students in grade 10 and onward that would be paired with the state's new diploma model, like attainment of new diploma seals and work-based learning credentials. 'If you look at the future potential model, what we know in education is there are certain grade levels and points in time that really, really matter for us to understand where a child is,' Jenner said. Story continues below. NEW-JANUARY-2025-SBOE-DECK Included in the bill are specific guidelines for measuring school performance. Although the state board is responsible for hammering out the particulars, the bill does require the new system's methodology to be based on data from the state education department's existing GPS dashboard and proficiency rates from state assessments; prioritize students earning new diploma seals; and include a high school 'on-track to graduate' indicator. The latest draft of the bill further stipulates that standardized test performance should be the 'primary means' of assessing students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Jenner said high schools 'would not necessarily' be graded in the same way, 'because we're leaning into the diploma seals and some other options there.' The board is otherwise allowed to add other 'relevant' factors at its discretion, according to the legislation. The letter-grade system for Indiana schools rolled out in 2011, replacing descriptive ratings like 'exemplary' and 'academic watch.' State officials updated the formula again in 2014 to prioritize students' academic progress, rather than examining how their test score gains compared to their peers. The grades were previously used as a basis for the state to take over underperforming public schools. Indiana lawmakers abolished such takeovers in 2021. Still, Indianapolis Democrat Rep. Ed DeLaney pushed for a model that abandons A-F altogether and instead adopts an alternative system with only two ratings: schools that need intervention, and schools that don't. He called the current grading system 'a form of advertising that can be very negative for some schools,' and a 'very positive' source of 'bragging' for others. 'I want the letter grades gone. I believe they are destructive, and they're not useful,' DeLaney said. 'I don't see the value of telling somebody in Carmel that your school's a 'B' school and the one down the street is an 'A.' I just don't see the value at all. I think what's important is to tell them how the kids in that school are doing.' DeLaney's proposed amendment failed in committee along party lines, but Behning said the suggestion to go beyond a single A-F grade 'is something that I would entertain' as the legislative process continues. John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, additionally held that a new accountability structure should provide 'a fuller look at how schools are performing, overall' — which might require a departure from the A-F system used previously. He told the House committee his group is neutral on the bill 'because I still think we're pretty far from a finished product … and I don't know exactly where we're going to end up.' 'I've never been a proponent of a single letter grade. Just as students aren't a single letter grade, neither are schools,' Elcesser said. 'I think for the sake of simplicity, we go with a single letter grade, but sometimes we lose out on the accuracy of really reflecting the full school.' Behning pushed back, however. 'I would reflect that you are probably right; your son or child is not one letter grade, but they do have a GPA,' the representative told Elcesser during public testimony. Just as students aren't a single letter grade, neither are schools. – John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association Joel Hand with the Indiana Coalition for Public Education and the American Federation of Teachers of Indiana also took issue with the A-F system and preferred a model like the one DeLaney proposed. 'I think our big concerns, really, are making sure that we are reflecting scores that are accurate, not just based upon socioeconomic status,' Hand said. 'What we see time and again when we're labeling schools as 'D' schools or 'F' schools … those children typically have not had sufficient access to quality pre-kindergarten programs. They have not had access to the types of learning environments and opportunities that children from more affluent homes might receive. We would like for there to be multiple different standards by which students are going to be judged.' Multiple other education groups spoke in favor of the bill, as did a handful of parents, most of whom cited desires for a more robust system for accessing information about schools. 'We need to restart the process. We want to hold schools accountable. … Our school systems exist for one reason, and that's to elevate student achievement outcomes,' said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association. 'I know great things are happening in our public school classrooms every day, and I know that our schools will perform well once we have a target for which to aim.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The bill to dissolve IPS might not move. Are lawmakers using it as a bargaining chip?
Key Indiana lawmakers are signaling that one of the most attention-grabbing bills filed in the Indiana General Assembly this year — a proposal to dissolve Indianapolis Public Schools entirely and turn it into charter schools — is not seriously on the table this legislative session. Instead, the bill, which has prompted strong opposition from both the school district and its supporters, appears to be part of a negotiating strategy aimed at something else entirely. Lawmakers want IPS, and other public schools, to share the property tax money they get each year from residents with the charter schools and other traditional public schools that serve students. For years IPS and local charter schools have argued over the idea. About half of the nearly 50,000 children who are within the IPS's attendance boundaries attend charter schools and other traditional public schools. More than 1,400 students living within the district's lines, for example, instead attend nearby Lawrence Township schools, and more than 800 each attend the charters Victory College Prep and Christel House Academy South. The controversial House Bill 1136 is part of flurry of legislation targeting IPS and its coffers this legislative session. Another bill would outsource transportation and operations money from IPS to another entity. Even if all of the proposals don't become law, local community leaders say they're concerning. Tony Mason, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Urban League, criticized "conversation-starter bills" like HB 1136. "Don't start it through the introduction of bills that would attack the district in its very existence," Mason said. "They appear to be focused on forcing the district to capitulate to provide funding, transportation and facilities to unaffiliated schools." Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston said he was more focused on revenue-sharing than the bill to dissolve IPS when asked about it earlier in January by reporters. He was asked directly if the legislation was aimed at trying to force a compromise. "My biggest issue is that the districts share revenue — local property tax dollars — to support these students," Huston said. "If we can do things without legislative action, I'd love to do that." House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, pointed out to IndyStar that he still hasn't scheduled a hearing for the controversial bill, a necessary first step in moving it forward through the legislative process. "It's probably too early to judge us on where we are until the process is complete," Behning said. Meanwhile, Behning said, he is in conversation with IPS officials. "They understand that there's an interest by several that would like to see revenue sharing," he said. The more likely change lawmakers are considering lies in Senate Bill 518, which would require all school districts to share more of their property-tax revenue. The bill could potentially shift $124 million to charter schools and $436 million to other traditional public schools between 2026 and 2028, according to a legislative report on the bill's fiscal impact, though it's unclear at this point how individual districts and charter schools would be impacted. The bill's lead author, Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, told IndyStar she is still working on the bill and declined to comment further. That bill also doesn't yet have a committee hearing scheduled. In a statement, IPS said bills including SB 518 would have "profound effects" on the district. "We're working rapidly both internally and externally — with lawmakers and our lobbyists — to advocate for the best interests of all Indianapolis students," according to a statement from the district. "As we have reviewed SB 518, we know that there would be a significant financial impact on the future operations fund of the district." IPS collected about $90 million in property taxes overall in 2023, an increase of nearly 30% since 2019. IPS already has to share a portion of newly generated tax revenue from referendums with charter schools, but lawmakers including Behning want that sharing to be more widespread. "Every parent, regardless of whether or not they choose the incumbent ... school district, are paying those property taxes," Behning said. "How do we better distribute that?" While IPS says it's worried about the financial ramifications of SB 518, other public districts might not be in the same boat. Wayne Township schools, for example, has hundreds of students who choose to attend the district despite living in another district's boundaries. The bill would result in the township district sending revenue to about 75 school districts and charter schools while receiving revenue from approximately 115 traditional public school districts, said spokesperson Jeannine Templeman. However, the district was unsure of the bill's exact economic impact. "We will continue to work collaboratively with neighboring districts and legislators throughout the session on this and many other education-related bills," Templeman said. Warren Township schools, which lose a net nearly 90 students annually to other public districts and charters, told IndyStar in a statement that voters expect their property taxes will be used to support their local public school districts. "We encourage the General Assembly to safeguard this critical connection between local taxpayers and their local school districts, ensuring that these institutions remain strong and continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve," said Dennis Jarrett, a spokesperson for Warren Township schools. Even as discussion among lawmakers and lobbyists has moved to property-tax sharing, fears about dissolving IPS remain outside of the four walls of the Indiana Statehouse. Leaders from the African American Coalition of Indianapolis, for example, held a press conference last week to decry a lack of transparency over the legislative process while negotiations between the district and lawmakers take place behind the scenes. Meanwhile, those leaders said, kids and families are scared. "This has seemed very top down," said Willis Bright, chairman of the African American Coalition of Indianapolis. "Where have been the conversations with the families that will be most impacted by the shifts and changes that are being proposed?" Lobbyists who are closely watching education bills said it's important to watch the process closely even though they're skeptical that the bill to dissolve IPS will move forward. "It's a long legislative session," said Scott Bowling, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials Inc., which lobbies for public school districts' financial interests. "... Those concepts can come back. I would say be vigilant but don't panic." The conversation about sharing property taxes, on the other hand, is a concept that "keeps coming back," Bowling said. "It falls right in line with what they're talking about in terms of dollars following the child," he said. "We're still working on what our position on that is going to be. We want to make sure funding is strong for all different types of public schools in the state." Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana lawmakers use controversial IPS dissolution bill to negotiate
