Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, April 1, 2011
(STATEHOUSE) - The House Education Committee took public testimony but know vote on a Senate Education Bill.
The senate has already passed the measure limiting teachers' collective bargaining rights to wages and benefits.
The bill is part of Governor Daniels' Education Agenda. In his State of the State address in January, he ridiculed contracts which have forced school districts to negotiate over such items as the color of the walls in the teachers' lounge.
The House hearing on the bill pitted teachers on one side against superintendents and principals on the other.
Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents Executive Director John Ellis says schools are increasingly hamstrung by insignificant items which find their way into contracts and become the subject of grievances.
The state's two teachers' unions, the Indiana State Teachers Association and the Indiana Federation of Teachers, argue there are other items, including evaluation standards and school hours, which are critical parts of contract talks.
IFT President Rick Muir calls the bill a "slap in the face" to teachers.
He says it's sapped morale by assuming teachers care only about their compensation, and locking them out of the discussion of how to improve schools.
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