For the last 20 years, there have only been Republican governors influencing educational decision-making in the State of Indiana. For the last 13 years, Republicans have controlled both the Senate and the House and are responsible for all legislation affecting the education of Indiana’s students. Since 2005, education policies have in most cases been ill-conceived, irrational and to some extent made with malice in mind.
Here are some of the major miscues:
* Public education and public school teachers have been demeaned, criticized and scapegoated as the cause of student underachievement. Indiana teacher salaries are among lowest in the nation. Teachers have been whipsawed by ever-changing state tests and mandates. Negativity towards teachers has resulted in the critical teacher shortage of today.
* School Choice in the form of Charter Schools and Private School Vouchers were touted as the solution to all student education problems. In reality, Charter Schools have underperformed compared to public schools and students of poverty in private schools have achieved less than in public schools.
* Private schools “choose the student” through entrance exams and discriminatory religious requirements while rejecting low-achieving and exceptional need students. Last year, nearly 70% of private school voucher students never attended a public school while $440 million was diverted away from public schools as welfare to wealthy parents. That is $440 per student lost to EVERY public school in the State. There is no public accountability in the form of state audits as to how state tax dollars that go to Charter and Private School Vouchers are spent, whether profit taking, fraud or misspending.
* Indiana Education Scholarship Accounts (INESA) is a pilot program for parents of special needs students giving them directly $6,000 (totaling $10 million) to spend for their child’s education without any monitoring of how that money is spent or any qualification requirements for who receives those funds.
* The lack of state accountability has already resulted in the Indiana Virtual Charter School false enrollment scandal that defrauded Indiana of $154 million.
* Policies of hate, harm and hurt — From baning books that serve the needs of LGBTQ+ students; threatening teachers and librarians who are too empathetic and don’t follow restrictions closely enough; seeing books as a threat to students, but ignoring the number one cause of death for students — guns; wanting to restrict the values of diversity and inclusion; and endorsing an Attorney General who promises punitive prosecution of teachers and endorses divisive parental behavior, the state has advocated a platform of “anti-wokism”.
* Policies on the horizon include Project 2025 — The conservative blueprint would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, which provides oversight for Special Education and Civil Rights; reduce or eliminate public education; give parents State tax dollars to find their own education sources without any restrictions or public accounting; eliminate property taxes as a revenue source for public education; and make it more difficult to pass local Referenda
This year the choices for Governor and Attorney General cannot be more stark. On the one hand is more of the same Republican divisive hate, harm and hurt for public education, students and staff.
On the other side are candidates who will focus on rational education decision-making, public accountability for state tax dollars, and healing instead of harm. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick is an accomplished educator who understands the value of high quality, public education, as she served as State Superintendent of Education until 2021, and she advocates a platform of caring and providing for all students, regardless of need and without divisiveness.
Enough is enough. Let’s bring rational change to the governance of Indiana. Let’s have healing instead of hurt.
Dr. Tony Lux is a retired Superintendent of Merrillville Community Schools and a board member of the Indiana Coalition for Public Schools.