KEEP POLITICS OUT OF THE SCHOOLHOUSE

Two years ago, our ICPE co- founder and author of Vic’s Statehouse Notes, Dr. Vic Smith, wrote about similar bills:

“Making school boards partisan is a bad idea. It would further divide our state into partisan camps and create partisan controversies and ill-will in the boards running public schools that serve all children.

This proposal comes from the same Republican party that in 2017 and again in 2019 passed bills to appoint rather than elect the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elective office for 166 years, saying at the time that politics should be taken out of K-12 education.

How quickly they forget.” (Vic’s Statehouse Notes #371)

Two years ago, ICPE Lobbyist, Joel Hand testified in opposition to partisan school boards. Watch that video here.

It’s Groundhog Day all over again. Two bills, SB287 and HB1230, have been filed this session to make school boards partisan. ISBA (Indiana School Boards Association) expects for them to be heard. It’s time to call or write messages (see the list of email addresses at the bottom of this post) to the elections committees and speak up for why you want school board candidates to stay non-partisan. Here are some of our concerns below.

• We must leave politics out of public education. Kids should be the focus.
• Many highly qualified school board candidates would run in a non-partisan election but would not get involved if they had to run in a partisan election as members of a party.
• School board members should be accountable to their community and not political party bosses.
• The partisan majority on the school board would soon establish a partisan test for selecting a superintendent who might then do the same in hiring administrators.
• Keeping nonpartisan school board candidates forces voters to make an informed decision, focusing on qualifications, instead of just following the party line.

Here are the two bills:

1. SB 287 School Board Matters (Author: Senator Byrne; Co-Author: Senator Doriot) – Requires candidates for school board offices to be nominated in the same manner as candidates for all other elected offices are nominated, including a primary election and party affiliation identification on the ballot. The bill also modifies the annual amount that the governing body of a school corporation may pay a member of the governing body from $2,000 (under current law) to an amount not to exceed 10% of the lowest starting salary of a teacher employed by the school corporation.

***UPDATE AS OF 2/11/25 This bill passed out of the Senate Elections Committee on 2/10/25 and is now eligible for Second Reading in the full Senate. 

Please email, text, and/or call your state senators now to ask that they oppose this bill. 

Find your legislator here. 

(317) 232-9400

School board members should be accountable to their community and not political parties. The partisan majority on the school board would soon establish a partisan test for selecting a superintendent who might then do the same in hiring administrators. Adding a primary election and making school board races a lengthy and costly process will further narrow the pool of qualified candidates for an office that is minimally paid (maximum of $2,000 annually)

2. HB 1230 School Board Elections (Author: Rep. J.D. Prescott; Co-Authors: Reps. Doug Miller, Robert Heaton, and Michelle Davis). This bill provides that for school board offices, each candidate’s affiliation with a political party or status as an independent candidate must be stated on the general election ballot but does not add a primary election or address school board member compensation.

***UPDATE: As of 2/11/25 this bill will be heard in the House Elections & Apportionment Commmittee meeting Wednesday morning 2/12/25 at 10:30am in Room 156-B on the lower level. Please email or call the committee members and your own legislators to ask them to oppose this bill. 

(317) 232-9600 

House Elections and Apportionment Committee

Rep. Timothy Wesco (Chairperson): h21@iga.in.gov
Rep. Zach Payne: h66@iga.in.gov
Rep. Kendell Culp: h16@iga.in.gov
Rep. Ethan Lawson: h53@iga.in.gov
Rep. Kyle Pierce: h36@iga.in.gov
Rep. J.D. Prescott: h33@iga.in.gov
Rep. Jim Pressel: h20@iga.in.gov
Rep. Ben Smaltz: h52@iga.in.gov
Rep. Tim Yocum: h42@iga.in.gov
Rep. Carolyn Jackson: h1@iga.in.gov
Rep. Pat Boy: h9@iga.in.gov
Rep. Sue Errington: h34@iga.in.gov
Rep. Cherrish Pryor: h94@iga.in.gov

h21@iga.in.gov
h66@iga.in.gov
h16@iga.in.gov
h53@iga.in.gov
h36@iga.in.gov
h33@iga.in.gov
h20@iga.in.gov
h52@iga.in.gov
h42@iga.in.gov
h1@iga.in.gov
h9@iga.in.gov
h34@iga.in.gov
h94@iga.in.gov