Superintendent Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
Speaker Bosma
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana House has approved a bill to make the state superintendent of public instruction a governor-appointed position. Provisions of House Bill 1005 call for the position to be replaced by a newly-created secretary of education in 2025. The bill also involves provisions including two years of living in the state, "demonstrated personal and professional leadership success, preferably in the administration of public education" and an advanced degree "preferably in education or educational administration."
During testimony on the House floor Tuesday, the bill’s author Speaker Brian Bosma (R-88) said voting for the bill "is the right thing to do." He added "only 13 states elect a superintendent, only nine do it in a partisan electoral fashion like Indiana. Let’s join the majority of states, who have said ‘let’s take education out of politics and allow an appointment.’" Bosma said every former governor from Robert Orr through current Governor Eric Holcomb has advocated for making the position appointed instead of elected.
Representative Vernon Smith (D-14), who voted against and spoke out against HB 1005, said the move will reduce involvement and decision-making abilities of Indiana voters. "What’s going to happen is, the topic of education, which is so paramount to the quality of life of our constituents is going to get lost in the governor’s race and will not be a focus area that I think is so significant in the quality of life that we are afforded here in these United States and especially within our state," he said.
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