Teacher Pay And Voucher Expansion Bill Pass Legislature

A bill containing controversial language about collective bargaining for teachers and school vouchers (in the order we address them below) passed both chambers. It survived Thursday’s debate and is now headed to the governor for approval. 

House Bill 1005 allows for school districts to give Advanced Placement teachers bonuses without consulting the teacher’s union. Similar language already exists in state law for dual credit teachers and lawmakers say they wanted to align the two jobs.

Ft. Wayne Republican Liz Brown says it’s important to reward teachers that have more schooling and teach tougher classes.

“It verifies how important we think our public school teachers are and how important these additional roles they take on are,” Brown says.

But many opposed this language saying it was too similar to previous bills that both the House and Senate killed because of their “anti teacher” perception.

This bill also sparked debate over  the application deadline to apply for a state voucher to attend a private school. It allows students to apply twice during the year, and opponents say this will cause a higher enrollment in the program and cost the state more money.

The bill now heads to the governor before to become law.