Governor Mike Pence, in his continuing efforts to make sure that the duly elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz is stripped of her constitutional authority as chair of the state board of education, has encouraged the state board to hold secret meetings when Ritz was not present.
At a recent meeting, the Pence board voted to transfer authority over the A-F grading system from the board to the state legislature. This is the same grading system that was created and manipulated by former Superintendent Tony Bennett to protect the charter school of a campaign contributor.
Superintendent Ritz issued the following press release today:
INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION GLENDA RITZ FILES SUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR PENCE’S STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
INDIANAPOLIS – In response to apparent violations of the Open Door Law by members of the State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz filed suit today naming ten members of the Board as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the named members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law by taking action in secret by drafting, or directing the drafting of, a letter they sent to President Pro Tempore Long and Speaker Bosma dated October 16, 2013. The suit seeks to prevent the State Board of Education from continued violations of the Open Door Law and declaratory relief.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that ten members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law when they took action by requesting that Senator Long and Speaker Bosma appoint Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency to perform calculations to determine the 2012-2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools. The suit alleges that no public notice was issued for a meeting that allowed for this action and that Superintendent Ritz was not made aware of this action until after it was taken, despite her role as Chair of the State Board of Education.
“When I was sworn in to office, I took an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Indiana,” said Superintendent Ritz. “I take this oath very seriously and I was dismayed to learn that other members of the State Board have not complied with the requirements of the law. While I respect the commitment and expertise of members of the board individually, I feel they have over-stepped their bounds.
“Since my inauguration, I have worked tirelessly to communicate openly with the Board and the public. I do not take this action lightly, but my obligations as elected state Superintendent require it. I look forward to continuing to work to improve education for all Indiana students in a fair, transparent and collaborative manner.”
The suit is Ritz v. Elsener, et al and it has been filed in the Marion Circuit Court. The cause number is 49C01-1310-PL-038953. The Department of Education is using in-house counsel to avoid any additional costs to the state.
After reading this I’m glad I can exercise self-control and I respect the no profanity policy for this blog…because…
Cheers to State Superintendent Ritz! If only our Michigan legislature would restore our State Board of Education’s elected authority that was stripped with no transparency through Governor John Engler’s 1996 Executive Orders. Michigan parents, students and teachers have suffered under oppressive autocratic rule of our non-elected State Superintendent for 18 years of long and eroding public education.
Engler stole from the pension fund, got caught, and bribed unions with Gramm Rudman. Grandholm no better with her deal with Teach for America. Detroit, Highland Park, Muskegon, Benton Harbor sold to profiteers under Synder.
Of course Detroit first came under state control under Engler. Omg, his appointee’s famous quote, repeated by himself many times too often, was “the thing is the thing”. Can’t make this stuff up!
Good for her.
People love sunshine laws, BTW. They’re wildly popular with the public. They have a history in the US. They came about partly as a “good government” response to Watergate and partly as a result of what was a real consumer protection law revolution in the 1970’s.
My own sense is people “get” sunshine laws on a gut level. Obviously if they’re drafting these directives without the required “notice and a chance to be heard” provisions, they don’t want public input and exposure.
“Senator Long and Speaker Bosma appoint Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency to perform calculations to determine the 2012-2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools.”
Because God forbid anyone in Indiana go another year without the latest grading scheme! Rush it out there, by all means. The thing will be completely discredited by the time they’re done with all these political machinations, but what the hell. Slap a grade on ’em.
The rule of law means nothing to the “reformers,” clearly. Time and time again, they circumvent the law. Perhaps they are all taking their cue from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who is prohibited by law from establishing curricula but used the threat of withholding federal funds to blackmail states into buying into the Common Core and into the new tests based on the Common Core.
Of course, “reformers” never tire of saying that “standards are not curricula.” But as E.D. Hirsch, Jr., pointed out on this blog recently, the CCSS in ELA CLEARLY are a curriculum outline–an outline of topics to be covered at particular grade levels. And some of the CCSS in ELA are curriculum outline items, too. Everyone who works for a textbook publishing house KNOWS how strongly the “standards” determine curriculum and pedagogical approaches, as do all teachers who are forced to submit to “trainings” (Sit up. Roll over. Bark. Good boy.) on new CCSS curricula and pedagogy.
Everyone knows that standards are adopted to influence what is taught, when, to whom, and how. It’s completely disingenuous to claim otherwise. But we’ve become used to equivocation and outright lies from the “reform” crowd:
And be these juggling fiends no more believed,.
That palter with us in a double sense.
–Shakespeare, Macbeth
The “reformers” have taken bureaucratic Newspeak to new heights. It’s everything I can do to keep from spitting when I hear, for example, people speak of the gawdawful, amateurish, backward CCSS in ELA as “standards” or as “rigorous” or of the new “standards” as being “Common,” as being created by the “States,” or as being central, or “Core.”
Common Core State Standards
Common as in unworthy or base
Core as in the indigestible part of the fruit
State as in dictated by a distant, arbitrary, totalitarian authority
Standards as in one-size-fits-all prescriptions for all students despite their diversity
Correction: I meant to write,
But as E.D. Hirsch, Jr., pointed out on this blog recently, the CCSS in Mathematics CLEARLY are a curriculum outline–an outline of topics to be covered at particular grade levels.
I certainly wish her well. Bennett was voted out of office. We in Indiana have suffered enough of his politicking. We had hoped that Ritz would supplant that.
Pence better pay attention.
**Below is a re-posting of my comments about an article yesterday.**
A little history of Indiana’s November 2012 election might be worth remembering (for those non-Hoosiers reading this blog); Glenda Ritz got more votes than even Governor Pence. By trying to dilute her influence, he is going against the will of the people. Pence is ignoring voters’ voices at his own peril.
Indiana is such a red state that if you are on the republican ticket and you lose, then there’s something seriously wrong with (1) your policies, (2) your message, or (3) just “you.” Bennett richly deserved this defeat, yet even after losing, he tried to spin it to sound as if he still did some good for the state. Bennett’s puppet-master, outgoing Governor Mitch Daniels (term-limited), was in such a froth about Bennett’s loss that he accused teachers of using school time to gin up opposition to Bennett. He even claimed he had proof, but never produced it:
(http://www.indystar.com/article/20121130/NEWS05/121130014/Gov-Mitch-Daniels-claims-teachers-used-illegaltactics-
defeat-GOP-state-education-chief-Tony-Bennett)
Joining Bennett in the losers’ column in Indiana was Richard Mourdoch, a tea-party candidate for US Senate whose message angered women voters because it sounded like Todd “legitimate rape” Akin. Bennett had big problems because of his overweening attitude to teachers, but he got thumped fair-and-square, even though he outspent Ritz 10 to 1. (Most of his funding came from big name reformers outside of Indiana who would never cast a vote in the state. Funny how that works…a rich reformer doesn’t vote in a state, but wishes they could…)
It is also worth remembering that Glenda Ritz is/was a registered Republican, switching parties only to run against Bennett. She did not caucus with the rest of the Democrats, and it was such a well-kept secret that I wasn’t even aware of it until election day.
I have been teaching in Indiana schools for 29 years.
Thank you Glenda! Parents and teachers need to file Qui Tam, civil and class action suits as a result of the reformers operating together for the purpose of destroying public education and neighborhood schools. Jeb and his band of robbers operate in a black box just like Enron.
I second the “THANK YOU!” to Superintendent Ritz! She is standing up for the children of this state against these bullies! YAY!!!!!!
… and THAT’S why she won the election… she is FOR the People… was voted for BY the People… and she is OF the People!
Glenda Ritz is AWESOME as the young people say. If you listen to her one time you understand why she was elected. She knows education, she knows the rules and she does her job. Thank you Glenda for serving the one million Indiana public school students.
Get going IN parents and teachers filing your part in all of this and combined with Superintendent Ritz, the national impact will be unmistakable.
Yeah for Glenda Ritz.