Guest Column

Education isn’t the only issue this session that has called for hours of public testimony and long debates. Senate Bill 590, legislation to address illegal immigration in Indiana, was a close match.

This legislation is not cut and dry, it includes many different aspects, to cover every issue, close any possible loophole and prevent any future problems.  But, more importantly, the bill addresses an issue that needed to be addressed. The federal government has failed miserably at one its most important duties,securing our borders. It is time for Indiana to step in and take care of itself.

Other states have stepped up over the years to pass immigration reform on the state level in the absence of federal action. Every state that met in regular session in 2010 considered laws related to illegal immigration. As a result, 46 state legislatures and the District of Columbia enacted 208 laws and adopted 138 resolutions during the 2010 session.

What we are proposing here in Indiana, is what I consider to be fair and appropriate. To start, the bill would require state agencies to use a program that has been approved by the U.S. or State Department of Homeland Security to verify the work eligibility status of employees hired after June 30, 2011.

State agencies would also be required to verify the eligibility of any individual who is at least 18 years old that is applying for a federal, state or local public benefit. In addition, if an individual applies for unemployment benefits, Indiana’s Department of Workforce Development would have to use E-verify to confirm their legal status before providing benefits.

Local governments would also be effected since the bill would prohibit state agencies or political subdivisions from entering into or renewing a public contract with a contractor unless it contains provisions requiring a contractor to verify the legal status of newly hired employees. The contractor could also sign an affidavit affirming that they do not knowingly employ unauthorized aliens. Now, saying that, a contract can be terminated if the contractor knowingly employs an unauthorized alien.

Additionally, if someone willingly transports or conceals an alien for the purpose of private financial gain, knowing that the alien has entered the U.S. in violation of law, they will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.

As I said, there are many different aspects to this billand I only mentioned a few. Please keep in mind, more than 110,000 unauthorized immigrants resided in Indiana as of 2010. Without enacting legislation now, we will be facing an even bigger problem later.

Understand that I wholeheartedly support people from all over the world coming to this country and our state to create a better life for themselves and for their families. However, I can’t sit by and watch as they do it illegally and at the expense of all Hoosier taxpayers.

We approached this situation as fair as we could to address the problem and not create any potential issues in the future.

I co-sponsored Senate Bill 590, which passed the House on Thursday with a 64-32 vote. It passed out of the Senate earlier this month with a 31-18 vote. It now heads to the governor’s desk.

I encourage you to stay in the conversation, you can go online and get a full digest of the bill. You can always email or call me if you have any questions or comments, I always look forward to hearing from you.

I recently read a letter-to-the-editor in “The Daily Journal” that raised some real concerns about how people are looking at education reform. Nate Schellenberger, the President of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), was the author if this particular letter.

In his letter, Schellenberger claims that “these bills are not meant to improve our public schools, nor will they do so if passed. They are part of a political agenda that has little to do with helping Hoosier children and are far from reformative.”

As a legislator who has spent countless hours working on the education issue, I have to say, I couldn’t disagree more with this statement. It is unsettling that it has become a practice to cast disparities about issues, resort to name calling, and having little to no respect for the legislature and the governor.

Schellenberger claims our continuous efforts to strengthen education in Indiana are entirely political in nature. He says that a similar system in place in Washington D.C., that is spearheaded by Michelle Rhee, is a failure. Rhee is, in fact, a Democrat and the effort to revamp the schools in Washington D.C. is a bipartisan one, just like we are trying to do here in Indiana.

What I didn’t see in his letter were the findings of the exhaustive research that we have done on this issue. We have read study, after study comparing what other states are doing and what has or hasn’t worked.  We have even met with the ISTA leadership. Every effort has been made to come to the best solution for our Hoosier students.

Schellenberger also explained how education is not a business, again I disagree. Education must be about the business of providing our young people with every educational opportunity possible so that they enter college or the workforce without the need for remediation and be competitive in a field of their choosing.

Let me be clear, the legislation we have introduced is not about teachers, unions or administration. It is about the students and assuring that they receive the best education possible, and are not cheated in the classroom.

Parents want their children to have every opportunity possible to obtain a better education than what they had. Education is key to making that possible. It seems that a majority of Schellenberger’s arguments center on money and funding.

Saying that, I’d like to mention that a the public school system in Newark, NJ spends $22,000 per pupil,double the national average, and only graduates half of its students. It needs to be stated that money isn’t the solution. Offering families the best education opportunity for their student is the solution, and that is what we are doing.

Last week I had the opportunity to see a wonderful performance by 150 first graders on the House floor. Their teacher used violins to teach them everything from music, to the alphabet, to math, and history. You could tell this teacher cared about her students, and was doing a wonderful job. Teachers with that kind of commitment should be rewarded for their efforts. They shouldn’t only be rewarded for their seniority.

Another uplifting story is that of Clark Pleasant Academy. Last year, 100 percent of their senior class graduated. We should be rewarding statistics like this and the teachers and the system that worked for these students and helped them graduate.

I want to be perfectly clear in saying that the education reform legislation is not about politics, union busting or hurting teachers. It is about offering the best education to our young Hoosiers. It is about assuring an education that will lead to better opportunities and better futures for all Indiana students.

If Schellenberger wishes to keep politics out of education, then perhaps he should cut back the millions in donations the Democratic Party receives from his organization. It is obvious that the end-game for him is some type of control within the Statehouse.

Rest assured that I will not be silenced or intimidated by letters or rhetoric. I may not always agree with everyone on every issue, but I do my best to make informed decisions. I do not take these issues lightly. I am here in the Statehouse working for the benefit of the students, not the unions or status quo systems.

We are about to head into our fourth week of the Democrat walk-out—four weeks, or 28 days, of only three Democrats present and the people’s business not moving forward. This is very disappointing to hear, isn’t it?

We have heard several estimates of how much a week of session costs, and some say as high as $90,000 per week.   Although that money is allocated into the state budget, there is no excuse to waste time and money.

But who doesn’t want to get the most out of every dollar they spend? I don’t know anyone who would prefer to get one item for a dollar, when they could have had two for the same price? My point being, we have this money allocated for a reason, and that is to be used for legislative session and business to be conducted.

If business doesn’t get done, then we will have have to start discussing a special session. A special session costs will cost the state of Indiana more than $25,000 per day. The money for a special session is not allocated into the state budget and, therefore, would be at the taxpayers’ expense. At a time of economic turmoil, why would the democrats want to give an additional bill to taxpayers?

It is disappointing that the House Democrats have chosen to run away from their responsibilities, especially when they are elected officials. We are, and should, be held to a higher standard, and a majority of us take that seriously.

Since last Monday, the start of week three of the walk-out, we have been fining the absent Democrats $250 per session day they are absent. In addition, we have taken away their per diem or daily allotment paid by the state. If they aren’t here, they shouldn’t be paid.

The only way we can wave those fines would be to take a majority vote on the House floor. Rest assured, I do not plan to vote to wave those fines.

Another issue I would like to address is who is paying for the Democrats’ trip to Illinois. Under state law, neither party is allowed to raise funds while in legislative session. Is the state Democratic Party paying for this trip or are they getting their funds from outside interest groups? Are these actions legal? These are questions, that I think need to be answered.

I have remained silent and have not been vocal in my frustration, but enough is enough. Regardless of party, we are elected officials who are held to a higher standard. A standard that means we should be working for all Hoosier citizens,of all classes.

The individuals that walked out four weeks ago, and remain gone have no respect for the legislative process or the people they serve. I would appreciate if they would come back and show me and their constituents different.

By the democrats walking out it also affects our district. They have shut down the democratic process for District 58 as well. This kind of behavior is outrageous.

If that’s too harsh to hear, then I must be doing a good job in expressing how I feel.

This year education, labor, and budget issues have created a perfect storm for major problems not only in Indiana, but across the nation.

My number one goal is and always has been to provide the best possible educational opportunities for all of our children.  I want to share with you my thoughts, and the efforts I have taken concerning the proposed legislation dealing with education reform.

I have spent time in after-school meetings with teachers who work in the Franklin, Clark-Pleasant, Greenwood, and Center Grove school districts.  I‘ve also attended meetings with Johnson County superintendents, as well as several meetings with Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Bennett.  Dr. Bennett accompanied me to a meeting with teachers recently held at Greenwood High School.

Together with other Johnson County legislators, we have conducted several town meetings over the past few weeks to obtain input from the public regarding the issue of education. Since the start of session, I have been receiving around 300 emails daily from constituents, sharing their thoughts for and against the pending legislation.  I’ve spent long hours of study to have a thorough understanding of the education issues at hand.

I personally believe that the vast majority of public school teachers are good, dedicated people who want to do what’s best for our children.  I have never said our teachers are performing poorly or that they are failing in their jobs. I think the exact opposite.

Today’s teachers are dealing with constant social and moral changes in each of their student’s environment.  In addition, how we communicate as a society, as a family, and in a classroom is constantly changing—adding to the list of  items that teachers have to adapt to while teaching.

Everywhere you look people are talking on their cell phones, texting, playing games, or accessing the Internet. These are huge changes to how teachers teach in a classroom and retain a student’s attention. Not to forget, teachers have no control over a child’s home life. They don’t know if their student’s are being told to do their homework, eat properly or get a sufficient amount of sleep.

But I also support enabling parents to choose the school that would best fit the needs of their individual students. After much research and visiting with teachers and interested parties, I feel we need to allow parents the right to choose.  No one knows these children as well as their parents.

I do not believe that public schools are “bad”, but I do believe some children could benefit from alternative classrooms.  This would also allow teachers more time to focus on other children in their classroom.

Our social environment in the United States has changed.  Education needs have changed over the years.  Broken families, single parent homes and less parental involvement in children’s education are all factors that affect our children.  Add to these factors the rapidly changing technological knowledge required of our young graduates in order to become employed, and you can begin to see the extremely difficult problem we are facing today.

The future of our children depends on us offering every one of them the correct environment to learn.  I view charter and private schools as an enhancement to public schools.  Not every student can learn in a traditional classroom setting.

One only has to look at several Johnson County schools to see what choice means.  Clark-Pleasant Academy is a great example of what can be accomplished for children having special learning needs.  Over the last two years, 99 percent of these students have graduated from high school and many have furthered their education to attend college.

These are students who were previously performing below average in traditional school settings. This is a shining example of what can be done with creative choice education.

We also have Central Nine and Ivy Tech State College located in our county that both provide alternatives to “traditional” classroom instruction.

The biggest concern that teacher’s have voiced has been the loss of funding to their schools when funding follows the students. Education funding has consistently been a top priority for the legislature. Nearly half of the entire state budget, made up of $27.9 billion, goes to education funding. Other states are making drastic cuts to education, when Indiana is making none. We are asking that the money follow the student, not the institution, and that we allow Hoosier families an additional educational option for students. It is my belief that we will continue to have education as the number one funding priority.

It has been extremely difficult for me to arrive at the decisions I have made this year concerning education.  It is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly.  I truly believe that the legislature is doing what is in the best interests of our children.

When someone decides they want to run for office or re-election, they do so to give a voice to the individuals they would represent with the hopes to make their community better. But when you see 35 empty state legislator seats, you have to wonder, “Why did they sign up for this?”

I signed up to serve. I signed up to find ways to better my community and my state, and to give a voice to the constituents I serve.

Twenty three bills died on Tuesday because 35 Democrat state representatives decided to jump ship and run away from their responsibility. Although we see a lot of legislation come across our desks, there were some bills that I personally worked on that would have had a monumental effect for Hoosier families.

Two of those bills would have helped retired public employees and retired teachers get their 13^th check to help with their current cost of living adjustments. This is a bill that I have been working on for some time now.  Granted, these bills required some additional funding, something the state doesn’t have much of, but I received bipartisan support. But that doesn’t matter now because those two bills are dead.

I also authored legislation to help prevent Hoosier families from having to go through a foreclosure, an experience that I hope none of you ever has to go through. Indiana currently, remains below the national average rate of foreclosures, but like anything in this economy, that can always change.

Finally, I helped with legislation that would require stores, not liquor stores, to display liquor in a room or partitioned area separate from other retail items. Minors would be prohibited from those areas without a parent or guardian who is at least 21 years of age. This idea and legislation was brought to me via requests from our own community.

Legislation that I didn’t author, but whole-heartily supported that also died Tuesday, included legislation protecting hospitals and school employees with immunizations; preventing school dropouts; and protecting victims of security violations.

It’s unfortunate that they behaved this way because with their attendance, we could have brought at least $41 million in economic relief to Hoosier families. I am fully aware that they may not support our legislation and still may not, but that is part of the democratic process.

Those that get elected into the majority are the ones that get to lead, and if you don’t agree with their message, you have to at least show up to be a part of the discussion.

We are scheduled to go into session Monday afternoon—and I really hope the Democrats think about why they signed up for this job, and come to the realization they should be here in order to serve those they represent.

Fortunately, we have pushed back the deadlines so that the 49 bills on Monday’s calendar will get the discussion they rightfully deserve. Stay tuned.