Education Chairman retreats from $1 school law

Indiana House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) today waved the white flag on a key Republican education policy. During deliberations on Senate Bill 391, the chairman agreed that there were flaws in the state’s “$1 Law.” That law requires that if a public school corporation closes an instructional building, the district must sell or lease the building to a charter school for one dollar. State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) offered the following statement on the committee proceedings:

“With this flag of surrender, Republicans have accepted what public education advocates have known for years: A key component of the effort to redirect public education dollars to private pockets lacking public oversight has failed,” DeLaney said. “Unfortunately, the proposal is to leave this unfortunate law in place for two more years before it expires.”