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America 's Education And Political Leaders Essay

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By January, 2014, even former U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan had noticed the “dysfunction” (Elliott, 2014) among Indiana’s education and political leaders. A 2015 Senate Bill was even authored that would have ended Indiana’s practice of electing the state education chief so one could be appointed by the governor (SB 24). A look at the headlines in the Indianapolis Star over the past couple of years sums up nicely the relationship among Indian’s educational and political leaders:
November 5, 2014: 10 epic clashes between Glenda Ritz, Indiana State Board of Education
December 3, 2014: Glenda Ritz loses another State Board of Education battle
January 14, 2015: Senate education bills would strip power from Glenda Ritz
February 18, 2015: Senate OKs change in selection of Education Board chair; Glenda Ritz could be left out
April 30, 2015: Glenda Ritz considers running for governor after legislative attacks
May 7, 2015: Pence signs bill stripping Ritz of education authority
August 30, 2015: GOP struggling to find challenger for Glenda Ritz
(Nice long lull in the headlines…)
March 13, 2016: With election looming, Indiana lawmakers played it safe in 2016 session After two years of public bickering over such topics as rules of order, school A-F grades, the Center for Education and Career Innovation, NCLB waivers, and state takeovers of failing schools, Governor Pence signed SB 1 in 2015 that will strip leadership of the State Board of Education from the elected State

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