By Larry Grau, Indiana State Director
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a Charter School bill (HB 1002) to expand the authorization and development of charter schools in the state. The bill was passed out of the Republican-controlled House on a 59-37 vote. One of our IN DFER leaders, Rep. Mary Ann Sullivan (Indianapolis) was the lone Dem to vote for the bill in what proved to be a very ugly night, as this article from the Evansville Courier & Press reports.
Not coincidentally, it also was “teacher rally day” at the Statehouse, an event organized by the state’s two teacher unions, which included a very loud and angry protest against several pieces of reform legislation including the Charter Schools bill. Mary Ann’s vote was courageous on several levels, considering she was booed on the House floor, and angrily confronted in the hallway by protestors who had not been educated on the bill and who seemed more interested in supporting the status quo than our public school students.
The “angry mob” mentality on display at the Indiana Statehouse was disturbing, at times, frightening. It’s also a sign of what progressive-minded Democrats are working against, and most unfortunately it seemed to be driven by our fellow Democrats.