This Is What Passing an Education Bill Feels Like

“The bill fails in committee! Back to the drawing board!”

Each year, EdChoice captures the chaotic environment of trying to pass an education bill at a statehouse by doing a live simulation of the fraught process during EdChoice Academy.

This annual two-day, intensive crash course in Indianapolis prepares people new to education policy to defend school choice across the country. It’s led by EdChoice’s Dr. Michael McShane and the American Enterprise Institute’s Rick Hess.

This year’s event in early October began with a couple of questions.

“Why can’t we put politics aside and do what’s best for kids?” McShane asked attendees.

“What would it mean to put politics aside for kids?” Hess added.

“Usually when someone says that, they’re really saying that you need to put your politics aside and do what I want,” McShane remarked after some discussion. “Politics gets a kind of bad name. It’s easy to say politics is bad. It turns out we can’t put politics aside. Politics is the tool we have to reconcile competing opinions in a big, diverse country.”

Time To Pass A Bill!

During the simulation, attendees were assigned a role — Senate Democrat, House Republican, lobbyist, governor’s legislative director, journalist, or even social media influencer — and practiced negotiating and passing a fake education bill.

Attendees were asked to picture themselves at the Indiana statehouse, just steps away in real life.

They were asked to consider “House Bill 1,” which would “increase the minimum salary of any K-12 teacher in Indiana to $50k and would give all existing teachers a 5% raise.”

“I don’t know how this is going to go. I don’t know how you all are going to play it,” McShane told the room.

Participants spent several minutes in the hallway outside of the meeting room negotiating before meeting for the “House education committee” hearing on the mock bill.

Different voices called out their plans and concerns.

“Who can we get to testify?” “I’ll pick off the weakest one!” “No new taxes, that’s our bottom line here.” “We’re naturally skeptical.” “Did you talk to our governor?” “I have not yet.” “Get out of our business!”

“Where are you getting the money from? The fiscal impact is pretty substantial,” someone said, while someone else figured out that fiscal impact was to the tune of a whopping $195 million.

At one point, one huddle didn’t realize they were chatting on the record with the Indianapolis Star “reporter.” Lesson learned!

The House Considers the Bill

Eventually, McShane called the “House education committee” to order.

“Hello, I am Robert Enlow, president of the Indiana teachers’ union,” joked EdChoice’s Walter Blanks Jr. — a nod to EdChoice CEO Robert Enlow — as he began his mock testimony.

After testimony in favor of the bill from the teachers’ union president, the “social media influencer” shook things up by “posting” the union boss’ $400,000 annual salary.

“Why doesn’t he just decrease union dues?” the influencer asked in a pretend tweet read aloud by McShane.

Opponents of the bill asked the union boss pointed questions like, “What percentage of teachers work multiple jobs to put food on the table?”

“I don’t have that exact number,” the union president responded, adding that teachers are overworked and underfunded due to “other education programs,” a shot at Indiana’s school choice programs.

The “House education committee” also heard mock testimony from an opponent of the bill as well as a Purdue University researcher who raised concerns about definitions, asking what “any” teacher means.

The “House legislators” had the chance to offer amendments to the bill. One proposed raising the minimum teacher salary to $60k for “all full-time, licensed teachers.”

Sadly for supporters, the House committee vote failed.

But this gave the “Senate” a blank slate!

Over to the Senate

“Senate Bill 1” included a teachers’ bill of rights, a $50k minimum teacher salary, a 5% wage increase for teachers with students scoring 75% or above in math and reading, and a $1,000 tax credit for rural teachers. Funding would come partially from a 15% revenue tax on data centers. Students who complete Career and Technical Education training would also get a $500 tax credit.

Oh, and the bill created a new Medicaid fraud department. Why not!

The bill made it out of the “Senate education committee.”

Then it passed the “Senate.”

The real Robert Enlow stopped by and raised a point of order: was a fiscal note done on Senate Bill 1? Nope, doesn’t look like it.

Another “tweet” shook up the proceedings. The data center tax would “reverse the dynamic of developers” in Indiana, the social media influencer said. Oh and breaking news, here’s a rumor that one legislator is having an affair with a staffer!

Amidst the scandal, the Senate sent the bill over to the House, where it went through a gauntlet of amendments, most of which failed. Suggestions to get rid of various parts of the bill including the teachers’ bill of rights, the Medicaid fraud department, and the 75% testing requirement all failed. A 50% tax on data centers also failed.

One amendment did not fail. The $50k minimum teacher salary was axed.

“Five amendments in one day, just an average day at the Indiana statehouse!” the influencer “posted.”

She posted again, “Democrats opposed teacher bill of rights!”

The bill then went to a conference committee, which released a report adjusting the $1,000 tax credit for rural teachers to remain revenue neutral.

Another “tweet” hit the zeitgeist: “Republicans sacrifice rural teacher pay to meet governor’s revenue neutral promise!”

The House passed the bill. Then the Senate passed it.

The Governor Signs

Rick Hess played Indiana’s governor, who announced that since the bill is revenue neutral, he will sign it, which he did at a triumphant “signing ceremony.”

“I am honored to sign this important legislation on behalf of children and families in Indiana. Thank you so much to you all,” Hess said.

Cue the applause!

The Indianapolis Star “reporter” published a story slamming legislators and the governor for “signing the bill without the minimum teacher salary for which it was started.”

Recall that the bill’s original $50k minimum teacher salary was killed during the amendment process.

Afterwards, McShane and Hess led EdChoice Academy attendees in a lively discussion about the experience.

“How did you decide whether you would be for or against it?” McShane asked.

“How would this have played differently if both chambers were evenly split between Republicans and Democrats?” Hess asked.

“What power did the governor have to get you to do what he wanted?” McShane followed up.

Attendees who were new at passing legislation walked away with a deeper knowledge of the complicated process. Those who already had experience got to brush up their skills.

Everyone got to enjoy some laughs with fellow school choice advocates!