House passes bill that would strip power from Ritz

Update: If Senate Bill 1, which could remove Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz from her position as chair of the State Board of Education, is changed back to the version passed by the Senate in a conference committee, it would call for an 9-member State Board of Education, instead of the 13-person body proposed in a version amended by the House.

Four members would be appointed by the governor and four would be appointed by the leaders of the General Assembly.

Ritz is the only statewide Democratic office holder in Indiana.

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Update: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, plans to dissent to alterations made by the Indiana House to a bill that likely would remove Glenda Ritz as chair of the State Board of Education. Brady Hagerty, a spokesman for Holdman, said the bill would move to a conference committee, where it hopefully will be brought in line with its original language.

From there, the bill will have to receive a favorable vote in both the House and Senate before it can move to Gov. Mike Pence for a signature.

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A bill that would result in the ousting of Glenda Ritz as the chair of the Indiana State Board of Education passed the House on Tuesday, moving a step closer to becoming a law.

It was unclear Tuesday evening whether Senate Bill 1 would go to a conference committee to work out any differences. Sen. Travis Holdman, the bill's sponsor, had not seen the changes the House made to the bill by early Tuesday evening and thus was unable to accept or reject them, spokesman Brady Hagerty said.

The bill, which the House passed by a 56-41 vote, marks the latest blow to Ritz's authority over education in Indiana. Ritz, a Democrat, has been locked in a heated partisan battle with Gov. Mike Pence and Republicans in the General Assembly for control over education policy.

Its passage comes on the heels of a debacle involving the statewide ISTEP exam, whose length doubled from about six hours to 12 this year, provoking an outcry from parents, teachers and school administrators. Republicans, including Pence, said the dysfunction of the State Board of Education was one of the reasons the test ballooned.

Ritz's spokesman, Daniel Altman, said the bill is an insult to Hoosiers who voted for Ritz.

"This does absolutely nothing to improve education in the state or to help students," he said, adding that Ritz has done everything she has been asked by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Marc Lotter, spokesman for the State Board of Education, said he would comment on the proposed changes to the board's makeup once the bill becomes law.

"We're letting the legislative process work through its normal course," he said.

The bill would end the de facto leadership of the state superintendent of public instruction — a post held by the publicly elected superintendent for more than 100 years.

It also would allow two of the board's 13 members to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House. The other 10 members would be chosen by the governor, who now appoints all members of the board except the chair.

Call Star reporter Kris Turner at (317) 444-6047. Follow him on Twitter: @krisnturner.