Indiana Professional Educators, Inc.
"Educators by Calling, Professionals by Choice"
Indiana Education Legislation
Summary of Rights and Benefits for Indiana Teachers
(To read law, click on link and enter code in top right corner of in.gov/legislative webpage)
Teacher Freedom of Association
Title 20, Article 29 Chapter 4 Section 2
Teacher are not required to join or financially support teacher unions.
A person may not require an individual to: (1) become or remain a member of a labor organization; (2) pay dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind or amount to a labor organization; or (3) pay to a charity or third party an amount that is equivalent to or a pro rata part of dues, fees, assessments, or other charges required of members of a labor organization; as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.
It is an unfair practice to coerce a teacher in exercising their right to join or not join a union. If this happens, teachers may contact us or file a complaint directly with the IEERB
Right to Choice of Representation
Title 20. Article 29, Chapter 7, Section 2
The Supreme Court has recognized the right of association via the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States linked to the speech and general assembly and this supersedes all state laws. Indiana Code makes it an unfair practice for Employers of school systems (Administration) to encourage or mandate teacher representation to be that of a union representative. Non-union teachers have the right to bring their own representation outside the teacher union to meetings, hearings or any other discussions where representation is advised.
Resigning from the Union
Title 20, Article 29, Chapter 5-6, Section (c)(1)
Teachers who have union dues payroll deducted can now resign from the union without penalty by notifying the employer to stop the deductions via submitting written requests (letter or email). For those teachers wishing to continue paying union dues, an annual confirmation must be completed with your employer.
Teachers on Committees
Title 20, Article 29, Chapter 5 Section 7
Non-union teachers are legally entitled to serve on any and all school and district committees with the lone exception of the Bargaining committee. The percentage of teachers on the committee cannot exceed the percentage of non-union teachers in the school district. The union is responsible for supplying Administration with a certified affadavit the number of union teachers in the district by September 15th of each school year. The percentage difference between the number of union teachers and non-union teachers will be the available seats on all committees (except bargaining). Admin may also appoint non-union teachers to committees.
Protected Values and Curriculum
American History and heritage will be protected. This includes:
Singing of our National Anthem,
Displaying the United States flag and the Indiana flag,
Displaying our national motto "In God We Trust",
Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance,
Requiring instruction of the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana constitution, and
Requiring instruction of our system of government and elections
The law prohibits the content based censorship of protected writings, documents and records of American history and heritage. In addition, a moment of silence will respectfully held each day for students who wish to express their religious beliefs without retaliation. Morals instruction shall be incorporated in regular classes.
IC 20-30-5-0.5 National Anthem, Display of United States flag; Pledge of Allegiance
IC 20-30-5-1 & 2 Constitutions
IC-20-30-3-5 National Motto
IC 20-30-5-3 Protected writings, documents, and records of American history or heritage
IC 20-30-5-4 System of government; American history
IC 20-30-5-4.5 Moment of silence
IC 20-30-5-5 Morals instruction
Human Sexuality, Personal Analysis, Surveys or Evaluations of students
Title 20, Article 30, Chapter 5 Section 17
Parents have the right to inspect any instructional materials used for personal analysis, evaluation or survey of their child as well as instruction in human sexuality. A student will not be required to participate in these without the prior written consent of his/her parent.
IC 20-30-5-17 Access to materials
Teachers Recourse for Infringement of Rights
Title 20, Article 28, Chapter 10, Section 18
Teachers may not be punished, suspended or terminated because of their rights of freedom of association, being a public office candidate, serving in the General Assembly or if in the case of a counselor, disclosing privileged information about students. Remedy is court injunction over any school infringement.
IC 20-28-10-18 Infringement of Rights
School Teachers
Title 20, Article 28
Performance Standards Board, Teacher Education and Continuing Education, Transition to Teaching, Licensing, Teacher contracts, Salary increases and compensation, Substitute teachers, Teacher absences, Payroll deductions, Benefits, Suspensions, Leaves of Absence, Defense Service, Antidiscrimination, Teachers' FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, Serving in Public Office or General Assembly, School Counselor confidentiality, Legal Recourse for Infringement of Rights and Privileges, Performance Reviews and Independent practice school psychologists.
Collective Bargaining
Title 20, Article 29
Education Employment Relations Board powers, rights of school employees, no requirement to join or support union, responsibilities of school employers, bargaining unit members, determination of exclusive representation, TEACHER MEMBERS ON COMMITTEES, contract provisions, unlawful deficit financing, subjects and prohibited subjects of collective bargaining, grievance procedure, subjects of discussion, appointment of mediator, factfinding, continuation of existing agreement with failure to reach new agreement, contracts posted on school website within 14 days, unfair practices, conflict of interest (mediator and factfinder) and illegality of aiding or abetting strikes
Teacher Performance Reviews
Title 20, Article 28, Chapter 11.5
Performance plans, objective measurements, Rating Categories (Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement and Ineffective), Evaluators, Completed Evaluations, Remediation, Evaluation Reports to Department of Education
Disciplinary/Cancellation of Contract
Title 20, Article 28, Chapter 7.5
Teachers may be terminated for immorality, insubordination, incompetence, neglect of duty, or a conviction of a criminal offense. This section outlines the procedural aspect of teacher rights, including time lines and conferences.
Law: Indiana Code 20-28-7.5-1 & 2
Offenses: Indiana Code 20-28-5-8
A - F School Grades
PL 221
Beginning with the 2010-11 academic year, the State Board of Education changed the labels for school categories based on student performance from the terms Exemplary, Commendable, Academic Progress, Academic Watch and Academic Probation to easy-to-understand letter grades (A, B, C, D and F).
Law: Indiana Code 20-31-8
A-F Accountability - IDOE
Curriculum
Title 20, Article 30
Addresses instructional time, National Anthem & flag, graduation plans, moment of silence, mandatory, internet and optional curriculum, bullying prevention, good citizenship, summer school, alternative education, ESL, College/Tech Preparation, Dual Credit, AP Courses, Community Service
Career and Technical Education & STEM Education
Title 20, Article 37
Addresses Cooperative as well as Career and Technical Education in Career centers, schools and departments
School Accountability
Title 20, Article 31
Addresses Academic Standards, Accreditation, Probation Status, School Improvement Plans, ISTEP assessments, School A-F grading and Turnaround Academies
Indiana Department of Education (DOE) goals
This is measured through 1) annual school performance reports, 2) school enrollment, testing data and accountability determinations, 3) graduation rates, 4) school corporation's student growth and 5) ECAs and ISTEP
Janus vs. AFSCME
This case started out with the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, and was then filed by Mark Janus, a child support specialist in Illinois who, although not a member of the union, was required by state law to pay "fair share" money that was used for political purposes in which he disagreed. The case was argued before the United States Supreme Court on February 26, 2018 and the decision was handed down on June 27th, 2018. The court ruled in favor of Janus and for "captive passengers" everywhere and overturned Abood.
A similar case in Friedrich vs. California Teachers Association ended in a split vote when Justice Scalia died before a decision was reached. That meant the appellate court decision prevailed or that unions could maintain their stranglehold on members and non-members in those states where unions are legally mandated.
US Supreme Court Rules in Janus vs AFSCME
On June 27, 2018, the USSC Ruled in favor of Mark Janus, overruling the lower courts' decisions and striking down the Abood precedent that allowed unions to collect fees from non-members on the pretense of covering union expenses related to collective bargaining activities. Their decision stated that collecting fees from non-consenting, public sector employees violates the First Amendment in that it forces free and independent individuals to endorse ideas they find objectionable and gives unions the autonomy to speak for those individuals who do not agree with union rhetoric.
Read the Court Opinion here
This ruling has protective measures for independent professionals like Indiana teachers. If you want to join the union, you will now have to intentionally opt-in. There are all kinds of measures unions are now drastically implementing to hold their members captive in non right-to-work states such as New York and California. If you're having problems resigning, revoking your dues deductions, meeting the "window periods" or understanding the Janus rights, contact us! Additional information may also be found at www.nrtw.org and www.ceafu.org.
To see your Janus rights, whether you are a public school teacher, private or charter school teacher, click here.
