> Re: Alert on SB457, Indiana General Assembly
>
> I wish to advise you that the Senate Education Committee today passed
> SB457 (see below for
> URL), which would mandate 12 hours of reading instruction, including
> phonics, for elementary
> education teachers, effective July 1, 1999. The bill passed on a 7-4
> vote. The sponsor, Sen.
> Clark of Indianapolis, has stated in committee proceedings that the bill
> arose from concerns
> among his constituents that not all Indiana teachers are prepared to teach
> reading using
> phonics.
>
> If the bill becomes law, it would be Indiana's first legislative mandate
> of course and credit
> hours for educator preparation programs.
>
> The Indiana Professional Standards Board believes the bill sets a
> precedent for legislative
> control of course offerings. There is no other such statutory mandate for
> professionals in
> Indiana, to our knowledge; preparation programs are governed either by
> state boards or
> commissions or approved by independent accrediting agencies, or both.
>
> Mandated course and credit hour requirements have been followed in other
> states (e.g. Maryland)
>
> by legislatively prescribed course content and assessments for educators.
>
> The IPSB worked to inform educators of the performance-based system for
> educator preparation
> and licensing, and of our belief that the new system will more quickly
> achieve more results in
> the effective teaching of reading (and all areas) than legislative
> mandates for course and
> credit hours. We will continue to inform legislators about these issues.
>
> We urge you to contact your legislators about this bill.
>
Cary A. Buzzelli, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Early Childhood Education
School of Education
Indiana University
201 N. Rose Ave.
Bloomington, IN
47405-1006
Tel: (812) 856-8184
Fax: (812) 856-8116