Elkhart city council passes proposed resolution on house bill 1134

 

ELKHART, Ind -- Elkhart city council meets to vote on house bill 1134, which was recently passed by the state of Indiana.

Amongst many reasons that teachers are not in favor of the house bill 1134, one of them is the ability for parents to place blame on librarians for books their children rent and bring home.

"I oppose because I think it negates the parent’s responsibility. The parents want so much more of teachers and that they’re imposing their own thoughts on teachers," said Elkhart parent Janine Doot.

Indiana house bill 1134 was passed in January and as it awaits a vote in the senate, Elkhart teachers are speaking up about it.

"H-B 1134 along with all of the legislation that’s being pushed this session, is an attack on teachers," said Elkhart teacher Krista Riblet.

It’s no secret that educators are unsatisfied with the funding and salaries that come with their profession.

Now house bill 1134 puts more responsibility on them to have lesson plans prepared for parents during the summer and if at any point the teacher changes those plans they could face repercussions.

"People say that teachers are angry, well we are, because this has been ten years coming. It’s not just this one bill. It’s all of the bills that are coming out of Indianapolis," said Riblet.

Some long-time Elkhart teachers are threatening to leave, while some are opting to stay because of their longevity.

"I’ve been here for 25 years. This is my community. I’m now in the position where I'm having students who’ve parents I've had. I wouldn’t leave but I know lots of people who are ready to go and we’ve lost people even in the last couple of weeks," said Riblet.

As for some parents, they’re ready to cut ties.

"My husband works in Sturgis, Michigan we chose Elkhart for a reason. We chose Elkhart schools for a reason. Honestly if this bill passes to us it’s an attack on education and for the future of our kids so we have already started looking for property in Michigan because there’s really no reason to stay if we don’t agree with the way educations going to be moving forward," said Doot.

The resolution opposing house bill 1134 passed 8-1 in the Elkhart city council meeting.

Now that resolution will go to the state senator for reconsideration for the state of Indiana.