Union School Corporation sues Gov. Braun, education secretary over SB 1

RANDOLPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The Union School Corporation has filed a lawsuit challenging Indiana lawmakers to reverse a decision that would dissolve the district in 2027.




Union District officials filed the lawsuit Thursday, contending that state lawmakers violated Indiana's constitution when they passed Senate Enrolled Act 1 toward the end of the latest legislative session without hosting a public hearing. The law mandates that the district must halt all school operations by July 1, 2027, after the Indiana House added the amendment on April 7.




The lawsuit argues that the law will prevent them from "incurring any obligations" after July 1, 2025, making it virtually impossible for the district to continue to survive for the upcoming school year.




"On August 6, 2025, the students of the Union Schools will show up to empty classrooms
for their first day of school," the lawsuit reads." There will be no teachers, no textbooks, and no fire or safety monitoring. Students will be forced to miss homecoming, prom, and even athletic events, just as they did in 2020."




According to the lawsuit, the district would lose the ability to make any new hires, negotiate contracts for existing teachers, offer school lunches, acquire liability insurance or purchase any school supplies for the 2025-2026 academic year.




"When adopting SEA 1, no one seemed to care that Union Schools must incur new obligations after July 1, 2025 if the State wants the Union Schools to continue operating up to July 1, 2027 as provided by SEA 1," the lawsuit said.




The district is based in the rural town of Modoc where around 350 students show up every day. The district is also responsible for providing remote learning to roughly 9,000 students around the state.




Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, the State of Indiana and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner are named as defendants in the lawsuit.




Some lawmakers, including State Rep. JD Prescott (R-District 33), have previously attributed their support for dissolving the school district to declining reading scores while claiming that several students have transferred out to attend classes elsewhere.




Superintendent of Union Schools Galen Mast previously told FOX59/CBS4 that the community was angry about the decision.




"What Senate Bill 1 does for tax dollars is each school corporation is already tight when it comes to money but now you're talking about a school corporation next door like a Randolph Southern who is tight for money and now all of a sudden they're gonna be asked to take another $300,000 a year off of their budgets, and its undoable," Mast said. "For us, our kids would have to decide, are they gonna go brick and mortar and go into a different school, or, are they gonna go charter school, or, private school, or do they go to the online version, so each family would have to make its own decision."




As of this article's publication, Gov. Braun and Jenner have not returned FOX59/CBS4's request for comment.





via: https://fox59.com/news/union-school-corporation-sues-gov-braun-education-secretary-over-sb-1/