Lawmakers Expected to Vote on ISTEP Bills

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Lawmakers are set to vote on two priorities of Gov. Mike Pence and the GOP majorities: sparing teachers and schools from penalties for poor student performance on the 2015 ISTEP.

The Senate is scheduled to take up a House bill Thursday that would spare teachers from having merit pay docked due to this year's low test scores, which plunged because of difficult new standards. The House is expected to take up a measure that would prevent a drop in school A-F letter grades.

The 2015 ISTEP has become a political liability for Republicans. It was rolled out on an accelerated timeline after GOP majorities and Pence withdrew Indiana from national Common Core standards in 2014.

Pence has said he will sign both bills into law.

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