Bob Behning, who helped start vouchers and grow charters in Indiana, toppled in election shocker
Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat’s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here and checking the box next to our name. Before Bob Behning took the reins of the Indiana House Education Committee, there were no school vouchers in the state. Charter schools were in their nascent stages. And the state had yet to reinvent high school. After 34 years in the Indiana House, and the last 15 as chair of the education committee, Behning lost reelection last night to Democratic challenger Jarren Hurt, according to unofficial Marion County election results. His shocking ouster — and that of House Speaker Todd Huston and several other Republicans on the committee — throws into question the direction of education policy in the next legislative session and beyond. Over his tenure, Behning was seen as one of the state’s leading legislative champions of education reform . He authored and sponsored bills that established the Indiana Choice Scholarship, greater flexibility for charter schools , and new grading scales for schools and teachers as part of the broader education agenda of two state leaders, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and state
