Greg Zoeller/Tony Bennett Kick Off Two Day Media Tour in Fort Wayne (Restoring Discipline in the Classroom)

Republican Candidate for Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and Republican Attorney General Candidate Greg Zoeller kicked off a two-day media tour in Fort Wayne this morning at the Conservative Breakfast Club to reaffirm the Governor’s message of restoring discipline in the classroom. Zoeller and Bennett addressed media and 47 CBC guests at the largest Monday morning breakfast to date.

For more information about how Bennett and Zoeller will work with the Governor to restore discipline in the classroom, see the press release from the Zoeller campaign below. I will post the Bennett press release shortly.

Republican Attorney General Candidate Greg Zoeller and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate Tony Bennett Announce Initiative to Restore Discipline Back to the Classroom

(FORT WAYNE) Republican Candidate for Indiana Attorney General, Greg Zoeller, and Republican Candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Tony Bennett, announced how if elected they will work together to restore discipline to the classroom.

Zoeller and Bennett held a news conference in Fort Wayne on Monday to announce their commitment to help teachers and school boards in restoring order to classrooms. The efforts will be made to support teachers who legitimately try to provide a disciplined environment in their classrooms so that students can learn and gain all they can from Indiana’s educational system. Earlier this month, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced his plan to ask the General Assembly to consider legislation to add additional protection for teachers who use appropriate discipline in the classroom.

Specifically, as Attorney General, Zoeller would work with school boards that have decided to defend a teacher’s action and provide the teacher with a full legal assistance. The board would have to make a decision to uphold the teacher’s action. The Attorney General’s office would then step in and assume all costs of litigation by providing the necessary legal defense.

“I will step in and defend when a teacher or school is being unfairly sued,” Zoeller said. “There will be an administrative process that will make sure a teacher’s action is supported by the school board, and once the board backs a teacher we will defend that teacher in court.”

“By avoiding the cost of litigation, schools can best focus on the appropriate disciplinary actions so that teachers can restore order in the classroom,” Zoeller added.

UPDATE 8/27 8:53am

Tony Bennett’s Press Release

 

Republican candidates Bennett and Zoeller tour state to promote school discipline policy initiatives

Dr. Tony Bennett, Republican candidate for Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Greg Zoeller, Republican candidate for Attorney General, toured the state on Monday and Tuesday, stopping in Ft. Wayne, South Bend, Crown Point, Lafayette, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville and Clarksville, to tout their support for school discipline proposals offered by Gov. Mitch Daniels earlier this month.

“I believe very strongly that any approach to reforming our education system must begin with creating safe, disciplined learning environments,” said Bennett. “As someone who has seen discipline problems from as a coach, teacher, principal and superintendent, I can tell you that these are smart and necessary policies. It’s a priority I share with both Greg Zoeller and Mitch Daniels.”

Bennett and Zoeller were touring the state Monday and Tuesday to discuss giving teachers legal immunity when they act within the law and within reason to discipline students. In addition, both candidates want to use current resources available in the state Attorney General’s office to defend teachers in such cases.

“As any teacher can tell you, one rotten apple can spoil the bunch,” said Bennett. “To the majority of students who want to learn, it’s unfair that one troublemaker can disrupt an entire class. As a former teacher myself, I can tell you that there is a certain fear of litigation that comes with trying to maintain even the most basic level of order in a classroom. These proposals hit at the very core of that fear and will instill a new level of confidence in teachers that will benefit every student in Indiana schools.”

Zoeller spoke about the legal aspects of the proposals. He noted that teachers currently can be represented by the Attorney General’s office in some narrow claims, and that these new proposals would expand those privileges to cover broader claims. Both candidates noted that immunity would not be extended to cover criminal charges, and local prosecutors would still retain the ability to investigate those cases.