House narrows but keeps partisan option for school board ballots after contentious debate

Representative debate and roll calls in the Indiana House on Senate Bill 287 produced a mixed result Wednesday: lawmakers adopted a committee amendment that clarifies a new “nonpartisan” selection on school-board ballots but rejected proposals to make all school-board contests nonpartisan or to strip most of the bill while preserving a pay increase.

Senate Bill 287 (SB 287) would change the way candidates indicate party affiliation on school-board ballots and includes other provisions; sponsors said the measure was intended to increase clarity for voters. After committee amendments and floor amendments, the House voted 63 to 27 to adopt an amendment that defines a “nonpartisan” option as leaving the space next to a candidate’s name blank so “there would be no identifying marker next to that candidate’s name on the ballot,” Representative Prescott said.

The bill and its amendments drew sustained floor debate about whether the change would dissuade potential candidates and whether it would trigger federal restrictions for certain public employees. Representative Prescott, who spoke on the amendment that added the blank-space definition, said the clarification responded to requests from election administrators and the Indiana School Boards Association. “The bill as it stands, gives a candidate the opt for school board the option to choose Republican, Democrat, Independent, or…