Ruling in favor of plaintiffs ISTA and ISTA Vice President Teresa Meredith, a Shelbyville teacher, Judge McCarty ruled, “Because the regular teacher’s contract form drafted by Dr. Bennett violated Indiana law, Dr. Bennett and IDOE are permanently enjoined from requiring and permitting school corporations to use the regular teacher’s contract form at issue in this case.”
Judge McCarty cited several instances where Dr. Bennett’s mandated contract violated state law, citing Dr. Bennett’s teacher's form at one point as “unconscionable in that it gives school corporations the authority to unilaterally modify the number of days and hours that a teacher must work, but it does not require the school corporation to pay for the additional labor or any other additional consideration.”
Judge McCarty's ruling stated, “The Court further orders that Dr. Bennett notify all school corporations in Indiana that they should not and cannot use the regular teacher’s form at issue in this case, and also forward a copy of this Summary Judgment Order to all school corporations in Indiana.”
“This is a victory for all of Indiana's dedicated and hard-working teachers,” Meredith said. “ISTA will continue to be the voice of Hoosier educators and push back when the rights of the people who have committed their professional lives to children are so clearly violated. It's unfortunate that Dr. Bennett chose to spend taxpayers' money defending his clearly illegal contract."
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