School accountability, teacher salary boosts and “academic freedom” are priorities on Jennifer McCormick’s education plan, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate announced on Thursday.

The former state public instruction superintendent, along with running mate Terry Goodin, said their platform largely intends to create more flexibility for K-12 administrators and educators to craft curriculum, while still ensuring academic rigor and accountability across both public and private schools.

The plan also guarantees that teachers would be paid at least $60,000 per year — an increase from the current $40,000 minimum.

“Obviously, education is my passion. It is also Terry’s passion. We believe in the power of education — not just for our kids — but for our families and our communities and the entire state. It’s also what empowers us as a nation,” McCormick said during a Thursday press call. “Too often in Indiana, we talk about the expense, because we are incredibly expensive, but we don’t talk about it as an investment, and it needs to be. … It’s not a K-12 isolation, it is a system of education.”

The costs of the proposal are unknown at this time.

Democrats outline education priorities

The McCormick-Goodin “Commonsense Education Plan” is broken down into five pillars: increased funding for early education; school accountability; teachers’ pay and bargaining rights; keeping partisan politics out of school curriculum decisions; and “re-establishing” a statewide emphasis on attaining post-high school education.

Specifically, the Democratic plan would expand “quality and affordable childcare to address Indiana’s childcare deserts.” The platform also seeks to guarantee universal pre-kindergarten education for all Hoosier families.

Although McCormick said the state is doing “a much better job” at expanding child care now than in years past, she emphasized that “we still have an enormous amount of Indiana” that does not have access to quality care.

“And with some of that childcare, too, we’re really struggling to find providers because of (low) wages,” she added.

The platform also promises to “protect the rights of students and parents” by establishing a “streamlined,” “consistent” and “transparent” accountability platform for all schools accepting public dollars. McCormick said the system seeks to ensure schools — public, private, urban, rural and so on — are all being held to the same academic and fiscal standards. 

This would impact private schools receiving voucher dollars that currently don’t have to follow some of the same rules and regulations.

“We’re a school choice state, and there are no quality guardrails on that system,” she said. “And so in order to really do it in a way that makes sense and is fair to kids and families and our business industry — that’s relying on us getting this right — and taxpayers, there should be some accountability.”

“If we’re going to be a state of school choice, it needs to be parent choice and not school choice,” McCormick continued. “It also needs to be one that those quality guardrails are tight so parents at least know there’s some threshold that when you come into a school, that you do have some educated and trained teachers. What kind of curriculum you are following? What kind of fiscal responsibility are we following?”

McCormick and Goodin said they’ll also “champion” Indiana’s K-12 and post-high school instructors “by implementing policies to recruit and retain the best and brightest educators.” That means fighting for a minimum base salary of $60,000 for Hoosier teachers, and adjustments for veteran teachers’ salaries “to reflect their non-educator peers.”

When it comes to finding the funding for increased salaries, McCormick said “there are a lot of areas” in the state budget that “we just need to re-look at again.”

“It’s about prioritizing,” she said, noting that her property tax relief plan, for example, “really offers some relief” and “tries to relieve some of the local dollars, which would also help with some of the expenses at the school level.”

The Democratic duo further promised to uphold teacher rights by “protecting the freedom of teacher unions to bargain for wages and benefits.” Mandates placed on educators and school boards will be reviewed, too — and where unnecessary or burdensome — those will be eliminated, McCormick said. 

The plan additionally calls for “autonomy at the local level” to design a unique curriculum “that prepares students for the future they choose.” The Democratic nominee said that doesn’t mean lowering standards, though. Rather, it’s guarantee of “more flexibility.” 

“Why should we have to go to the State Board of Education to beg them to address the needs of our kids?” McCormick asked. “We can still hold everyone accountable for certain thresholds and certain standards of performance, but allowing them to take care of the needs of their schools with the resources they are provided — given where they are located within the state of Indiana, and the partners they have access to and don’t have access to — only make sense. For too long, Indiana has said one size fits all.”

And when it comes to higher education, McCormick and Goodin said they intend to “celebrate, champion, protect, and better fund our higher education institutions and direct workforce development training programs.” That means ensuring resources are place for high schoolers to earn certifications they can use upon graduation, McCormick noted, in addition to maintaining and promoting clear paths towards college.

No specific GOP plan yet

McCormick was endorsed by the political action committee for the Indiana State Teachers Association — the state’s largest teachers union — earlier this year. 

A former Republican, McCormick fell out of favor with the Indiana GOP while serving as state superintendent. 

The Republican-controlled legislature — with approval from Gov. Eric Holcomb — eliminated the elected position and replaced it with a Secretary of Education, who is appointed by the governor. 

McCormick switched sides to become a Democrat shortly after. She announced her campaign for governor in May 2023 and was the only gubernatorial candidate on the Democratic primary ballot in May.

Goodin, a former Indiana lawmaker and social conservative, was previously a teacher, assistant principal and public school superintendent at Crothersville Community Schools.

“I think, unfortunately, the other team, they look at education as a liability. But our team, the Democratic team, looks at it as an investment,” Goodin said Thursday. “We look at the state budget … over 50% of that budget goes to education. We’re looking at that as an investment that will make Indiana better going forward and into the future. And the folks on the other side say that it’s a waste of money, and that’s been proven in the policies that they’ve been trying to push for the last, three, four, five 10, years. ”

McCormick’s competitor, Republican Sen. Mike Braun, has yet to release a detailed education platform. 

Braun’s campaign website emphasizes that while more than half of the state budget is spent on K-12 education, “far too many of our graduates are not prepared to enter the workforce or pursue a degree.”

The Republican candidate — a former school board member — “knows parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s education and every family, regardless of income or zip code, should be able to enroll in a school of their choice and pursue a curriculum that prepares them for a career, college or the military,” Braun’s website continues.

Recently, he has additionally supported the state education department’s proposed overhaul of Indiana’s high school diplomas and graduation requirements, saying Hoosier education focuses too little on career readiness.

Libertarian Donald Rainwater is also running for governor.

He said he is troubled by McCormick’s focus on “expanding government control over our children and their educational opportunities. Rainwater supports expanding educational opportunities, including school choice.

“Let’s break down barriers, empower parents, and create a vibrant educational landscape,” he said. “By trusting families and respecting their choices, we build a stronger Indiana—one where every child’s potential is unlocked.”