MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — The Union School Corp. in Randolph County is set to have a hearing June 17 in Delaware County as it challenges the state over Senate Enrolled Act 1, an Indiana law that would dissolve the district.
Union Schools’ lawsuit, filed in May, claims that Senate Enrolled Act 1, which was the legislation for the state’s budget over the next two years, is unconstitutional.
The law, which is scheduled to take effect July 1, would prevent the district from taking any new obligations, including hiring teachers, and providing food service and special education. The complaint highlights that Union Schools will be forced to leave classrooms empty, depriving students of a free and appropriate education, as required by the Indiana Constitution.
Union Superintendent Galen Mast has said no one received any notification of the legislators’ plans or could comment on them before the dissolution of the district was inserted into the measure shortly before it was approved.
The law also mandates the closure of the school district by July 1, 2027.
Indiana has not dissolved a public school district in 50 years, educators have said.
The case was moved to Delaware County because no judges in Randolph County were available to rule on whether to issue an injunction against the law before July 1.
Online court records indicate that the state has retained an Evansville law firm to handle the case.
As News 8 has reported, the Modoc-based district serves about 300 students in person from Union Township in Randolph County, including Modoc and Losantville, and a portion of Stoney Creek Township in Henry County, including Blountsville.
The district also serves nearly 9,000 online through a partnership with the Indiana Digital Learning School.
Modoc is about a 1-hour, 20-minute drive east-northeast of downtown Indianapolis.
