Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, agreed to co-sponsor the bill to make it a bipartisan effort. The following months provided an amazing opportunity for students and their advisers to participate in state government. Clere didn’t want the students to just ride along. Students and advisers met with stakeholders both for and against the legislation to try to find common ground. We compared bills from other states and witnessed legislative assistants draft one that was appropriate for Indiana.
Clere invited several participants to help file the bill, and the process of promoting HB 1130 began. Students and advisers first worked to get a hearing, and when that was granted, they wrote testimonies for the need for the legislation. As the bill advanced, a couple of high school principals agreed to testify for it—but as more people came on board, opponents also lined up against it.
It was thrilling to see the House tally board light up as HB 1130 passed the House 87-13 and advanced to the Senate.
With the wind to their backs, students started the push for a Senate hearing and received one. At 1:30 in the afternoon a few days later, everyone was in place. In the beginning of that session there was enough time for the senators to sing happy birthday to someone and give those testifying for other bills plenty of time to speak. But hours passed, and HB 1130 was still unheard.
As the dinner hour approached, senators began to leave and those who were scheduled to testify were told to shorten testimonies. Students started striking out words, sentences, paragraphs. By the time everyone had a chance to give abbreviated remarks, even the chairman of the committee had left. However, after an exhausting day, HB 1130 passed out of committee. All that remained was a single vote from the full senate.
As the day of that last vote arrived, the list of probable Senate yeas and nays indicated success was near. Someone said, “Let’s plan to get students who participated a picture with the governor when he signs the bill.” And that’s when a cell phone rang with the message that the bill was suddenly in trouble. Powerful opponents had found a way to sabotage the bill in the 11th hour of the session, and the bill was not heard.
All of the proponents were shocked. I watched as Clere was interviewed afterward. A reporter patiently waited as Clere searched for the words to describe what had happened.
Later, a sympathetic state senator shared a comment I will always remember: “You have to keep your arms inside the ride the last week of the session.”
In hindsight, it was a thrilling ride beginning to end and an excellent opportunity for our students to, not just observe, but participate in the legislative process. I realized it was still a painful memory for me when I choked up talking about it just four years ago when I was interviewed about the100-year history of IHSPA. Just as coaches suffer when they can’t help their players win the big game, teachers and legislators suffer when they can’t help our younger citizens have a victory in the legislative process.
As Clere decides to leave the House after 18 years, I wonder how many other times he has experienced heartache after creating a bill, nurturing it and pushing it to the finish line only to have it fail.
Since my retirement from scholastic journalism, I have had the opportunity to interact with Clere regularly regarding legislation that my Quaker group supports. I always appreciate his insight and have found him to have the same thoughtful consideration for bills we care about as he did for our student press bill.
While I am sure Clere’s memories are bittersweet at this moment, I hope that as time passes and others praise his contribution to Indiana as a lawmaker of integrity, he will feel collective success about the long days, challenging circumstances and what had to be many insufferable meetings he endured along the way.
