Tagged: Glenda Ritz

Indiana's recently ousted state school superintendent is Florida's new education commissioner.

The State Board of Education selected Tony Bennett, a Republican who lost a bid for re-election in Indiana last month, today in Tampa.

The board picked Bennett from a slate of three finalists.

The others were Murray State University President Randy Dunn, who once served as state superintendent in Illinois, and Arlington, Va., education consultant Charles Hokanson, a former deputy assistant U.S. secretary of education in President George W. Bush's administration.

The Indiana Board of Education has approved changes to Indiana's teacher licensing requirements despite arguments from opponents that the new rules could hurt the quality of classroom instruction.

The board voted in favor of the rules changes supported by outgoing Republican state schools superintendent Tony Bennett. Incoming superintendent Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, had asked the board to delay action until after she takes office next month.

The campaign to lead Indiana's education department is being watched as a referendum on school policies pushed by conservatives across the country.

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is seeking a second term. Before being elected, Bennett was a longtime southern Indiana educator and former superintendent of Greater Clark County Schools.

He's opposed by Democrat Glenda Ritz, who is a suburban Indianapolis teacher and a former president of her local teachers' union.