INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Republican lawmakers reconfigured the state’s Board of Education to remove the state superintendent as chairperson and shift more control over education decisions to the governor.

Lawmakers this week approved a plan to remove the state superintendent as head of the board of education after the 2016 elections. The legislation creates a new 11-member board, with eight appointed by the governor and one each appointed by the House, Senate and state superintendent, the Indianapolis Star reports.

The change is viewed as a compromise amid an effort to remove union-backed state superintendent Glenda Ritz from the school board and strip her of oversight of a state voucher school program. Republicans dominate all three branches of Indiana government, and Ritz is the only statewide elected Democrat.

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The Star reports Ritz, with support from the teachers union, has continuously sparred with reform-minded state board of education members appointed by Gov. Mike Pence.

The legislation, which was approved by wide margins in both chambers, also gives the state board of education the same status as a “state educational authority” as Ritz’s department of education, which means the state board now has powers to access student data and do other things it couldn’t before.

Democrats told the Star the bill essentially duplicates powers over education.

“We’re taking the State Board of Education and making it the de facto Department of Education,” said Scott Pelath, House minority leader. “That, I promise you, the people of Indiana don’t want departments of education.”

The Star reports the “board overhaul sets up a new showdown in the 2016 elections, which are likely to see Ritz run for re-election as superintendent and Pence for re-election as governor. But it ends the immediate threat to Ritz, who initially had been targeted for remove as state board chair this year.”

Republican lawmakers this week also unveiled a plan to remove Ritz’s authority to manage the state’s private school voucher program, but shelved that plan in favor of the school board reconfiguration, according to the news site.

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“This language is designed to make sure we facilitate communication amongst the board,” Rep. Jud McMillin said. “I do think this is evidence of a compromise.”

Indianapolis Star reporter Tom LoBianco posted a story on the recently passed school board shakeup at 12:20 a.m. Eastern Time. By 1 p.m., Ritz was already hinting at a direct standoff against Pence in 2016.

“After this session there’s absolutely nothing off the table,” Ritz said told the Star today. “First priority is getting through this school year, because we’re in the midst of testing, and getting all that done. But after that, I’m going to sit down with my family and determine what is best for the children and families of Indiana.”

Ritz previously told the Star she’s running for state superintendent, but said today that the outcome of the recently concluded 2015 legislative session convinced her to consider the governorship.

“After viewing the outcome of this General Assembly session, it’s caused me to have pause and to actually look at how I might want to reframe to move education forward,” she told the Star.