The Indiana State Teachers Association and its parent organization have agreed to a proposed $14 million settlement with 27 school districts to resolve Indiana regulators’ lawsuit targeting the state union’s now-defunct health-insurance program.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced the tentative deal last week between state regulators, the ISTA, and the National Education Association in a case she said involved program “mismanagement” and “alleged defrauding” of Indiana teachers.
State officials had sued the ISTA and the NEA in 2009, alleging they violated state securities law by offering a health-care plan for districts.
The federal lawsuit said that the health-care program actually represented the sale of unregistered securities and that money generated from the program’s insurance premiums was mixed with other funds, with much of it going into risky investments.
