Chalkbeat

Should students have cell phones in class? Indiana just said no — with a few exceptions.

2024-03-12T13:47:01+00:00

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Indiana students will need to put their phones away during class starting next school year, under a new law that requires districts to ban communication devices from classrooms.

Senate Enrolled Act 185 bans “any portable wireless device.” The bill — which was signed into law Monday by Gov. Eric Holcomb and takes effect in July — requires districts, including charter schools, to adopt policies banning several types of devices during class time.

Lawmakers and advocates hope the ban improves student engagement, behavior, and mental health, all of which they say have declined since cell phones became a common sight in students’ hands. They’re part of a national push to enact bans on cell phones in schools.

“Even as adults, we’re distracted by using our cell phones,” said Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Republican and the bill’s author, in a Feb. 14 meeting of the House Education Committee.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming cell phone ban, including exceptions to it, what schools have previously done to limit cell phones, and concerns about it.

How does the new cell phone ban work?

Under the new law, school districts will need to adopt policies banning communication devices during instructional time. That includes phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, as well as any other devices that can provide communication between two parties.

Exactly how that will be done is up to each individual school district. Students might be required to put their phones in locked pouches or designated places in the classroom.

It will be up to school boards to adopt these policies this summer.

However, the law says a student can use their device:

if a teacher allows it for educational purposes during instructional time.
if a student needs to manage their health care, as for blood sugar monitoring, for example.
in the event of an emergency.
if the use of the device is included in their Individualized Education Program or 504 plan.

The law does not define what constitutes an emergency.

The exception for instructional time is important for students in dual credit programs, said Mary Jane Michalak, vice president of legal and public affairs at Ivy Tech Community College, because it will allow them to access two-factor authentication.

Why do people want a cell phone ban?

Lawmakers attempted to ban cell phones in schools over two decades ago, said Rep. Vernon Smith. However, the law was reversed due to safety concerns.

The rapid adoption of phones between 2010 and 2015, coupled with the development of more attention-grabbing apps, has led students to spend more and more time on their phones, said Evan Eagleson, regional advocacy director for ExcelinEd, during testimony.

Eagleson said studies have shown students spend seven to nine hours a day on their phones, receiving around 237 notifications — a quarter of which occur during class time.

Since COVID, teachers report that student behavior and mental health issues linked to cell phones have spiked, said John O’Neal of the Indiana State Teachers Association in testimony.

“It’s becoming a major problem,” O’Neal said. “Students aren’t motivated in class because they’re distracted by their devices.”

How do educators and parents feel about it?

While schools already have the power to ban cell phones, such prohibitions have largely been left to the discretion of individual teachers, the bill’s supporters said, creating inconsistency from classroom to classroom.

A statewide law provides consistency and helps to enforce existing local policies, said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, during testimony on the bill.

Education groups that supported the new law include the Indiana State Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Indiana School Boards Association, and the Indiana Association of School Principals.

While the bill saw little opposition from advocates or lawmakers, some noted the potential increase in school discipline for students who try to circumvent their districts’ new policies. The enforcement of the ban, as well as any potential consequences for students who violate it, will be up to school districts.

Parents, too, have expressed concerns about being able to reach their students in the event of a school emergency.

How have schools tried to limit cell phones?

Spradlin said school districts’ existing guidelines on cell phone use typically ban the devices from classrooms, or leave it up to teachers. They often permit cell phone use during lunch and passing periods.

But a few Indiana districts have recently moved to ban cell phones during the school day. Fort Wayne Community Schools announced in February that it would pilot “phone-free schools” at two of its middle schools and two of its high schools this spring.

Students will be required to put their phones in locked pouches, which will be unlocked at the end of the day.

Hammond and Martinsville schools also adopted policies at the beginning of this school year requiring students to put their phones away.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the law includes both traditional public school districts and charter schools.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Bill would require charter school leaders to disclose family, business ties with building owners

2024-01-31T19:55:37+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Charter school leaders would have to publicly disclose if they have a family or business connection to the owners of their school building under a new proposal in the Indiana Statehouse.

It’s the latest call for charter school oversight and transparency following federal charges that could mean decades in prison for the former leaders of the Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy.

The operators of the now-closed schools allegedly inflated the enrollment by thousands of students and accepted more than $44 million in state funding, according to a federal indictment filed earlier this month. The state money was allegedly funneled through several for-profit companies owned by the schools’ founder, Thomas Stoughton, and then paid out to himself, his family, former IVS and IVPA Superintendent Percy Clark, and others, the indictment said.

A Chalkbeat Indiana investigation in 2017 found ballooning enrollment and conflicts of interest at the two schools, among other problems. A lawsuit from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to recoup $154 million in state funds from school leaders and others is ongoing as well.

The proposal to beef up charter oversight is an amendment to House Bill 1243, which addresses various education topics. The amendment says that a charter school shall annually post on its website “information for the immediately preceding school year regarding whether there is a familial or business relationship between the organizer, owner, or operator of the charter school and the owner of the charter school’s building.”

The amendment was authored by Democratic state Rep. Ed DeLaney, who represents Indianapolis. The bill — which includes DeLaney’s amendment — passed the House Wednesday and now goes to the Senate.

“It is clear that we need to tighten reporting requirements on the financial activities of charter schools,” DeLaney said in a statement Tuesday after his amendment was added to the bill.

He said the amendment is part of his “step-by-step” approach to require more oversight of charter schools, especially as they grow, and to fight against misuse of public money.

He pointed out that if a school district rented a school building from or contracted with the family member of the superintendent, that would be wrong, and the same goes for charters, given that they are public schools and use public funds.

“We must require transparency so the public knows who is benefitting from rent for the buildings that charter schools are using,” DeLaney said in his statement.

DeLaney is one of several lawmakers who’ve called for more oversight and transparency from charter schools and their leaders.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat who represents parts of Indianapolis, filed a bill about charter authorizers, which approve or reject applications for new charter schools. They are also tasked with providing the kind of oversight that elected school boards handle for traditional public schools.

Hunley’s bill would restrict the power to approve and oversee new charter schools in Indianapolis to two government authorizers: the Indiana Charter School Board and the Indianapolis Charter School Board. That would halt charter authorizing in the city by other groups, including authorizers housed at Ball State University and Trine University.

Hunley’s bill follows a Chalkbeat Indiana report on charter school accountability that found roughly a third of brick-and-mortar or blended-model charter schools in Marion County have closed since 2001.

However, the bill, SB 173, is unlikely to advance. It was referred to the Senate education committee, but is not on the agenda for the committee’s last scheduled meeting before the deadlines for bills to advance out of their respective chambers.

You can track HB 1243 and SB 173 on the General Assembly’s website.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Bill would restrict charter authorizing powers in Marion County

2024-01-03T23:07:31+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A proposed bill would restrict the power to approve and oversee new charter schools in Indianapolis to two government authorizers: the Indiana Charter School Board and the Indianapolis Charter School Board.

Under the legislation pitched by Democratic state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a former Indianapolis Public Schools principal, several other authorizers that are active in the state would no longer be allowed to approve charter schools in Marion County.

Authorizers are institutions that have the power to approve or reject charters for new schools, and provide oversight that an elected school board would for traditional public schools. In Indiana, they can be tied to school boards, the state and Indianapolis charter boards, or certain universities.

Authorizers outside of Marion County don’t fully understand the city’s landscape, Hunley said, and are not sufficiently accountable to the city’s constituents or families. Restricting authorizing power to the city and state charter boards, she argued, would provide more local accountability, while also allowing Indianapolis charter schools to choose from more than one authorizer.

Most charter schools in Indianapolis are authorized by the Indianapolis Charter School Board, which is part of the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. But the city’s charter schools have also historically been authorized by the state charter board, by Ball State University’s Office of Charter Schools in Muncie, and by Education One, the authorizing arm of Trine University in Angola.

Hunley cites questions about accountability

Chalkbeat’s analysis found that at least three of the schools that closed since 2001 had sought and won approval from a different authorizer, after they or a sister school faced scrutiny from their initial authorizer. Those schools received their second approval from either Ball State University or Education One.

Hunley said the Chalkbeat report raises questions about whether authorizers are providing adequate oversight and quality control in Indianapolis.

“It’s really a problematic process that’s been allowed to happen,” Hunley said. “I think now we’re seeing the reality of how damaging, destabilizing that can be for kids.”

Last year, two Indianapolis charter schools closed in the middle of the school year, sending parents and students suddenly searching for other school options. One was authorized by the Indiana Charter School Board and another by Ball State.

Other schools have been approved by one authorizer after being rejected by another in the application phase. Last year, for example, Education One granted Purdue Polytechnic approval to operate a third campus in Indianapolis after the Indianapolis Charter School Board rejected the charter amid intense local public pushback.

Under Hunley’s bill, charter school operators throughout the state seeking authorization from higher education institutions would also be required to meet with school district leaders in the area where the proposed charter school would operate to discuss their proposal, their financial stability, previous performance of any current schools in the operator’s portfolio, and capacity for growth.

School districts would then make a nonbinding recommendation to the authorizer on whether to approve the school.

The bill would protect charter schools as a whole by ensuring that only high-quality schools are opened, Hunley argued. Some charter schools in her district are doing well, she said, but the general image of charter schools suffers when some close due to mismanagement, underenrollment, or other reasons.

“We don’t want to say in any way all charter schools are bad,” she said. “They aren’t.”

Charter proponents oppose bill

Advocates for charter schools defended the sector’s record of accountability and quality.

Lindsay Omlor, executive director of Education One, said in an email that the authorizer is highly present in all 15 of its charter schools. Staff conduct routine site visits and attend all school board meetings, Omlor said, and annual stakeholder survey results show a satisfaction rate of at least 95% over the last seven years.

“We already follow all statutory requirements for notifying districts and conducting a public hearing, etc. when we are considering an application for a new charter school,” Omlor said. “Point being, we are doing this work in accordance with the law, and based on the feedback we receive from our stakeholders, we know we are doing it well.”

The Indiana Charter School Network, which represents the state’s charter schools, is also opposed to the bill.

“We do not support any limitation on authorizer options in Marion or any county,” Marcie Brown-Carter, the group’s executive director, said in an email. “We do not support placing additional steps into the authorization process for school districts when they are already free to participate in public hearings, and many times do.”

The mayor’s Office of Education Innovation said through a spokesperson that it’s too early to comment on the proposed legislation but that it plans to follow the issue closely. Ball State University and the Mind Trust, which has helped spread charter schools throughout Indianapolis, also declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

The legislative session begins on Jan. 8.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Few students signed up for career scholarships, as lawmakers look to expand the law

2024-01-10T19:19:06+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Just over 200 Indiana students received state funding for job training in the first year of the state’s Career Scholarship Accounts program, state officials said Wednesday, as lawmakers consider expanding the allowed uses for the money to include paying to get a driver license.

These accounts were the centerpiece of Republican lawmakers’ plans to “reinvent high school,” during the last legislative session, and allowed students to access state funding for workforce training outside of their schools. Advocates said the law would open more doors for students whose schools didn’t offer certain training programs, while critics said it lacked transparency, and could affect funding for high schools’ career and technical education programs.

State officials anticipated that 1,000 students in grades 10-12 would participate in the program during its first year, with each one eligible to receive up to $5,000 for job training and related expenses. Lawmakers appropriated $15 million over two years for the scholarship accounts.

While 574 students applied for the program, around 40% were rejected because they did not have job training lined up, said representatives from the Indiana Treasurer’s Office during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Wednesday. The program is jointly administered by the treasurer, the Indiana Department of Education, and the Commission on Higher Education.

The 234 students who were approved for scholarship accounts received an average of $3,200 each for curriculum and course material, they said, for a total allocation of $1.17 million.

A total of 30 organizations have been approved as providers for job training, including Indiana University, Ball State, and Ivy Tech, according to the higher education commission.

Lawmakers are considering a bill during this year’s session that would make changes to the law, including allowing students to use the funding to obtain driver’s licenses so they can commute to job training — something that advocates say would encourage participation.

House Bill 1001, authored by Chuck Goodrich, a Noblesville Republican, also seeks to allow students to use scholarships earmarked for attending college after high school for job training instead — a proposal that was rejected last year.

Proponents of the driver’s license provision said that allowing students to use the funding for licenses would open the program to those who otherwise could not get to work sites. The original career scholarship bill provided funding for transportation, but did not specify driver’s licenses.

“Driver’s licenses are a big barrier to growing the program. Kids couldn’t get to where they needed to get,” said Abhi Reddy, legislative counsel at the Treasurer’s Office.

However, Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, noted that offering funding for driver’s licenses through one program might motivate students to drop academic paths in favor of pursuing a job training scholarship.

The education committee rejected DeLaney’s amendment to remove the provision allowing students to use college scholarship funds — like the 21st Century Scholarship aimed at low-income students — for job training.

It also turned down a separate amendment authored by DeLaney that would’ve required that students be paid for the work they do during their job training opportunities.

“The potential for abuse is all through this bill, and this is one example where the abuse would directly affect the student,” DeLaney said.

HB 1001 passed the education committee and will move to the House.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

This story has been updated with a total allocation for career scholarship accounts from the treasurer’s office.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s what’s in Indiana lawmakers’ proposal to hold back more third graders

2024-01-12T19:09:34+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Starting next school year, thousands of Indiana third graders could be held back if they don’t demonstrate key reading skills under a new bill from GOP lawmakers.

Senate Bill 1 — authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, Sen. Jeff Raatz, and Sen. Brian Buchanan, along with 28 Republican co-authors — seeks to bolster the state’s retention policy and is the centerpiece of GOP lawmakers’ education agenda this year. It’s the newest phase of an ongoing effort to improve the state’s early literacy rates. Last year, lawmakers passed a sweeping new law requiring reading instruction to be based on methods rooted in the science of reading that have gained traction nationwide.

Around 80% of Indiana third graders passed the statewide reading test, known as the IREAD-3, in 2023 — a number that has remained stubbornly flat since the pandemic. The Indiana Department of Education wants 95% of third graders to pass the reading test by 2027.

While third grade retention has been part of Indiana policy for over a decade, schools have increasingly avoided actually holding students back, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education, especially since the pandemic. Guidance from the department in 2021 encouraged schools to consider a student’s “overall academic performance” in determining whether retention is necessary.

In 2023, of the 13,840 third graders who did not pass the IREAD, just 412 stayed in third grade for another year, while the rest moved on to fourth grade.

The state has offered “good cause exemptions” for students with disabilities or those who are English language learners that let students who don’t pass the IREAD. But recent state data showed that most students who moved on to fourth grade did not have an exemption, and were instead “socially promoted” to the next grade.

Of those third graders who moved on to fourth grade in 2023, around 5,500 received such exemptions, and nearly 8,000 did not.

The GOP bill would remove language from statute that students “might require retention as a last resort.” Instead, it would require that students repeat third grade if they don’t demonstrate proficiency on the IREAD or meet one of a few exceptions.

It would also require schools to identify and remediate students who are at risk of not passing the test by offering summer school, as well as science of reading-based instruction through eighth grade. Schools would also need to monitor students who fail the IREAD beyond third grade and retest them until they reach proficiency or move into seventh grade.

Students with disabilities and those who are English language learners would still be exempt under the bill, which would add a new exemption for those who demonstrate proficiency in math. Those who have already been retained once would not be retained again.

Around 72% of students who did not pass the IREAD in 2023 came from low-income families. Approximately 43% are white, 25% are Hispanic, and 24% are Black, according to department of education data.

In an email Friday, Secretary of Education Katie Jenner indicated the education department supported the measures outlined in Senate Bill 1, including “creating a strong definition of retention for the first time to ensure significantly fewer third grade students who cannot read are promoted to fourth grade.”

But the retention proposal has encountered skepticism from teachers, education advocates, and Democratic lawmakers, who say the state should focus on non-punitive measures and individualized support for students.

In a panel Thursday hosted by the Indiana State Teachers Association, literacy researchers said improving early education, including preschool and kindergarten, play a significant role in improving literacy. Also key, they said, is ensuring that schools have sufficient resources, teachers, and time for quality reading instruction.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers: Bills on absenteeism, third grade retention will mark 2024 session

2023-11-21T22:51:06+00:00

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Indiana lawmakers want to catch their breath.

After two consecutive sessions of headline-grabbing legislation that put the state in the national spotlight for trying to restrict what could be taught in classrooms, and expanding vouchers to nearly every student, legislative leaders say the public should expect a more measured approach to the 2024 session, which begins Jan. 8.

Without a budget to put together during the short session, which ends in March, lawmakers will instead “build on recent achievements,” like last year’s sweeping expansion of work-based learning for high schoolers, House Speaker Todd Huston said on Organization Day Tuesday, when lawmakers preview the upcoming session.

Lawmakers also intend to further tackle literacy issues — after passing a law last year to require the science of reading — specifically by addressing Indiana’s third grade retention laws. Currently, Indiana requires retaining students who don’t pass the state reading test unless they meet certain criteria.

“Passing them along is a terrible disservice to the student,” Huston said in his Tuesday remarks.

Lawmakers will also consider a proposal to address antisemitism on college campuses, Huston said.

While leadership aims to have a quieter “transition year,” there’s no guarantee that the controversial social issues that have marked the last two sessions will take a backseat in 2024. Indeed, without a budget to pass, lawmakers may have more time to bring forward bills like the “divisive concepts” bill that headlined the last short session in 2022.

Next year’s elections will also factor into lawmakers’ decisions. All 100 seats in the Indiana House of Representatives and half the seats in the state Senate will be up for election. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.

“Lots of bills will be filed,” Huston said at an Indiana Chamber of Commerce event Monday.

Here’s what lawmakers have said to expect on education policy next year.

Literacy, careers, and absenteeism in the spotlight

Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray each said this week that their caucuses would focus on addressing literacy. Last year, the legislature passed landmark laws mandating curriculum and teacher training based in the science of reading, and forbidding instruction that uses models like “three-cueing.”

Huston and Bray indicated that legislation this year would focus on keeping students who don’t pass the state reading exam in third grade. Current Indiana law requires schools to retain those students unless they’ve been retained twice before, or if they’re English learners or have disabilities and receive approval from their educators to advance to the fourth grade.

Lawmakers will also look to expand last year’s laws on work-based learning, which allow students to receive Career Scholarship Accounts for workforce training outside of their schools. Huston said his caucus would once again push to allow students to use state scholarships earmarked for postsecondary education for work-based training as well.

Further tweaks to allow for more applied learning and apprenticeships could be coming as well.

At a legislative preview event Monday hosted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Huston and Bray also highlighted the need to address chronic absenteeism, which remains higher than before the pandemic.

“Anything good we do in the education system, for those kids who aren’t there, they’re not going to have success,” Bray said.

Bills about divisive social issues could return

In recent years, Indiana lawmakers have attracted national attention for a series of controversial education-related bills, including one to ban the teaching of “divisive concepts” related to race that failed in 2022, and another that banned “harmful materials” from school libraries that passed in 2023.

Lawmakers have also passed legislation aimed at transgender youth, including one that prohibits transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in 2022, and another that bans health care providers from providing gender-affirming services to anyone under 18 in 2023.

Leaders of the Democratic caucus said lawmakers should leave such issues alone during the 2024 session.

“We don’t need to bog down this session with [critical race theory] and how we feel about affirmative action,” said Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat.

One piece of controversial legislation likely to make a comeback is the push to make school board elections partisan. Previous versions of the bill have divided lawmakers and drawn public backlash, but momentum for the idea grew between 2022 and this year.

Chamber calls for more action on child care

In a legislative preview event Monday, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce called for the state to once again focus on access to child care as an avenue toward economic development.

Lawmakers passed several laws on child care last year, including expanding eligibility for the On My Way Pre-K program and approving a third-party review of child care regulations, with the intent to streamline administrative burdens on providers.

The Chamber of Commerce called for an acceleration of this review, as well as other changes, like allowing child care workers to automatically qualify for child care vouchers.

This summer, the interim committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services also approved a draft report of recommendations centered on testimony from child care providers who raised concerns about the affordability and access.

Bray referenced this report Monday when discussing how the Senate may tackle the child care question in 2024.

Lawmakers can begin filing bills now before reconvening in January.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill allowing chaplains in public schools advances despite constitutional concerns

2024-01-24T21:43:36+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers advanced two bills on Wednesday that could further blur the lines between religious instruction and public schools, despite concerns that they might put schools in legal jeopardy.

Senate Bill 50 would allow schools to bring in chaplains as volunteers or employees to provide counseling to students and educators, while House Bill 1137 would require principals to let students leave campus for religious instruction under certain conditions.

Both bills passed their respective chambers’ education committees Wednesday despite questions about whether they maintain appropriate boundaries with respect to religion in public schools. Proponents say that neither bill requires students to receive religious instruction.

Under Senate Bill 50, school chaplains could provide only secular counseling unless the students or their parents gave permission for nonsecular guidance — prompting concerns from the ACLU of Indiana about violations of students’ constitutional rights.

Sen. Stacey Donato, a Logansport Republican who wrote the bill, described the proposal as another tool to address students’ social-emotional needs while alleviating the workload on the state’s school counselors. Indiana has one school counselor for every 694 students, according to one report from last year from the American School Counselor Association, which recommends a ratio of one for every 250 students.

The bill, which passed along party lines, received support from education groups, including the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana School Counselors Association, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, who all said the bill provided clear guidelines for chaplain positions.

Last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation allowing unlicensed chaplains to work in state public schools. Donato’s legislation says the chaplains must have master’s degrees and at least two years of counseling experience under the provisions of the bill, and would have to pass a criminal background check.

Their communication with students would be confidential, though Donato said she will amend the bill to require that they report child abuse or neglect.

The ACLU of Indiana raised concerns about violations of the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion. Similar concerns were echoed by Democratic lawmakers.

They also raised several questions, such as whether the chaplains would be school employees, what would happen if a student practiced a different religion from the chaplain, and what would happen if a student’s parent requested that they receive religious counseling against the student’s wishes.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat, also said the bill didn’t specify how a parent would be notified if a student gave permission on their own for the chaplain to provide religious instruction — a departure from lawmakers’ recent efforts to ensure schools notify parents when students request to use different names or pronouns.

Republican lawmakers defeated an amendment to require parental permission for religious counseling, as well as another to require that the religious counseling be nonsecular.

Clergy members did not immediately throw their support behind the bill.

Chaplains may not have training in child development and psychology, and may not be qualified to act as counselors, said Gray Lesesne, dean and rector at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, who opposed the bill. And the provision protecting communication between a student and school chaplain as confidential could violate boundaries, he said.

“Even if I were to dispense secular advice to a young person as a chaplain, they would have a difficult time separating me from my role and calling and could interpret that as religious counseling whether I intend it to be or not,” he said.

Bill would change off-campus religious instruction rules

House Bill 1137, meanwhile, would bolster an existing Indiana law that allows students to leave school grounds for religious instruction for up to 120 minutes per week, subject to their principals’ discretion.

Under the bill, principals would be required to allow students to leave. The principals would work to determine an appropriate time to do so in collaboration with parents and religious organizations. In order to leave for religious instruction, students must not be listed as chronically absent.

The bill received broad support from lawmakers and advocates for religious instruction, who said many parents wanted to provide students religious teaching during the school day.

While the bill passed unanimously out of committee, Democratic lawmakers and representatives of public school organizations raised concerns about its impact on student absenteeism and academics.

With several religious organizations potentially pulling students out of the school day, the bill takes away principals’ discretion to keep academic time intact, said Christopher Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association.

Furthermore, Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, said it empowered religious organizations to pressure public schools into allowing students to leave — and put schools at risk of lawsuits.

Still, advocates for the bill said releasing students for religious instruction — a concept protected under U.S. law — allowed students to take religious lessons during times that didn’t conflict with academic courses or after-school extracurricular activities.

“A lot of parents want the ability to send a message to their students, this is how important it is to our family that you have religious instruction,” said Joel Penton, founder of LifeWise Academy, a national organization that provides Bible-based education to public school students off-campus during the school day.

Dennis Gutwein, a board member at the West Central School Corporation, said students at his district took LifeWise classes during library hours, but that the librarian allowed them to visit at other times during the day, like during study hall.

Committee members also added an unrelated amendment to House Bill 1137 that seeks to bolster civic education in the state by creating a seal to recognize excellence in civics for students, teachers, and schools.

Both HB 1137 and SB 50 will advance to their respective chambers.

You can track HB 1137 and SB 50 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers advance bill to hold back more third graders who don’t pass reading test

2024-01-17T22:44:34+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A bill to hold back and provide more support to third graders who can’t read proficiently passed the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday along party lines.

Senate Bill 1 would reinforce the state’s policy of holding back students who fail the state’s reading test, while also requiring schools to identify and give remediation to those who are at risk of not passing the exam.

Under the provisions of the bill, schools would also need to track students’ reading skills beyond third grade, and provide reading instruction rooted in the principles of the science of reading through eighth grade.

The legislation continues the state’s recent focus on improving students’ literacy and reading instruction. Last year, Indiana lawmakers enacted a law requiring schools to adopt research-backed curriculum based in the science of reading. The state also prohibited schools from using a reading instruction method known as three-cueing.

Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican from Granger who authored the bill along with 30 other GOP lawmakers, denied that her proposal amounted to a “retention bill.” She said that retention would continue to be a last resort after other intervention methods — like early identification and summer school for young students who lack key reading skills — have been exhausted.

Still, Rogers called retention a “necessary policy” for students who can’t read by third grade, and who don’t have a qualifying exemption like a disability.

“While some may say that retention is not good for a child, what really isn’t good is to move that student on without foundational reading skills,” Rogers said.

Details of the legislation surfaced last week. In 2023, out of 13,840 students who did not pass the third grade reading exam (known as the IREAD), just 412 stayed in third grade for another year.

The bill has support from GOP policymakers as well as several statewide education advocacy groups like RISE Indy and the Indiana School Boards Association. Advocates said the measures are necessary to address Indiana’s stagnating literacy rates. Around 1 in 5 students did not pass the IREAD in 2023 — a number that has remained about the same for three years.

But teachers, parents, and other education experts expressed skepticism about increased retention, saying that it would negatively affect students’ social-emotional well-being and long-term outcomes.

“Painting with broad strokes is dangerous,” said Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, who told lawmakers Wednesday that mandatory retention would have harmed her daughter. “She just needed more time, and it didn’t need to be in third grade.”

How retention and remediation would work

If the bill passes, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, students would have three attempts to pass the test — in second grade, third grade, and the summer after third grade. Those who don’t pass would be eligible for summer school focused on literacy, and their parents would be notified of their skill level, as well as any interventions needed.

Students who don’t pass the IREAD in third grade, or don’t have an exemption, would repeat a year. Qualified exemptions under the bill include having a disability or an individualized education program that specifies that retention is not appropriate; being an English learner who has received less than two years of language services; and passing the statewide math test — though these students would receive extra support in reading in fourth grade.

A repeated year must look different than a student’s first year of third grade, said Kymyona Burk, former state literacy director at the Mississippi Department of Education who spoke at the hearing. (Mississippi has attracted attention for its dramatic gains on national tests, including reading assessments.) Students should be placed with teachers who have a proven record of teaching reading, and need intensive literacy interventions throughout the year.

Burk noted that data from Mississippi showed that among students who were on the borderline of passing the statewide test, students who were retained performed higher in the long-term than those who moved on to fourth grade instead.

“We can prevent reading difficulty in children. We have to make sure that we are identifying them early and providing them with support much earlier than third grade,” Burk said.

A long-term decline in literacy

In testimony supporting the bill, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said literacy has declined in Indiana for over a decade. But retention rates have also declined, as the state softened its policy on holding students back and allowed for “social promotion.”

“This was not just a COVID challenge. It would almost be easier if it was purely due to COVID,” Jenner said.

Asked why students are struggling to learn to read, Jenner pointed to absenteeism as one possible cause. Of the 20% of students who did not pass the IREAD in 2023, nearly one-quarter were considered chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days of school. Among students who passed, chronic absenteeism was around 9%, she said.

“We can invest all the dollars we want but if you’re missing school, then your teachers can only do so much to get you there,” Jenner said.

Without a clear understanding of the reasons for the decline, some speakers said lawmakers should refrain from adopting any sweeping solutions.

“In order to prescribe a solution to the problem we need to understand what caused the problem in the first place,” said Joel Hand, speaking on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers Indiana and the Indiana Coalition for Public Education.

Concerns about student well-being

Public testimony in opposition to the bill focused on concerns that a broad mandate would supersede local control and parental input on when and how a student should be retained.

Other speakers expressed concern that a retention mandate would disproportionately affect students who are learning English, and thus exacerbate existing disparities.

Studies on retention frequently find positive academic outcomes among students who have been held back, but mixed or negative social and emotional effects, including more behavioral issues and higher dropout rates

State policy should focus on solutions proven to be most effective, said Vincent Edwards, who authored a Ball State University analysis on retention that found a slight positive effect for retained students. More effective solutions could include additional staffing or early learning programs.

“We need to focus on what we feel really confident about instead of what is at best marginally positive,” Edwards told lawmakers.

The committee rejected an amendment by Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat, to delay the implementation of the bill until the 2025-26 school year.

Committee members discussed but did not yet vote on Senate Bill 6, a companion bill by GOP Sen. Jeff Raatz to identify older students who can’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 1 will now head to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school funding bill would give money to families to create ‘a la carte’ education

2024-01-18T23:19:24+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A school funding bill heard in Indiana’s legislature Thursday proposes to radically reshape the state’s education system by allowing families to use state money to pay for a wide range of services and effectively customize their children’s education.

The bill, Senate Bill 255, is on hold until next year, when lawmakers take up issues tied to the state budget. But its backers say it’s the start of a conversation about expanding school choice in the state, far beyond the scope of existing voucher programs.

For now, few details are available about how the program would work. But depending on how it takes shape and how many students participate, it could have a major impact on K-12 schools, graduation requirements and postgraduate paths, and give Indiana one of the most relaxed school choice policies in the country. And it would add to the financial pressures on public school systems that already stand to lose funding to voucher programs, while they try to improve low reading scores and college-going rates.

Lawmakers have already made nearly all Indiana children eligible for private school vouchers, on the premise that parents should be empowered to determine how educational dollars are spent.

But critics say these voucher programs aren’t reaching the students they were originally intended to help — those from low-income backgrounds who are attending failing schools.

Families could choose programs a la carte

Indiana’s existing voucher programs allow students to use state funding for private school, or for special education services outside of public school. A new program also allocates funding for career training.

Under the new proposal, those programs would be combined into a new program, with relaxed requirements that allow families to use state funding to purchase classes and services a la carte from schools, tutors, and other approved organizations.

So a student could take a chemistry class at a public school, a math class at a private school, and music lessons with a professional musician, said Indiana State Treasurer Daniel Elliott, who spoke in support of the bill at the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday.

Lawmakers at Thursday’s hearing listened to concerns about the bill from a wide array of groups, including the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana Association of School Principals, the Indiana Catholic Conference, and home-schooling advocates.

The bill’s fiscal note estimates that state expenditures would increase by $46 million just for the cost of migrating students from the existing voucher programs to the new funding pool.

Author Sen. Ryan Mishler, a Republican from Mishawaka, said he wanted to begin the conversation about the proposal this year and expects it to continue through the summer.

Mishler notably voiced opposition to last year’s expansion of the school voucher program, citing concerns about a lack of accountability at private schools. In introducing the bill, he said he hoped to offer even more flexibility to Indiana parents.

Elliott agreed.

“If we really want to make a difference, we need to give parents more than two choices,” said Elliott. “We need to give them the option to create their child’s unique educational pathway.”

How the money would move

The grant program in Senate Bill 255 would function like an expanded version of the existing Education Scholarship Account program, which allows families of students with disabilities to use funds on services outside their schools. It would replace the education scholarships, the state voucher program, and the new Career Scholarship Accounts established last year.

Under the bill, students enrolled in a public school could receive 50% of the foundation grant amount — around $3,000 in 2023 — to spend on services outside of their school’s jurisdiction, likely making an impact on their school’s funding. Students enrolled in private school would receive 90% of the foundation grant amount.

They could use the funds to pay for expenses like tuition and fees at a private school, services for a disability, extracurricular activities provided by a school, apprenticeships, and transportation.

While home-schooled students were included in the bill draft, Mishler and Elliott said they would change the bill to exclude them from the funding and the accompanying requirements of state oversight.

Lawmakers raised questions about the additional cost, as well as the increased workload for the treasurer’s office, which would administer the combined program.

Schools may need to price their classes at a credit hour rate, according to Elliott. And parents would be responsible for transporting their children to different schools and classes.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, a Bloomington Democrat, said the transportation issue raised concerns about equity, as parents who can’t drive their children to different schools likely wouldn’t be able to benefit from the program.

Elliott said that it’s likely very few families would take advantage of the program.

Currently around 90,000 students attend private schools in Indiana, compared with over 1 million students who attend public schools. Recent data shows that voucher use grew by 30% over last year, compared with a 5% increase in private school enrollment, suggesting that most of the beneficiaries of vouchers are families whose children are already in private schools.

For the career scholarship accounts, just over 200 students received vouchers in the first year. The program, which offers students state funding to take career training courses outside their schools, is a centerpiece of GOP lawmakers’ plans to “reinvent high school” in 2023.

Senate Bill 255 is not expected to be heard again in the 2024 session.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill would make schools disclose details about sex ed classes

2024-01-31T21:45:32+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill requiring schools to seek school board approval for their sex education materials, as well as publicize information about who teaches the courses and when.

Sex ed is not required in Indiana schools, despite evidence linking such courses to improved behavioral outcomes among teens. Schools are required only to teach lessons about HIV and AIDS, and if they do choose to offer additional sex ed, they must emphasize abstinence.

Still, many schools do offer sex ed, sometimes contracting with outside organizations that offer lessons on consent and healthy relationships alongside reproduction and contraception.

The legislation from two GOP lawmakers marks the latest attempt by the Indiana legislators to shape how schools should approach sex, sexuality, and gender. Last year, they restricted the teaching of human sexuality in the earliest grades. And a state law that took effect last school year requires schools to disclose students’ requests to use different names or pronouns, prompting criticism from the LGBTQ community and mixed reactions from districts.

Supporters of the bill say it’s appropriate for schools to be especially sensitive about sex ed in particular, and that the proposal could defuse political tensions. Critics say it could shut down conversations related to sexuality and run afoul of federal law. Observers pointed out that some of the bill’s provisions are already part of state law.

Under Senate Bill 128, schools would need to seek approval from their school boards before using curriculum materials related to sex ed. They would also have to share details like which grade levels will receive sex ed lessons and when, whether male and female students will be taught together, and whether the class is led by a male or female instructor.

The bill would also require schools to post all this information on their websites.

The bill passed the Senate Education and Career Development Committee on Wednesday on an 8-5 vote, with GOP Sen. Dan Dernulc joining the four Democrats on the committee in voting no.

The bill was authored by Sen. Gary Byrne and Sen. Jeff Raatz, chairman of the Senate education committee.

Byrne said publishing the information would help parents decide whether they want to allow their children to take the lessons. Indiana already allows parents to opt their students out of sex education.

Byrne said the bill targeted sex ed — and not other subjects — because of the sensitive nature of the subject and families’ differing views on when it should be taught.

“I think putting the local school boards in the driver’s seat is an issue that makes good sense,” Byrne said.

The bill received support from the Indiana School Boards Association for strengthening local control and parental engagement. But Terry Spradlin, the association’s executive director, said its provisions requiring school board approval and public posting of curriculum were already part of Indiana law.

Other supporters said the bill could prevent turmoil at school board meetings by making board members aware of what’s being taught.

But critics of the bill, including advocates for gender diversity and sex education, said school boards already have the ability to review and approve curriculum. They also say a state mandate could create an additional burden on teachers and school administrators and ultimately serve as a deterrent to offering sex ed at all.

“This is a bill requiring every school district in the state to now hold hearings on very volatile issues in which a small number of folks can come and take over those meetings, that also allows a small number of school board members to inject their own political beliefs into sex education,” said Chris Daley, executive director of the ACLU of Indiana.

Daley also called the proposal an unfunded mandate.

Emma Vosicky of Gender Nexus, a group that advocates for gender diverse people in Indiana, said the ambiguous language of the bill could create a chilling effect on broader discussions of gender, including on children’s books about LGBTQ families.

Furthermore, the requirement to approve things like the gender of the person teaching a sex ed course leaves districts at risk of violating federal mandates prohibiting sex discrimination, she said.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, a Bloomington Democrat, said that requirement could also be discriminatory toward teachers who identify as a gender other than male or female.

Tammy Carter, CEO of Lifesmart Youth, a nonprofit organization that provides sex ed to 26,000 students in 122 Indiana schools, said the bill’s requirements are redundant, as the organization already meets with school boards and parents and posts its full curriculum material on its own portal.

Additionally, the bill would force her organization to release proprietary information to schools to post online under the bill, Carter said.

Other efforts have sought to expand access to medically accurate sex education, especially in the wake of Indiana’s near-total abortion ban.

Both GOP and Democratic lawmakers have previously authored bills to require schools to provide information about conception and contraception if they choose to teach sex ed. These bills have not been taken up, and similar bills have not been filed this year.

You can track SB 128 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers want more parental help, wraparound services to reduce young students’ absenteeism

2024-01-31T23:53:56+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Too many students in Indiana are missing school. And Indiana lawmakers have struggled to find a fix for the issue of absenteeism.

Finding a balance between punitive and proactive measures to fix absenteeism where it’s highest — in the earliest grades and in high school — has evaded Indiana lawmakers trying to grapple with the state’s absenteeism rates, which peaked during COVID and still remain high in Indiana and nationwide.

With Senate Bill 282, which members of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development approved unanimously on Wednesday, they seek to begin to address the bell curve of absenteeism.

“There are younger students that have truancy issues, and there are older students. Trying to wrap your arms around that 900-pound gorilla I found to be absolutely impossible,” said said Sen. Stacey Donato, a Republican from Logansport and the bill’s author.

GOP lawmakers flagged absenteeism as a priority for their agenda this year. But they had yet to bring a bill forward before Wednesday, the last opportunity for bills to be heard in the education committee before midway deadlines.

The proposals targeting each side of the bell curve are different.

First, it prescribes steps that schools must take to contact the parents of truant elementary students and provide them information and wraparound services to help improve attendance.

The bill also urges the bipartisan Legislative Council to further study absenteeism this summer — including ways to promote school attendance and age-appropriate consequences for habitually truant students — which will help address absenteeism among older students, Donato said.

“We’re going to do our absolute best to get those children the services that they need, the parents the services that they need, and work with those children to get them to school so that they can learn to read,” Donato said.

Donato ended up heavily amending her original bill, which in its initial form prescribed both punitive and preventative measures that schools could use to curb habitual truancy.

It would have referred more students to juvenile courts, which could have assessed fines of up to $1,000 to parents of truant students and assigned community service to the students themselves.

Absenteeism is ‘far beyond’ scope of one bill

Under Donato’s revised bill, schools would be required to notify parents of elementary students in writing of their student’s absences, their responsibility to ensure their student’s attendance, and the possible consequences for failing to do so, like juvenile court intervention. Schools would need to hold attendance conferences with parents no more than five days after the student’s fifth unexcused absence in a 10-week period.

The revised bill also mandates that schools create behavior plans to improve students’ attendance, and offer counseling to address any underlying issues keeping them from attending school.

Donato’s amended bill received support from a wide array of groups, including the Indiana Teachers Association, the Indiana School Social Workers Association, and the Indiana School Boards Association. They said they would have opposed the bill as originally written.

“This is an issue that goes far beyond what any one bill could possibly fix,” said Joel Hand, representing the School Social Workers Association. “But this is a step in the right direction.”

You can track SB 282 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Bills on literacy, cell phones, sex ed, and civics are advancing in the Indiana Statehouse

2024-02-07T20:27:55+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

The first half of the 2024 legislative session in Indiana has come to a close, and the dust is settling on the bills that cleared their original chamber.

Bills prioritizing reading instruction are again the top of lawmakers’ agenda and will likely become law, as the state tries to address stagnating reading scores. They build on lawmakers’ efforts last year to require instruction based on the science of reading in schools.

A bill allowing schools to ban cell phones from K-12 classrooms also advanced. But as the session has progressed, lawmakers have significantly altered other bills tackling absenteeism and behavior issues in schools, admitting these are tricky problems to solve.

Lawmakers have largely steered clear of controversial social-issue legislation that marked the last two legislative sessions. But bills on publicizing sex ed curriculum and further blurring the lines between public schools and religious instruction drew concerns.

The bills now head to the opposite chamber where they may have further amendments. The 2024 session must end by March 14.

Here are some of the key bills to watch in the second half of the session.

2024 bills addressing Indiana curriculum and instruction

Senate Bill 1 would tighten the state’s policy for holding back and remediating young children who don’t demonstrate reading skills. The most recent amendments to the bill would create a policy for parents to appeal a remediation recommendation. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 6 requires the Indiana Department of Education to identify older students who don’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 50 would permit chaplains to serve in public schools as counselors providing secular support. An amendment to the bill allows them only to provide religious support if a parent or emancipated minor gives permission. House Bill 1137, meanwhile, requires principals to allow a student to leave for off-campus religious instruction at their parents’ request.

Senate Bill 287 would require schools to teach cursive, and directs the state department of education to develop an internet safety curriculum, while House Bill 1243 would establish a computer science curriculum requirement.

Senate Bill 128 would require schools to seek school board approval for their sex ed curriculum, and publicize the materials plus information about who teaches the courses and when.

House Bill 1137, along with Senate Bill 211, would establish a civics seal and expand civics education to the youngest grades.

House Bill 1073 would require schools to install video cameras in special education classrooms, and allow parents to review recordings in certain situations.

These bills target cell phones, mental health, intruders

Senate Bill 211, along with House Bill 1380, would define charter school corporations as a collection of charter schools operated by a single organizer — a change that raised concerns about financial transparency following last month’s federal indictment of former virtual charter officials.

Senate Bill 185 would allow schools to adopt policies banning cell phones from the classroom, though the policies must include exceptions for emergencies, health needs, and cell phone use at the direction of a teacher or under an individualized education program.

Senate Bill 282 originally laid out preventive and punitive measures schools could use to address truancy, but the bill was amended to focus only on preventive measures in elementary schools while a summer study committee considers how to improve older students’ attendance.

Senate Bill 214 would require schools to post links to mental health resources for students, and Senate Bill 141 would require counselors to spend a certain amount of time providing services to students.

House Bill 1104 lays out requirements for schools’ armed intruder drills, including that students can’t be subject to drills that include sensory components.

Funding bills could affect referendum revenue

Though 2024 is not a budget year, several bills moved forward that could affect funding for schools and students.

House Bill 1001 would allow students to use Career Scholarship Accounts to obtain their drivers’ licenses. It will also expand the uses for two kinds of college scholarships, allowing students to put them toward career training.

House Bill 1376 restricts school referendums to general elections or municipal elections only.

House Bill 1380 includes a number of potential funding changes.

It would prohibit schools from charging a fee for transfer students.
It would expand the Indiana Learns program that gives students up to $1,000 for tutoring beyond 2026.
It would require that Innovation Network schools receive 100% of their state tuition support dollars and prohibits school districts from charging them for goods and services if that amount is more than the charter receives in revenue from non-referendum operating fund property taxes.

Senate Bill 270 would clarify that schools must close underutilized buildings and make them available to charter schools for $1.

Some higher education bills take aim at Indiana’s universities

Many of the bills aimed at higher education this year would assert more legislative control over the state’s colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 48 originally would have required colleges to compile information about jobs and pay related to their degrees. But when colleges reported that they already have much of this information, lawmakers amended the bill to require schools to prominently post links to it instead.

Senate Bill 8 would require all high schools to offer the College Core. It would also require colleges and universities to explore the possibilities of conferring associate degrees and offering three-year degree programs.

Senate Bill 202 includes many changes to colleges’ boards, tenure, and diversity policies.

It would prohibit colleges from offering tenure to faculty who have failed to support a culture of “free inquiry,” and create complaint procedures aimed at faculty who have shared political opinions unrelated to their academic discipline.

House Bill 1002 codifies a definition of antisemitism and prohibits religious discrimination at the state’s schools.

Deregulation bills focus on child care, youth employment

Senate Bill 2 removes several child care regulations and makes employees of childcare centers eligible for childcare subsidies.

Senate Bill 147 also offers tax exemptions for for-profit childcare operators, as well as businesses that provide on-site childcare to employees.

House Bill 1093 is not strictly an education bill, but would relax regulations on when teenagers are allowed to work.

The 2024 bills that didn’t make it, but might in 2025

Several bills that didn’t pass this year offer a clue into what lawmakers might tackle during next year’s budget session and during summer study committees.

House Bill 1219 sought to create a mastery-based education pilot program, and along with Senate Bill 165, measure the educational time that students must receive in minutes instead of days.

Senate Bill 255 would have dramatically expanded Indiana’s choice program and allow families to choose where they would spend state dollars to create customized programs. The bill was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee, with chair Sen. Ryan Mishler saying it would return next year.

House Bill 1262 originally laid out several punitive measures schools could take to address student behavior. The bill passed the House education committee with lawmakers promising to amend the bill to send the issue for further study instead. But it died on the House floor after a disagreement over what kind of committee should study the issue.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that charter schools would not be charged for goods and services if the cost exceeds the amount they receive in non-referendum operating fund property taxes in House Bill 1380.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Civics education to come to the earliest grades under Indiana proposal

2024-02-12T17:51:41+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

In Heather Veatch’s fourth grade class at East Washington Academy in Muncie, students run for office at the beginning of the year.

Despite their nerves, they each give a speech to their peers introducing themselves and their ideas and then vote for president, vice president, senators, and representatives. Veatch’s students bring issues to their elected leaders, who work to address them.

This year, they campaigned for and successfully passed a proposal for a new sensory space, which Veatch then granted.

While those who don’t win the class elections are often disappointed, Veatch tells them that they’re now occupying the most important role of all — citizen.

“Kids at a young age need to know they’re part of a bigger picture,” she said. “They’re not just them alone. But they alone can have a big impact on the bigger picture.”

This is the kind of civics education that Indiana leaders hope to see more of under new bills that would reward students, educators, and schools for engaging the next generation of Hoosier voters.

While Indiana has made progress in civics education through new standards requiring a semester of civics in sixth grade, advocates say there’s still work to be done, especially as the state faces a “concerning” drop in voter participation, according to one report.

House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 would each establish a civics seal to recognize students, teachers, and schools for excellence in civics education — which could look like offering civics-minded lessons and field trips to students.

Students could receive the seal on their diplomas, while schools could earn a certification, similar to existing recognition for STEM education.

The bills also seek to increase access to civics material in the earliest grades as part of the state’s push to provide young students with high-quality reading curriculum. And by introducing basic concepts of citizenship and fairness early, advocates hope to build a foundation for improved civic engagement later in life.

“We don’t want to lose social studies standards in the push for science of reading,” said David Roof, a professor and director of the Center of Economic and Civic Learning at Ball State University. “The focus on literacy and the focus on civics don’t need to compete. They should be intertwined.”

While the civics provisions earned widespread approval, each bill also comes with less popular provisions.

Civics education to improve civic engagement

Civic engagement in Indiana has been persistently low, according to the Indiana Civic Health Index, a report compiled by the Center for Urban and Regional Excellence at Indiana University Northwest.

The center’s 2023 survey found Indiana ranked second to last in voter turnout in the 2022 midterm election, with around 42% of voters voting. While turnout nationally is the highest it’s been since the 1980s, Indiana’s rate has dropped nearly 15 percentage points during that time, the report notes.

Common theories about this drop include the absence of contested elections in the state, according to the report, as well a lack of accessible voting policies common in states with high turnout, like unrestricted absentee voting and same-day voter registration.

A foundation in civics education in K-12 schools will also help address the particularly low voter turnout of young voters, said Roof.

“Improving civic education will improve civic engagement,” said Charles Dunlap, president and CEO of the Indiana Bar Foundation. “It’s a long game.”

The bills would direct the Indiana Department of Education to help provide families and schools with affordable, civics-based reading instruction and materials — with the aim of infusing elementary reading instruction with material about U.S. history and government, Dunlap said.

They would also establish recommendations for a civics seal, which students could earn as an endorsement on their diplomas, Dunlap said. To do this, they might go to school board meetings, or receive certain grades in their government classes.

Many schools in Indiana already offer civics education that could form the basis of a civics seal.

Muncie schools, operated by Ball State University, received a $1.3 million federal grant to revitalize its civics curriculum. Students take field trips to the Indiana Statehouse, and Washington D.C. and participate in classroom-level government exercises. Bills include controversial policies about religion, charters

Both bills have passed their chambers of origin.

And while the civics education proposals received unanimous support from lawmakers and members of the public, each bill includes other proposals that raised concerns.

HB 1137, for example, changes existing Indiana policy to require principals to release students for religious instruction during the school day at their parents’ request. Critics said this proposal could cause disruptions to the school day, and open schools up to legal liability.

SB 211, meanwhile, drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers for its definition of “charter school corporations. Critics argued the change removed a layer of financial transparency from reporting requirements.

Tying less popular provisions to a fairly neutral topic like civics education may help those provisions pass with hesitant lawmakers, said Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

Roof, Dunlap, and other advocates for civics emphasized that their support is limited to the civics portions of the bills. It’s not uncommon for lawmakers to consolidate topics, Dunlap noted.

“In moving out of the Committee, perhaps we will see a more focused consideration of the topics on their own,” Roof said.

You can track House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How the reading retention bill moving through Indiana Statehouse impacts English learners

2024-02-23T17:30:22+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A bill that would hold back more third graders in Indiana has raised alarms among teachers of English language learners, who say the retention mandate ignores research on language acquisition, and could violate federal law.

Senate Bill 1 — a priority bill for GOP lawmakers this year — requires schools to remediate young students who don’t demonstrate reading skills and retain most third graders who don’t pass the state reading test, the IREAD3. It’s part of a legislative effort to address the state’s literacy scores, which have declined for more than a decade.

The bill has passed the Senate and is heading for a full vote in the House with support from the Indiana Department of Education.

The bill includes “good cause” exemptions to retention for several groups of students, including English learners who have received services for less than two years and whose teachers and parents agree that promotion is appropriate.

But advocates for English learners say that the exemption for this population doesn’t align with what research says about how long it takes for students to learn a new language.

With a growing population of 93,000 English learners in Indiana, and a history of shortages of educators licensed to teach language learners, advocates worry that English learners will be denied an appropriate education if they’re retained. The state also has an increasing number of immigrant students, some of whom will need language services.

Advocates also say the provision conflicts with the state’s implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which gives students six years to demonstrate proficiency in English before their schools face a penalty. Federal law also states that English learners should not be retained solely on the basis of their English language proficiency and that they are entitled to age-appropriate curriculum and participation in school programs.

State officials who support the bill, however, say it does not conflict with federal law or state rules.

Sen. Linda Rogers, the bill’s co-author, said in a statement that the language conforms with federal guidance, and that the bill’s authors “worked to ensure that was the case as the legislation was being written.”

And the Indiana Department of Education said in a statement that federal guidance requires school districts to help students become English proficient and participate in regular classes “within a reasonable period of time.”

Per the bill, that reasonable amount of time is two years to make sure EL students aren’t retained only because of “their lack of English proficiency and before they have been provided with meaningful opportunity and academic instruction,” the IDOE statement said.

But learning a new language can take anywhere from five to 14 years, said Patricia Morita-Mullaney, a professor of language and literacy at Purdue University and past president of the Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, or INTESOL.

English learners who are retained under the provisions of Senate Bill 1 could sue the state for failing to meet federal requirements, Morita-Mullaney said.

“Indiana is setting itself up for an enormous class action lawsuit,” Morita-Mullaney said.

Meeting the needs of English learners

Historically, most of Indiana’s young English learners were U.S. citizens who had attended American schools since kindergarten, Morita-Mullaney said. A large percentage then could become eligible for retention in third grade, when they are in their fourth year of receiving English language services — an insufficient amount of time, she said.

The effect would be a penalty for the child, instead of the school as currently outlined by ESSA, she said.

Current Indiana law exempts English learners from retention.

In addition to concerns about violating federal law, holding students back based on their English proficiency has a negative impact on their content knowledge, said Donna Albrecht, a professor of ENL/ESL at Indiana University Southeast and a member of the advocacy team at INTESOL. Instead, teachers should be trained in methods that teach content and language at the same time.

“It’s not that they weren’t taught to read; they’re learning two languages. It takes more time,” Albrecht said. “By the time they reach fourth and fifth grade, they’re surpassing their monolingual peers.”

Of the 2,819 English learner students who failed the IREAD-3 statewide in 2023, 1,922 received a good cause exemption from retention, while 897 did not. Most of the latter — 868 students — were promoted to fourth grade anyway. Such “social promotion” has increased in Indiana schools over the last decade.

Retaining hundreds more students will affect both urban districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, which has a large population of English learners, as well as small, rural districts where these students make up a large share of the population, Morita-Mullaney said.

In both cases, schools will need to staff additional third grade classrooms with teachers who are prepared to teach English learners, Morita-Mullaney said. Indiana schools have struggled to find enough qualified teachers for English learners — another federal requirement.

“They’ll move teachers to third grade, or they’ll bring in new people who have never been in high-stakes testing environments before,” Morita-Mullaney said.

Improving Senate Bill 1 for English learners

There are 93,625 English learners in all grades statewide in 2023-24, according to Indiana Department of Education data.

To improve the bill for English learners, INTESOL recommends changing the exemption language to reference scores on Indiana’s assessment for English learners — WIDA.

Under the organization’s proposed language, students who score less than a 5.0 proficiency level on WIDA, the score needed to exit the English learner programs and join the general student body, would be eligible for an exemption if they fail IREAD3.

On average, students gain half a level of proficiency per year on the assessment, said Albrecht. But even students who gain a full level of proficiency each year may not be ready to pass the IREAD-3 in third grade if they started learning English in kindergarten.

It’s not clear from available state data at what WIDA level students can typically pass the IREAD-3, Albrecht added. Comparing data has been challenging due to years of changes in state and federal testing, Morita-Mullaney said.

The state Department of Education said WIDA measures English language proficiency at grade level, as mandated by ESSA, while IREAD3 measures reading proficiency overall.

Advocates pushed back on this interpretation saying WIDA focuses on all parts of language, but IREAD is designed to test reading for native speakers.

Bill author Rogers also said that retention would not conflict with Indiana’s ESSA plan.

“The legislation highlights early identification of students that may not be reading proficient by the end of third grade. These students will be provided remediation and summer school aligned with the Science of Reading,” Rogers’ statement said. “The goal is not to retain anyone that doesn’t have a good cause exemption and ensure that ‘Every Child Learns to Read.’”

Previously, proponents said that retention will remain a last resort for students after they have more intervention and multiple attempts to pass the test. Still, retention is a necessary step in some cases, they said, giving students another year to develop literacy skills.

Both Rogers and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner have said they don’t believe very many students will be retained after receiving increased intervention.

“This is a crisis for our state right now and we have no time to waste,” Jenner said at a Wednesday meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bill is scheduled for a second reading in the House on Monday.

You can track Senate Bill 1 on the General Assembly website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How an Indiana bill to recognize great civics education became a bill to allow chaplains in school

2024-02-26T23:22:02+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Lawmakers have altered bills originally designed to recognize Indiana schools and students for civic education to instead cover chaplains in schools, internet safety, and student discipline.

Previous versions of Senate Bill 211 and House Bill 1137 included a requirement for Indiana to establish a civics seal recognizing schools, students, and teachers for excellence in civics at a time when Indiana’s civic participation is declining. The bills would have also brought civic education to the earliest grades through reading materials.

But lawmakers have dramatically rewritten the bills during the legislative process, which is nearing its end on March 14.

House Bill 1137 began as a bill to require schools to release students for religious instruction at their parents’ request, which House lawmakers amended early in the session to include a new civic seal recognition.

But after the bill passed the House, lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee stripped the bill of language related to civics, and added instead a provision to allow chaplains to serve in schools. Senate Bill 50, which passed the Senate but has yet to be heard in the House, includes similar language about chaplains.

The House bill’s provision on chaplains has also been changed by senators to address concerns that it allowed children to receive religious guidance without their parents’ knowledge. In the most up-to-date language, only emancipated minors and parents of unemancipated minors could give permission for religious instruction. Chaplains would otherwise have to provide secular guidance only.

Another amendment to House Bill 1137 adopted by senators would require chaplains to disclose to parents any communication with their students, at parents’ request.

But critics, including the ACLU and Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford, still say school corporations that employ chaplains could run the risk of violating the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause.

Meanwhile, House lawmakers changed Senate Bill 211 to remove the civic seal language. Instead, they added a provision to require the Indiana Department of Education to establish a civics proficiency designation for schools “to further develop student understanding of civil society, constitutional government, and the democratic process.”

The House has also amended the bill to require the Department of Education to approve an internet safety curriculum on cyberbullying and dangerous online behavior. Another amendment would allow school personnel to remove disruptive students and bar them from returning to the classroom.

A House amendment by Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, on Monday would have banned Attorney General Todd Rokita from operating the Eyes on Education portal — a website for parents and others to file complaints against teachers and schools over lessons on politics, race, gender, and sexuality.

Another amendment by Democratic Rep. Carey Hamilton from Indianapolis would have required members of the General Assembly to spend time shadowing public school teachers.

These amendments from DeLaney and Hamilton were rejected for not being germane to the bill.

“Every session, we pass new laws, requirements, and restrictions that impact teachers in their work with students and I think it’s incredibly important for us to be informed about what their work looks like,” Hamilton said.

House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 are advancing to a final reading in their respective chambers. If they pass, they’ll head to the governor’s desk. You can track each bill on the General Assembly website.

Correction: Feb. 27, 2024: A previous version of this story referred to J.D. Ford as a state representative. Ford is a state senator.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How a revised Indiana absenteeism bill could affect students and parents

2024-02-27T17:44:17+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana House lawmakers have amended a Senate bill focused on chronic absenteeism to require school districts to prohibit habitually truant students from participating in extracurricular activities.

They also altered Senate Bill 282 to add instructions that school officials must report habitually truant students to the prosecutors’ office, and that prosecutors must notify parents that they’ve filed affidavits related to their students’ absenteeism.

But in a policy change not directly related to absenteeism, legislators also amended the bill on Tuesday to provide new protections for teachers who are targeted by unsubstantiated complaints from parents.

Policymakers signaled before the start of this session, which ends March 14, that they wanted to address high rates of chronic absenteeism in Indiana schools. But lawmakers have struggled to articulate how they want to address the issue comprehensively.

The Senate bill primarily deals with student absenteeism. It would require schools to meet with parents and offer wraparound services to address elementary students’ absenteeism.

But an amendment by Democratic Rep. Tonya Pfaff in the last House education committee meeting of the 2024 session added protections for school employees facing unsubstantiated complaints of misconduct.

If an allegation were dismissed or found to be unsubstantiated, a principal would have to inform the school employee and the student and their parent of this decision in writing.

Furthermore, principals would have to inform the parent or student making the allegation that a second unsubstantiated complaint within a year could result in the student being moved to another classroom, or the parent being barred from after-school activities for up to six months.

Pfaff’s amendment passed with bipartisan support.

The changes are similar to an amendment in another bill this session that would allow school employees to remove disruptive students from the classroom and prohibit them from returning.

Lawmakers scuttle plan to study older students’ absenteeism

House lawmakers also removed language from SB 282 that would have asked lawmakers to study the issue of absenteeism over the summer. The bill’s author, GOP Sen. Stacy Donato, said the purpose of this study was to find solutions for truancy among older students.

But Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican chair of the House education committee, said House Speaker Todd Huston requested that bills not contain summer study committee language. Legislative leadership could still decide to study the issue further.

Lawmakers also removed nonpublic schools from the provisions of the bill, and added language that parents can ask a representative — like a doctor or therapist — to provide input at an attendance meeting with their student’s school.

SB 282 is moving forward to a full House vote as the 2024 session quickly draws to a close.

Notably, the House committee did not hear Senate Bill 128, which would have required schools to seek approval from their school boards for sex education material, and then publish the information online. The committee’s decision effectively killed the bill.

You can track SB 282 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers drop proposal to allow chaplains in public schools

2024-03-07T17:43:27+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers have cut a proposal that would have permitted chaplains to work in public schools — part of a compromise on a bill allowing students to leave school for religious instruction at their parents’ request.

They returned House Bill 1137 to its original form, which requires principals to allow students to attend off-campus religious instruction if parents request it. Indiana law currently leaves the decision to principals’ discretion.

The controversial language in House Bill 1137 would have allowed chaplains to serve as counselors offering only secular support to students, unless the students’ parents gave permission for nonsecular guidance.

Proponents said it would put willing members of the community in schools to counsel students on a volunteer or paid basis. But critics said the proposal would have violated the establishment clause in the First Amendment, which forbids the government from establishing a religion or favoring one religion over another. Some also said that chaplains didn’t necessarily have the training to work in schools.

Multiple changes to the bill prompted it to go to a bipartisan, bicameral conference committee, which cut the language in the final days of the 2024 legislative session as a compromise to pass the bill through both chambers.

House Bill 1137 briefly featured an amendment to recognize excellent civics education, which was later removed by Senate lawmakers. They instead added a provision to allow chaplains to serve in public schools after their bill containing the language, Senate Bill 50, failed to move forward in the House.

Both chambers must now accept the conference committee’s report. If they don’t, the bill dies.

Lawmakers could still insert the language on chaplains into other bills, as several remain in progress in conference committees.

The 2024 session must adjourn by March 14, but could end sooner.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here are the education bills approved by the 2024 Indiana legislature

2024-03-09T03:00:58+00:00

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Stricter rules on school attendance, reading proficiency, and cellphone use in the classroom will affect Indiana students and schools beginning next year under legislation passed in the General Assembly’s 2024 session.

Lawmakers wrapped the session late Friday, nearly a week earlier than their deadline, after spending hours negotiating bills in bipartisan, bicameral conference committees charged with hashing out versions of bills agreeable to both chambers.

Lawmakers hinted that a dramatic overhaul of school voucher funding may be coming next year, when they take up budget proposals. They took a step in that direction this year by expanding access to Education Savings Accounts — a type of voucher funding for students with disabilities — to the siblings of students who have the accounts.

And while some lawmakers hoped for a session free of controversial social issues, the legislature passed a bill aimed at universities’ diversity practices that sparked anger among students and faculty.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has seven days to sign legislation once it lands on his desk. If he does not sign a bill, it still passes into law. If he vetoes a piece of legislation, the legislature can override the veto with a majority vote in both houses.

Here are the bills that passed the statehouse this year and now await action by the governor:

Bills address reading, cellphone bans, and college tenure

Senate Bill 1 tightens the state’s policy for holding back and remediating young children who don’t demonstrate reading proficiency by third grade, unless they meet one of a few exceptions. Amendments to the bill created a policy for parents to appeal a remediation recommendation.

Addressing students’ declining reading skills was the top priority of the GOP supermajority. While proponents of the bill hope that few students are held back, schools are bracing for more students in third grade classrooms. Advocates for English learners warn that the state could run afoul of federal law by retaining students only for a lack of English proficiency.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 6, a companion bill, would require the Indiana Department of Education to identify older students who don’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 185 requires school districts to adopt policies banning communication devices like cellphones from the classroom. The policies must include exceptions for emergencies, health needs, and cellphone use at the direction of a teacher or under an individualized education program.

Senate Bill 202, the most controversial bill of the 2024 session, makes many changes to colleges’ tenure, promotion, and diversity policies.

It would prohibit colleges from offering tenure to or promoting faculty who have failed to expose students to a variety of political or ideological frameworks, and create complaint procedures aimed at professors who have shared political opinions unrelated to their academic discipline. It would also compel colleges to consider “intellectual diversity” in policies alongside cultural diversity. An amendment removed part of the bill that changed the makeup of university boards.

The bill’s author, Sen. Spencer Deery, said it would help more conservative students feel comfortable on university campuses, pointing to Indiana’s declining college-going rate as one measure that they currently do not.

Critics said the bill would stifle classroom discussion and force professors to teach false information in order to comply, and ultimately lead to a brain drain in the state as faculty leave Indiana or refuse to teach here.

Education-related bills significantly changed during session

Several education-related bills passed after going through multiple changes as they moved through the legislature, though some reverted to their original language after negotiations in conference committees. Among them:

House Bill 1002 codifies a definition of antisemitism and prohibits religious discrimination at the state’s schools. The bill passed the House with a definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which the Senate removed. In a compromise, the conference committee kept the definition but left out the contemporary examples of antisemitism that the alliance includes.

House Bill 1137 requires principals to allow a student to leave for off-campus religious instruction. The bill saw many changes throughout session, including a House amendment that would have recognized Indiana students and schools for civic excellence. The Senate removed that amendment and instead added language allowing chaplains to work in public schools. A conference committee removed the chaplains provision, returning the bill to its original form.

Senate Bill 211 establishes an excellence in civics education designation for students and schools. A conference committee removed several House amendments that would have subjected charter schools to open-records law, established an internet safety curriculum, and allowed school employees to remove disruptive students from the classroom.

House Bill 1001 allows siblings of students who have Education Scholarship Accounts — a type of school choice program for students with disabilities — to qualify for their own ESA. The bill, originally intended to modify last year’s law on Career Scholarship Accounts, also allows students to use Career Scholarship Accounts to obtain their driver’s licenses.

Senate Bill 282 establishes truancy prevention policies requiring schools to meet with parents of chronically absent students in kindergarten through sixth grade, and establish plans and wraparound services to improve attendance. The bill also requires school officials to report truant students to the prosecutor’s office, and requires prosecutors to take legal action against parents of students who are habitually truant.

House lawmakers removed a provision to study chronic absenteeism among older students in a summer committee.

They also amended the bill to include a provision that truant students couldn’t participate in extracurricular activities, and one allowing schools to bar parents from campuses for making multiple unsubstantiated claims against teachers. But those changes were removed by a conference committee.

Bills that make smaller changes to education with big impacts

House Bill 1104 lays out requirements for schools’ armed intruder drills, including that students can’t be subject to drills that include sensory components, like simulations of gunfire.

House Bill 1243 enacts numerous education policy changes, including:

Requiring the State Board of Education to establish a new standard Indiana diploma to replace the existing ones by October 2028.
Establishing curriculum requirements for computer science and compelling the Department of Education to approve curriculum for internet safety.
Extending the personal finance curriculum to 8th graders.
Requiring school districts to adopt a policy on habitually truant students participating in extracurricular activities, though the bill doesn’t specify what those policies should be.
Specifying that literacy achievement grants are not subject to collective bargaining.
Creating professional development and curricular resources for mathematics.

House Bill 1380 also includes a number of policy changes:

Prohibiting schools from charging a fee for out-of-district transfer students.
Expanding the Indiana Learns program that gives students up to $1,000 for tutoring beyond 2026.
Requiring that Innovation Network schools receive 100% of their state tuition support dollars, and prohibiting school districts from charging them above a certain amount for goods and services.
Directing the Department of Education to establish pilot programs on student transportation and school facilities.
Requiring universities to publicize information about hazing incidents.
Requiring the Commission on Seclusion and Restraint to meet twice a year and adopt a policy requiring schools to minimize or eliminate the use of time-outs.

Senate Bill 270 would clarify that school districts must close underutilized buildings and make them available to charter schools for $1.

Senate Bill 48 originally would have required colleges to compile information about jobs and pay related to the degrees they offer. But when colleges reported that they already have much of this information, lawmakers amended the bill to require schools to prominently post links to it instead.

Senate Bill 8 would require all high schools to offer the College Core, a certificate earned by completing a set of coursework that’s recognized by all Indiana public colleges. It would also require colleges and universities to explore the possibilities of conferring associate degrees and offering three-year degree programs.

School-related bills that didn’t pass

Several bills passed one chamber of the legislature but didn’t make it through the other.

Senate Bill 128 would’ve required schools to seek school board approval for their sex education curriculum, and publicize the materials, plus information about who teaches the courses and when.

Senate Bill 287 would’ve required schools to teach cursive writing.

Senate Bill 50 would’ve permitted chaplains to serve in public schools as counselors.

Senate Bill 214 would’ve required schools to post links to mental health resources for students, and Senate Bill 141 would’ve required counselors to spend a certain amount of time providing services to students.

House Bill 1073 would’ve required schools to install video cameras in special education classrooms, and allowed parents to review recordings in certain situations. Some provisions of this bill regarding seclusion and restraint were added to House Bill 1380.

House Bill 1304 would’ve created a mastery-based education program, along with a number of other policy changes that were inserted into House Bill 1243.

House Bill 1376 would’ve restricted school referendums to general elections or municipal elections only.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How Indianapolis area educators are preparing for a proposal to retain more third graders

2024-02-28T11:00:00+00:00

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This story was co-published with Mirror Indy and WFYI.

Grace Martin, a tutor at Vision Academy charter school in Indianapolis, teaches the alphabet.

‘A’ makes the sound for ‘apple.’ ‘I’ is for words like ‘important’ and ‘ice.’

It’s a lesson she uses with students in kindergarten — but to her surprise, she has to teach it to third graders as well.

“It’s like they … just paused at kindergarten or first grade, and now they’re in third grade,” Martin said. “I’m helping them pick up on basically two years of learning.”

It’s a challenge that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic but grew much worse after schools switched to remote learning for part of 2020. Third grade reading scores remain near the lowest point in a decade, and that means thousands of kids lack essential skills necessary to learn as they grow older, such as phonics and comprehension.

Now Marion County educators are preparing for the likely rollout of Senate Bill 1, which would require districts to hold back more students who fail the state’s elementary school reading exam. That bill emerged as one solution proposed by the Gov. Eric Holcomb administration and state lawmakers after seeing that nearly one in five Indiana students failed the reading test in each of the last three years.

Schools currently have the option to retain students yet few do. In 2023, of the 13,855 third graders who didn’t pass the state’s spring reading exam, according to state data, only about 400 were held back.

Reporters from Chalkbeat Indiana, Mirror Indy, and WFYI contacted educators across Marion County to learn how school administrators and teachers were preparing for the probable changes coming just a year after the state required schools to adopt new reading curriculum.

Some support the legislation and see benefits in giving students another year to learn how to read. Others, though, worry about what would happen next: a wave of overcrowded classrooms beginning with a “bubble” in the third grade.

“Then we’re going to see that bubble go into our middle schools and into our high schools,” Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts said.

Thousands could retake third grade

If enacted, the legislation could have an outsized impact in Marion County.

That’s because lawmakers are looking at how many third graders are passing the state standardized exam known as the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination, or IREAD-3. That test, given to all third graders, assesses whether the students are proficient in reading.

In Marion County’s public school districts, about 2,700 students were allowed to advance into fourth grade even though they failed IREAD, according to state data. That amounted to 28% of the districts’ third graders. Statewide, that promotion rate was about 17%.

To be clear, not all of those students would necessarily be held back under Senate Bill 1.

Under the legislation, kids would be given three opportunities by the end of third grade to pass IREAD. Students who don’t pass would become eligible for literacy-focused summer school and repeat a year of classroom instruction. But some students — including English language learners with less than two years of learning English, students with disabilities, and those who pass the math portion of state exams — would still move on to fourth grade.

It’s difficult to know how many students would be affected by the legislation. An online portal from the state Department of Education does not outline how many Marion County students would be exempt, and the state did not answer questions about how that number could be estimated.

Statewide, though, as many as 7,050 students would be held back in 2026, according to the Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers on policymaking. That could cost the state an additional $57 million as the students age.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, however, says with multiple opportunities for students to take IREAD, retaining the estimated 7,050 students statewide is “a worst-case scenario.”

“This number, we should never hit,” Jenner said. “It would be unacceptable if we do.”

Marion County schools less likely to hold back

State education officials set a goal in 2022 to ensure 95% of Hoosier students pass IREAD by 2027.

Some officials say meeting that goal will require a shift in how schools decide to hold back students.

At two Marion County public school corporations — Indianapolis Public Schools and Lawrence Township — roughly one in three students were sent to fourth grade without passing IREAD. Both districts declined to comment for this story.

At Pike Township, where 29% of third graders advanced to fourth grade without passing IREAD, Superintendent Larry Young noted the likely effect this legislation would have on urban schools during a January school board meeting. He said he’d like lawmakers to also consider students’ potential for growth.

“I would ask that they look at trajectory,” Young said. “We have children that … in the next year or two, not only will they catch up, they will potentially surpass where their age-same peers may potentially be.”

Butts, the Wayne Township superintendent, said there are valid concerns about holding back students. Studies have found that students who were retained dropped out of school and faced negative social-emotional outcomes. Overall, however, research is mixed on whether retention is ultimately beneficial.

“But we also understand the negative impact of children not being able to read at grade level,” he said. “And that gets exponentially more challenging for them as they get into more difficult content.”

That’s what Rachelle Fisher, a fourth grade teacher in Franklin Township, is seeing. An educator for nearly two decades, Fisher said she loves to teach reading, but by fourth grade, it’s about content.

“It is nearly impossible to teach Indiana history and Indiana state science standards to students that are not reading at grade level,” she said.

Educators say retention isn’t the only answer

Some educators support the legislation but question whether it is happening too quickly.

Indiana lawmakers passed legislation last year requiring schools to adopt curricula aligned with the science of reading, an approach to teaching reading that focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. While some districts have already trained staff and introduced this teaching, others are doing so for the first time this school year.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, introduced a new reading curriculum this year and while 96% of kindergarten through second grade classrooms were using it as of December, only about half of teachers so far have mastered teaching the new material.

“We are three months into implementation of something that a year from now will be very well organized and articulated,” Brookside Elementary School 54 Principal Jeremy Baugh told IPS Board Commissioners during a Feb. 20 meeting.

Other educators stressed that a one-size-fits-all approach to retention may not be best for students.

Stephanie Cotter, principal at Beech Grove’s Central Elementary, said her colleagues consider more than test scores when making a decision about retention. A school committee evaluates what interventions have been tried in the past, how many questions were missed on reading exams and whether retention is socially appropriate for a student. They also consider a student’s size and birthday, and bring parents into the conversation.

A third-grader works through an exercise Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, during a reading intervention class at Central Elementary School in Beech Grove.

“What’s being proposed is even more constraining compared to what’s out there,” Cotter said. “We all want our students to be able to read. We want to hit that 95% target. We want them to have those early literacy skills, and we have to look at specific children and decide, ‘Is this what’s best for them at this time?’”

Cotter and others say retention alone only goes so far. Schools continue to grapple with attendance challenges as students settle into classroom learning after 2020′s pandemic-driven disruptions. About one in five Hoosier students were considered chronically absent last year, and additional legislation has been introduced this year in response.

Some educators say they hope the state will invest in greater literacy support for students before they reach third grade. That could mean universal preschool or mandatory kindergarten.

Barbara Wellnitz, a tutor with United Way’s ReadUP program, said she supports efforts to start students in school earlier.

“Fully funding pre-K for all children, paying teachers of those children decent wages, and requiring children to attend school by age five would all go a long way toward helping children up their reading skills,” Wellnitz said. “Fewer students would face the possibility of retention in all grades.”

What’s next

Parents of students who would have been held back have spoken out against the bill, saying they are concerned about the weight put on students taking a test.

Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, told lawmakers that she knew when her daughter was in first grade that she would struggle to pass the IREAD. But what she didn’t know until December of her third grade year was that her child had been having seizures at the rate of dozens per day, and likely missing instruction as a result.

Even after receiving medication, she didn’t have enough time between December and the March testing window to catch up, Burke said. She failed, and had to take summer school and repeat the test, but those results were lost.

Now that she’s at the top of her class, it’s clear that holding her back would not have been the right course, Burke said.

“She’s not unique. There are kids whose parents die who take the test the next day. There are kids whose houses burned down who have to take this test the next day,” Burke said. “Kids are people. They’re not statistics. There has to be some room.”

But at the Statehouse, the bill continues to advance. It passed out of the House on Tuesday and now returns to the Senate before heading to Holcomb’s desk.

That’s good news to Martin, the tutor, who said she agrees with the proposal. She said no parent wants to hear that their child needs to be held back, but it’s about making sure they have “that extra support that they need to set them up for success.”

“Where do you want your kids to be at? Do you want to pass your kid and then he’s gonna continue failing and then he’s gonna graduate and he actually didn’t retain anything?” Martin said. “No, you can’t do that. You got to put the kid first.”

Aleksandra Appleton, Amelia Pak-Harvey, and MJ Slaby from Chalkbeat Indiana contributed to this article. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Contact the bureau at in.tips@chalkbeat.org

Carley Lanich and Emily Hopkins from Mirror Indy contributed to this article. Mirror Indy is a nonprofit news organization covering Indianapolis.

Eric Weddle from WFYI contributed to this article.

Conservative-friendly higher education bill advances at Statehouse

2024-02-08T16:43:41+00:00

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This article was originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A sweeping bill tightening lawmaker oversight of Indiana’s public colleges and universities for “intellectual diversity” purposes drew opposition Tuesday in the Senate but easily cleared the chamber along party lines.

“The number of Hoosier students and parents who view higher education as monolithic echo chambers — (that) coddle students with minority but scholarly viewpoints or ostracize faculty … or students with different viewpoints — is significant,” Sen. Spencer Deery said on the Senate floor.

Deery has called his Senate Bill 202 a “reform” effort intended to reverse those “declining views” of higher education.

“Infringing on academic freedom is a red line we should not cross, but we don’t need to give up on these values to curb the excessive politicalization and viewpoint discrimination that threatens our state’s workforce goals,” he said.

Opponents, however, argued the proposed changes could harm students and faculty members, or would overly burden public institutions.

Those include Ball State University, Indiana University, Indiana State University, Ivy Tech Community College, Purdue University, the University of Southern Indiana, and Vincennes University.

Senators passed the legislation in a party-line vote of 39-9, with all Democrats voting against.

On Wednesday, Indiana University President Pamela Whitten said in a statement that the bill risks unintended consequences for both the university and the “economic and cultural vitality of the state.”

“While we are still analyzing the broad potential impacts of SB 202, we are deeply concerned about language regarding faculty tenure that would put academic freedom at risk, weaken the intellectual rigor essential to preparing students with critical thinking skills, and damage our ability to compete for the world-class faculty who are at the core of what makes IU an extraordinary research institution,” Whitten said in her statement.

Polling students and tweaking boards

Deery and other Republican lawmakers contend that conservative students and faculty members are increasingly ostracized at progressively liberal college and university settings — or at least perceive such shunning.

“Even if some of it is perception, that still matters if it keeps a kid from enrolling in higher (education) or keeps their parents from encouraging them to do so,” Deery said. “Higher (education) should be for all Hoosiers.”

In a 2023 state-commissioned survey of thousands of Hoosier higher education students, about 56% said conservative students can openly express their opinions at school, compared to the 73% who said liberal students can do so. More than 25% of respondents — for both questions — said they were neutral or didn’t know an answer.

Deery’s bill would change up institution boards of trustees by removing appointment power from alumni councils and handing it to House and Senate Republican majority leaders — “with advice” from Democrat minority leaders. It would require boards’ existing diversity committees to consider “intellectual diversity” alongside cultural diversity in employment policies and faculty complaints.

And it would require the committees to make recommendations promoting recruitment and retention of “underrepresented” students rather than the “minority students” specified in current law. That provision drew ire from Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis.

“To … redefine the term ‘minority’ and call them ‘under-represented’ without addressing their issue is offensive,” said Taylor, who is Black. He said both he and his son had been called the n-word as students on I.U.’s campus decades apart.

“The amount of minorities, Black students, going to universities has never been so low,” Taylor added. “… These students still struggle to have the same rights on campus as your conservative students do — and it’s not because of their political views or their ideologies. It’s simply because of an inalienable trait that they had nothing to do with.”

Deery noted his legislation didn’t end existing diversity initiatives and said his single bill couldn’t address every problem. He added that “overwhelmingly” non-white students struggling to access their transcripts are expected to benefit from legislation he authored last session.

‘Abolishing’ tenure?

Deery’s bill additionally re-shapes tenure and promotion policies.

It would require a board of trustees to prevent a faculty member from getting tenure or a promotion if the board thinks the member is “unlikely to foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression and intellectual diversity” and unlikely to offer students scholarly works from a range of “political or ideological frameworks.” Boards would also dock members considered likely to bring up personal political views unrelated to their specific field or class.

Boards would get wide latitude in making those policies. The bill says decisions would be based on past performance “or other determination by the board.”

The bill also mandates that boards conduct reviews of tenured professors every five years based on the above, as well as if faculty members “adequately” carry out academic duties and more. A fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency notes I.U.’s main campus at Bloomington alone has over 1,000 tenured faculty, meaning its board would have to conduct 200-plus reviews annually.

Deery said he sought to protect tenured faculty by codifying things the board can’t consider in reviews: expressing dissent or engaging in research and public commentary, criticizing institutional leadership, and engaging in political activity outside teaching or mentoring duties.

But institutions would be required to adopt policies establishing disciplinary actions — termination, demotion, salary cuts, and more — for tenured faculty members who fail those reviews.

“Some I have heard from in my community feel that it is abolishing tenure,” said Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Indianapolis. She said the legislation could have a “chilling effect.”

Deery countered that schools like Indiana State University already have post-tenure reviews, and called them “not a new concept.”

His bill additionally requires institutions to establish complaint procedures in which school students and staff can accuse faculty members and contractors of not meeting free-expression criteria.

Institutions would have to refer those complaints to human resource professionals and supervisors “for consideration in employee reviews and tenure and promotion decisions,” according to the bill. They’d also have to keep their boards of trustees in the loop and send complaint-related information to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) for a report.

Later, the legislation indicates that petitioners unsatisfied with the results of their complaints can get CHE’s commissioner to consider their requests, and guarantees a “final order” within 60 days of receipt.

Democrats pushed back against the bill’s provisions, even as they acknowledged its intent.

“… Senate Bill 202 actually is stifling diversity and debate of differing views, and it will hurt the recruitment of high quality professors, high quality students and the ability to attract and to keep our students and to prepare them for the workforce,” Yoder asserted.

She said the bill is “tying the hands of universities” and called it “heavy-handed.”

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Indiana wants to address student behavior. Here’s one school’s approach involving birdhouses.

2024-01-30T17:22:05+00:00

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At first, it’s not clear what birdhouses have to do with student discipline.

A half dozen of them welcome visitors to James Whitcomb Riley Success Academy. Another dozen line the hallways. Plaques in the woodshop reveal that each colorful house was built by a student for a teacher who has made an impact on their lives.

Students come to J.W.R. after running into trouble at their home Perry Township middle schools. Some are facing expulsion. Others are invited to attend as a preventative measure after a string of discipline referrals or excessive absences.

The birdhouses are a hallmark of the school’s service learning program, which sees a small cohort of students every quarter work on philanthropic projects in order to build leadership and cooperation skills during a critical age for development when behavior incidents may spike.

The need for similar programs may grow as lawmakers seek solutions following concerns from teachers across the state and nationwide about student behavior since COVID.

Both in-school and out-of-school suspensions spiked in Indiana in 2022 after a drop in 2021, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education compiled by the Fairbanks Foundation, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit.

In Marion County districts alone, many middle schools had higher rates of discipline incidents than other types of schools within the same district. Southport Middle School in Perry Township, for example, had an in-school suspension rate of 23.3%, or 306 students, over twice that of Southport High School at 9% and 187 students in 2022.

Indiana lawmakers have now taken notice, with bills on disruption, cell phone use, and absenteeism all filed in the Statehouse this year.

House Bill 1262, authored by Rep. Vernon Smith and backed by the Indiana State Teachers Association, originally allowed schools to suspend chronically disruptive and defiant students. Lawmakers intend to amend the bill to instead create a committee to study student discipline.

Smith said he brought the bill after discussions with teachers. Ongoing issues with behavior are also beginning to worsen teacher recruiting and retention, he added.

“You spend so much time on behavior problems that you don’t have time to teach,” Smith said.

In Marion County districts, many middle schools had higher rates of disciplinary incidents than other types of schools within the same district.

The goal of the program at J.W.R., school officials say, is to make a positive impact on students’ behavior that stays with them long after the challenging years of middle school.

“We’re going to spend the time with the student whether it’s now or later,” said Joe Shelburn, the school’s director. “We’d rather do it now, when we can be positive, as opposed to coming up with our best list of consequences further down the line.”

Middle school is a time of development

Advocates say discipline should be done with the intent to teach, not punish.

This may be especially true in middle school.

Students experience rapid physical, mental, and psychological development during the middle grades, said Katie Powell, director for middle level programs at the Association for Middle Level Education. They have new and unique social emotional needs educators should be aware of when it comes to discipline.

“So much of our development as human beings is taking place in early adolescence,” Powell said. “We can have healthier high schoolers and adult citizens if we have healthy and successful middle schoolers.”

They begin to realize that not everyone in their class is their friend, Powell said. But they may not yet have the skills to properly navigate these changing social situations.

“It’s hard to solve systems of equations when your best friend said ‘I’m not your best friend anymore,’” Powell said. “Until students feel safe, until students feel included, they’re not going to see academic growth.”

All the changes of adolescence are in full force in sixth to eighth grade, said Shelburn, when students find themselves in larger schools with more freedom and responsibility. While some misbehavior is expected, it crosses the line when it begins to impact others, he added.

Alternative middle schools like J.W.R. can create positive school communities for students who need them, Powell said.

The J.W.R. program runs quarterly and serves as an alternative to expulsion for many students.

Most students and their parents accept the offer to attend J.W.R., Shelburn said. There’s only one chance to attend — students who get in trouble again complete a separate, virtual program. Students who are on the verge of expulsion participate in the morning class, while the afternoon class includes students with various disciplinary issues.

Throughout the quarter, students work solo and in groups in the woodshop, earning badges as they master tools and skills. While the birdhouses are a signature project, students have also made windchimes for Perry staffers who have lost a loved one.

This year, through grants by the Perry Township Education Foundation, they proposed and executed their own philanthropic projects. Students made funding presentations to the foundation and then purchased materials for their work.

The initial ideas were lofty, like curing cancer, said Shelburn, the school’s director. Teachers helped them set more realistic goals. They fixed drywall and lunchroom seats in elementary schools, filled backpacks with supplies, and volunteered at a district Shop with Cops event.

All of these initiatives serve to put the students in leadership roles, said Shelburn, and lead to a sense of investment in their education, which in turn improves behavior.

“There’s a difference between doing things because they want to and because it’ll make their teachers happy,” he said.

‘Embrace them for who they are’

The semester at J.W.R. ends with student presentations to their parents, teachers, and the larger community on what they’ve learned, which Shelburn said provides a much-needed sense of achievement for students who struggle to get to the finish line.

Speaking at the December graduation, Janmel said she saw the school as a second chance to be a better student. The teachers had helped her understand what to do when she felt angry. They taught her to have goals and work hard.

After nine weeks at J.W.R., Janmel’s mother, Janjai Roberts, said the middle schooler was happier and in better control of her emotions.

“It helps the kids be who they are and be successful,” Roberts said. “That’s what I want for my kids.”

Every student sees growth from the time they first set foot in the school to when they graduate at the end of the semester, but the change is different for every student, said teacher Rodney Claiborne.

Remember to stay calm, he told Janmel as she said goodbye — no running or screaming when things get tough.

J.W.R. teachers and staff often see their graduates again when they visit Perry high schools to reaffirm to students that they’re still in their corner, Shelburn said.

While middle school can present challenges, it’s also an ideal time to address behavior issues before such problems get harder to remedy.

“Rather than try to fix them, we need to embrace them for who they are,” he said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Private school enrollment grew in Indiana this year, but vouchers are growing faster

2024-01-04T17:29:56+00:00

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Private school enrollment in Indiana continued to grow steadily this school year, though the number of students using vouchers grew at a faster rate, new data from the Indiana Department of Education shows.

The number of students in public schools, meanwhile, has remained virtually unchanged since 2020-21, declining by just a fraction of a percentage point each year. Over 1 million Hoosier students attend public schools.

But private school enrollment — 92,000 students this school year — has set another record following Indiana’s expansion last year of Choice Scholarships that made the voucher program available to nearly every Indiana family. The revised Choice Scholarships program raised the income threshold for eligibility and eliminated other requirements. Supporters say the change extends more opportunities to more children and families. Critics say Indiana and other states are increasingly subsidizing relatively wealthy families who can afford private schools without vouchers.

Enrollment at private schools increased by around 4,600 students this year. These schools can be secular or religious, independent or affiliated with a diocese. Enrollment in private schools has grown by around 5% each year over the last three years.

Meanwhile, the state education department approved over 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program this year. That’s an increase of about 16,000, or 30%, from the over 53,000 applications it approved for the previous year.

This disparity could indicate that many of the families using the vouchers aren’t new to private schools. Critics have said expanding the income requirements for the program would not primarily benefit children living in poverty and attending failing public schools — the stated goal of many voucher programs.

“It validates what we were concerned about once they lifted the income requirements, that this is an entitlement program for the wealthy,” said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, which advocated against the voucher expansion during the 2023 legislative session.

Directing state funding to private schools also raises issues of accountability for public dollars, and leaves less for public schools that legislators are obligated to fund, Fuentes-Rohwer added.

But school choice supporters say Indiana should be commended for offering families more flexibility. If, for example, a family received a voucher for a student who was already enrolled in private school, they may now be able to afford to send a sibling to private school as well, said Paul DiPerna, vice president of research and innovation at EdChoice, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that advocates for school choice.

“It’s leveling the playing field and the access and opportunity for families, not just from family to family but within families,” DiPerna said.

There’s likely more than one reason private schooling is growing in Indiana, DiPerna said, including families’ preferences for personalized attention and learning. The effects of the state’s choice-friendly laws need closer study, he added.

This year’s data on who uses vouchers and which schools they’re used at will be available in the spring, according to the state education department.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Text with Chalkbeat for updates on the 2024 legislative session in Indiana

2024-01-04T17:28:02+00:00

The 2024 legislative session is about to begin in Indiana, and lawmakers are looking to address literacy, absenteeism, cell phones in schools, and more. And Chalkbeat Indiana has a new way to keep you updated about all that and more.

We’re launching Session Syllabus, a texting service that helps you stay in the know on big education issues and laws moving through the legislature this year.

Over the last two years, Indiana lawmakers have discussed and passed sweeping laws on what students learn and how their teachers teach — and education is once again likely to be at the top of the agenda.

Sign up by submitting your phone number in the form below to get texts about once per week from Chalkbeat with updates on key legislation affecting schools and students. Or you can text the word SESSION to (317) 648-5331 to sign up. You can also text us back with your questions about bills, issues, and the legislative process and we’ll try and track down the answer for you.

We also offer text updates from Indianapolis Public Schools meetings — sign up for those here.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Literacy, vouchers, and IPS: Indiana education issues we’re watching in 2024

2023-12-21T12:00:00+00:00

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It may be a new year on the calendar, but January marks the halfway point of the school year and the start of the legislative session in Indiana. And there’s no shortage of education news and issues to watch.

Here’s five topics we’re watching in 2024:

How students learn to read

No surprise here, but reading will likely get a lot of attention, just like in 2023.

Lawmakers passed a new state law in 2023 that requires school districts to adopt a curriculum that’s aligned with the science of reading. The law also specifies that districts are no longer allowed to use literacy curriculum that rely mostly on the three-cueing model, in which students use context clues and pictures.

The new law grew out of concerns held by lawmakers and education officials about students’ reading ability, and our story about what it means for students, teachers and schools was our most-read story of 2023.

When discussing next year’s legislative session, lawmakers said they want to continue to address literacy by looking into Indiana’s third grade retention laws for students who don’t pass the state reading exam, the IREAD-3.

2024 elections feature gubernatorial, IPS school board races

The new year means that it’s a big election year — and not just because there’s a race for the White House.

Here in Indiana, there’s an election for governor with no incumbent, since term limits prohibit Gov. Eric Holcomb from running again. There are multiple candidates on the Republican side and former Indiana Superintendent of Education Jennifer McCormick on the Democratic side.

At the local level, four of the seven seats on the IPS Board of Commissioners are up for election in November, plus there will be school board elections across the state.

Rebuilding Stronger becomes reality for IPS

Approved by the Indianapolis Public Schools board in fall of 2022, Rebuilding Stronger is the district’s sweeping overhaul that aims to address pressing challenges of declining enrollment and educational inequities for students of color.

The Rebuilding Stronger rollout started this school year with the closure of several schools. But the bigger piece begins in the 2024-25 school year, when grade reconfigurations at the elementary and middle schools start, along with expanded academic programs and enrollment zones.

The district is working hard to make sure families know their options for the coming year with an invitation for families to “Choose your IPS.”

The enrollment period is underway, and IPS reported in early December that applications were up from the same time last year by about 470 families.

The future of old IPS school buildings

Per state law, school districts must offer closed school buildings to charter schools to buy or lease for $1. But the law comes with exemptions, including one added this year for districts that share funds from voter-approved property tax increases for operating or safety expenses with an “applicable charter school.”

What that new exemption means is the focus of a legal dispute between IPS and the state that will likely continue into the new year. The outcome will determine whether the district can sell the buildings or must essentially give them to charter schools that could enroll former IPS students.

IPS filed a lawsuit in August against Attorney General Todd Rokita and state board of education officials, arguing that the school district is exempt from the state law. A Marion County judge sided with the district, and Rokita appealed the ruling. In the meantime, the IPS has paused the sale of closed buildings, but the district plans to lease one of the facilities (which it previously voted to sell to a nonprofit) while the court battle plays out.

More students using vouchers

Earlier this year, lawmakers expanded the state’s voucher program to make nearly all students eligible to receive public money to attend private school. Indiana was one of several Republican-led states to do so recently.

Roughly 97% of students now qualify, and state projections show that participation could increase by nearly 42,000 students within two years. And in November, we had our first glimpse into what the participation looks like.

More than 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications were approved during the first round of the program for the 2023-24 school year, per the Indiana Department of Education. That’s a record number. And it’s likely to rise after the second application period, which closes in January.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporters Amelia Pak-Harvey and Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana legislators may turn to law enforcement to reduce absences. Some schools have other ideas.

2023-12-19T12:00:00+00:00

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As the clock ticked down to the start of the school day at 8:05 a.m, Courtney Smith kept an eye out for the couple of students who were often absent.

Every morning last school year, Smith — the assistant principal at Pleasant Run Elementary in Warren Township schools — would call their parents, sometimes waking them up, to tell them that school was about to start. Eventually, Smith said, they began to expect her call. And in the end, their children’s attendance improved.

“They knew we cared,” she said. “They will show up, maybe late, but they’re still here.”

Pleasant Run is part of an all-hands effort that began last school year at the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township to improve student attendance and curb chronic absenteeism, which has spiked across Indiana and the nation in the wake of the pandemic.

Indiana policymakers have indicated that during the upcoming legislative session they may seek to reinforce existing laws on absenteeism, which can include punitive measures for excessive absences. These allow local prosecutor’s offices to take parents and teens to court, and make students ineligible for drivers’ licenses.

“We just want to make sure it’s a focus again, because anything good we do in the education system, for those kids who aren’t there, they’re not going to have success,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, a Republican.

Yet education officials and experts say family engagement at the school level is more effective at curbing absenteeism. Punitive approaches, they argue, don’t solve the core issues that lead students to miss school.

Data for Marion County from statewide and local agencies show that officials rarely used enforcement measures prior to the pandemic, and in some cases they’ve become even less common since then as officials aim for an approach that doesn’t send families to the justice system.

Nationwide, schools have cited a long list of reasons that absenteeism hasn’t fallen to pre-pandemic levels. These include confusion over when to keep sick kids home; ongoing mental health concerns and students’ own unwillingness to attend class; and greater socioeconomic needs in some areas. Transportation, childcare, and work schedules have also presented obstacles for some families, advocates say.

Warren Township schools can point to proof that its approach is working. Out of all the Marion County school districts, it’s had the biggest drop in what the Indiana Department of Education calculates as chronic absenteeism, from 63.5% of students missing 18 or more days of school due to excused or unexcused absences in 2020-21, to roughly 26% last school year. Pleasant Run Elementary’s rate declined from 37.2% to 15.1%, according to state records.

An attendance sign alerts students and staff of daily statistics in February at the front office of Eastridge Elementary in the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township. The district has prioritized boosting attendance post-pandemic.

What’s made the most difference is a focus on communicating with parents about attendance, school officials said, an effort spearheaded by the district’s new parent liaisons and supported by a new attendance system — all of which require resources, they added.

“We’re not there to attack them with attendance, we’re there to help and support,” Smith said.

Attendance enforcement drops in Marion County

State law provides several enforcement measures for students who are “habitually” absent, or parents of younger children who routinely fail to bring them to school. A “habitual truant” is defined in the law as a student who accrues more than 10 days of unexcused absences in the school year.

School officials must report a child who is habitually absent to the Department of Child Services, which handles cases of educational neglect on behalf of a parent, or juvenile court, which addresses the failure of older students to bring themselves to school.

State law also requires school officials to file affidavits in local courts against parents, who may then be prosecuted.

But even prior to the pandemic, the Marion County prosecutor’s office rarely filed cases against parents, and the current administration has revamped a diversion program to address root causes of absenteeism and keep families out of the court system. Only 29 criminal cases were filed from January 2014 to October 2016, for example, according to data from the office. Two resulted in misdemeanor convictions — resulting in a few days in jail, and in one case a bond of $145. The rest were dismissed.

Schools often refer students who miss around 20 to 30 days of school to the diversion program, said Jake Brosius, the youth programming coordinator with the prosecutor’s office. Brosius — a social worker by trade — calls families to understand why they’re missing school.

Sending families to court does not address the root cause of absenteeism, Brosius said.

“If they attend a court hearing, they can’t go to work that day,” he said. “And a lot of the families we work with are in those kinds of positions where each and every day can be a struggle.”

There were 11 referrals to the diversion program in the 2020-21 school year, then 30 in 2021-22, and 19 last school year. As of Oct. 31 this year, there has been one.

Data across other agencies also show a decline in punitive measures for absenteeism, which some officials say is a result of schools adopting alternative responses.

The Marion Superior Court Probation Department, which receives referrals from schools dealing with older truant students, received 47 referrals in 2021 and 20 in 2022. As of early December of this year, the department had received none. After an investigation into the alleged absences, those referrals are forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for a decision on whether to prosecute.

Marion County Chief Probation Officer Christine Kerl said many school districts are responding in ways that indicate their belief that “the court may not be the best response.”

“I think that does play into why we see so fewer truancy referrals than we did 10 years ago,” she said.

State law even allows school districts to list habitual truants age 15-17 as ineligible for a driver’s license with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Figures from the BMV show that since 2019, that figure peaked in 2020 at 32 students, then fell to 28 in 2021 and seven in 2022, before rising to 14 as of Oct. 31 of this year.

Still, Marion County absenteeism rates remain higher than the statewide average.

Lawmakers and state board of education members have recently raised alarms about these statistics, linking high rates of absenteeism to declining test scores. They’ve also called for more action focused on parents, whether through enforcement or awareness.

“I don’t know what can be done, but there has to be, in my opinion, a way to hold parents of minors accountable for those students not coming to school,” said State Board of Education member William Durham at an October meeting.

Legislative leaders have already confirmed that they’ll pursue a bill related to absenteeism in the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January.

Bray, the Senate president pro tempore, said at a November legislative preview event that lawmakers would look to existing enforcement measures provided by the Department of Child Services and other agencies, rather than create a new system to address absenteeism.

House Speaker Todd Huston added that existing laws needed to be reinforced.

Lawmakers could update state code to give a clearer picture of the reasons that students are absent, said Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, a professor at Indiana University who worked with Warren on improving attendance. She said doing so would shine a light on instances of “school withdrawal,” for example, where students are missing school because of instances like waiting for a repairman because their parents are at work.

Schools could then target their support, she said: A child who has ‘school refusal’ isn’t going to school due to challenges like bullying and anxiety, and needs a different type of intervention than a child experiencing school withdrawal.

How a trophy and stickers can improve student attendance

But there’s a gap between what some officials want and what research says may work best in reducing absenteeism.

Illinois schools that had strong family engagement prior to the pandemic had a chronic absenteeism rate that was 39% less than similar schools with weak engagement, according to a study released in October from the Learning Heroes nonprofit and The New Teacher Project.

Families understand the importance of education and want to send their children to school, said Kate Roelecke, director of strategy and operations at the Marion County Commission on Youth. But they may face obstacles like their work schedules, or a lack of transportation and child care that force older children to be responsible for younger siblings, for example.

Roelecke said the commission hopes to work with lawmakers on solutions that connect families to community resources. She said she’d rather see lawmakers study the issue of absenteeism this summer than address it in a rush during this session.

“We all want the same thing, we want kids to be getting a great education and we know being in school is a key piece of that,” she said. “I don’t think we’re going to accomplish that by putting parents, students, and schools on the defensive.”

At Pleasant Run Elementary, a five-foot trophy towers in Yvette Glenn’s office, waiting to be awarded to the classroom with the best attendance of the week. Glenn is the school’s family engagement liaison — a position funded by tax increases recently approved by voters — and is constantly coming up with creative ways to entice students to school.

Pleasant Run Elementary students who were at school on time the day before earned a "H.O.T." ticket that allowed them to wear pajamas the next day on Dec. 7.

“Our kids really want to be here too. They’re not asking their parents to stay home,” said Smith, the assistant principal.

Warren schools also adopted last year a new district-wide attendance system called RaaWee K12 that automates many aspects of tracking absenteeism. It flags which students need a call home, a letter home, or even a parent meeting after a certain number of days missed.

In the past, letters sent home about attendance were impersonal and made little improvement, Smith said. What’s different now is that calls and letters home come from teachers and staff seeking to understand why a student has been absent, and offering help with finding a solution.

“We’re learning a lot more about our families in a positive way,” Smith said. “Not due to the fact that they’re absent 15 days and we’re saying, ‘hey, where are you?’ We’re hitting that early on, and they’re able to share what their needs are.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How the delayed FAFSA is impacting a new mandate for Indiana students

2023-12-07T11:00:00+00:00

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It’s the first school year that Indiana students are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA. But they still don’t have access to the form.

The FAFSA is typically released in October. But this year, its release has been delayed as the federal government works on a new version that’s supposed to be easier and quicker to fill out. It’s now expected to be out by the end of the month.

All that change means it’s even more important for resources to reach every student individually, school leaders said.

The FAFSA is how students are considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans and scholarships as well as some aid from states and individual colleges. Students can also access funds for a Next Level Jobs Workforce Ready Grant for a short- or long-term credential by filling out the form.

The new statewide requirement, which has some exceptions, is part of an effort by state leaders to boost Indiana’s college-going rate, which stood at about 53% for the Class of 2021, the latest data available. That’s roughly the same percentage as for the Class of 2020, although it declined for several years before that.

Filling out the FAFSA is considered an indicator of college-going, and nearly 48% of students in Indiana’s high school Class of 2023 completed the form, per a state dashboard. But the FAFSA delay could create a time crunch; of those students who completed the FAFSA, roughly 60% filled out the form by Dec. 31.

What families need to prepare for the FAFSA

One big change is when students and parents create their Federal Student Aid ID, which serves as a digital signature students need for the FAFSA

As part of creating the ID, they submit personal information to be verified, and the ID can take one to three days, said Bill Wozniak, vice president of communications and student services for INvestEd, which provides free FAFSA help in-person and via phone.

In the past, students and parents could create their FSA ID before sitting down to fill out the FAFSA or at the same time, but the latter is no longer an option, Wozniak said. So families need to have the ID ready before they start the form.

“It really launches the whole process,” said Rebecca Daugherty-Saunders, director of college and career readiness for the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township.

School leaders and others are telling students to create their FSA IDs now. Otherwise, for example, families might come to a FAFSA event in the spring expecting to complete the FAFSA there with experts to help them, but won’t be able to because they don’t have an ID ready to go.

How sports and free dinners help schools boost FAFSA completion

In years past, Wozniak said INvestEd would hold roughly half of its FAFSA events before the new year, in part because there’s typically a group of students who wanted to fill out the form around the time when college applications are due.

Plus, College Goal Sunday, a free event to help families fill out the FAFSA at locations across the state, is typically in October and in February. But this school year, it’s only on Feb. 25, 2024, said Wozniak, who serves as the event’s co-chairperson.

Still, INvestED has more than 900 events scheduled this year at high schools across the state, including ones this semester about the FSA ID and general information.

And districts including Warren and Wayne townships received the College Matters grant to increase college enrollment in Marion County; they are using it to help students fill out the FAFSA.

Both Ben Davis and Warren Central have added experts and support staff from universities and community groups to answer questions and work with students and families on the FAFSA. District leaders said they are looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for families.

At Warren, that means having people available to help before and during the school day at the district’s community resource center, in addition to the evening sessions for filling out the FAFSA.

It also means ensuring there is FAFSA information at events families attend, such as athletic competitions, said Laura Butgereit, coordinator for college and career readiness, school counseling, and family engagement for the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township.

At Ben Davis, the Indianapolis Urban League is providing hot meals for families during the FAFSA nights. That makes it easier for families to attend, Daugherty-Saunders said: “We’re taking time away from families outside of school. It’s their dinner time.”

Reaching all students can be difficult in a high school as big as Ben Davis, but it’s crucial, Daugherty-Saunders said. She added that teachers and counselors both work to reach seniors about their postsecondary plans.

Butgereit agreed that reaching each student is crucial to the new FAFSA mandate’s success.

“It’s going to come down to our counselors [and] support people working through all the seniors,” she said.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Growth in Indiana college enrollment marks largest increase in 13 years

2023-10-18T18:29:57+00:00

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More students are going to Indiana’s colleges and universities this fall, and the share of students earning degrees on schedule has also grown in the last few years, the state announced Wednesday.

Data released by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education showed that enrollment this fall increased by roughly 4,700 students from a year ago. That marks the largest year-over-year increase in 13 years, per the state. The commission reported that there are about 244,600 students enrolled in Indiana institutions of higher education this fall.

The new state data shows a move in a positive direction for state leaders, who are aiming to increase the state’s college attainment after years of declining college-going rates. That includes several efforts aimed at college access enacted earlier this year by state lawmakers.

Per the state, the number of undergraduate students increased by nearly 3% over last year; the number of graduate students declined by less than 1%.

The enrollment increase includes roughly 2,500 students from Indiana, a nearly 2% bump for in-state enrollment.

Enrollment increased at both two-year and four-year institutions. For students from Indiana, enrollment in two-year schools is up by roughly 3,200, and enrollment in four-year institutions is down by roughly 700.

The commission also said that more students are completing degrees on time, with a 9% increase over the last five years.

Earlier this year, the state also reported that Indiana’s college-going rate is about 53% for the Class of 2021, the latest data available. That’s about the same as the rate for the Class of 2020; the college-going percentage fell for several years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The changes approved by state lawmakers this year to improve college access include automatically enrolling students into 21st Century Scholars, which covers tuition for qualifying students; requiring all students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to access more funds; and preventing state and for-profit private colleges and universities from refusing transcripts to current or former students who still owe money to the institution.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

A teachers union wanted to bargain over pay. Its president ended up barred from the classroom.

2023-10-16T11:00:00+00:00

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What started as an Indiana district’s proposal to retain teachers has led to allegations of unfair labor practices, public anger at school board members, and officials’ decision to bar the teachers union president from the classroom.

In May, Richmond schools announced one-time bonuses for teachers in an effort to staunch turnover rates of more than 25% in some buildings. All teachers in good standing would receive supplemental payments of $525. The district targeted additional money at mid-career teachers whose compensation hadn’t increased in line with their experience.

But the Richmond Education Association argued that the plan affected compensation, and thus would need to be discussed during the fall bargaining season that began Sept. 15, per Indiana law. It filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the district.

In the months that followed, the union said the district retaliated by disinviting its representatives from a back-to-school event before eventually placing president and longtime educator Kelley McDermott on leave and threatening to cancel her teaching contract. Union representatives also say teachers have been instructed to inform the superintendent if they want to speak to school board members.

The situation in Richmond is unfolding against a long history of the winnowing of teachers’ collective bargaining rights in Indiana, in addition to an ongoing shortage of educators in certain fields and classroom subjects. Over roughly the past decade, the number of people entering the teaching profession has dipped in Indiana, while the number of people leaving it has risen, the state reported last year; enrollment also fell over the same period. And across the nation, more teachers than usual left the profession after the 2021-22 school year, a Chalkbeat analysis showed.

A state law enacted this year and sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican, nixed a requirement for school districts to discuss changes to working conditions with union representatives at monthly meetings. Advocates said the change would reduce red tape — observers say it has hurt teacher morale. (Raatz did not respond to a request for comment.)

Representatives of Richmond schools did not respond to Chalkbeat’s requests for comment on the situation. Both the district and the union have said they want to keep classrooms staffed by experienced teachers — but they remain at an impasse on the best way to do so as bargaining officially begins.

What must school districts negotiate with teachers unions?

Lawmakers stripped Indiana teachers of the right to collectively bargain over working conditions like class sizes and schedules under a 2011 law. The topics that teachers can bargain over during the fall bargaining window are salaries, wages, and benefits, including pay increases.

That put Richmond’s compensation plan squarely in the union’s territory, representatives said.

The district’s plan delineated the amount teachers would receive in one-time supplemental pay on top of the $525 bonus based on their current salary, their years of experience, and their education. For example, a teacher with eight years of teaching experience and a bachelor’s degree whose base salary is $44,000 would receive a supplemental payment of $4,750.

But the union said that passing this plan to boost the pay of around 60% of teachers left less district funding to negotiate raises for the remaining teachers when bargaining began in the fall. Moreover, the board approved the plan without talking to the union, representatives said.

“We’re not opposed to fixing this problem,” McDermott said to the board. “What we are opposed to is stripping the association of its collective bargaining rights, which are legally protected.”

Board members argued that Indiana law also gave them the flexibility to offer supplemental pay in order to retain teachers, or to reduce the difference between minimum and average salaries in the district, without input from the Richmond Education Association.

“It has been a problem without a solution for a very long time,” board President Nicole Stults said at the May board meeting. “This does provide us with a solution that addresses the immediate bleed, so to speak, the immediate retention issue that we have.”

District representatives said offering supplemental pay was critical in order to stop losing teachers to neighboring districts. Data indicated that Richmond teachers have to work for 13 years in order to make the starting salary of a neighboring district.

“The consistency that students see is important, those relationships that students build with their teachers is critical to academic success, so the retention of teachers is critical to their academic success,” board member Pete Zaleski said in May.

‘This will lead to educators leaving the profession’

A September board meeting drew a large crowd of union members and supporters outraged over how the district has handled the pay issue and McDermott’s teaching contract.

By keeping McDermott out of the classroom, the district has left her students without a consistent teacher, speakers said — the opposite of its stated goal.

“Look at how many teachers are leaving and how many teaching openings there are each year. Please think this through and return the teacher to her teaching position, where she is needed to teach the youth of Richmond,” one speaker said. “Make this again a place to be proud to teach, not a temporary step along the way.”

McDermott could not be reached for comment. She remains on administrative leave after the district announced it would consider canceling her teaching contract, according to union Vice President Jay Lee.

Lee said that talks with the district have never been so contentious in the past.

The union opted to wait to begin bargaining until after Oct. 2, when schools will tally up how many students they’re educating in the fall semester — an event known as Count Day — in order to understand how much funding would be available.

“This is a Band-Aid,” Lee said of the district’s pay plan.

In a video posted to the district’s YouTube channel after the September board meeting, Richmond board president Stults said neither the district nor the board could comment on the personnel situation regarding McDermott. She said that apart from that issue, “relationships among the board, administration, and teachers are quite positive and stronger than they have been in recent years.”

She cited positive feedback from teachers regarding the supplemental pay, as well as a series of meetings throughout the year between district employees and upper administration.

Finally, she said the district has tried to implement the new law ending monthly discussions between administrators and union members positively, “allowing for a more focused approach to building level issues.”

Jennifer Smith-Margraf, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said it’s not clear why Richmond schools did not do what it did in previous years and wait for the bargaining season to discuss compensation this year.

But the cumulative effect of the unilateral changes to pay and the new law that lets districts avoid discussing working conditions with unions have made the situation worse, she said.

“The two main reasons people leave education are low pay and benefits, and not having their voices heard,” she said. “In the long run, this will lead to educators leaving the profession.”

It’s not clear if lawmakers will make further changes next session — but Smith-Margraf said the union supports the right to bargaining and discussion.

“Places that do both bargaining and discussion are doing a much better job of retaining educators,” Smith-Margraf said. “Where there is a clear indication that my voice doesn’t matter causes people to leave and go other places.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana law on student names and pronouns leaves tough decisions to families and schools

2023-08-24T18:49:26+00:00

Uncertainty, a growing patchwork of policies, and virtual silence from state leaders have marked the rollout of an Indiana law requiring schools to disclose students’ requests to use new names and pronouns to their parents.

Under HEA 1608, which took effect for this school year, schools must notify at least one parent in writing if their student requests to change their name, pronoun, title, or other identifying word.

But there’s little guidance in the law or from state agencies about various issues, including how districts should notify parents. That vagueness has left students and educators on their own to figure things out.

At least one district is going beyond the law by requiring parental permission to use students’ new names — a mandate that was dropped from the original legislative proposal over concerns it might sow conflict within families. But leaders of another district who oppose the law said it has spurred them to enhance protections from harassment for students who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Different policies could leave parents unhappy regardless of what’s tried. For example, some parents might argue their districts aren’t doing enough to ensure they know about students’ requests, said Andy Downs, director emeritus of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics. Yet others, he said, might believe their districts are going overboard if they send letters, schedule meetings, and repeatedly follow up with families.

With transgender rights firmly in focus on the national political scene, local school leaders searching for the right approach could spark an uproar at already contentious school board meetings.

Still, some advocates do see a silver lining in the fragmented way the law is being carried out: a chance to shape, or even challenge, how it’s applied in their local schools.

“The right thing to do is to fight the mandate,” said Barbara Dennis, a volunteer with Kaleidoscope, a Bloomington-based and youth-led LGBTQ advocacy group whose members have discussed ways to subvert the law. “But we also need to survive the moment.”

What the new law on students’ pronouns does

HEA 1608 was one of several laws Indiana legislators passed this year aimed at restricting how and when transgender youth could transition socially and medically. Proponents say it gives parents more information about their children at school — part of an argument for increased parental oversight in education that has swept conservative states.

“We’re going to fight for the right of parents to handle the upbringing of their children,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita at a recent press conference in reference to such laws.

But opponents of the new law said outing transgender students to their parents could put some at risk of physical harm or homelessness if their families aren’t supportive. (The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana challenged HEA 1608 in court by focusing on another aspect of the law that prohibits teaching human sexuality in grades K-3.)

The law does not prescribe details like what a written notification to parents about their students’ name requests should contain, nor whether schools are required to send follow-up notices.

By contrast, another law passed this year on student surveys specifies that schools should send parents two notifications before they can administer certain surveys, that the notifications can be electronic, and that each should summarize the content of the survey in question.

The Indiana Department of Education does not plan to issue guidance on how schools should implement HEA 1608. A spokesperson said implementing the law “comes down to a local decision by the school districts.”

The department did provide guidance on a dozen or so other laws from the 2023 legislative session.

Rep. Michelle Davis, a Whiteland Republican and author of the law on student pronouns, declined to comment on how she intended it to be enforced, citing the ongoing litigation.

Downs said that some laws are written to offer as many details as possible in order to remove any doubt about compliance, while others offer leeway to the people who have to implement them.

If there are enough complaints about the law’s lack of clarity, legislators will likely take notice, Downs said.

“They may pay an awful lot of attention if constituents say they weren’t informed properly,” he said. “They may say, ‘Ok you had your chance, schools, to do this properly and you did not. So now we will.’”

Downs said that ideally, legislators would see how HEA 1608 affects schools and students, before considering whether to expand it. He also noted that some issues fade from the public eye over time, and that schools sometimes keep procedures on the books without enforcing them.

But given the emotionally charged debate around the topic, Downs said it’s most likely that legislators will revisit HEA 1608 soon.

Becoming ‘better parents for LGBTQ kids’

Speaking at a Monroe County school board meeting Tuesday night, a student told board members that they considered submitting a name change request every day in order to “maliciously comply” with the law — but reconsidered after realizing the burden it would create for teachers.

“The school board should be the ones fighting for us students,” the student said. “I shouldn’t have to fight for the right to my name.”

Dennis, the Kaleidoscope volunteer, also said it’s ultimately up to school districts to file lawsuits challenging the enforcement of the law. Complying puts youth at risk, and damages schools’ ability to support students.

“A main tactic in bullying is pointing at kids and telling them who they are,” Dennis said. “Under this law, educators will be forced to enact bullying.”

The student at the Monroe meeting addressed a board that previously criticized the law in strong terms. In March, board members approved a resolution condemning HEA 1608 and stating that the district would work on a policy that prohibits the bullying or harassment of LGBTQIA+ students.

In an August statement, the district described the law as “Trojan horse legislation,” but said its schools will comply and notify parents. It will also communicate the new requirement to students and families, according to the statement.

Work on an anti-harassment policy will continue through a series of community engagement meetings this fall, the district said. Monroe district leaders also said in its August statement they’re “confident that the new state legislation does not prevent the important work related to our local resolution to support more fully our LGBTQIA+ population. As a matter of fact, with legislation, such as Indiana HEA 1608, this work is more important than ever.”

Other districts have already announced their approaches for notifying parents. Many are designating one person at each school to notify families of their students’ requests, or having their counseling staff do the job. Some are relying on their student information portals; others are sending written notifications encouraging parents to ask questions.

Hamilton Southeastern schools — which last year elected a slate of candidates running on a parental rights platform — has gone a step beyond the law and will require approval from a parent or guardian before the district will use a student’s requested name.

“Hamilton Southeastern Schools has no desire to make student name changes to which a parent objects,” a statement from the district said, adding that federal and state law require parents and schools “to work collaboratively.”

The student members of Kaleidoscope have brainstormed other ways to push back against the law without violating it, like by using class nicknames, placards, or last names instead of students’ legal first names. But some of these approaches wouldn’t allow students to publicly claim their own identity, said Dennis.

Working under the confines of the law, districts could also interpret the mandate to “notify” parents to mean setting up a conference between schools and parents to discuss their students’ requests and how best to support them.

“If the goal is to be better parents, maybe we can take this as an educational moment to become better parents for LGBTQ kids, and foster areas where kids feel safer,” she said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

COVID aid ends, science of reading, vouchers: 5 things to watch as Indiana’s school year begins

2023-07-25T11:00:00+00:00

The first Indiana school districts head back to school this week amid a spate of new laws and policies that will affect what happens in the classroom.

Recovering from the pandemic’s effects on student performance remains a top priority for schools, as state testing scores indicate that learning has stagnated. But new laws will also expand schools’ focus beyond postsecondary education, and more toward career exploration.

For younger students, Indiana is prioritizing reading instruction through new laws requiring curriculum and teacher training based on the science of reading, an approach to literacy that emphasizes phonics, fluency, and other principles.. Meanwhile, for middle and high schoolers, preparation for postsecondary life is the priority, with new funds earmarked for workforce training.

Public schools are also grappling with the potential impacts of an expanded voucher program, as well as laws aimed at students’ identities and school library books.

Here are five things to watch for as the school year begins.

New standards and approaches to reading

Fresh off the latest statewide testing results showing a decline in students’ reading proficiency, Indiana is continuing a push to make sure schools teach reading through evidence-based practices known as the science of reading. Several new laws and policies will shape how students learn to read this year.

Districts will be evaluating their reading curriculum materials this year to ensure they’re in line with the science of reading practices. They must adopt an approved curriculum by the 2024-25 school year.

Literacy coaches will be coming to schools where fewer than 70% of students passed the state reading assessment, as well as schools that opt in to the Indiana Department of Education’s initiative to place more of these coaches in schools.

Meanwhile, new standards in four core subjects adopted in June will also streamline what students must learn in each grade level. Officials hope this move will allow teachers to focus on the most essential skills in their lessons.

A push toward college and career

While literacy is the emphasis for younger students, middle and high schoolers will see several new initiatives aimed at preparing them for postsecondary training.

All high school seniors will have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid next spring due to a new law meant to increase Indiana’s college-going rate.

High schoolers will also have access to the state’s new career scholarship accounts, which provide grants for workforce training that they can use outside of traditional high school programs. As part of that new law, students will also attend career fairs throughout the year.

Eligible middle school students, meanwhile, will be automatically enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars program, which covers tuition and fees at an in-state college or university.

A near-universal choice program

Indiana opened its private school voucher program to nearly all students during this year’s legislative session, offering public funding for students to attend private schools and potentially leading to major changes in the state’s enrollment landscape.

It’s not immediately clear how many more students will participate in the program, or whether new participants will primarily be students who are already enrolled in private schools. But declines in enrollment at public schools could create instability in district budgets and affect the students who remain.

The approaching end of ESSER spending

Districts are facing final deadlines to commit the second and third rounds of federal COVID funding — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER — in September 2023 and September 2024, respectively.

With Indiana no longer allowed to charge families for textbooks and devices, some districts could use federal funds to provide these course materials. Conversely, districts that relied on federal funding for long-term costs like staffing may face a crunch as they figure out how to fold those positions into their budgets.

The state education department’s spending tracker shows that the state has reimbursed schools for around 84% of ESSER II dollars and 46% of ESSER III dollars as of July 17, though these figures don’t represent schools’ expenditures in real time.

The effects of laws aimed at students’ identity

The Indiana legislature this year passed several laws that seek to control how sex and gender are discussed and dealt with in schools.

Among them is a requirement for schools to notify parents if their children request to change their names or pronouns, passed over LGBTQ advocates’ concerns that it could put youth at risk at home. The law also bans sex education lessons in preschool to third grade.

Districts will also grapple with a law that requires them to publish their library catalogs and create procedures for parents and others to request the removal of books. Supporters of the law said it was meant to keep obscene material out of kids’ hands, while librarians said such material isn’t in their libraries to begin with.

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Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana families will no longer be charged textbooks fees. Here’s what to expect.

2023-07-05T11:00:00+00:00

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For years, a small district of 1,100 students just east of Indianapolis aimed to ditch the fees that had created barriers for students and burdens for their families.

But officials at Charles A. Beard Memorial schools knew if they took on the costs, they’d have to sustain them long term, said Superintendent Jediah Behny. So they started small — first eliminating entrance fees for students to school sports events — before eventually dropping the fees for textbooks and materials in 2020.

“We wanted to eliminate the likelihood that some kids were getting something that others weren’t,” Behny said.

Beginning this school year, after a law passed in the 2023 legislative session, all Indiana schools will be required to follow the district’s example and stop charging families for curricular materials, including textbooks, iPads, and Chromebooks.

The change, championed by Gov. Eric Holcomb, is meant to lighten the load on Hoosier families, who reported paying hundreds of dollars every year for their students’ course materials. Indiana had been among the last handful of states that still allowed schools to charge these fees.

The law provides $160 million for curricular materials, but a per-student amount has yet to be determined, Indiana Department of Education officials said. The department will calculate this number by dividing the total amount that all schools report for curriculum costs by how many students are enrolled at each public school, and how many qualify based on socioeconomic status at each private school.

Education advocates agree the change benefits families, but say the state must support schools with the financial burden.

With a new school year rapidly approaching, they say more guidance is needed on how much schools will receive to make purchasing decisions and also on what counts as curricular materials under the new law, which broadly includes books, computer software, digital content, and hardware that will be consumed by a student over the course of a year.

Only time will tell if the total allocation is sufficient, said Denny Costerison of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. It’ll be up to the General Assembly to increase the funding if necessary, which likely won’t happen until the next biennial budget session in 2025.

Schools will receive funding as a lump sum in December, according to an FAQ issued by the department.

“Textbooks don’t get cheaper, they get more expensive,” said Terry Spradlin of the Indiana School Boards Association. He noted that when Indiana first considered dropping textbook fees in the 1990s, the cost estimate was around $100 million.

The state already covers the cost of textbooks for students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals at a cost of around $39 million per year.

For all students, a per-pupil figure of about $162 would likely cover most districts’ elementary and middle school costs, said Spradlin, but fall far short of the costs for high school courses. Spradlin said that example amount came from an IDOE memo, but the department didn’t confirm.

Any excess from the lower grades could be used to pay for secondary school courses, but schools may also need to turn to their education fund dollars to cover shortages, he said. Federal emergency dollars are also an option, albeit one that expires in September 2024.

It’s important to remember that general funds must also cover the bulk of schools’ operating and personnel costs, said Keith Gambill of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

“You need to be able to provide the funding they need to operate and make sure those programs are fully realized without jeopardizing important items, which includes salaries,” Gambill said. “That’s where things can get tricky, especially for schools on a leaner budget.”

According to the FAQ, curricular materials include materials in advanced placement, dual credit, and career technical education courses, but not dual enrollment courses. Schools are allowed to charge families for lost or damaged items, and can offer insurance for technology.

Some additional guidance might be needed for items like parking passes and student identification cards, said Spradlin, as well as for co-curricular programs. Performing arts, for example, can include a variety of costs for instruments and their upkeep, as well as attire and transportation to school events.

If the course is required, or if students receive a grade for it, then it’s likely considered a course that schools can’t charge for, said Costerison. The education department’s FAQ directs schools to consult with their legal counsel for further questions about what counts as curricular material.

Charles A. Beard Memorial schools will be able to offer fee-free music programs to students this year after building a stock of instruments over the last several years, said Behny, the superintendent.

He said the new law will provide the final nudge for the district to drop the last of its fees for its cooperative programs, but added that the new funding alone may not be enough for districts just starting to eliminate fees.

Covering textbook fees cost his district around $87,000 in the first year of the program. This year, they spent around $110,000 to cover fees for 1,100 students, money saved through attrition and watching supply costs.

“It was much easier to do than I thought it would be,” he said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools could now have an easier path to acquiring district buildings

2023-06-11T12:00:00+00:00

A change to state law this year could make it easier for Indiana’s charter schools to acquire buildings from school districts by targeting those that are losing students and have schools that are nearly half empty.

The change means that the Indiana Department of Education can now force school districts that have lost at least 10% of their enrollment in the past five years to close schools that have been operating at less than 60% capacity and sell or lease them to charter schools for $1.

Lawmakers approved the revision to the state’s so-called “$1 law,” which has been on the books for years and requires school districts to make certain buildings previously used for classroom instruction available to charter schools at next to no cost. It’s the state’s latest attempt to provide help for charter schools that frequently have problems finding buildings to use. But some charters might not have much time to take advantage of it.

The previous version of the law, which deemed “vacant” or “unused” classroom buildings available for purchase, largely did not prove successful for charters. School districts argued that they were still using or planning to use the buildings they had closed for instruction. The attorney general’s office ruled in favor of districts eight out of the nine times it investigated allegations that districts were violating the $1 law.

The new version of the law targets districts with declining enrollment like the South Bend Community School Corporation and Indianapolis Public Schools, which had an average building utilization rate of 60% in 2021-22.

It’s unclear how many charter schools may take advantage of the new law, or how districts will respond. IPS, for example, said in a statement that it’s still examining the new law to understand its impact.

Republican Sen. Linda Rogers, who wrote the language in Senate Enrolled Act 391 that changed the $1 law, said she believes the change will bolster fiscal responsibility.

“Trying to be understanding and create a balance between traditional publics and charter schools is my goal,” she said. “The taxpayers paid for these buildings to educate the community’s children.”

Districts with declining enrollments must also review the utilization rates of their buildings and share it with the state department of education annually. Charter schools must work with districts to try to reach a deal to acquire or lease a building.

Buildings targeted for closure must meet certain criteria

Schools that could be closed by the Indiana Department of Education and made available for charters to buy or lease for $1 under a revised state law must first meet a number of criteria to be classified as underutilized.

Eligible buildings must be located in a school district that has lost at least 10% of its population in the past five years that also has more than one building serving the same grade level as the school targeted for closure.
Eligible buildings must have previously been used for classroom instruction.
Eligible buildings must have operated with an average capacity of less than 60% for the current school year and the past two school years. If the building’s capacity is unknown, it is determined by the average maximum full-time equivalent enrollment in any of the last 25 years.
Districts must have another school building with sufficient capacity to take students in from the closing building that is no more than 20 minutes away by car from the school slated to close.

Districts can still claim that a building is in use and exempt from closure if:

They use at least 30% of the building’s capacity for a special student population, such as those in an alternative education program.
They use at least 50% of the square footage of the building for office space, so long as the cost is not more than other available office space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for storage, so long as the cost is lower than other available storage space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for a combination of office space and storage that does not cost more than other space available for such uses.

Source: Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 391

If they can’t reach a deal within 45 days, a charter school can petition the department to determine whether the building meets the criteria for closure. The department can order a school to close, and if needed, the department can request the attorney general to enforce the order to close the school.

Rogers, however, noted that the department can consider a school’s unique circumstances when deciding whether it must be sold or leased.

The department could soon release guidance to school districts about the revised law’s impact.

However, school districts that share revenue from property tax increases for operating or safety costs, which voters would pass through a ballot question, are also exempt from the law.

That exemption could significantly reduce the impact of the new $1 law in Lake, Marion, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties. That’s because, under a separate change to state law enacted this year, districts in those counties must share such tax revenues from future ballot questions.

All of that means charters in these four counties might have a limited window of time to acquire underused buildings. In other words, once a district with declining enrollment in those counties gets a ballot measure passed for operating or safety costs, they’ll no longer have to make underused buildings available to charters under the $1 law.

In January, the IPS school board tabled its plan to ask voters for a tax increase this year to fund its Rebuilding Stronger revitalization plan for academics and grade reconfigurations. It remains to be seen if IPS will revive that plan.

Districts like IPS and South Bend aren’t the only ones that could be affected by the new $1 law.

Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart County, for example, has lost 12% of its student population from 2018 to 2023, according to state data. And Brown County School Corporation has lost 17% of its enrollment from 2018 to 2023. Now, those districts will be required to report the usage rates of each of their buildings, information that charters looking for space could find useful.

Charter schools, districts examine new law

Charter schools aren’t necessarily leaping at the change to try to take control of buildings under the new $1 law.

Tommy Reddicks, the CEO of Paramount Schools, which has three locations in Indianapolis and is opening another in South Bend in a former district elementary school building, said the charter network does not have an interest in taking advantage of the new law just yet.

“We’ll likely keep an eye on it and see how it is utilized in the coming years,” Reddicks said in an email.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district has six or seven buildings that may fall under the law’s definition of underutilized. But South Bend, like IPS, is undergoing a massive reorganization to address a loss of enrollment that he said will close some schools but lead others to operate at closer to full capacity.

He said he doesn’t expect the new law to result in any forced closures. Instead, he said, the new law — and the requirement for South Bend to share future referendum dollars with charter schools — could foster increased collaboration between the district and charters.

“Should the district pursue another referendum after the expiration of our current operating referendum, we’re certainly hopeful that we can work together with other public schools in the area,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Reported graduation rates for Indiana schools could dip after change to state law

2023-06-06T12:00:00+00:00

Schools across Indiana could see a dip in their reported graduation rates after a change to state law requiring districts to limit the portion of students who graduate with waivers from the calculation.

Students who graduate with a waiver — an exemption from certain graduation requirements — can account for no more than 9% of the total graduating class in reported graduation rates for the 2023-24 school year. That percentage declines to 6% in 2024-25 and 3% for each year after.

The changes could have a large effect on publicized graduation rates, which are often used as a measure of success for school leaders and can be a key metric parents use to determine the quality of their child’s education. In Marion County schools, the 84.2% graduation rate for the 2021 student cohort dips to 73.1% when students with waivers are excluded, according to an analysis of state data by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.

Beginning with the Class of 2023, students in Indiana must choose from one of several graduation pathways to graduate, and also must pass a competency requirement of some sort. Prior to that class, districts could choose whether to offer the new graduation pathways requirements or offer old graduation requirements, which included passing the old ISTEP state exam.

But state law allows schools to grant graduation waivers to students who try but fail to pass the competency requirement, which can include the SAT, ACT, and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) used for entrance into the military. Those districts that operated under the old graduation requirements could also issue waivers to students who tried but failed to pass the ISTEP test for 10th graders.

The change to the law does not restrict the number of waivers districts can grant. Instead, proponents argue, it will add transparency to graduation rates that they said were previously inflated.

“My hope is that greater transparency into the number of students who are graduating from high school with a high school diploma will lead to productive dialogue between parents, school principals, school superintendents, policymakers and others to improve not only our high school school graduation rate, but the number of students that are entering into postsecondary education,” said Jason Kloth, president and CEO of Ascend Indiana. The waiver recommendation was part of a report Ascend Indiana conducted with Business Equity for Indy.

School leaders argue that waivers are a valuable tool for students facing extenuating circumstances, such as those who transfer into a new school for their junior or senior year.

“When you as a school have a new student who starts in their senior year with you, and … they don’t already have those pathways, it’s certainly a challenge,” Samantha Goldsmith, principal of the online Hoosier College and Career Academy charter school, previously told us. “And our goal is to help them graduate.”

In Marion County, schools with the highest percentage of waiver graduates for the 2022 student cohort included Ben Davis High School in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, the Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy charter school, and the GEO Next Generation Academy charter school.

At Ben Davis High School, roughly 31% of the 2022 cohort graduated with waivers, or nearly 37% of the 863 students who graduated, according to state data. If the new law had gone into effect last year, it would have meant the school could only count 77 of its 317 waiver graduates in its 2022 graduation rate.

The Wayne school district did not respond to a request for comment about the new law’s impact.

The law, House Enrolled Act 1635, also requires students who use the ASVAB as a competency requirement to submit documentation that demonstrates their intent to enlist in the military.

That change was also prompted by concerns that too many students are using the test as an easier way to graduate — without actually intending to enroll in the military. Just 2% of Indiana students who took the ASVAB from August 2022 to February 2023 tried to use their score for military consideration, according to data from the Indianapolis Military Entrance Processing Station.

The score required to pass the ASVAB as a graduation requirement is set at 31, which is lower than what some branches of the military require if military candidates do not have a high school diploma. The State Board of Education voted in April to maintain that score.

Correction, June 6, 2023: A previous version of this story included an incorrect description of the Ascend Indiana group. Ascend Indiana is a separate entity from Business Equity for Indy.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school librarians worry new law banning ‘obscene’ books will harm their work and students

2023-06-05T12:00:00+00:00

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“Pornographer.”

That’s the insult Chad Heck remembers, hurled by the people behind him as he testified in the state legislature earlier this year.

Like other Indiana school librarians who spoke against legislation seeking to restrict school bookshelves this session, Heck tried to dispel the notion that he and his colleagues were peddlers of porn — and found himself part of the national culture wars that have pitted some parents who mistrust public education against school leaders and staff.

Ultimately, lawmakers passed a bill that forbids books deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors” on school library shelves, following hours of heated public comment. House Enrolled Act 1447 also requires school districts to establish procedures to publish their school library catalogs, and to set up a process for a parent or community member to request removal of obscene or harmful material.

Now, Heck and other librarians with the Indiana Library Federation (ILF) who fought against the legislation are learning to live with the law, but they are still trying to clarify misconceptions about it. They stress that the law is not an outright book ban. They also say many districts already post their catalogs online, and already have procedures for challenging books.

School librarians say that contrary to what some might think, they don’t have obscene or harmful material in their collections. Instead, they worry the law will create what amounts to self-censorship among school librarians — who for the past few years have been the target of public scorn and scrutiny over what, exactly, is on their shelves.

“It contributes to this culture of fear that many librarians are operating under, which does have a chilling effect on our collections,” said Heck, the advocacy co-chair of ILF, which has a subgroup known as the Association of Indiana School Library Educators (AISLE). “And I’m concerned about this.”

In his office, Republican Sen. Jim Tomes — who has tried to pass some version of the new law for years — keeps six books he says are examples of pornography in schools. These include “This Book Is Gay” and “Gender Queer,” both of which are among the top 13 most challenged books in the country, according to the American Library Association. Parents across the state, he said, have reported to him that they’ve found these books in school libraries.

Some of the books offer advice for young LGBTQ adults navigating their sexuality, or serve as a sexual education guide for teens. But Tomes, who co-authored a variation of the bill language that eventually became law, says they show that school libraries have a problem.

“This was raw, 100 percent pornography,” he said. “The wording, the stories, and also the pictures in the books, the illustrations. If this is not pornography, then I don’t know what you could call it.”

Backlash against libraries is worst some have seen

Censorship battles in schools have existed for decades and have origins on the political left and right, librarians say.

How Indiana law defines material school libraries must remove

House Enrolled Act 1447 requires schools to remove library books and other materials that are “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” A key element of the law is how it defines those terms.

Here’s how the law defines obscene material:

“1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, finds that the dominant theme of the matter or performance, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex;

2) the matter or performance depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; and

3) the matter or performance, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Here’s how the law defines material that’s harmful to minors:

“(1) it describes or represents, in any form, nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse;

2) considered as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors;

3) it is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable matter for or performance before minors; and

4) considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”

Source: Indiana Code 35-49-2-1 and 35-49-2-2

But school librarians say they’ve seen an increase in concerns over what’s on their shelves in the past three years, as mistrust of public schools grew in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And some say the anger they’re facing now is the worst pushback against their profession they’ve ever seen.

The outrage has come from groups such as the Indiana chapter of Purple for Parents, which rails against the dangers of social-emotional learning and critical race theory in the classroom. Like Tomes, Purple for Parents insists that there is porn in Indiana schools.

An Indiana version of the “Mary in the Library” Facebook page, which features passages from what it deems to be “naughty children’s books,” has also escalated the controversy surrounding the issue.

But just as those inflammatory social media posts don’t necessarily tell the whole story, Heck said that people involved in discussions of the new law would “just point out one passage in a book” while missing important context.

While the new law prohibits schools from providing students with material deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” it also requires that the material in question lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. In addition, the material must be considered as a whole by readers.

Some school librarians say they don’t have materials in their libraries that meet the statutory definitions of material that libraries must pull from their shelves. And the books in Tomes’ office illustrate how differently both sides view the content.

With the exception of one book he was not familiar with — “Dead End” by Jason Myers — Heck argued that none of the books Tomes kept in his office would fit the statutory definition of obscene or harmful to minors.

Among those books, “Let’s Talk About It” is a guide for teens on sex and relationships that has depictions of sexual organs and sex. “This Book Is Gay” bills itself as an instruction manual for young adults trying to understand their sexuality and “what it’s like to grow up LGBTQIA+.”

And “Gender Queer” is a memoir about the author’s journey in identifying as nonbinary and asexual, described on its back cover as a “much-needed, useful, and touching guide.”

Tomes argued that such books are so inappropriate that he refuses to keep them in his house. But Heck countered that those books do so much more than appeal to an interest in sex, and must be read in their entirety to appreciate their intention. They discuss common issues LGBTQ people face, he said.

Librarians also argue that the process of adding materials to their collection requires careful consideration that includes consulting professional sources, like Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, to determine what is age-appropriate.

“There’s a lot of thought and effort and time put into having the books in the collection,” said Diane Rogers, vice president of the Indiana Library Federation who’s a librarian at the Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township. “I don’t purchase books on a whim, just like I won’t remove books on a whim.”

But as challenges to books and school libraries have intensified, critics of laws like Indiana’s have worried that groups will target books serving underserved communities — such as LGBTQ youth — for censorship or restrictions, increasing those students’ feeling of isolation.

“Right now, I am more concerned about librarians removing materials that meet the needs of our communities because they’re worried about backlash, or worried about being personally attacked,” Heck said. “And that is having a huge impact on libraries in our state.”

These books in the office of Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, are some of the books that Tomes called pornographic. But librarians argue the content in books must be considered as a whole.

And even though the text of the law targets books that lack artistic or other merits, the prospect of ongoing and intense arguments over what is actually “obscene” or “harmful to minors” has some librarians worried that their colleagues may start preemptively pulling material from their shelves just to avoid a fight.

“There are people who are asking themselves: Is it worth it for me?” said Rogers. “There’s librarians who are asking questions because their administration is coming to them and asking them to pull certain titles, you know, usually in an abundance of caution.”

Librarian leaders hope focus can return to kids

Just how much the law will change school districts’ handling of book challenges may vary when it takes effect Jan. 1.

In Marion County, at least three of the 11 school districts told Chalkbeat they already have some sort of procedure for challenging books or requesting that they be removed. Those include Wayne, Perry, and Indianapolis Public Schools.

The new law requires school districts to hear requests to remove materials during public school board meetings. At least six of the 11 Marion County districts told Chalkbeat that they did not receive any formal challenges to books in the past year.

Tomes did not say whether he had personally seen the books that he keeps in his office in schools; he stressed that parents reported to him that these books were in school libraries. He said it’s great that some school districts and librarians already comply with parts of the new law.

“I’m glad that they are already doing that,” he said. “Not everybody was.”

The law also tweaked the various defenses individuals can claim as protection from prosecution for disseminating material harmful to minors — classified as a felony under state law.

The new law removes the previous defenses that allowed sharing such material if it was done for an educational purpose or shared by a school. However, librarians with ILF and the Indiana State Library maintain that school employees can still claim a defense from prosecution under the law if they are acting within the scope of their employment.

“Whether or not this is intentional or will be changed in some sort of future clean-up action remains to be seen,” the Indiana State Library said in a legal memo it sent to school libraries in May.

As school districts statewide adapt to the new law, librarians with ILF are urging colleagues to lean on each other and embrace a collection method informed by research and professional book reviews.

Mainly, though, they hope the intense public scrutiny aimed at them in recent years will soon end.

“I’m hoping that this is just a storm that we’ll be able to weather, and it’ll pass,” said Emily Wilt, chair of the AISLE group. “And we’ll be able to turn our attentions and our energies more fully back toward the reasons we all got into this profession, which [is] serving our kids.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s new ‘science of reading’ law requires districts to adopt research-backed curriculum

2023-05-25T21:01:35+00:00

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Indiana has joined a growing number of states that require schools to use curriculum materials that emphasize phonetic instruction when teaching children how to read.

A new state law, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on May 4, requires school districts to adopt a curriculum that’s aligned with what’s commonly called the science of reading.

Districts are also forbidden from adopting curriculum that relies primarily on using context clues and pictures for literacy instruction, an approach known as the three-cueing model. In addition, teachers licensed after June 2025 to teach a content area involving literacy instruction in prekindergarten through fifth grade must earn a new literacy endorsement to prove they are proficient in the science of reading standards.

The new law comes amid concern from lawmakers and education officials in Indiana and nationwide about elementary school students’ reading ability — an issue exacerbated by the pandemic. Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said last year that literacy instruction and the use of phonics varies from classroom to classroom. Elsewhere, New York City recently required elementary schools to adopt a phonics-based reading program, and Illinois advocates said students there have struggled to read because schools haven’t relied on the science of reading.

Below, we break down how Indiana defines the science of reading, what the new law actually says, and what it all means for students, teachers, and schools.

What is the science of reading?

The new state statute defines the science of reading as a “vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research” that requires the “explicit, systematic” use of five elements in literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Phonemic awareness means being able to understand that different sounds form words, said Brandon Sherman, a research project manager in the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Education. Phonics is the ability to break down that word into its different phonemes, or sounds.

State law defines “science of reading” as research that also has a record of success and increases competency in those five elements, as well as oral language skills, writing, and spelling. The research also informs how proficient reading and writing develop, why some students may have difficulty with reading, and how to effectively teach reading to all students.

But the term itself has different meanings to different people, Sherman said.

Do Indiana students struggle with reading?

Just 33% of Indiana’s fourth graders were proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year, while 31% of eighth graders were proficient in reading. Those scores were roughly in line with the national average. Eighth grade reading scores dropped from their pre-pandemic level in 2019, although the fourth grade scores were statistically about the same as in 2019.

Last year, 81.6% of third graders were proficient on the state’s IREAD exam in 2019; schools may hold back students who don’t pass the test. That’s a decline from pre-pandemic scores. In 2019, for example, 87.3% of students were proficient on the IREAD.

But many students of color have scored much lower on the IREAD than the statewide average. In Indiana, 64.1% of Black students and 69.6% of Hispanic students were proficient on the 2022 IREAD.

What does Indiana’s science of reading law do?

The law requires school districts and charter schools to adopt curriculum or supplemental materials that are aligned with the science of reading by the 2024-25 school year. The state board of education must also develop academic standards for reading based on the science of reading by 2024-25.

It forbids districts from adopting curriculum that is primarily based using context, pictures, or syntax clues to teach students to read.

The law also requires teachers who teach literacy in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to receive a literacy endorsement through the state if they receive their teaching license after June 30, 2025. School districts are required to offer extra pay for teachers who have the literacy endorsement. The amount of additional pay is up to the district.

The endorsement requires 80 hours of professional development aligned with the science of reading, plus a written exam to demonstrate that educators are proficient in “scientifically based reading instruction skills.”

The state board will adopt the exam, and will establish the procedure for current teachers who wish to add the literacy endorsement to their license.

Teacher preparation programs in Indiana must also use a curriculum that instructs teaching candidates on the science of reading by July 2024. The state education department will develop guidelines for this requirement, and will conduct a review of all accredited teacher programs to ensure the programs adhere to this requirement.

What will change about students’ reading lessons?

This depends on the district.

For example, some districts reported using a curriculum that aligns with the Orton-Gillingham approach, which has systematic lessons on phonics, according to its website.

Others report using the Into Reading curriculum by HMH, which lists phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension as among the components of reading instruction.

The state education department will provide a list of curriculums that are based on the science of reading for districts to consider when reviewing whether their current curriculum complies with the law.

In Marion County, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township says it does not believe it needs to change its curriculum, which includes the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum, but is awaiting state education department guidance.

Perry Township, which uses the HMH Into Reading curriculum, said its own investigation concluded that all components of science of reading were heavily supported in the curriculum, although there was less use of phonemic awareness in grades 3-5.

“We have reinforced this area through additional training of our teachers in Orton-Gillingham and through the focus of The Science of Reading components during our Professional Development (cluster) time,” a Perry Township spokesperson said in a statement.

The Metropolitan School District of Pike Township did not specify which curriculum the district uses, but said it provided K-2 educators the opportunity to participate in training in LETRS, a professional development tool that says it is based on the science of reading on its website. A spokesperson said the district will provide professional development to ensure its curriculum aligns with science of reading principles.

“When we go through our next curriculum adoption process, we will intentionally select materials that meet the needs of our learners, while adhering to all IDOE [Indiana Department of Education] criteria,” a Pike Township spokesperson said in a statement.

Will Indiana provide new funding for science of reading and literacy?

The state’s biennial budget for 2024-25 allows up to $20 million to fund science of reading initiatives from the state education department each year.

The department can distribute this money to districts for literacy coaches to train teachers in the science of reading, or to use for efforts that increase instructional time, such as summer literacy programs or high-dosage tutoring for struggling readers. Districts can also use this funding to cover the cost of teachers to obtain the new literacy endorsement.

The state’s budget also provides up to $10 million each fiscal year for literacy achievement grants to school districts and charter schools.

This funding is in addition to the $111 million the state announced it would use to train teachers in the science of reading last year.

What’s driven recent interest in literacy instruction?

The so-called “reading wars” over the best approach to teaching literacy date back to at least the 1920s, Sherman said. Some researchers say the debate in the U.S. originated more than 200 years ago.

But the issue became more prominent in recent years due to reporting by American Public Media about school districts’ use of disproven methods of literacy instruction; its coverage of literacy includes the “Sold a Story” podcast. Mississippi also brought attention to the science of reading after embracing the approach and increasing its reading scores in a turnaround effort deemed “the Mississippi miracle.”

The reemergence of literacy instruction as a major issue has also highlighted disagreements between supporters of different teaching methods. For example, researchers and advocates frequently contrast the science of reading with “whole language” instruction, which emphasizes contextual clues to help students learn to read.

Sherman says that historically in the U.S., the popularity of different instructional methods for literacy has waxed and waned.

“We see that again focusing on systematic phonics is the emphasis,” he said. “And then the pendulum kind of goes the other way. And this is where we see whole language. And then the pendulum goes again and we see phonics come back in.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s new flexible ‘scholarship accounts’ for career and technical education divide opinion

2023-05-22T11:00:00+00:00

Loriann Beckner can’t imagine the idea of going to nursing school without her internship.

A senior at Southwestern High School in Shelbyville, Beckner interns at a hospital, Major Health Partners, through the work-based learning program at Blue River Career Programs. Working with Blue River instructor Ray Schebler, she’s learned about financial literacy and career development skills that she says she would not have learned otherwise, in addition to what she learns at the hospital.

“He’s taught me how to do interviews and so [much] workplace learning stuff that my high school never would’ve taken the opportunity to teach me,” Beckner said. “I just think without my internship, I’d be super scared.”

But the future of Blue River — one of 52 career centers across the state that offers high schoolers academic credits, industry certifications, and more — has been thrown into doubt this year after Indiana lawmakers enacted a law that creates Career Scholarship Accounts. These will provide funding for students to pay for internships and apprenticeships with local employers without necessarily relying on current career and technical education programs.

GOP lawmakers said the law, which Republicans said would be a top priority this year, will help “reinvent” high school in response to declining college enrollment and evolving employer needs. They also say the accounts will make career training more accessible. Critics worry these new accounts will hurt programs like Blue River and the public schools that partner with them to provide career and technical training, without truly providing new or additional benefits.

The Career Scholarship Accounts are part of a push by state leaders to shift some authority and funding away from traditional public schools and educators to constituencies like parents and the business community.

During this year’s legislative session, the state also dramatically expanded its voucher program by making nearly every student eligible to receive public money to attend private schools. Such moves, combined with other measures passed to restrict how educators address divisive social issues, could ultimately shift traditional public schools closer to the periphery of policymaking and influence over education.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1002, which lawmakers passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, on May 5. The bill was authored by Rep. Chuck Goodrich, R-Noblesville.

Each CSA account will receive $5,000 each year the account is active. Indiana’s 2024-25 state budget appropriates $5 million for CSA accounts for the first fiscal year, and $10 million for the second year. The bill also creates seven funding streams, focused on key aspects such as career coaching, to help students connect with employers.

“Giving students hands-on, applied learning opportunities and the ability to earn a credential before graduation is a game changer, not only for the student, not only for the family, but for Indiana,” Goodrich said during a House Education and Career Development committee discussion March 29.

Since a Career Scholarship Account (CSA) relies on creating a more direct connection between students and employers, Ray Schebler — Beckner’s instructor at Blue River — said he worries the private sector won’t provide adequate and multi-faceted support for students in their transitions from high school to the workforce.

“If it helps industry, that’s fine,” he said. “I’m a teacher. I want to see how it helps my students more than it would help a corporation.”

Debating what a quality career education means

Lawmakers have said their goal is to have between 5,000 and 10,000 students participate in the accounts in the next fiscal year.

A legislative fiscal analysis stated the program is likely to grow over time, and the law also specifies a CSA can be used to pay for postsecondary education and training, which could significantly increase participation as courses are approved.

It’s unclear exactly which businesses will participate, and whether businesses will eventually reach capacity limits.

Many of the 52 established career centers across the state, like Blue River, already offer career-focused training and credentials. Blue River, for example, offers three hours of high school credit per year, in addition to industry-recognized certifications. Plus, students can join extracurricular, career-focused programs not offered at traditional high schools, like business leadership and health industry organizations.

At Blue River, which offers 12 career programs, students in grades 10 and 11 can take instructional and career development courses for half of their regular school day, and spend the other half at their high school taking traditional courses. Seniors who attend the center take courses two days a week while also working at local businesses and worksites.

“We don’t pay employers now, but they’re calling here weekly, regularly,” said Steve Shaw, Blue Center’s director. “They want students to work. I’m not sure why they would have to be paid when there’s such demand for students to be out on the job site.”

But Jason Bearce, vice president of education and workforce development at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said he is pleased with the new Career Scholarship Accounts. One motivation behind Goodrich’s bill was a concern that career centers and their resources aren’t equally available everywhere across Indiana, he said. The new law looks to fill some of those gaps.

Bearce said the Chamber of Commerce supports the law, but still thinks lawmakers could be more clear about how the seven funding streams will cover expenses such as transportation and safety equipment.

However, he said the dedicated stream of funding for career coaching in the bill could lighten the loads on school counselors, who already juggle many tasks at once like test administration, scheduling, and lunchroom duty.

Bearce said many first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds may not be aware of their high school and postsecondary options.

“The more we can provide direct exposure to those types of opportunities, the more it’s going to bring a sharper focus for students [on] what they’re interested in and how it relates to what they’re learning in school, and ultimately just put them on a better trajectory for success,” said Bearce.

Shaw acknowledged that there are some students who might benefit from the proposed career scholarships whose current options are limited, such as those who are home-schooled.

Flexible career options for students a key issue

The law creating Career Scholarship Accounts gives funding to “intermediaries” — organizations that connect individuals with companies looking for new workers.

Under Goodrich’s bill, students do not qualify for scholarship accounts if they are already enrolled in a CTE program. While CTE centers at public schools can become scholarship account providers, schools are not given CTE grants for students with scholarship accounts.

John Hurley, a career and technical education teacher at South Spencer High School in Rockport, said that lost funding will have consequences.

“The local schools would end up not being able to offer much of the introductory classes that get students interested,” he said, speaking before Goodrich’s bill became law. “Then, you’ve not helped solve a problem — you’ve actually created a problem by not having those students be interested in the first place.”

There are also concerns about whether the accounts will provide sufficient support for students with disabilities and mental health issues, as well as worries about how easily students could change their minds about career training if they use Career Savings Accounts.

At Blue River, students can switch programs within the first two weeks of school or at the end of their first year.

“It’s good that students learn at that age, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do construction,’ instead of going out here once you graduate high school and thinking ‘I want to do construction,’ and then get hired and quit within two weeks,” Shaw said.

Striking the right balance between career exploration at school and career exploration on the job is important to many students.

Maggie Lutes, a graduating senior at Morristown High School, said the in-class time she gets at Blue River as part of her work-based learning program is crucial to her learning. Lutes works as a wastewater technician at Ryobi Die Casting in Shelbyville.

In Schebler’s class, she said, students prepare for job interviews, create resumes, learn how to file taxes, and develop entrepreneurial skills. This has helped prepare her for after graduation, when she’ll go to a four-year school for chemical engineering.

“If you’re going just straight into the workforce, you’re going to lose a lot of information that you could really gain from a class like work-based learning,” she said.

Contact Chalkbeat Indiana at in.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools get state funding boost with help from influential voucher supporters

2023-05-17T21:24:25+00:00

The argument in the video was simple.

Two fictional students, Andy and Anna, both go to a public school — but Andy’s school receives less state funding because it is a charter school. The ad from the Indiana Student Funding Alliance prompted viewers to ask: Shouldn’t Indiana lawmakers close this unfair funding gap between charters and traditional public schools?

The message reached voters throughout Indiana just as state lawmakers convened for this year’s legislative session. The roughly $500,000 ad campaign was the latest in a years-long push to direct more state and local funding to charters with the help of the alliance, an influential group of charter backers and nonprofits.

As the session began, charter schools and their backers had particularly pressing reasons to step up their lobbying and marketing efforts. Indianapolis Public Schools, the state’s largest district, planned on seeking roughly $413 million in new property taxes through a 2023 ballot measure. And charter schools were frustrated with the prospect of getting a relatively small slice of that money; some charters wouldn’t get any of it. Additionally, property values in general were rising, sending extra funding to some local school districts but not to charters.

Although the alliance had existed informally for a few years, last year its members organized the group under a formal name. It got support for its marketing campaign from groups like the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit — which also has a political action committee that has donated nearly $1 million to lawmakers in the last three years alone and supports school choice of various kinds.

The Indiana Student Funding Alliance’s campaign paid off. After lawmakers enacted several changes this year, charter schools scored one of their biggest wins since they started in Indiana over 20 years ago: a modified state funding system that gives them more money. The changes, combined with a nearly universal voucher system lawmakers passed this year, mark a critical milestone for an Indiana education landscape that favors school choice now more than ever.

Education interest groups and PACs have long lobbied state lawmakers and tried to sway public opinion. The Indiana Political Action Committee for Education, for example, is the political arm of the Indiana State Teachers Association that consistently gives money to lawmakers’ campaigns.

But the changes this year represent a critical juncture for school funding in Indiana. In addition to increasing the state’s per-student charter funding, school districts in Marion County and three other counties now must not only share referendum funds for operating expenses with charters, but also future property tax increases as well.

Even with the Republican supermajority’s strong support for school choice in general, it was important for advocates like the Indiana Student Funding Alliance to highlight charter schools’ funding challenges, said Scott Bess, the executive director of Purdue Polytechnic High School, an Indianapolis charter that is part of the alliance. The group had existed loosely for years, he noted, but the IPS referendum — and charters’ inability in general to tap local property tax revenue — elicited a more organized response.

“Those two things happening at the same time really sent home the message that if we don’t do something and do something more aggressively, these gaps are going to get to a point where it’s not financially sustainable,” Bess said.

Rep. Ed Delaney, a Democrat on the House education committee who has consistently opposed charter schools and vouchers, sees lobbying by the alliance and similar efforts as the work of an “education industrial complex.”

“I think they’ve reached a point of excessive power,” he said. “And what comes with that is greed and a lack of judgment.”

Charter school backers turn to Facebook ads

How these changes will affect traditional public schools’ budgets is unknown, given fluctuating property values among other factors.

The Mind Trust, a powerful Indianapolis nonprofit that advocates for charter-friendly policies and which joined the Indiana Student Funding Alliance, estimates those changes will ultimately provide an additional $2,259 per student for charter schools within IPS.

Changes to Indiana charter school funding

The new laws for charter funding stem from two bills, one from the Senate and the state’s budget legislation from the House. The laws:

Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share revenue increases from rising property valuations with charter schools, beginning in 2025. This would apply to charters located in the same county that enroll students living in those districts. The provision means that altogether, school districts in those counties will lose $9.3 million in 2025 and $12.5 million in 2026 to charter schools, according to the fiscal analysis from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA).
Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share additional property tax revenues from any operating or school safety referendum passed by voters after May 10 with charter schools that enroll a student living in that district. Virtual and adult high schools do not receive this funding. The LSA estimates that if the law were applicable in 2022, school districts in these four counties would have distributed about $23.9 million of $210.1 million collected in referendum funding to charters.
Increase the annual charter school grant amount from $1,250 per student to $1,400 per student for operational costs. Statewide, the funding is set at $52.6 million in fiscal 2024 and 2025.
Provide $25 million in fiscal 2024 statewide to charter schools for facility needs.
Allow charter schools to access loans through the state Common School Fund for facility and technology needs. All charters may also now access loans for large projects — such as new buildings — through the Indiana Bond Bank at a low interest rate.

Members of the alliance are celebrating these changes as wins.

The alliance is made up of partners such as the Indiana Charter School Network and the Walton Education Coalition, an education advocacy group, said Betsy Wiley, president of the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit that helped fund the alliance’s campaign. (The Walton Family Foundation, which is legally separate from the Walton Education Coalition, is a funder of Chalkbeat.)

Hoosiers for Quality Education also has a political action committee that has received funding from wealthy donors and groups frequently associated with education reform efforts such as charter schools and vouchers.

Together, the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit and the related Institute for Quality Education nonprofit — which distributes private school tuition support as a scholarship granting organization — paid for at least $49,000 in Facebook ads, such as the one featuring Andy and Anna that promoted more funding for charters, according to Facebook’s Ad Library. Those ads ran from September 2022 to the end of the session in April.

“This year was different in that a group of folks who strongly believe that public charter school students deserve the same funding as their traditional district student peers came together in a more coordinated fashion,” Wiley said in an email.

Rep. Bob Behning, the Indianapolis Republican who was chairman of the House education committee in the 2023 session, had previously pushed for school districts to share referendum revenues with charters. But this year, he said, the IPS referendum elevated the issue’s importance in his mind. (IPS ultimately nixed its plan to put the referendum on the May primary ballot, although the district may revive the proposal in some form.)

The advertisements by charter backers indicated a general motivation to push for “some level of parity” for charter school funding, he said.

Lawmakers did also approve a $312 million increase for traditional public schools right before the end of this year’s legislative session. But critics such as Delaney argue the push to increase funding for charters is just part of a bigger agenda to dismantle the traditional public school system.

“The fundamental truth is they are not interested in traditional public education,” he said. “They do not support it, they do not believe in it, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and say” that traditional public schools should close.

What increased funding means to charters

Anna and Andy used in the Indiana Student Funding Alliance ads may be fictional, but Dwayne Sullivan and his mother, Susan Sargeant, are very much real.

Dwayne is in the first class due to graduate next year from the Rooted School, an Indianapolis charter school with grades 7-12 that opened in 2020.

Even though her son will graduate soon, Sargeant is hopeful the additional funding enabled by the changes to state law will support higher teacher salaries to attract high-quality teachers to Rooted.

“That’s a big, big, big deal, especially for a charter school that’s starting out,” she said.

Jack Langlois, a junior at Purdue Polytechnic High School’s north campus in Indianapolis, helped start a cafe run by students at a cost of $5,000. School officials hope more funding for charters will help cover the cost of materials for projects at the school, which emphasizes project-based learning.

At Purdue Polytechnic High School, which has two campuses in Indianapolis, extra operating revenue will also help cover the cost of materials needed for the experiential learning that the school emphasizes through robotics, woodshop, and even a coffee shop that students recently opened at the Englewood campus of Broad Ripple High School.

Both charter school and traditional public school advocates see the referendum sharing requirement as an opportunity to collaborate to convince voters to pass future property tax increases for schools.

Still, some school district officials are worried about the net effect of sharing incremental property tax revenues with charters.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district is grateful for the $2.1 million in additional yearly revenue it’s getting due to the last-minute change made by lawmakers. And he said each funding change favoring charters on its own is probably manageable.

“But we are concerned in particular about the precedent that some of these are setting, and the sort of underlying motivations and rationales behind them,” he said.

Meanwhile, pro-charter groups are stressing that this year’s policy changes don’t meet all their long-term goals.

“Our goal remains the same, the same that it’s been for many, many years, which is parity in funding for public charter school students,” Wiley said. “And we’re not there yet.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Scholarships, FAFSA, and transcripts: Three new laws aim to help Hoosier students reach college

2023-05-15T20:15:27+00:00

With an eye to addressing Indiana’s low college-going rate and the perception that college is too expensive, Indiana leaders approved three new laws aimed at improving college access.

The new laws aim to strengthen a state scholarship program, provide more information about financial aid, and limit colleges’ power to withhold transcripts from those who still owe money to institutions.

In 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, the state’s college-going rate dropped to 53%, a decline of 12 percentage points from five years before. And there’s been a similar decline in adults who are looking for postsecondary opportunities, per the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Improving college-going is about the “removal of barriers,” said Alison Bell, chancellor at Western Governors University Indiana. “There are a lot of complicated reasons why the college going rate is low.”

Plus, the state is coming up on its 2025 deadline to have at least 60% of Hoosiers with a credential beyond high school. When state leaders set that goal in 2009, that number was 33%, said Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Chris Lowery in his 2023 State of Higher Education address. It now sits at 54%, but that includes the addition of certificates that were not originally counted, according to the commission.

Higher education leaders and advocates for these bills stressed that finances are a particularly big barrier for students when they don’t know what’s available to them to help them pay for college.

Here what you need to know about three new laws:

21st Century Scholars program expands

The 21s Century Scholars program offers up to the equivalent of four years tuition and regular fees at an in-state public university or college to students who meet income and residency eligibility, and follow requirements outlined in a scholar pledge.

Previously, students had to sign up for the scholarship in middle school, before a no-exceptions deadline of June 30 after eighth grade.

But with the new law, eligible students will automatically become part of the program. After that, students and their families can decide if they want to continue to meet requirements to stay in it. State data showed that 48% of eligible students enrolled.

“It expedites the process,” said Vincent Isom, director of 21st Century Scholars at Indiana University Bloomington, referring to the new law. He said that students and their parents are no longer dependent on finding out about an application and submitting it.

Students required to seek out financial aid options

Indiana students, with some exceptions, are now required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA.

Advocates of the change said that millions of dollars in aid were being left on the table. Requiring the form would allow students to see their school funding options, they argued, and perhaps convince more students to enroll in postsecondary education.

The form is what students need to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans, and scholarships. Completing the form is also considered a leading indicator of college-going.

States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs.

Colleges can’t withhold transcripts

State and for-profit private colleges and universities can no longer refuse to provide transcripts to current or former students who still owe money — including fees and student loans — to the institution. They also can’t can’t charge a higher fee for the document for those who owe money.

This change removes a barrier for adult learners who want to finish their degrees, but still have payments to make. It often takes months for someone who is thinking about going back to school to make a decision, and not having access to a transcript can derail them, Bell said.

“When a student learns something, they’ve learned it,” said Bell, who advocated in favor of the change. “Withholding a transcript only removes the university’s verification that they’ve learned it.”

Improvements in college access, but more needed

While higher education experts agree these changes are a big step forward, they said that having the money to go to college is only one piece of access.

Access means having information and resources, not only as students are entering college, but also as a college student, said Maurice Shirley, an assistant professor in higher education and student affairs at IU.

He said that includes knowing things like what applications to fill out and where to find them, housing options, and what is needed for a major or to switch majors. And the information to students needs to be targeted and easy to find, said Shirley, given that there can be an information overload.

The change to automatically sign up students for 21st Century Scholars, the change isn’t a “magic wand,” Isom noted. But he said the new law will allow him and others to work with students to spend more time on benchmarks and staying successful in college, instead of on the scholarship application.

And the information to students needs to be targeted and direct, said Shirley who said there is information overload, so the easier it is to find answers to questions, the better.

Both Isom and Shirley agreed finances is an area that they want to see more improvement.

Isom said that students need to be prepared to handle their finances both during and after college.

Shirley said costs of college still need to be lower. One option is addressing tuition costs. But a second way, he said, is decreasing or providing aid for the fees that come with the tuition bill, from activity fees and housing to general living expenses like groceries, health care and so on, he said.

Gone are the days that a student could afford to pay their way through college by working a summer job and using that money during the school year, he added.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat Indiana partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

More students, steeper costs: Indiana, South Carolina are latest states to vastly expand school vouchers

2023-05-10T16:24:57+00:00

On private school choice, more states are going big and bold.

In Indiana, the Republican-controlled legislature last month approved a massive expansion of the state’s voucher program, making nearly every student eligible to receive public money to attend private school. Just days later, South Carolina followed suit, creating a taxpayer-funded program to cover private school tuition and expenses for thousands of students.

They join four other Republican-led states — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, and Utah — that have established or expanded private school choice programs just this year. Now, more than 30 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, give students public money to attend private school — a number that could keep growing as state lawmakers push dozens more bills to subsidize the cost of private education.

But it isn’t just the number of bills that’s ballooning — it’s also their scope. Unlike past programs, which often targeted low-income families or students with disabilities, the newest ones are open to almost everyone and often allow parents to use the tax dollars for private school or home-school expenses.

Indiana’s newly expanded program is a prime example. Higher-income families can now participate, and students no longer must meet other need-based criteria. As a result, roughly 97% of students will now qualify for private school subsidies, and the state projects that participation could soar by nearly 42,000 additional students within two years.

Bigger programs mean steeper costs. In Indiana, the program’s price tag is expected to nearly double over the next two years.

Private school choice laws surged during the pandemic as conservative lawmakers seized on many parents’ frustration with school shutdowns and mask mandates. Republicans have also used “parents’ rights” rhetoric to justify the laws, arguing that they empower families who are dissatisfied with the public school system to opt out.

Critics have been alarmed by the wave of legislation, which they say deprives public schools of much-needed resources and could promote discrimination against LGBTQ students or those with disabilities, who have fewer protections in private schools, the majority of which are religious. Plus, experts said they wonder about the segregation that could occur among students when it comes to race, income levels, and academic ability.

But school choice advocates are celebrating the bills as the culmination of a decades-long campaign to give every student the option of a publicly funded private education.

“We hailed 2021 as the year of educational choice,” Robert Enlow, CEO of the Indianapolis-based EdChoice, a school choice advocacy group, said in a statement. “Now we are celebrating 2023 as the year of universal choice.”

As these programs proliferate, here’s what to know about eligibility and costs:

New school choice laws vastly expand voucher eligibility

The latest voucher programs are open to nearly every student.

The move toward universal eligibility reflects a sweeping new rationale for private school choice. Once pitched as a lifeline for students whose needs weren’t being met by traditional schools or whose families couldn’t afford private tuition, proponents increasingly argue that every parent should decide how to spend the tax dollars allotted for their children’s education.

It becomes a “universal entitlement program,” said Joseph Waddington, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky at College of Education and Martin School Public Policy and Administration. Rather than target the neediest students, he added, the new programs are “just putting the money in kids’ backpacks” and letting parents decide how to spend it.

John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, argued that the shift is part of a “re-thinking of how we fund education in general.”

“For the first time in the history of American education policy, states are embracing the ‘money follows the child’ model of education funding that has long been the dream of parental-choice advocates,” Nicole Stelle Garnett and Richard W. Garnett wrote in an article in the right-leaning City Journal this year.

Arizona put this new philosophy into practice last year when it made every parent eligible to receive about $7,000 in state funds, or 90% of the cost to educate a student without disabilities in a public school, to use for private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling.

This year, six more states made all or most students eligible to attend private school at taxpayer expense. (West Virginia established a near-universal program in 2021.)

In Indiana, a family of four with an income of up to $220,000 now will qualify for taxpayer-funded tuition assistance. Lawmakers also eliminated other restrictions, including rules that voucher recipients have a disability or are in foster care.

But it’s hard to say if the voucher expansion will lead to large numbers of new students enrolling in private schools. In both Iowa and Indiana, analysts expect that nearly 90% of voucher recipients will be current private school students or kindergarteners entering private school.

“I don’t know if we are going to see a rapid expansion,” said Christopher Lubienski, professor at the Indiana University School of Education and director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.

Plus there are limitations on enrollment, such as the capacity of non-public schools and tuition that exceeds the stipends parents receive, as well as students’ access to private schools in rural areas.

Critics, including many Democrats and teachers unions, say the new universal voucher programs amount to a giveaway for families who already can afford private school.

Costs will soar as the programs expand

As newly eligible families apply for vouchers, costs will surge. But by how much, no one knows.

One reason for the uncertainty: Universal vouchers are, in effect, a grand experiment states are conducting in real time. Budget analysts have scrambled to predict the programs’ eventual price tags, but they can only guess at how many freshly eligible families will participate.

Another complication is that lawmakers in some states scrapped enrollment caps when they expanded eligibility, turning the cost ceiling into a question mark.

The uncertainty has led to wildly divergent estimates. In Florida, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the universal voucher bill pegged the program’s expected cost at about $210 million, while the left-leaning Florida Policy Institute put it at $4 billion. Later, the Florida Senate came up with its own cost estimate: $646 million.

One big point of contention is what percentage of families who currently pay for private school will start using vouchers to cover tuition. The bill’s sponsor guessed that only 50% will apply, which critics called a wild under-estimate. By contrast, the Florida Policy Institute assumed that 100% of eligible private school families will apply.

In Arizona, participation — and price — have far exceeded expectations.

Last June, the legislature estimated that the expanded voucher program would cost about $33 million this school year. But six months later, after applications from newly eligible families flooded in, the expected cost had soared to $276 million — more than eight times the original estimate. The cost has continued to rise as even more students enroll.

As in other states, a large share of the voucher recipients already attend private school or home-school. (When Arizona expanded access last year, 75% of the first wave of applicants had never attended a public school.) For those students, the state cannot simply transfer funds from public to private schools — it must find a whole new pot of money to cover tuition that parents previously paid for.

Now, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is looking to scale back the program, which she warned “will likely bankrupt this state.”

In Indiana, the state previously set aside $240 million annually for private school vouchers. But with the move to near-universal eligibility, the cost is expected to swell to more than $600 million by 2025.

That amount is eye-opening, said Lubienski, who added that it also follows a pattern of shifting costs to taxpayers. While Indiana lawmakers did increase funding for traditional public schools in this year’s legislative session, the lion’s share of attention and largest funding increases went to voucher and charter programs, he said.

School choice advocates stressed that the cost depends on how many students enroll, but others argued that the money allocated to vouchers amounts to the state endorsing private education.

In the wake of her state’s voucher expansion, Indiana state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat, said she worries about having enough money for the majority of Indiana’s students who attend public schools, especially those who are English language learners, in special education, and from low-income backgrounds.

“Our kids can’t wait to be properly resourced,” she said.

Patrick Wall is a senior reporter covering national education issues. Contact him at pwall@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Pronouns, libraries, and textbook fees: The K-12 policy changes Indiana lawmakers made this year

2023-05-01T21:45:29+00:00

State legislators have introduced more than 100 new education bills and bills impacting schools and students during Indiana’s 2023 legislative session. For the latest Indiana education news, sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free newsletter here.

This article was originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle. It has been edited by Chalkbeat Indiana to only include education and student-focused legislation.

Indiana’s Republican-controlled General Assembly convened for 110 days, during which education, health care, and taxes dominated much of the discourse.

The highlight, however, was the passage of Indiana’s $44 billion biennial budget plan.

Here’s a recap of the education issues — some big, some small — and a look at what prevailed and what didn’t quite come together before the 2023 session came to a close early Friday morning.

Holcomb agenda achieves success

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s 2023 legislative agenda highlighted proposals for several major funding increases in the next two-year state budget, including paying for all K-12 textbooks, salary increases for state police troopers, and millions more for public health services in all 92 counties.

A massive private school voucher expansion was the sticking point in the final hours of the session — although vouchers weren’t part of Holcomb’s priorities.

Still, the governor got most of what he wanted — saying he will “gladly sign” the final budget draft — and praised lawmakers for their work an hour after the session’s end.

Indiana families shielded from K-12 textbook fees

Indiana’s governor rallied hard to eliminate textbook and curricular fees for Hoosier kids. Figuring out how to fund the ask proved less straightforward, though.

Holcomb’s proposed budget explicitly included a line item for textbook fees — separate from the school funding formula — directing funds to the state education department, which would then be responsible for dishing out textbook dollars to schools.

But House budget writers originally took a different approach, seeking to require schools to dip into their foundational funding to fully pay students’ curricular materials costs.

Pushback from public school officials prompted changes to that funding mechanism in the final budget plan.

Now, a $160 million annual line item — added by Senate Republicans — ensures that Hoosier families will not have to pay student textbook fees in K-12 public schools. Private school students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch will also see their textbook fees waived, according to the budget.

Grant program for college access gets a boost

The Holcomb administration’s push to get more Hoosiers educated included a move to automatically enroll eligible Hoosier students into Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars Program, a statewide grant program that helps students from low-income backgrounds attend two- and four-year schools.

A bill doing just that advanced to the governor’s desk last week.

House Bill 1449 requires the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to work with the state education department to identify kids who qualify for the program, and then notify students and parents about their eligibility. Students must agree to participate in 21st Century Scholars and can opt out at any time.

Funding for Martin University increases

Also part of Holcomb’s agenda was a proposed $10 million for Martin University — the state’s only predominantly black institution — specifically to help the students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and adult-learner populations served by the university.

The House GOP budget plan matched that request, but Senate Republicans opted to give every higher education institution in Indiana access to that $10 million over the biennium for students of color, as well as first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds.

The final budget landed somewhere in between, appropriating $5 million to Martin University, and creating another $5 million pot for all other Hoosier colleges and universities.

Feat of imagination: more kids reading

Country music icon Dolly Parton’s book program mails over two million books monthly to children across the country — and elsewhere — monthly, according to its website. Now, the Imagination Library is set to be available statewide in Indiana.

Launching the program was a priority for Holcomb, as well as some lawmakers, and they saw success in the final version of the state’s two-year, $44.5 billion budget. It’s one line item in the 249-page document: a $6 million appropriation.

Lawmakers address pronoun changes in classrooms

A controversial bill mandating that Indiana schools notify parents when a student asks for name or pronoun changes is now awaiting a signature from the governor.

House Bill 1608 also bans human sexuality instruction to the youngest Hoosier students.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

But critics of the bill — which was pared down in its final iteration — have argued that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBTQ+ people and their families.” More specifically, they say that the legislation could put transgender children at risk of harm if they’re outed to unsupportive or abusive parents.

New process to govern school library book grievances

In the final hours of the legislative session, Republican state lawmakers resurrected a much-debated ban on materials deemed “obscene “or “harmful to minors” in school and public libraries.

The bill requires school libraries to publicly post lists of books in their collection and create a formal grievance process for parents and community members who live in the district to object to certain materials in circulation.

As part of that process, school boards must review those challenges at their next public meeting. An appeals process must also be established if officials don’t agree with the request.

Language in House Bill 1447 also removes “educational purposes” as a reason that schools or district board members could claim legal protection for sharing “harmful material” with underage students.

Public libraries would not be affected, however, despite other proposals debated earlier in the session that would have expanded the language’s reach. The bill only applies to public and charter schools, not private schools.

Bills on partisan school boards, child care fall short

Republican lawmakers touted big wins across the board at the conclusion of the legislative session, but several big-ticket items didn’t make it across the finish line.

Many of the measures are expected to be reworked and introduced again next year.

A bill that would have let Hoosier communities decide if local school board elections should be partisan died in the House in February.

That means school board races will stay nonpartisan, at least for now. Similar bills have circulated around the Statehouse in years past, and GOP leadership said others are likely to come up again in the future.

With this year’s House Bill 1428, specifically, Republican lawmakers could not find consensus over whether school board candidates should have to be nominated by party primaries or only be listed by political party on the November general election ballot.

Something that didn’t get too much attention through the 2023 session was child care and early childhood education. Though legislators expanded eligibility for On My Way Pre-K from 127% to 150% of the federal poverty limit, roughly $41,625 annually for a family of four, they didn’t add more funding.

Leaders said that current expenditures left money behind, including in the Child Care Development Fund. However, families and businesses alike bemoan the shortage of quality child care available in communities, saying it hampers economic growth.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Indiana public schools get $312 million increase in state budget after voucher backlash

2023-04-28T13:57:26+00:00

Indiana’s 2023 legislative session is under way, and state legislators have introduced more than 100 new education bills and bills impacting schools and students. For the latest Indiana education news, sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free newsletter here.

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Outrage from public school officials over dismal funding in the next two-year state budget prompted lawmakers to add a twelfth-hour K-12 spending boost in Indiana’s spending plan in a chaotic final day that yielded several so-called ‘final’ draft budgets.

Even as rumors circulated for hours midday, Republican leadership declined to identify the hold-up, not publicizing the last version’s release until 9 p.m. — with the General Assembly fielding calls and emails into the early hours of Friday morning.

Under pressure from their members, Republican leaders opted to decrease the amount dedicated to paying down the Pre-1996 Teacher Retirement Fund — the state’s only unfunded debt obligation. Rather than the $1 billion previously allotted, that fund will now receive an additional $700 million in the coming biennium.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said issues with the final budget came when trying to combine the Senate and House versions of the budget, which took different approaches to education funding.

“The bottom line is that there was a misunderstanding in the way we had it drafted and so when we took a look at the school runs, it wasn’t what we intended to have happen,” Bray said. “There wasn’t as much money in there for the traditional public schools and so we had to start over.”

The budget advanced on a 70-27 vote in the House, with one Democrat — Rep. Rita Fleming, D-Jeffersonville — joining Republicans to pass the measure.

Across the Statehouse, the diversion of school funding to vouchers is what prompted Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, to vote against the budget. Another Republican senator, the embattled Mike Young, announced from the podium that he wouldn’t be staying to vote and left just before 1:30 a.m.

Even without their votes, the budget passed the Senate on a 39-10 vote, with Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, voting yes.

“It’s not just your average ordinary typical two-year budget. It’s a generational impact budget,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb at a 3 a.m. press conference. “Its policies and plans can be viewed as we do as a blueprint for growth.”

What’s in it for education?

Republican budget writers announced Wednesday they would earmark more than $1 billion for a major school voucher expansion. With that move, GOP leaders touted an 8% increase in overall K-12 tuition support formula over the biennium but voucher funding would grow 69% the first year and 14% the second year.

That prompted a flurry of pressure from public school officials Wednesday night. Denny Costerison, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle those school funding projections showed that about 75% of Hoosier school districts would receive funding increases of less than 2% in the budget’s second year.

Here is how spending breaks down by category in the newest biennial budget.

Late Thursday, legislative leaders announced a last-minute change to the budget, however, in an effort to ease backlash. Multiple lawmakers were also reportedly unhappy to learn that their school districts received so little money after the voucher expansion.

Now, those per student funding increases have improved somewhat to 5.3% in the first year, and then to 1.8% the next. With the change, schools will see $8.84 billion for tuition support in fiscal year 2024, and $9.03 billion in fiscal year 2025.

That’s $312.1 million more over the biennium — an additional $148 million in year one of the budget, and $164 million the second — compared to the earlier draft of the budget. Since vouchers get a portion of this funding, their spending also increased.

At his own local schools in Fort Wayne, House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta said school funding increased by 1.6% the first year and actually decreased by 0.6% in the second year.

“Last week, we find out we have $1.5 billion extra and my school district is losing money. Even with the additional funds [the second year is] negative 0.4%,” GiaQuinta said. “There’s no doubt that played a part into some of the last-minute scrambling over extra dollars.”

What about that pay raise?

But the state’s highest offices still got a significant pay raise in the latest version of the budget — even though the language never got any public vetting during the chaotic final hours.

“We wanted to put them on par with the other leaders in government, like the Chief Justice,” Huston said. “I think the (Attorney General) salary ends up being comparable to a prosecutor salary and … the Senate brought the language and we agreed it probably needed to be changed and this was the opportunity to change it.”

Huston said the Senate had previously discussed salary increases but hadn’t quite settled on language before senators introduced their version of the budget a few weeks ago.

“I think there’s been a lot of conversation over the years about the disproportionate pay of our elected officials,” Huston said.

The salary of the state’s highest court is currently at $198,513.

The budget also includes Gov. Eric Holcomb’s compensation package to increase pay for the typical state employee by 5%. And a separate provision increases starting salaries for state troopers to $70,000 per year.

But not everyone was happy with the pay raise language.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, whose office would get a 60% bump, signaled her disapproval for the process, which didn’t receive any public vetting.

“If it’s something that’s important to do, and if the work we do really reflects a higher salary — which I’m not arguing against — it should be part of the process,” Crouch said. “It should be … discussed and vetted and people should be able to weigh in.”

Crouch is running for governor in 2024, an office that will get a 48% raise. The raises go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025 at the end of the current term.

Bray said that those offices were “woefully underpaid” in comparison to other states.

“Not a one of them asked for it,” Bray said. “Frankly, it was a fairly easy decision.”

Indiana lawmakers suggest a likely revival of ‘obscene and harmful’ library materials ban

2023-04-21T16:36:13+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana lawmakers are largely mum about the revival of a much-debated ban on materials deemed “harmful to minors” in school and public libraries.

A bill with such language advanced from the Senate but died in the House earlier this session without a hearing. The House Education Committee instead seemed intent on reinserting similar language from that measure — Senate Bill 12 — into another bill.

Although House legislators heard more than four hours of mostly-oppositional testimony on the amendment, a vote was never held. That has left the library provision abandoned from any moving legislation — so far.

But Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said Thursday his caucus is still considering a last-minute addition in conference committee.

“I think we’ll talk about that early next week,” he said of the harmful material language. “But I think … if you want to do it, you’ve got to find the right bill, where it’s appropriate.”

The stage is already set for that to happen in House Bill 1447, which addresses third-party surveys and evaluations given to K-12 students.

Rep. Donna Schaibley, R-Carmel, was removed last week as the conferee on the bill and replaced with Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne. He sits on the House Education Committee and has supported similar legislation in the past.

Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, who authored Senate Bill 12, along with Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond — chair of the Senate Education Committee — were added as bill advisors.

The switches are part of end-of-session politics that play out during conference committee negotiations. Those temporary committees are formed in relation to a specific bill and tasked with negotiating a proposal that can be agreed to by both chambers.

GOP Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said lawmakers aren’t intending to be secretive about their plans, noting that — should they decide to revive the library language — “it’s going to be like everything else.”

“It’ll come out, and there will be a conference committee report, if that happens. It certainly is a conversation to try and bring that forward. And then the House and the Senate will both debate it and vote on it publicly,” Bray said.

Still, Tomes did not respond to a request for comment.

House Education Committee chairman Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, also did not comment about the library language when asked Thursday by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. He said last week that the issue “is not done yet.”

Hours of testimony — but no House committee vote

The proposed amendment that stalled earlier this month in the House Education Committee intended to create a new process for parents to request the removal of books alleged to be obscene or harmful to minors from school and public libraries.

Language in the amendment would have additionally removed “educational purposes” as a reason that public schools and libraries could claim legal protection for sharing “harmful material” with underage students.

School officials and librarians pushed back against the proposal, arguing that such a policy would open them up to criminal charges and create a “chilling effect” on book selections.

Democrats echoed those concerns, saying the amendment could lead to the removal of anything one parent deems to be unsuitable over the objection of other parents.

Proponents of such language pointed to Hoosier parents who say their local school boards have rejected their challenges of certain materials — leaving books some deem to be “obscene” and “objectionable” accessible to kids in school libraries.

Republican lawmakers agreed, saying the book removal process “isn’t working” at the local level and now warrants statewide legislative action to require “transparency between schools, libraries and communities.”

A years-long debate on ‘harmful materials’

But there was no GOP push on the House floor to bring any part of the amendment back after the underlying bill advanced from the education committee without any library provisions.

Bray said last week that lawmakers have tried “several iterations” to “find a space” for the language.

“Right now, it’s probably palatable for our caucus. So there’s a good possibility to see that find a home somewhere,” he said. “This issue has come up for a few years now, and there is some will to try and find a way to resolve it.”

Tomes has filed similar bills in years past to take away schools’ defense to the state’s “harmful materials” law. A similar proposal failed in the 2022 session after K-12 librarians and educators argued they would be unfairly criminalized.

The senator said his bills are about “parents, their children, and books — really, really, really bad books.” He maintained he wants to eradicate “raw pornography” from school libraries.

FAFSA will be required for Indiana students starting next school year

2023-04-20T17:52:54+00:00

Starting next school year, Indiana students will be required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The requirement was approved by both the Indiana Senate and House and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday. It applies to all students, with some exceptions, but is not a requirement for high school graduation.

The new law makes filling out the form, known as the FAFSA, a conscious choice instead of happenstance, advocates said. They added that students would also have a better picture of the money available to them for college, and perhaps convince more students to enroll in postsecondary education, at a time when Indiana officials are concerned about the number of students who enroll in college. In the Class of 2020, 53% of students went on to college, according to state data.

The FAFSA is the form that students need to file to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans, and scholarships, and completion is also considered a leading indicator of college-going.

States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs. The new law would require students to submit the FAFSA by April 15 of their senior year, which is the deadline to be eligible for state aid in addition to federal aid.

And the money isn’t just for two- and four-year institutions. Filling out the FAFSA can also provide funds for students who want to use a Next Level Jobs Workforce Ready Grant for a short- or long-term credential.

The new law comes at a time when officials said students are leaving nearly $70 million in Pell Grants on the table, amid perceptions that higher education is unaffordable.

A state dashboard of FAFSA completion shows that about 44% of this year’s high school seniors in Indiana have completed a FAFSA.

Lawmakers have tried for years to pass this FAFSA requirement, and it was increasing the number of exceptions that got the bill the widespread support it needed to pass.

The exceptions are for students at certain nonpublic schools, and for students who have a parent sign a waiver (emancipated minors can also sign it for themselves) to decline to complete the form. A school principal or counselor can also waive the requirement if they are unable to reach the student’s parent or guardian by April 15 after “at least two reasonable attempts.”

Additionally, the requirement expires in 10 years, so lawmakers can reevaluate it. Indiana joined at least eight other states who have such a law.

This year, the deadline for state aid was extended to May 15 for students in the seven counties under a disaster emergency declaration due to recent storms: Benton, Johnson, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullian, and White.

‘I need a plan.’ As NRA convention begins, Indianapolis teens share fears about gun violence.

2023-04-14T16:59:48+00:00

Raina Maiga looked out her school’s windows from the second floor on Thursday, trying to imagine what she would do in a school shooting.

“I’m hopeless. I can’t jump out the window,” said Maiga, a sophomore at Purdue Polytechnic High School’s Englewood campus on Indianapolis’ east side. “There’s nothing to do. Our school is exposed with windows. If someone walked in here with a gun, I mean, it’s over.”

These are the conversations that Raina and her classmates have on an almost weekly basis.

But this week, those conversations are happening with the backdrop of the National Rifle Association’s three-day annual convention, which is expected to bring tens of thousands of attendees to downtown Indianapolis beginning Friday.

The convention for the powerful lobbying organization — and the warm reception from some Indiana lawmakers — feels tone deaf to Indianapolis-area teens who say gun violence in their schools and communities is their reality and fills them with anxiety on a regular basis.

Ryan Evans, a Purdue Polytechnic junior, remembers the day in 2013 that his sister survived the Arapahoe High School shooting in Colorado. His classmate Huma Moghul recalls the night she heard gunfire in her neighborhood and woke up to a bullet hole in her living room wall. And they all remember the lockdowns they have experienced this year — anxious moments that they try to ease with dark humor about whether they’d survive if a shooter was outside their door.

So far this year, eight people age 18 and under in Indianapolis have been killed by a firearm, per the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Sixteen people age 18 and under in the city died by firearms in 2022, up from 14 in 2021.

Among those who died was a 17-year-old Purdue Polytechnic High School student James Johnson III, who was killed in February.

“Nobody ever thinks that it’s going to happen to them,” said Evans. “And I definitely think that James Johnson didn’t think that as well. Because it’s not a thought that somebody should have.”

Students prepare for school shootings

The NRA annual meeting comes roughly three weeks after a person shot and killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville. Their deaths sparked outrage during Tennessee’s legislative session, and students rallied for tougher gun laws at the Tennessee State Capitol.

Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill to provide state funding for firearms training for teachers. Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican from Seymour and the bill’s author, said in February his legislation is a response to mass school shootings across the U.S., according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

But to students like Evans and Maiga, that legislation is not the solution. Instead, they say, legislators should stop and think about how the situation is affecting students in schools.

And the onus should not be on schools to arm teachers, or transform buildings into iron fortresses, some students argue.

“We shouldn’t have to be wanding children into schools to prevent guns from entering schools or teaching them how to evacuate to mobile bomb shelters that can be built in schools,” said Evans.

(The convention also starts on the same day that dozens of Indiana school districts received a bomb threat, prompting the closure of school buildings.)

Katie Bolduc, a freshman at Westfield High School, said she’s only known a world with gun violence in schools, where active shooter drills are as commonplace as fire and tornado drills.

“There’s a lot of complacency, it’s something that’s normal and accepted that you have to prepare for,” she said.

But it leaves her feeling unsafe.

“There are weapons that can cause mass casualties in a few minutes, and all I have is a pencil pouch or a water bottle to throw at the shooter, best-case scenario,” Bolduc said.

Lucy Rutter, a junior at Burris Laboratory School in Muncie, said she first started to hear about school shootings in middle school. At that time, it seemed like it wouldn’t happen to her. That’s changed.

“The more I see it, the more I feel like it is going to happen to me, and I need a plan,” she said. “It’s so hard to hear about it in the news every day and feel like I can’t do anything about it.”

NRA convention in town prompts disappointment from students

Having the NRA convention in their backyard only exacerbates the disconnect between lawmakers and the students who spoke to us.

“I do wonder what the conversations are like when talking about actually caring about the lives of people, but then choosing to be a public face at this convention,” said Maiga, who lamented the scheduled presence of Gov. Eric Holcomb and former Vice President Mike Pence at the convention.

Students said that having the convention so close to home is a reminder of how tense and politically charged the topic of gun violence prevention is — and of the sway of organizations like the NRA.

Salsabil Qaddoura, a North Central High School sophomore, leads her school’s chapter of Students Demand Action, a national group of high school and college students that aims to end gun violence and is affiliated with Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.

She said the NRA convention has her thinking about gun industry accountability, and how it can profit off of young people. The access to guns is there, she said.

“It’s disgusting and insensitive,” she said of the NRA coming to Indianapolis.

The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.

Students consider how to change views on guns

Being a high schooler means having pressures to fit a certain standard, Qaddoura said. That means students are influenced by what they surround themselves with, and there’s a thought of “if you have guns you have that tough-person persona,” she said.

Students said they want to shift the narrative around guns with their classmates to make having a gun less of a status symbol, and to know that it’s OK to ask for help and to talk about gun-violence prevention.

In all the years of doing active shooter drills, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a teacher or school officer talk about how we feel, get under the desk and find what you’re going to throw and prepare,” Bolduc said.

She hopes to start a Students Demand Action chapter to change that.

As leaders of their own Students Demand Action chapters, Qaddoura and Rutter have worked to start a discussion about gun violence. They’ve registered voters, signed petitions, and attended protests and other events.

“A lot of people assume that my only goal is to ban guns, but there are so many other solutions besides banning guns outright,” Rutter said, listing gun safety education, safe storage, background checks, and red flag laws.

Students at Purdue Polytechnic, meanwhile, are organizing a walkout for April 20, the 24th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

Students said they know change can be slow.

“I always hear that change is gradual,” Qaddoura said. But she added that when it comes to gun violence prevention, “We can’t wait.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana Senate strikes parental consent requirement from bill targeting student pronouns in schools

2023-04-07T15:15:24+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A controversial “parental rights” bill was pared down by Indiana senators on Thursday to remove a provision that would have required schools get consent from parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns.

The amended version of House Bill 1608 now stipulates that parents only must be notified within five business days about a requested name or pronoun change.

“It started out coming out of committee as (requiring) consent, and that’s important,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said of the chamber’s decision to scale back the bill.

“It can be challenging, though, as you play that out,” he continued. “When you start talking about getting consent from a parent, or parents, and there’s lots of divorce situations out there where that can be contentious, and we thought, well, notification advises the parents of what’s going on, and they can then meet and engage in the school, and that’s a satisfactory result.”

An amendment adopted to the bill on Thursday also deletes language that would have protected teachers who refuse to use a name or pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s legal name and biological sex.

Lawmakers update proposal around names, pronouns

Bray said his caucus has had “lengthy communication” with House Republicans about the changes to the bill — which is why it stalled on the chamber calendar for more than a week before it was called down for amendments.

The Senate leader said he expects the House to approve the changes, assuming the bill advances in a Senate floor vote that could come as early as next week.

“It’s a tricky issue. And there’s reasonable people who come down on both sides of that … it didn’t go necessarily along party lines,” Bray said. “There was some question out there about why are we engaging in this space at all? A number of schools wanted some guidance from the state on this because they’re all grappling with it. It’s a pretty challenging issue on the school board level, as well. So, it’s just a very difficult issue to handle and get on top of.”

The latest draft of the amended bill requires schools to inform parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns for any reason — including to a nickname.

Although an earlier version of the bill would have blocked adherence to the student’s request without a parent’s explicit consent, bill sponsor Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, said teachers could now grant a student’s request as long as notice has already been given to a parent.

Previous language would have additionally prevented schools from disciplining teachers that still use a child’s old name or pronouns — even with parental permission to use the new, preferred versions — if the employee or staff member does so out of a “religious conviction.” That part of the bill is gone, too.

The bill retains language that would also prohibit instruction on “human sexuality” for students in prekindergarten through 3rd grade, although sexual education typically does not start until the fourth or sixth grades under existing state standards.

Private schools are exempted from the language restricting “human sexuality.”

Democrats’ proposed amendments fall short

Three separate amendments offered by Democrats failed, however.

One proposed change would have given students a chance to rescind their name or pronoun change request in an attempt to give them more time to consider whether or not they want their parents to be notified.

Another would have ensured that school psychologists, social workers, nurses, and counselors would not be forced to violate their professional codes of conduct and ethics to adhere to the bill’s provisions. The bill already says that school staff are not required to break federal laws in order to be compliant.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, suggested that — if lawmakers are going to regulate pronouns — they should crack down on words like “mankind” and “manmade,” or phrases like, “Hey, guys,” when addressing groups of students.

“If this is such an issue, when referring to people by their biological sex, then I think language must matter, and we should cease from doing it,” Yoder said. The amendment failed in a voice vote.

Still, Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said he was “surprised” the GOP caucus supported the changes made to the bill.

“I don’t understand it … it’s causing problems,” Taylor said of the bill overall. “Young people have to make the hard decision to even come out and express how they feel. Then we’re going to make it even harder by saying, ‘If you tell me in confidence, and I’m somebody you trust, I have no choice but to inform your parents.’ Now why would a child tell their teacher first before they tell their parents if they really believe that their parent was going to be accepting?”

Bill author Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, maintains that her proposal intends to “empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children.”

Critics of the bill have argued that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBTQ+ people and their families.” Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

Indiana lawmakers battle over bill that could criminalize librarians for objectionable books

2023-04-06T14:36:16+00:00

This article originally published on WFYI.

The House Education Committee heard hours of testimony Wednesday from school employees, librarians, and others across Indiana who expressed opposition to a proposed amendment to a bill that would strip these employees of a legal defense against charges they distributed material harmful to minors.

The hearing was the latest evolution in a months-long legislative process driven by concerns among some parents that pornography is rampant in schools. While lawmakers have drafted legislation to address these concerns, they’ve presented little evidence to suggest it’s a widespread problem. The latest iteration of the legislation also targets public libraries.

Rep. Becky Cash (R-Zionsville), who crafted the amendment, said she’s heard from “thousands” of parents who have lodged complaints with their schools over books they believed were objectionable.

“Parents have testified in school board meetings and come to me, and many members of this committee and assembly many, many times over the last couple of years saying that the system did not work for them,” Cash said.

She explained that the amendment mandates schools and public libraries lay out a transparent process for parents and residents to lodge complaints.

But several Democratic members of the committee expressed concern that the bill would empower some parents and disempower others by creating a system in which some parents could control access to books for all children. They also expressed opposition to a portion of the amendment that strips librarians and school employees from a legal defense.

“We are not the court of appeals from parents who are unhappy with school board decisions,” said Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis). “But if we were the Court of Appeals, we would want evidence. What parent? What school? What book? What hearing? What process? Not this vague discontent.”

Changes to the language made

An amendment to Senate Bill 380 incorporates some of the language included in Senate Bill 12 — which was passed by lawmakers in that chamber in late February. SB12 would have mandated schools adopt a procedure that would allow parents and guardians to submit complaints that a book included in the school library is inappropriate. The legislation laid out a specific procedure and an appeals process.

In contrast, an amendment to SB 380, crafted by Cash, would require schools to adopt and publicly post a procedure that would allow district residents, parents and guardians to submit a request for removal of material that is classified as obscene or harmful to minors as defined by existing state law, as well as an appeals process.

The amendment would also require:

Public libraries to adopt and publicly post a procedure that would allow community members, as well as parents and guardians of minors within their community, to submit a request to relocate material that falls under the definition of obscene or harmful to minors — as defined in current law — to a section of the library not designated for minors.
Both schools and libraries must adopt a procedure to respond quickly to these requests and allow for an appeal. And the procedure they adopt must require school and library boards to review the relocation request at their next public meeting.
Prosecutors consider whether residents, parents or guardians have exhausted these procedures before filing charges against a school or library employee for disseminating material harmful to minors.
School and public libraries make all available book titles publicly available in an online catalog.

Bill would eliminate statutory defense

Under the amendment to SB 380, if a prosecutor charged a school or public library employee with disseminating material that is harmful to minors, the employees would be unable to defend themselves on the basis that the material had educational value.

The amendment also appears to bar school and library employees from using the defense that the material was disseminated while acting within the scope of their employment.

Few people testified in favor of the amendment in its entirety. And while many of the librarians who testified said they supported the portion of the legislation that mandated a procedure for requesting removals or relocation of books, they all opposed the language that removes the criminal defense against prosecution.

“Criminalizing librarians, library workers and teachers is not the answer, “said Heather Rayl, a librarian at the Vigo County Public Library. “What is right for my daughter may not be right for your daughter or son or niece or nephew, even if they’re the same age. Parents know best it is their right to choose. Not the government.”

Zach Stock, with the Indiana Public Defender Council, also spoke out against removing legal defenses for school and library employees. He emphasized the need to protect legitimate expression.

“We can’t all agree on what is harmful. None of us in this room are going to agree to that. There’s no bright line,” Stock said. “The public defender counsel asks that you leave the criminal code out of it. A felony jury trial is no place to conduct education policy.”

Disagreements persist over what constitutes harmful material

Librarians and others also expressed concern that regardless of whether the change in law results in prosecutions, it could still have a chilling effect on the types of materials librarians choose to put in school and public library collections — particularly when it comes to books that deal with racism, gender, sexuality and those that feature individuals from marginalized communities.

Specifically, lawmakers and those who testified sparred over the appropriateness of the book, “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe, that recounts the author’s exploration of their gender identity.

Austin Rawlins, a 22-year-old, spoke out against the amendment on behalf of his mother, Stephanie Rawlins, director of the Pike County Public Library. He said he found more value in the book “Gender Queer” than he did in much of the sex education content he was exposed to in school, like images of sexually transmitted diseases and video of someone giving birth.

Rep. Martin Carbaugh (R-Fort Wayne) acknowledged that he hadn’t read “Gender Queer” in its entirety. But he challenged Rawlins for comparing the book’s “depictions of fellatio and many other acts” to sex education.

“I don’t even know how periods work. I don’t know what’s going on in a woman’s body, because it’s never [been] taught to me. It never is, it’s never discussed,” Rawlins said about topics not covered in his sex education courses. “And these books are honestly the first time that I’ve seen it in a relatively educational way or life experience way.So I find value in that.”

Carbaugh responded by saying he disagreed.

Katie Blair, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ACLU of Indiana, said the amendment would infringe on student’s rights to read and learn freely. She said the language could be used to target books that are about or by people of color, LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized people.

“A person can decide that they don’t want to read a certain book, a person can decide they don’t want their child to read that book, but a person can’t decide an entire school or an entire town can read that book,” Blair said

Rep. Jake Teshka (R-South Bend) questioned how the language in the amendment about obscene material would apply to books about communities of color.

“What we also know is that there’s still a lot of room for interpretation. And so what I would say is that this will be used as that because those books, unfortunately, are usually under much higher scrutiny,” Blair said. “And so I know that this is what that will be used for.”

Rhonda Miller was one of the very small number of people who testified in support of the measures included in the amendment. But Miller, who presides over a group called Purple for Parents Indiana that traffics in conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, expressed disappointment that the language had been included in SB 380 rather than being heard as a standalone bill under SB 12.

“I want everybody to know that this battle is far from over. And we will continue the fight,” Miller said.

The House Education Committee did not vote on the amendment. April 17 is the last day for Senate bills to be approved by the full House.

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Push to change Indiana property taxes to benefit charter schools triggers alarm in IPS

2023-04-06T11:00:00+00:00

Republican lawmakers are advancing major changes to the state’s school funding system to benefit charter schools and districts with relatively low property tax values.

The proposed Republican House budget, along with a newly amended GOP Senate bill, would rework Indiana’s property tax system to pump more funding into charters and level what lawmakers say is an unfair playing field for charters and traditional public schools. Lawmakers also might create a dedicated funding stream for charters’ capital expenses that would replace the so-called “$1 law.”

But the proposals have been sharply criticized by Democrats and traditional public school leaders, who argued that the changes would come at the expense of thousands of students in traditional public schools.

The bills channel issues at the heart of a recent dispute over tax revenue in Indianapolis Public Schools. The district withdrew its plan to ask voters for new property taxes on the May ballot, amid criticism from charter school supporters that the draft ballot measure did not provide charters enough money. If the proposals become law, they could change the long-term balance of fiscal power within the state’s public education system.

Together, House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 391 would do the following to boost funding for charters and school districts with low property values:

Provide $1,400 per charter school student from the state in fiscal year 2024 and $1,500 in fiscal year 2025, replacing a state program that provides $1,250 per student to compensate for a lack of property tax revenue.
Provide $20 million in next year’s budget for charter schools’ capital needs.
Require school districts in Marion, Lake, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties to share with charter schools any revenues from ballot measures passed to support operating or school safety expenses after June 30, 2023. Virtual charters and adult high school charter schools would not receive such funding. A fiscal analysis says the revenue would be shared “proportionally.”
Provide state funding for school districts that are unable to raise at least $1,400 per pupil from its operating fund in 2024 and $1,500 in 2025. The funding would supplement existing property taxes to get to those baselines each year.

In addition, the budget bill would require traditional school districts to reduce their maximum tax rate for operation expenses to 40 cents per $100 of net assessed value by 2031.

Unlike Indiana’s traditional public schools, charters generally do not receive property tax revenues. The one exception is for those considered part of Indianapolis Public Schools, which has opted to share some property tax revenue with its affiliated charters.

Nevertheless, Indianapolis charter school leaders have repeatedly said that the gap between funding for traditional school students and charter students is over $7,000 per student.

“What the House is trying to do is trying to look at charters in parity with the other public schools,” Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican leader of the House education committee, told Chalkbeat. “How do we get them closer to parity with the traditional public schools in terms of funding?”

The proposals would mean significant changes for IPS, where there are over 25 charter schools in the district’s Innovation network and just over 30 other independent charters within district boundaries.

Indianapolis Public Schools would lose $30 million over the next three years under the proposals, IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson told lawmakers last week at a hearing on Senate Bill 391. That loss would increase to $220 million by 2031, equivalent to about 500 teaching positions, she said.

Johnson testified that it would harm taxpayers “whose schools will see less dollars as a result of the passed House budget, and who ultimately will be asked to take on an even greater tax obligation on behalf of even more schools because of the system that this state has created.”

Most Marion County districts, including IPS, have an operating tax rate of more than 40 cents that officials would need to cut by 2031.

Charter proponents support sharing

Janet McNeal, president of the Herron Classical Schools charter network, said Senate Bill 391 would alleviate costs that its schools currently face.

When Herron High School moved into the Herron School of Art building, the network had to cut expenses “in every way we could” to prepare the building’s interior, McNeal told the House education committee last week. Nearly two decades later, the school is facing millions of dollars worth of badly needed upgrades to its roof and HVAC system.

“We can’t afford it — we just can’t,” she said. “Thus, we are forced to continue patching the roof, which leaks into our classrooms during heavy rains, and continue to make repairs on our HVAC system — and the repairs are, individually, costly.”

But Democrats in the statehouse say charter backers want more money without the responsibility that should come with it.

“We have groups that don’t want the authority of the school board,” Rep. Ed DeLaney told Chalkbeat. “They don’t want to be tied to the district where the property is located, but they want the money.”

Operating tax rate capped

The Republican budget also caps the rate at which school districts may tax property for operating expenses.

That means four Marion County school districts would collect less than they are currently projected for 2024, according to projections from the Indiana Legislative Services Agency.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, would receive $2.5 million less in property tax revenues in 2024, and by 2026, it would receive $16.5 million less.

At the same time, the proposed budget gradually reduces the amount of property tax revenue that is restricted under the state’s property tax cap. This would allow districts to collect more in property taxes each year.

Lawmakers ‘give up’ on $1 law

The Senate bill would also eliminate the state’s $1 law by July 2025.

The law requires school districts to offer “vacant or unused” school buildings to charter schools or state educational institutions for the sale or annual lease price of $1. Enacted in 2005, it was meant to provide charter schools easier access to buildings without the support of property tax revenue.

But the law’s vague wording has led to legal battles between charter schools that want those buildings and traditional school districts that argue they are still in use.

The state attorney general’s office, which is responsible for investigating claims that school districts are not following the $1 law, has ruled against traditional school districts in just one of the nine individual complaints publicly documented so far.

Behning said he does not think the law has worked as anticipated.

“I’m saying I give up,” he said at the House education committee meeting last week. “You are seeing a white flag.”

Instead, the budget bill includes a $20 million fund that would support capital needs for charter schools.

The proposed House budget is making its way through the Senate. Senate Bill 391 is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How literacy and the ‘science of reading’ get a big lift from bus drivers at an Indiana school

2023-03-27T11:00:00+00:00

On a recent Thursday morning at KIPP Indy Unite Elementary in Indianapolis, a bus driver doubling as a tutor held up a flashcard to two elementary school students.

“What is this?” she asked.

The flashcard featured an illustration of a table. The students, a boy and a girl, piped up with answers.

“A door,” the girl said.

“No, that’s a table,” said the boy, earning a nod of approval. The tutor asked the pair another question: What letter does the word “table” start with, and what sound does it make?

The students quickly identified the letter. But taking its sound out of context proved more challenging. The tutor gave the students a few moments to guess before articulating the word herself.

“T-t-table,” she said, emphasizing the phoneme. The students repeated after her, connecting the letter “T’ with its sound.

At KIPP Indy Public Schools in Indianapolis, using bus drivers as tutors was an unusual idea spurred by the pandemic. In October 2022, when struggles with reading among K-3 students prompted the school to find solutions, KIPP started the program. Each morning, students are pulled out of class into the hallway for 10 to 20 minutes to practice literacy skills such as sight words and phonics.

It’s one approach to teaching using the science of reading, a body of research about how children learn to read. While some reading programs teach students to read by guessing a word based on a picture or using context clues, schools in Indiana and across the country are increasingly adopting curriculum that directly teaches the relationship between sounds, letters, and words.

In 2022, national reading and math exams showed only 33% of Indiana fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders were proficient in reading. These scores are similar to nationwide scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which revealed 37% of students performed below NAEP’s basic standard. The results underscore students’ struggles in reading that educators and lawmakers say is partially due to inadequate, outdated methods of teaching.

The consequences of flawed reading instruction go beyond test scores. Third graders who are not proficient in reading are four times more likely to not graduate high school on time or drop out completely, according to the Indiana State Board of Education’s Indiana Student Achievement Report.

Educators and lawmakers alike want to counter such trends. A major financial investment and a series of bills in the Indiana statehouse look to provide science of reading instruction to teachers, and some support mandating the science of reading within the state.

Science of reading emphasis grows in Indiana

Since 2011, Indiana has largely allowed school districts to decide which core reading program to use.

But one teaching method has been the target of significant criticism recently. The “three-cueing model,” which encourages students to make educated guesses at words using context clues, has been largely disproven by cognitive scientists but is still widely used by schools around the country.

Andrea Setmeyer, national chapter coordinator for The Reading League Indiana, said schools have traditionally failed to separate word recognition and reading comprehension.

“We’ve relied on strategies like guessing or looking at the first letter and thinking ‘what would make sense here?’ and those strategies are not what skilled readers do,” Setmeyer said. “What we need to do is look at those as two separate components that we’re building simultaneously.”

Karrianne Polk-Meek, director of the Literacy Center at the Indiana Department of Education, said the science of reading focuses on five key elements: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

“Over time, some curriculum that has been used or different structures that have been used really reinforced some of the elements, but not necessarily all five,” she said.

Several states have already implemented or are looking to implement the science of reading in schools, many of which have shown significant improvements in reading rates.

Nearly a decade ago, Mississippi fourth graders ranked 49th in the nation for reading proficiency. But after the state hired literacy coaches and focused instruction around the science of reading, it was ranked first in the nation for reading gains by 2019.

While the research behind the science of reading has been around for decades, Setmeyer said such knowledge has often been confined to fields like cognitive psychology and linguistics, rather than education, where teachers could benefit from it.

But following encouraging results from states like Mississippi — and American Public Media’s “Sold a Story” podcast, which investigated authors who push disproven teaching methods — the science of reading is gaining traction.

Last August, Indiana announced a $111 million investment in literacy through a partnership with the Lilly Endowment. The investment — the state’s largest-ever commitment to literacy development — supports training educators in science of reading instruction, and incorporating science of reading methods into undergraduate teacher preparation programs.

The Indiana Department of Education also launched a partnership to place reading coaches in 54 schools across the state to support K-2 teachers as they lead instruction rooted in the science of reading. Currently, 43 schools are participating in the pilot program, and more are being recruited for the 2023-24 cohort, Polk-Meek said. (KIPP is not part of the program.)

Indiana mulls changes to teacher prep and licensing

Lawmakers are considering whether to go a step further.

Senate Bill 402, authored by GOP Sen. Aaron Freeman, would prohibit schools from using the three-cueing model and require them to adopt curriculum based on the science of reading. The bill would also require people to pass foundational reading exams to get a teaching license.

Freeman, who has two children under 13, said he was inspired to write the bill after seeing the struggles students like his own faced when it comes to reading.

“These kids are not going to learn by guessing,” he said. “They’re only going to learn if they have phonemic awareness, if they’re able to sound words out, break words down.”

If Freeman’s legislation, which has passed the Senate, becomes law, it would go into effect for the 2024-25 school year.

Other proposed bills also address the science of reading: House Bill 1558 creates a science of reading grant fund, while House Bill 1590 includes teacher preparation and licensing requirements for the approach.

The second bill underscores that putting the science of reading into practice across the state would mean not only a shift in how students learn, but how teachers learn, too.

Kelly Williams, an assistant professor of special education at Indiana University-Bloomington, said she was taught outdated research during her training in the mid-2000s.

“There was kind of this general consensus of, if you expose kids to enough books and find what they’re interested in, you’ll be able to get them reading,” Williams said. “That’s really problematic — we’ve got teachers coming out who are not being trained in what best practices are or what research actually supports.”

Williams said there should be an emphasis on language comprehension, not just knowing what a word is. Reading is not fully natural, she said — students must be taught to read.

KIPP began using the science of reading in 2021 after assessing pandemic-related academic gaps.

Ruth Wells, foundational literacy manager at KIPP, said the science of reading makes education cohesive by tying together how language is developed in the brain and how students learn words and sounds.

“That gives teachers the ability to, one, pinpoint where their students may have gaps, but also a spoken sequence to follow to make sure they are teaching what they know their students need,” Wells said.

To truly comprehend text, Wells said, students must be able to decode words, not just identify which word might fit using only context clues.

Data from KIPP showed 74% of kindergartners have met mid-year goals after being taught using science of reading-based practices — an 8% increase from before the program. Among first graders who received that instruction, 70% met the goals, a 21% increase, and 46% of second graders met them, marking an 11% increase.

Teachers and drivers join forces to teach science of reading

Each summer, teachers at KIPP participate in training where they learn why the science of reading is important. During the training sessions, they can practice portions of their lessons to receive real-time feedback from other educators.

“Our teachers are learning to be experts and we do a lot of development with our teachers, but again, there are different levels to kiddos,” she said. “Our tier–1 instruction can be as strong as anything, but if a kiddo comes to us and needs that extra support, we need to be able to supply it.”

Bus driver Tracie Johnson has been with the tutoring program since its start. In addition to tutoring Monday through Thursday, Johnson gives her students a test each Friday to gauge their growth and identify areas of progress or struggle earlier than formal state tests can provide results.

This also gives teachers more time to teach the actual curriculum rather than worry about testing, which can take hours.

Using data from state literacy tests such as IREAD along with weekly classroom tests, teachers identify students who could benefit from extra review. From there, bus drivers build activities with the help of teachers based on the specific skills each student needs to practice. These activities often include using flashcards, coloring sight words, and trying to beat the clock in fluency races.

Each grade level is given a benchmark per year — 100 sight words for kindergarteners, 200-300 for first graders and 500 for second graders.

“If a student is a kindergartener and he’s still struggling with letter names or letter sounds, our bus drivers would be working with those particular students who didn’t get it the first round and maybe the classroom instruction has moved forward,” Wells said.

At a time when hiring bus drivers and other school staff has been difficult, the tutoring program has also helped the school retain drivers, thanks to the increased connection they feel with students, Wells said. Plus, they clock in for the role, earning more money in addition to what they get for their regular routes.

KIPP’s strategy would not be guaranteed to work for every school for a variety of reasons. Union rules that could affect such instruction differ among districts and states, for example. And participation could depend upon whether drivers receive pay increases.

Eight drivers are currently participating in the KIPP program, with many more undergoing training. There has been over 300 hours of tutoring in the program so far.

Johnson enjoys working with the students, and it’s particularly rewarding when they finally get a word or concept correct, she said. Before the program, many of her students could not even spell basic words like “the,” she said.

Now, those students speak up to offer correct answers to her questions.

The best part of the job, Johnson said, is connecting with her students for longer than a bus ride. When they run to her each morning to give her a hug, she’s reminded of the difference she’s making in their education.

“That’s the highlight of my day,” she said.

Contact Chalkbeat Indiana at in.tips@chalkbeat.org.

To improve college scholarship program’s impact, Indiana might enroll students automatically

2023-03-24T11:00:00+00:00

The tables were covered in Creston Middle School green, and topped with neat rows of snacks and cans of pop.

Another table was covered in brochures and paper applications. Laptops were scattered on tables around the room.

Because of the pandemic, it had been four years since an information session about 21st Century Scholars was in person at Creston Intermediate and Middle School, and organizers were doing all they could to entice families to attend the early March session and apply before their students reach high school and the deadline has passed.

The scholarship program offers up to the equivalent of four years tuition and regular fees at an in-state public university or college to students who meet income and residency eligibility, and follow requirements outlined in a scholar pledge.

Despite success with enrollees and its more than 30-year track record, the scholarship program has struggled to attract students to enroll in the program that has helped more than 50,000 Hoosiers earn college degrees. There’s also a no-exceptions deadline of June 30 after eighth grade for students to sign up.

But legislation at the statehouse aims to change that by auto-enrolling all eligible students into the scholarship program. This move is yet another effort to increase awareness of postsecondary options at a time when Indiana’s college-going rate is low, and higher education has the perception of being too expensive.

The bill, House Bill 1449, was approved by the Indiana House and has since advanced out of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee. But even with support from lawmakers, educators, and business leaders, the legislation still faces several votes before it could become law.

Talking to families about qualifying for scholarships

Berenice Tenorio travels Marion County, meeting with students and families to talk about postsecondary options as an outreach coordinator for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

“My goal isn’t that everyone goes to a four-year school,” she said.

21st Century Scholars

Who is eligible?

Students who:

are a resident of Indiana.
enrolled in 7th or 8th grade.
are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens.
meet the income eligibility criteria.

What are the income guidelines for 2022-23?

For a household of two, a maximum annual income of $33,874.
For a household of three, a maximum annual income of $42,606.
For a household of four, a maximum annual income of $51,338.
For a household of five, a maximum annual income of $60,070.
For a household of six, a maximum annual income of $68,802.

For each additional person, add $8,732.

What do families need to apply?

Student’s Social Security number, birth date, and address.
Parent’s or guardian’s Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number (if applicable).
2022 gross income amounts for all members of the household.
A valid email address.

Apply here.

Source: learnmoreindiana.org

She likened postsecondary options to a door, saying that students can avoid the door and asking questions about it if the path is dark. So, her goal is to light up the door and allow students to feel comfortable asking questions to help them make informed decisions about higher education.

One way she does that is through sessions for families about 21st Century Scholars, like the one at Creston.

The first challenge is making sure parents know about the scholarship and see it as worthwhile to attend the session she said. Once they are there, she said it’s about filling out the application to see if they qualify.

“I know that middle school students, they don’t see the price tag for college every single day like I do,” Tenorio said, adding that college can feel “so far away” to students and families.

In her presentation at Creston, she speaks in English and then in Spanish for each slide, going over what the scholarship is and isn’t and the requirements.

Yes, she tells people, the scholarship is usable for both public and private schools, but only covers up to the cost of tuition at public schools. Yes, students can take a gap year and still use the funds. Yes, students would need to complete the FAFSA as well as not drink alcohol before 21 and not do drugs.

Tenorio urges families who are unsure if they qualify to just apply, and tells them the income verification that’s part of the process may take a while.

Eventually, nearly three dozen people filled the room to listen and talk to Tenorio, who walked around to each family to answer questions and pick up applications.

Several families attended because the scholarship had become a family tradition after their older children enrolled. That was the case for Erika Rodriguenz, who said she learned about the program from a family member and thought it was a good opportunity for her middle school daughters.

She said she stresses to them the importance of studying now so they’ll be prepared for college down the road.

“The first time was hard, but this time not so much,” she said of the application.

Scholars see success, but graduation rates are low

Created in 1990, 21st Century Scholars can point to multiple successes.

More than 80% of students in the program enroll in college – that’s compared to 53% of all students statewide and 30% of students in the state from low-income backgrounds who are not in the program. And 75% of scholars stay in Indiana after graduating.

Despite these stats, the program has struggled to get the word out.

Although four in 10 Indiana students are eligible for 21st Century Scholars, only half of the eligible students apply. And a recent survey from the Indiana Department of Education shows that awareness of the scholarship is inconsistent: Just 64%of parents know about the program.

Berenice Tenorio speaks to families at a 21st Century Scholars enrollment night at Creston Intermediate and Middle School. More than three dozen people including students and their families attended the event.

There’s also widespread pessimism about higher education’s price tag in general. Only 27% of parents think education beyond high school is affordable for Indiana students, the department’s survey found.

And not all of the data about 21st Century Scholars looks rosy. Just 37% of 21st Century Scholars graduate on time, compared to 44% of students statewide. However, their on-time graduation rate is still higher than the 27% for students from low-income backgrounds.

Indiana’s Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery said the scholars’ graduation rate is something the commission is aware of and working on, in part by meeting with university and college presidents to share best practices and services they provide for scholars.

But that relatively low graduation rate for the program could harm efforts to expand it for the foreseeable future.

During an Indiana Commission for Higher Education presentation to the Senate Appropriations Committee about the state budget, lawmakers pressed Lowery about the program’s graduation rate. Some noted that students need to be ready for college when they attend, not just attend because it’s paid for.

That committee is where a Senate bill that was the same as the advancing House bill died earlier this legislative session. It’s also the House bill’s next step.

Auto-enrollment could make the program more effective

If the bill passes, the commission for higher education would work with IDOE to notify eligible students and their parents or guardians. To participate, students would still have to agree to the conditions of the scholar pledge, and they could opt out of the program at any time. Students would be identified before starting high school as they are now. And other key programming details wouldn’t change.

“It continues the momentum and removes barriers to the program,” Lowery told lawmakers during a Senate committee meeting this month.

In addition to support from the commission for higher education, the bill has backing from multiple education and economic groups including associations representing school principals and superintendents, the Indiana State Teachers Association, and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Lowery added that if 21st Century Scholars enrolls students automatically, the commission would be able to shift program resources from a focus on scholarship enrollment to student success.

That possibility is what excites Tenorio, who would have more time to check in with students.

“Right now, the responsibility is on the parents to be all knowing, and this takes the pressure and responsibility off of them,” she said. “It allows us to say, ‘You’re already eligible, all you have to do is say yes and take advantage of this.’”

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat Indiana partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Senators advance bill targeting student pronoun changes in Indiana schools

2023-03-23T13:55:05+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana senators made multiple amendments on the fly Wednesday to a controversial “parental rights” bill that seeks to restrict pronoun usage of transgender children and instruction about “human sexuality” in schools.

Critics of the bill argue that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBT people and their families.” Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

House Bill 1608 would require schools to inform parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns for any reason — including to a nickname — and block adherence to the student’s request without a parent’s explicit consent.

It would also prohibit instruction on “human sexuality” for students in pre-K through 3rd grade. Sexual education typically does not start until the fourth or sixth grades under existing state standards, however.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

The measure advanced 9-4 Wednesday from the Senate Education Committee after three hours of debate — much of which included passionate testimony in opposition of the bill. Loud chants, cheers and booing echoed outside of the Senate chamber and through the Statehouse hallways amid the discourse.

“If you pass this bill … expect the youth homeless population to rise, expect the teen suicide rate to rise, expect the incidence of violence against LGBTQ+ people to rise,” said Quinn Mackenzie, a nonbinary Hoosier who spoke before the committee. “There are those who want you to believe that this bill protects children. As a parent with genuine religious conviction, I understand that — I want the best for my children, too and I want to protect them. But trans and queerness is not something that children need to be protected from.”

Notifying parents about nicknames

An amendment filed by bill sponsor Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, stipulates that teachers have to seek consent from a parent — not just notify them — to call a student by a different name.

Multiple other spontaneous amendments to that amendment followed, too. Democrats on the Senate committee asked to hold off on the changes and a vote on the underlying bill because of the confusion, but were turned down.

Although the latest version of the bill would apply to all Hoosier K-12 schools, private schools are exempted from the language restricting “human sexuality.”

Provisions about requested name changes require teachers to obtain parental consent within five business days, regardless of whether the name matches a student’s assigned-sex, according to the bill.

Although not specified in the bill, that teacher-parent communication could come in the form of a phone call, text message, email, or physical letter, according to Republican state lawmakers.

“A school should tell parents about any student requests to change their names, pronouns or etcetera, regardless of whether it has anything to do with the gender transition,” Donato said, nothing that if a student wanted to change their name from Stacy to Susan, for example, the school would need to notify parents and get consent to go ahead with the request.

“It’s easier for schools to administer, because they won’t have to decide if a name change is masculine or feminine. If a student wants to change the name, you just tell the parents, period,” Donato continued. “Secondly, with this language … I believe that if a previous transgender student asks their school to change their name back to something that matches their sex at birth, parents would want to know about that, as well.”

Another provision additionally prevents schools from disciplining teachers that still use a child’s old name or pronouns — even with parental permission to use the new, preferred versions — if the employee or staff member does so out of a “religious conviction.”

Bill author Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, maintained that her proposal intends to “empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children.”

“I believe that parents know their children best, and their authority should not be superseded by teachers and or school administrators,” she said.

“By allowing our schools to instruct our young elementary students in human sexuality, and allowing students to decide on different identities without their parents’ knowledge and consent, creates an unacceptable intrusion into the parent-child relationship and would be inconsistent with our traditional presumption of parental competence and good intention,” Davis continued. “Engaging in any type of sexual relationship discussions in schools — especially for pre-K through third graders — is inappropriate.

Opposition mounts against ‘anti-trans’ legislation

State lawmakers have directed intense legislative focus toward transgender Hoosiers this session — much of which has centered on school-age children.

Melanie Davis, a transgender mom from Bloomington, said language in this bill and others reflects old, “harmful” stereotypes about transgender people. She emphasized that House Bill 1608 is dangerous to LGBTQ children and protects “abusive” school faculty who refuse to use preferred pronouns.

“We have moved on. We have grown up as a nation. … These kids are living in a world where they can actually be themselves for the first time in our history as a nation,” Davis said. “Now, you’re invalidating — you’re stripping this away from their future.”

Katie Blair with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, added that “vague language” in the bill “could create serious, unforeseen consequences for schools, teachers and families.”

She said the bill, if passed, would make “age appropriate and clearly school appropriate conversations” illegal in Indiana classrooms.

“LGBTQ teachers could find themselves in violation of the law simply for acknowledging that they are married within the context of the school. Teachers who happen to be transgender could lose jobs just for existing. Children of same sex couples should be allowed to bring their dads or their moms on school trips and visits just like any other child,” Blair said. “But it’s easy to see that this bill would significantly chill a school’s ability to be welcoming for those kids. “We need to stop forcing teachers to be gender police and from making personal, subjective judgments about whether or not a student may be showing signs that they are transgender and to report on them.”

Donato said the amended bill does not stop schools from providing “age appropriate instruction on sexual abuse.”

Rep. Davis declined to give specific examples but claimed that parents in her district have reported “human sexuality” instruction in their young children’s schools.

Still, the definition of “human sexuality” remains vague. Davis describes it as “just the way people experience and express themselves sexually,” but conceded that “everything is open to interpretation.”

She said an amendment to the bill to clarify what teachers can and can not talk about is “definitely something” lawmakers should consider on the Senate floor, “that way, teachers know exactly what they can and cannot do in the classroom.”

The bill is likely to be up for discussion in the full chamber next week.

Graduation waivers for Indiana students targeted by lawmakers who worry they’re overused

2023-03-21T23:42:57+00:00

Two bills in the legislature aim to discourage the overuse of waivers that exempt high school students from certain graduation requirements, a move that could ultimately bring down graduation rates for Indiana’s districts.

Senate Bill 380 and House Bill 1635 would require schools to leave out a large portion of those students that graduate with a waiver when calculating their graduation rates, a change that supporters say would add more transparency to a metric often used as a measure of a school’s success.

In Indiana, schools can grant waivers to students who try but fail to pass a competency requirement in order to graduate. That can prove helpful for students facing extenuating circumstances, such as those who transfer into a school during their senior year, school leaders said.

HB 1635 also seeks to add a military requirement for students using the military entrance exam — known as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, or ASVAB — in order to graduate.

The legislation comes amid concerns that such waivers can inflate graduation rates, since those rates include students who’ve received a waiver from completing a competency requirement.

GOP Rep. Bob Behning, author of HB 1635 and chair of the House education committee, also voiced concern that many students are using the ASVAB as a relatively easy route to meeting a graduation testing requirement, without intending to enroll in the military.

Only 2% of students statewide who took the ASVAB from August 2022 to February 2023 attempted to use their score for military consideration, according to data from the Indianapolis Military Entrance Processing Station.

Statewide, the percentage of Indiana students graduating with waivers increased from the 2013-14 school year to 2018-19. But those figures gradually decreased in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can as a state that students are prepared not only for life, but to go into the economic cycle and thrive,” said Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Republican who’s the chair of the Senate education committee and an author of SB 380.

Since the state’s new graduation pathways framework became optional for students in 2018, a higher percentage of students have also been choosing the ASVAB to graduate, according to Indiana Department of Education data. Of all the students who received a diploma in 2021 — regardless of their designated cohort — roughly 19% graduated using the ASVAB as a testing requirement in 2021.

But the measure limiting ASVAB usage has sparked concern from education groups, who argue the test is also used as a career exploration tool as part of the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.

“The goal of the ASVAB CEP is to empower students with tools to explore a variety of careers related to their skills and interests, rather than limit their exploration by telling them what they can or should do,” Nathaniel Grandberry, program manager for the ASVAB CEP in Indiana, argued in a letter to lawmakers.

Bills seek to limit graduation waiver usage

SB 380 requires that students graduating with waivers account for no more than 10% of the total graduating class in the school’s reported graduation rate before July 2027. After June 2027, waiver students could account for no more than 5%.

HB 1635 mandates lower figures, allowing waiver students to be counted in the reported graduation rate if they are no more than 6% of the total graduating cohort before July 2027, and no more than 3% after June 2027.

The exemptions from testing requirements existed before the state adopted its new graduation pathways framework, which became optional beginning in the Class of 2018 and will now be mandatory for the Class of 2023.

State law allows students to choose from one of several graduation pathways, but it does require students to complete a competency requirement. That can mean reaching certain scores on the SAT exam, for example, or graduating with an academic or technical honors diploma that requires 47 credits rather than the baseline of 40.

But the law also allows waivers for students that do not complete such competency requirements in certain situations, including if a student tried and failed three times to do so. Students who transfer from out of state or from certain non-accredited, non-public schools can also receive a waiver if they’ve tried to pass at least one competency requirement.

Students granted waivers must still maintain a C average and have an attendance rate of at least 95%.

Prior to the Class of 2023, students could choose whether to graduate using the new pathways system or whether to do so under the old graduation requirements. Those students could also receive waivers for not passing the statewide 10th grade exam known as the ISTEP.

Marion County schools that gave out the highest percentage of waivers for the graduating 2022 cohort include Achieve Virtual Education Academy in Wayne Township, the GEO Next Generation Academy charter school, and Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy, a virtual charter school launched amid the pandemic, according to preliminary state graduation data.

Traditional high schools within Indianapolis Public Schools, however, graduated relatively few or no students with waivers, according to state data.

But some schools with high waiver rates argue that waivers are helpful for students who transfer into a school late in their high school careers.

Kevin Teasley, founder of GEO Academies, said three of the six waiver students at GEO Next Generation Academy enrolled in the school as seniors. Three others enrolled in the school as juniors in need of credit recovery.

The Class of 2022 was the school’s first graduating class, Teasley noted, but he hopes to lower the proportion of students receiving waivers in future graduating classes.

Samantha Goldsmith, principal of the online Hoosier College and Career Academy charter school that was also among the Marion County schools with the highest waiver rates, said many of the students that graduated with waivers were new to the school.

The school has taken steps to make sure there are fewer waivers moving forward, she noted. But Goldsmith also said there’s a reason those waivers are used.

“When you as a school have a new student who starts in their senior year with you, and … they don’t already have those pathways, it’s certainly a challenge,” Goldsmith said. “And our goal is to help them graduate.”

Wayne Township Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Walters also encouraged lawmakers to explain the intent of their proposals.

“Is their intent to illuminate presumed failings of the public school, or is the intent to reveal where traditionally more marginalized populations continue to navigate inequities in the system as yet another indication of the weight of those inequities?” Walters asked.

Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Supporters of changing the graduation rate calculation, such as the coalition of groups known as Business Equity for Indy, argue that waiver usage can mislead families about the success of a school district.

Waiver usage has historically been highest among Black and Latino students, according to a Business Equity for Indy report that analyzed waiver rates from 2009-10 to 2018-19. In 2018-19, 22% of Black graduates in Marion County and 18% of Latino graduates used a waiver, compared to 14% of white graduates.

But speaking to the Senate Education and Career Development Committee last week, Tim McRoberts, associate executive director of the Indiana Association of School Principals, said the new graduation pathways system — which allows students to choose from one of nine competency requirements — should naturally reduce the proportion of students graduating with waivers. (McRoberts also spoke to the committee on behalf of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents.)

Many students use military entrance exam to graduate

Under HB 1635, students who pass the ASVAB test to complete their competency requirement must enlist in the military in order to graduate. If they do not, Behning said, they should choose another graduation pathway.

The intent of the graduation pathways was to make sure students had a path for their next step in life, Behning said. If they don’t intend to go into the military, he said, using the ASVAB as a testing requirement makes no sense.

“It appears that a lot of our schools are using it as a pathway because it’s a very easy benchmark to hit,” he said.

The state’s current ASVAB passing score of 31 is also lower than what students for some branches of the military are expected to achieve if they did not have a high school diploma but had a GED instead, Behning noted. That means the state is accepting a score to graduate from high school that’s lower than what the military accepts from someone who does not, he argued. (Some branches, however, will accept a lower score than 31, Grandberry said.)

Grandberry argued in his letter that the bill would cause many schools to drop the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.

The Indiana School Counselors Association, meanwhile, argued that the high number of students taking the ASVAB is a data problem.

Overworked school counselors may indicate in records that a student passed the ASVAB earlier in their high school careers, completing the graduation testing requirement, the group noted. But those students may later on fulfill other testing requirements, such as the SAT.

“It’s possible we’re checking that box and we’re not always returning back to that box,” said Scott Carr of Catalyst Public Affairs, who testified in the Senate committee on behalf of the group.

Both bills have passed their respective chambers and are awaiting action from the committees in the other chamber.

Correction, June 5, 2023: A previous version of this story included an incorrect description of the way bills in the House and Senate would limit the extent to which students graduating with waivers can factor into schools’ reported graduation rate. The bills limited the percentage of students who could account for a school’s total graduating class and had received waivers.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

A FAFSA requirement for Indiana students is one step closer to becoming law

2023-03-15T19:04:03+00:00

Indiana students could soon be required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a shift that supporters say could give students more money to go to college and convince more of them to enroll in higher education in the first place.

The Indiana House Education Committee voted 11-1 Wednesday to advance Senate Bill 167, which would create the requirement starting with the 2023-24 school year, although there would be several exceptions. Lawmakers also amended the bill Wednesday to have the requirement expire in 10 years.

“This money is going to be spent somewhere, when we have a chance to put our hand out, let’s take advantage of it,” state Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican and one of the bill’s authors, told fellow lawmakers last week.

If the bill becomes law, Indiana would join at least eight other states who have this law.

The FAFSA is the form that students need to file to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans and scholarships. States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs.

By not filing out the form, students in Indiana are leaving $69 million in Pell Grants on the table, Leising said last week.

“That doesn’t even count the [other] scholarships, we don’t even have an idea of that money that’s lost,” she added. “We have got to do something about this.”

The legislation would require all high schoolers to complete and submit the FAFSA by April 15 of their senior year, which is the deadline to be eligible for state aid in addition to federal aid.

The bill includes exceptions for students at certain nonpublic schools, and for students who have a parent sign a waiver (emancipated minors can also sign it for themselves) to decline to complete the form. A school principal or counselor can also waive the requirement if they are unable to reach the student’s parent or guardian by April 15 after “at least two reasonable attempts.”

There was some concern about the bill during committee meetings. Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a Democrat, said during the vote that while she was supporting the bill, she still had concerns about the burdens on school counselors and wanted to work on that.

However, the exception in the bill to limit the attempts to reach families has eased that concern for others. And it could give the bill crucial support, after years of unsuccessful attempts to require students to fill out the FAFSA.

What FAFSA says about Indiana’s college attendance

Completion of the FAFSA is considered a leading indicator of college-going.

Just 53% of students in Indiana’s Class of 2020 went on to college, and many Hoosiers see college as too expensive. In a statewide survey by the Indiana Department of Education, only 27% of parents said postsecondary education is affordable.

A state dashboard of FAFSA completion shows that about 36% of Indiana’s high school seniors have completed a FAFSA.

It’s not that there aren’t efforts to get the word out from the state and other groups. Indiana has had College Goal Sunday, an in-person event to help families sign up, for more than 30 years.

But that doesn’t mean every student or family knows about the form or if it’s for them. And schools with higher rates of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch tend to have the lower completion rates, said Josh Garrison, associate commissioner for public policy for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, in a previous House education committee meeting.

The legislation would make sure that filing out or not filling out the FAFSA is a choice, not happenstance of who found out about it, advocates of the bill said.

They added that filling out the form can also help reduce student debt. FAFSA qualifies students for government loans that have lower interest rates than the private loans that they would get without the form, Garrison said.

The committee meeting last week about the bill featured a show of support from organizations representing school boards, principals, and counselors, as well as public, private and community colleges in the state, and the Indiana and Indy chambers.

Bill to ban ‘bad’ books, strip protections from teachers, librarians passes Indiana Senate

2023-03-01T16:56:13+00:00

This article originally published on WFYI.

Senate lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would strip teachers and school librarians of a legal defense against charges that they distributed harmful material to minors.

Senators debated the legislation for roughly two hours, with supporters of the bill arguing that it closes a loophole, and opponents expressing fear that it will criminalize teachers and librarians and have a chilling effect on the types of books available in schools.

Under Senate Bill 12, if a prosecutor charged a teacher or school librarian with disseminating material that is harmful to minors, the school teacher or librarian would not be able to argue that the material had educational value as a defense. The measure also establishes a process for parents to file complaints over inappropriate materials.

Sen. James Tomes (R-Wadesville) authored the bill in response to concerns from parents who claim that pornography is rampant in schools. Tomes wrote similar legislation in recent years that failed to pass.

When asked by Sen. J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) about what school corporations had pornographic material on their shelves, Tomes could not provide specifics. Neither Tomes, nor the bill’s second author Sen. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), named specific titles of books that were both found in schools and obscene in nature. They encouraged lawmakers to visit them at their Statehouse desks if they wanted to see examples of such material.

Sen. Michael Young (R-Indianapolis), a co-author of SB 12, described the unidentified books at Tomes’ desk as “really bad, sickening — no one in this room would show this to their young child and feel it was a good thing to do.”

Tomes said parents provided research to him about pornographic materials found in local schools. He named the far right Northern Indiana group, Purple for Parents — an organization that promotes conspiracy theories and believes schools are teaching LGBTQ identities and sexualizing children.

Tomes said he hadn’t personally found any such books in schools.

The bill passed the Senate in a 37-12 vote largely along party lines. All Democrats who were present voted against the bill, with three Republican Senators — Ron Alting, Jon Ford and Veneta Becker — joining them in opposition.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

‘A chilling effect’ on materials for students

When asked by Ford if he believes LGBTQ material is harmful to children, Tomes did not answer the question directly.

“That’s a broad statement, because if you’re talking about maybe explaining the lifestyle is one thing, but the books I’m talking about, Senator Ford, these books are just full bore graphic pictures and illustrations,” Tomes said.

Ford also asked Tomes if he believed this bill could have a chilling effect on the types of material students can access.

If schools are providing harmful materials, “I hope it does have a chilling effect,” Tomes said, “I hope it’s enough of a chilling effect that they will come to their senses.”

Ford referred to a recent survey of Indiana parents conducted by Gallup that indicated that most are satisfied with the subject matter taught in their schools. Tomes countered that he believes many parents don’t know what happens inside their schools.

Senator Rodney Pol (D-Chesterton) criticized the legislation for allowing parents to file complaints over material that is “inappropriate,” which could lead to a flood of politically motivated grievances. He also criticized the bill for not requiring parents to complete the complaint procedure before attempting to file criminal charges.

Pol said current law already makes it illegal to provide minors harmful or obscene material. He said he agrees with the intent to create a process for parents to file complaints. But he said the word “inappropriate” is not defined.

Pol said removing “educational” from the statutory defense allowed for teachers and school librarians will have a negative impact on what materials schools offer.

“That’s about as un-American as it gets. We’re going to chill you into doing what we want. This is about moving the cultural and political war to the libraries,” Pol said. “This is about telling the librarian if you don’t get rid of those books that I don’t like, I’m gonna see if I can get you put in jail.”

Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville) said that while many schools may not make pornographic materials available to students, “some of them do have a problem.” He said the intent is not to target libraries, but to close a legal loophole.

“You could take something that would be illegal to hand to a child on the street — I would go to jail if I handed this to a child on the street — but if I was in a school building or in a library, it would not be illegal,” Baldwin said. “And that’s what this bill is trying to do, is try to correct that loophole.”

Baldwin said the complaint process in the bill would give parents a means to have their concerns heard by school administrators and school board members.

Sen. Andrea Hunley (D-Indianapolis), a former principal, said she supports parents having a voice, but she has concerns over the process outlined in the legislation.

“I think that the complaint process that we already have in place is working,” she said. She also questioned why the legislation allows parents to file complaints over “inappropriate” materials, instead of “pornographic.”

Because librarians and other school staff members may fear that a certain book could be construed as inappropriate by some parents, they may avoid stocking libraries with or teaching texts dealing with historical issues like slavery, Jim Crow laws and the Holocaust.

“And then we also have to think about our books that are dealing with tough modern issues, you know, racism, and sexism and mental illness and suicide and even assault, these books are more likely to be axed,” Hunley said. “We know this because we’re seeing it.”

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Bill to make school board races in Indiana partisan dies in the House

2023-02-27T21:52:03+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A bill that would have let Hoosier communities decide if local school board elections should be partisan died in the Indiana House after lawmakers failed to vote on the measure by Monday’s deadline.

That means school board races will stay nonpartisan — at least for now. Language from the bill could still crop up in others before the end of the current legislative session.

House Bill 1428, authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, sought to add political party identifications to what are now nonpartisan school board elections throughout the state. The legislation was the first to extend “local control” over the issue.

Monday was the deadline for House bills to pass out of the chamber. Prescott did not call the bill for a full chamber vote, however, likely indicating a lack of support from the House Republican caucus.

GOP House Speaker Todd Huston expressed support for optional partisan school board races earlier this month, but noted that members of his caucus are “all across the spectrum” on Prescott’s proposal — “This is one of those bills that doesn’t split along party lines,” Huston said.

Multiple other versions of the bill circulated through the Indiana Statehouse this year and last, to no avail.

A separate proposal that died earlier in the current session would have instead created a blanket requirement for school board candidates to identify as a Republican, Democrat or Independent.

Currently, Indiana is among 41 states where local school board elections are held without any party identification on the ballot for candidates.

The move for partisan school boards bubbled up after local fights over COVID-19 protocols, race issues and book bans.

Latest version of the bill

The latest version of the bill would have given Hoosier communities two options to trigger a referendum vote.

One provision said sitting school board members could decide on their own to vote for their seats to become partisan. But local voters still get the final say. According to the bill, school boards could have taken that action as early as Jan. 1, 2024.

Another option would have permitted the decision to be made through a petition process requiring signatures of 500 voters or 5% of voters in the district, whichever is lesser. A successful petition would put the question on the ballot.

But locals also had the option to do nothing at all, meaning school board elections in a particular district would remain nonpartisan. That was the default option laid out in the bill.

Updated language in the bill clarified that Libertarians and other third-party candidates could run, as long as they declare their party affiliation.

Voters would also have been required to choose, individually, school board members on ballots — a straight-ticket option wouldn’t be available.

Whether through a school board vote or voter-led public question, school board candidates would have had to run in partisan primaries in order to be nominated for the general election, or forgo a primary altogether but have to use a partisan label in the general election.

To claim a party, school board candidates further must have voted that way in the last two primaries in which that person voted.

Candidates for school board additionally could not work for that school corporation, according to the bill.

A school board or community would have been forced to wait 10 years between any public questions if they later changed their minds and wanted to opt-out of partisan school board races.

Indiana school districts may have to turn over underused buildings to charters. Here’s what to know.

2023-02-24T20:31:23+00:00

Legislation that would allow charter schools to acquire underused traditional public school buildings that are still serving students heads to the Senate floor after passing out of committee along party lines on Wednesday.

The bill makes it easier for charter schools to take advantage of the so-called $1 law, which currently requires school districts to offer unused, closed school buildings to charter schools or state educational institutions for the sale or annual lease price of $1.

Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican from Granger who wrote the bill, has said in hearings that the intent of the bill was to clarify the existing $1 law, which a judge characterized as ambiguous in a recent ruling in favor of Carmel schools. But critics of the law, which has faced opposition from Democratic lawmakers and could have a significant impact on Indianapolis Public Schools, say it spurs the forced turnover of buildings to charter schools.

The initial version of the bill would have forced districts with declining student populations to shutter school buildings operating at less than 60% capacity.

But after Republicans on the Education and Career Development Committee amended the bill, the legislation now states that school districts “may” close such schools, placing the responsibility on charter schools to identify underused buildings and first work with the district to try to acquire one.

But Senate Bill 391 still allows charters to petition the Indiana Department of Education if those negotiations do not work, ultimately allowing the attorney general to enforce the sale or lease of the building. The bill also expands the $1 law to allow education nonprofits to acquire buildings.

The bill offers districts some reprieve by requiring charter schools that no longer have a use for an acquired district building to offer it back to the school district.

Rogers declined to comment this week when contacted about the bill by Chalkbeat.

The bill passed 8-4 out of committee. It will head to the House if it passes the Senate by Tuesday, but further amendments could still change the bill.

Here’s what we know about Senate Bill 391, inspired by questions from our readers.

How does the bill define an underutilized school?

The bill defines an “underutilized” school building as one where student enrollment has averaged less than 60% of the building’s capacity for the current school year and the previous two school years.

If the building’s capacity is unknown, then its capacity is determined by the average maximum full-time enrollment in any of the last 25 years.

The bill only applies to school districts where enrollment has dropped by at least 10% within the past five years. The district must also have more than one school building serving the same grade levels as the one that is subject to closure.

And schools can only close if there is another suitable building with “sufficient capacity” to take students from the closing school that is no more than 20 minutes away.

School districts could also keep buildings open if they demonstrate that they are being used for alternative education, administrative offices, or storage. In order for districts to use this provision, at least 30% of the building must be used for alternative education, and at least 50% must be used for offices or storage.

What would this bill mean for IPS?

The bill could have huge implications for Indianapolis Public Schools, which had an average utilization rate of 60% for its buildings in the 2021-22 school year, according to a facility condition analysis.

Paul Miller Elementary School 114 is one of six buildings that IPS will close at the end of this school year. Charter schools have expressed interested in occupying some of these buildings.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat and former IPS principal, authored a failed amendment to the bill on Wednesday that would exempt districts like IPS where charter or innovation schools already occupy 10% of school buildings.

“Collaboration is already happening in Marion County in unique ways,” Hunley previously told Chalkbeat. “I’m perplexed by trying to create a solution on the state level when this is a very localized issue.”

Hunley’s amendment was one of several that Democrats on the Education and Career Development Committee tried but failed to pass.

What’s the difference between an underused building and a school with small class sizes?

Unless lawmakers amend the bill, it might not be possible to distinguish between a school that’s “underutilized” and one that has purposefully small class sizes. The latter is often a selling point for families who choose charter and private schools.

And it’s possible that a school is “underutilized” but using all of the space, critics said.

What happens to kids who attend a school that’s declared underused?

The bill says a building can only be closed if there is an available school within 20 minutes that can serve the same grades, meaning district students would likely go there if they didn’t attend the new charter school.

But the bill does not say whether the 20 minutes of travel would be via car, public transit, biking, or walking.

Would the law apply to charter schools?

Neither the $1 building law nor the new bill to expand it apply to charter schools. Without changes to the legislation, charter schools would not have to report and turn over their underused buildings.

How does the law apply to a building with debt?

Generally, under the existing law, the school district remains responsible for any debt attached to the building before it was leased, while the charter school is responsible for any expenses to the building during the term of the lease. Co-located schools share expenses.

Expanding the law to cover underused buildings, rather than just vacant ones, could in theory create situations in which districts carry capital debt for buildings they are leasing to charters.

When can a district sell a building for market value?

Typically, a district can sell a building for market value if it offers the facility to charter operators and gets no takers.

Indianapolis Public Schools recently sold the John Marshall building under this provision to create a community hub.

Can a charter school make a profit off of a building acquired for $1?

Current law states that if a charter sells the building to a third party, it must pay the district the amount by which the property’s value increased, minus any adjustments made to the property that may have increased its value.

The amended bill advanced by the committee would require charters to first offer an acquired building back to the school district before selling it. If a school district declines the building, the charter may sell it.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana senators not so keen on voucher expansion included in House budget

2023-02-24T15:55:43+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Top Indiana senators said they aren’t so sure about a House Republican budget plan that would more than double taxpayer spending on the state’s “school choice” voucher program.

House lawmakers on Thursday approved their version of the budget, punting it over to the Senate.

But pushback is already mounting against provisions that seek to generously expand eligibility for the state’s “school choice” program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools.

Republican Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray said that while his chamber is “passionate about school choice, too,” he’s skeptical his caucus will be on board with the House proposal.

“I’m a little hesitant on that,” he said Thursday, pointing to “a big number” price tag to allow a majority of Hoosiers to qualify for the school choice program. “Every year the voucher piece is a big discussion on the budget. We’ll have some other conversations, as well, but that will be a big one.”

He also hinted at support for more voucher school accountability, but spared any specifics.

Republican House Speaker Todd Huston remained firm, however, that his caucus has no interest in adopting additional transparency or accountability guardrails.

“The program as it exists has been extraordinarily successful,” Huston said. “We feel very good about where we are … [the Senate] will have different priorities, and we’ll work through those different priorities with them.”

Senate expected to hit the brakes

The new voucher dollars account for roughly a third of the $2 billion in new, additional state funds that House Republicans want to earmark for K-12 education over the biennium.

Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said the decision comes as a way to increase “options” for Hoosier parents.

Expanded eligibility for the Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools — would raise the income ceiling to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000, according to the House budget.

Currently, vouchers are limited to families that make less than 300% of the federal poverty level, meaning a family of four can make up to $154,000 annually.

Bray said he also wasn’t sure the Senate would support the House’s proposed elimination of the eight pathways currently in place — in addition in income requirements — that determine student eligibility for the program.

“When you move it up to 400% of the poverty level, it’s a big number there. And when you get rid of the pathways, that really accentuates that,” Bray said. “We’re going to take a very close look at it.”

Voucher schools receive state funding, too, but are not required to operate within the same parameters as local public schools. For instance, they don’t have elected school boards and don’t have to justify their spending. Critics have long maintained that such schools lack transparency and accountability to the public.

The latest pushback came from a top GOP senator who called for voucher school reforms — not expansion — in the current legislative session.

Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, said that Senate and House disagreements on voucher spending predated this year’s expansion and senators consistently preferred a smaller amount than their House counterparts.

“That’s something we’ve always negotiated,” Mishler told the Indiana Capital Chronicle Thursday.

When crafting the last state budget, Mishler said his caucus agreed with the House’s voucher request though he personally objected.

In his recent letter urging Hoosier parents to rethink charter schools he called for additional guardrails, pledging not to support “one additional dollar spent” on the voucher program without student protections.

But even though he chairs the Senate’s powerful Appropriations Committee, Mishler said he still abided by the wishes of the overall caucus.

“That’s what people are misinterpreting — I can’t control that,” Mishler said. “I personally am reluctant to support an expansion until I can get some protections… [but] I’m not trying to take down this program, I’m actually trying to strengthen the program.”

Mishler said he was meeting with voucher proponents to discuss future guardrails for voucher schools but specific solutions would come out later.

“Our caucus members just have to ask themselves — they’re spending over half a billion dollars to increase the eligibility. For our members … What do they want to give up to get to that dollar? I think that’s really the overall question,” Mishler said. “But I can’t control what we do. I always go to the caucus.”

House leadership still committed to expansion

After the expansion, the program would cost the state an estimated $500 million in fiscal year 2024, and another $600 million in the following fiscal year. The current state budget appropriates $240 million annually for the Choice Scholarships.

Indiana has about 87,000 private school students, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). About 44,000 of those use the state’s Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. But under the House GOP plan, the remaining 43,000 would be eligible for the grant, which would average around $7,500 statewide.

Still, about 90% of Hoosier students currently attend a traditional public school.

Huston held that the “hundreds of thousands of kids” that have used Indiana vouchers in the last decade are a testament to the program’s popularity — and a sign that increased eligibility would boost participation even more.

“They’re popular. They’re popular with families,” he said. “We see no reason why we shouldn’t continue to expand.”

Thompson additionally maintained earlier this week that private school tuition vouchers will “save the state money.”

“We’re educating 100,000 students [at voucher schools] for half the cost of those at traditional public schools,” Thompson said, pointing to debt service costs at public schools that “costs the state more money.”

“That’s a great deal for taxpayers, and also just honors a philosophy that I think a lot of us have, that parents should make what they believe is the best choice for their students,” he continued.

The Senate now takes the reins on the budget. But the chamber isn’t likely to unveil its spending plan for another month, closer to the release of the state’s next fiscal forecast.

Will higher FAFSA completion mean more Hoosier students go to college? Officials hope so

2023-02-23T22:13:47+00:00

As higher education battles low enrollment and perceptions that it is too expensive, lawmakers and others are working to make sure more Indiana students know about the financial aid available to them.

This Sunday is College Goal Sunday, a free in-person event at locations around the state, to help families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as the FAFSA. And earlier this week, lawmakers advanced a bill that would require most students to fill out the form.

The legislation and the College Goal event highlight arguments from public officials that millions of dollars in aid is being left on the table, money that could change a student’s decision about postsecondary education.

A new survey released earlier this month by the Indiana Department of Education shows that roughly 70% of high schoolers in Indiana plan to pursue education after high school.

But just 53% of students in Indiana’s Class of 2020 went on to college, state data released last summer showed. And only 27% of parents say it’s affordable, per the new survey.

Filling out the FAFSA would show Hoosier families more aid options and potentially change that, in turn, improve Indiana’s college going rate, leaders argue.

As of Feb. 10, roughly a third of Indiana’s Class of 2023 had completed the FAFSA, per Form Your Future, a national tracker of FAFSA completion.

College Goal Sunday offers FAFSA help

Students need to fill out the FAFSA to be considered for federal financial aid, such as Pell Grants. But the form is also used by many states and colleges as well as private aid providers to determine eligibility for state and school grants, scholarships, and more.

In Indiana, the deadline to file the FAFSA for state aid is April 15.

Senate Bill 167 would require all students, with certain exceptions like for those at some nonpublic schools and for students whose parents sign a waiver, to complete the FAFSA by that state deadline during their senior year. The Indiana Senate passed the bill earlier this week and it now awaits action from the Indiana House.

College Goal Sunday started more than 30 years ago and is now a model used in other states.

The event comes around like clockwork, and families can count on it as a way to get the form off their to-do list, said Bill Wozniak, co-chair of the event.

“The FAFSA is so critical and the most important form,” he said.

But he knows that despite strong interest in education after high school, many Hoosiers are uncomfortable with the financial aid process.

He’s heard it in his role leading College Goal Sunday, and as he’s traveled the state leading an advisory team from INvestED, a nonprofit that provides free financial aid advising to students and families. And a survey from INvestED shows the same.

Nearly 90% of Hoosiers see a value in education beyond high school, but 62% say understanding the process of paying for college is not easy, per the survey results released earlier this month. And of people who don’t enroll, 28% said it was because of the cost.

When it comes to FAFSA, families and students are often worried that they are on the hook for student loans just by filling out the form, or that they make too much money or it’s too difficult to fill out, he said.

But Wozniak stressed that the FAFSA doesn’t require people to take out loans and is a way for many people to qualify for aid beyond what’s earmarked for students from low-income backgrounds.

And events like College Goal Sunday can help not just by answering questions, but by calming nerves, he said.

Indiana House Republicans want to reshape school district, charter funding

2023-02-21T00:44:01+00:00

This article was originally published by WFYI.

House Republicans wrote a sweeping overhaul to limit local property taxes for public school corporations and opened a new type of funding for charter schools in their proposed two-year state budget.

The change would mandate the amount of funds every public school district and charter school receives for operations — money to cover non-classroom expenses. The proposed amount is $1,400 per student in 2024 and $1,500 per student in 2025.

This would result in charter schools and some small and rural schools getting a boost in state dollars. But a cap on the per student funding amount would also slash millions of dollars in local operation funds at large school districts. That impact would not be immediate – over the next eight years, lower tax rates would be phased in.

Budget architect Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) said the proposal equalizes operations funding. Now, the amount of funds a school district receives is dependent on multiple factors, like local property values, and varies significantly between some districts. And charter schools receive no dedicated funds for transportation or facilities.

It’s unfair, Thompson said, for some school districts to take in thousands of dollars in per student funds from local property levies, while other schools have far less support.

“I philosophically can’t continue down that path once I understand it,” Thompson said during a committee hearing on the House budget amendment. “I just think it’s not the right policy for the state.”

To ensure every school receives the same amount of funds, the state would subsidize any traditional public school that generates less than $1,400 per student from its operation levy. The grant would cover the difference between the target amount and local funds.

Charter schools, who do not receive local property taxes, would also receive $1,400 per student next year from state funds. The proposed operations grant would essentially replace a current state grant for charter schools that offers $1,250 per student.

House lawmakers estimate the new operations fund to cost $253.6 million over the next two years.

The provision would also require school corporations to have an operations tax levy of $0.40 or less per $100 of assessed value by 2031. In general, districts with larger tax bases lose money in this model.

As an example, Indianapolis Public Schools could be required to reduce the rate of its current operations tax levy by around 38 percent over the coming years and have its fund cut by tens of millions of dollars.

But projections released by House Republicans show IPS would not face funding cuts in 2024 or 2025 as local assessed property values continue to increase.

A fiscal analysis of the plan and the impact on individual school districts and charter schools is not yet released from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

The new funding mechanism and grant is wrapped in the House Republicans’ $43.3 billion biennium spending plan. It also includes nearly $18 billion for the K-12 funding formula, an increase of more than 10 percent from the last state budget.

It advanced to the full House on a party line vote.

What does this mean?

Education leaders and lawmakers have long sought a formula to equitably fund schools across Indiana while accounting for the vast differences in urban, suburban and rural communities, and also weighing the multitude of factors that impact students, from poverty to learning English.

School choice advocates have also pushed for increased funds for charter schools as means of providing an equitable education to students and keeping up with district schools who benefit from tax referendum funds.

School districts are funded through a combination of state and local taxes. The state general education fund covers teacher compensation and other classroom expenses. And all schools receive the same base funding for each enrolled student. Additional dollars are added to the basic state grant based on the needs of each district, such as the amount of students in poverty or services for special education.

The local operations fund is generated from a tax levy on property owners in the boundary of each school corporation. This fund can be used for transportation and bus replacement expenses and capital projects, like renovations or new buildings. If a school district wins voter approval for an operating tax referendum, those new funds generated by a tax increase can be used for teacher pay and classroom expenses.

That is the current funding model for traditional public education. When charter schools were created by legislation in 2001, lawmakers provided the same per student funding from the state general education fund as traditional schools. Additional state grants for charter schools have since been enacted. But legislation does not allow charters to levy local property tax funds to cover transportation or facilities. Under this bill, the state would make up for the local tax funds charter schools do not receive through a new grant.

Innovation charter schools, a charter model that requires a contract with a local school district, are not included in this provision. Instead, HB 1001 would create a new grant program for each innovation charter school to receive $1,400 per student in 2024 and $1,500 per student in 2025 to use for facility and transportation costs.

The proposal makes $25 million available for the innovation charter school grants program in the two-year spending plan.

Multiple education organizations WFYI reached out to this declined to comment on the proposal, each citing the need to fully understand the impact of a change to operations funding and other details in the 200 page budget bill.

Contact WFYI education editor Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.

Indiana lawmakers advance bill banning education on ‘human sexuality’ through the third grade

2023-02-20T23:36:58+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

More than four hours of “We say gay!” chants echoed through the Indiana Statehouse Monday as hundreds rallied against a bill that would prohibit Hoosier educators from talking about “human sexuality” through 3rd grade.

The latest draft of the proposal also targets transgender students by prohibiting school employees from using a name or pronoun that is inconsistent with a student’s sex without a parent’s written consent.

Schools would additionally be required to notify parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns.

The bill advanced along party lines 9-4 to the full House. The chamber must approve the bill and send it to the Senate by Feb. 27, or it dies.

Lawmakers on the House Education Committee met Monday to debate House Bill 1608, authored by Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Greenwood. The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

“The goal of House Bill 1608 is to empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children,” Davis said, noting that the bill is a response to “numerous concerns of parents in her district.

“Parents know what’s best for their children, and their authority should not be superseded by teachers and school administrators,” she continued.

Earlier language in Davis’ bill banned K-3 classroom instruction or discussion about sexual orientation, gender fluidity, gender roles, gender identity, gender expression and gender stereotypes.

The committee nixed that list of topics and instead changed the bill’s language to bar younger kids from being taught about “human sexuality.”

Davis said that encompasses “the way people experience and express themselves sexually.” She noted that the change intends to prevent sex education from being taught to younger Hoosier students.

Davis conceded that Indiana schools do not currently teach sex education to students that young. The introduction of those concepts usually starts in the fourth grade, according to state standards.

Bill targets pronouns

Education advocates argued Monday that the bill, as amended, is an “attack” on LGBTQ Hoosier youth — especially transgender students.

A provision to the legislation prohibits schools and teachers from using “a name, pronoun, title, or other word to identify a student that is inconsistent with the student’s sex” assigned at birth unless a parent requests the change in writing.

The bill advanced along party lines 9-4 to the full House. The chamber must approve the bill and send it to the Senate by Feb. 27, or it dies.

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said that the pronoun language, specifically, “makes the bill far less palatable.”

Still, Republicans on the committee maintained that the bill would not apply to curriculum for academic standards or prevent students from having private, one-on-one conversations with a school counselor, social worker or therapist.

But the bill isn’t so cut and dry.

Language in the bill reads that “a school, an employee or staff member of a school, or a third party vendor used by a school to provide instruction” can not provide any instruction on “human sexuality.”

Additional amendments adopted to the bill on Monday clarify that teachers — if asked — are allowed to answer students’ questions about “human sexuality” and other topics. It’s not exactly clear what educators are or are not allowed to say, however.

“(A teacher can respond) any way that is the correct answer … You can have two moms, you can have two dads, you can have a mom and a dad. The rest of the discussion should be with the parents,” Davis said, when asked what a teacher would be able to say to a first grader who asks why a peer has two moms.

Private schools were also carved out of the latest draft of the bill.

Majority of testimony in opposition

Only a handful of people testified Monday in support of the bill.

That included Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, who said K-3 teachers should be focused on improving dismal math and literacy scores, not “unnecessary controversies.”

“Parents are free to talk to children about these issues. But when the teacher, counselor or guest speaker does it, all that will do is cause heartache for school administrators and the school board, at some point,” Clark said.

Damon Clevenger, a music teacher in Lawrence Township in Indianapolis, said, “As a young LGBTQ+ child, I was constantly a target for bullies and close-minded people who would rather isolate me than accept me for who I am. I honestly don’t believe I wouldn’t be standing here today if it had not been for my teachers who saw me accepted me, and the proud, out educators who let me know that I was not alone in this world. This bill would take that away from our children today.”

He also promised that students will always have a safe space in his classroom.

Jennifer Laughlin of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) said current state law already protects students of all ages from “obscene materials” — which is what some of the bill’s supporters say they want erased from classrooms.

“This bill is about scoring political points, rather than addressing the real issue,” she said. “Regardless of this bill’s merit, it’s based on a bad faith argument from the start. This bill brings to light issues that are a part of a national trend designed to sow doubt and further a false narrative of our great public schools.”

Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, held that state lawmakers should not “create a universal standard” that imposes Christian values and beliefs on all Hoosiers.

“The bottom line is that we’re here in education and in government to serve people … and to get so upset about pronouns … that we lose the educational focus — we’re here to educate children, not to sanctify them,” Smith said. “We need to make schools inviting … we’re creating a problem that we don’t need to create.”

Paula Davis, mom of three school-age children, an educator, and a chapter president of Moms for Liberty, disagreed.

“This is not about whether or not I agree with homosexual lifestyle. This is about my right as a parent to guarantee my children are not being told the morals and values of their parents are wrong.”

She added that the bill “is guaranteeing that my children do not have an educator introduce them to a topic that I do not believe should be discussed outside of my presence. It is creating a neutral space so children are not forced to participate in something that is so divisive, especially when they may not feel like they have a voice or the power to challenge the teacher.”

Indiana senators nix discussion on latest bill restricting classroom topics

2023-02-15T21:44:56+00:00

Indiana senators were scheduled to discuss Wednesday the latest bill to ban certain topics on race and racism from K-12 classrooms, but pulled the bill from the agenda shortly beforehand.

The abrupt change in plans by the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development came after a Tuesday rally by groups opposed to such legislation.

Senate Bill 386 seeks to prohibit schools from teaching that a group of people is inherently superior or inferior to another, or that they deserve adverse or unequal treatment, based on a long list of characteristics: age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, mental or physical disability, religion, or national origin.

The bill is similar to failed legislation from last year that was part of a spate of such proposals in statehouses nationwide. Indiana’s GOP-controlled legislature quashed the proposal after widespread criticism, despite expectations that the state would join other red states in passing laws often ascribed to a backlash against critical race theory.

The 2022 version of the proposal differed slightly from this year’s bill. It sought to prohibit the teaching of seven concepts related to race, including that students should feel discomfort or guilt on the basis of their identity.

Though the Indiana legislature is considering a number of other bills related to how schools can approach topics like identity in schools, SB 386 was the first to be scheduled for a hearing. It’s unclear if lawmakers will return to the bill in next week’s education committee meeting — the last opportunity for bills to be heard in committee before reading deadlines the following week.

This year’s bill drew condemnation Tuesday from a coalition of groups, including the Indiana State Teachers Association, the Indianapolis NAACP, the Indianapolis Urban League, and others.

Those groups were also key to defeating last year’s legislation, House Bill 1134. They called the new bill unnecessary and “ignorant.”

The coalition also drew attention to an amendment to the bill that was circulated but not posted online that sought to change the bill to focus only on race and color.

“The legislation is in a different package with a new bow, a harmless sounding name, but nevertheless, it is as harmful as prior legislation, even more so because it targets race,” said Gwen Kelley of the Indianapolis NAACP.

Wednesday was the first scheduled hearing for this year’s bill on the topic.

In a statement on why the bill was dropped from the agenda, author Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican and chair of the Senate education committee, said he would “continue having conversations” about making classrooms a place where all children could learn and thrive.

Raatz’s statement did not address whether the bill would return for next week’s hearing. Raatz’s office did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment about the amendment.

The legislature is considering several other bills that would affect how schools can discuss topics like sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms. Those bills are also still awaiting a hearing.

Chalkbeat Indiana Bureau Chief MJ Slaby contributed to this story.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Legislation would require Indiana districts to share property tax revenue with charters

2023-02-14T21:45:12+00:00

A long-awaited bill to require Indiana school districts to share property tax dollars with charter schools has attracted attention and scrutiny from groups that disagree about which schools should benefit from public funding.

The proposal is the latest sign that lawmakers might direct more public dollars to support school choice this budget session. Proponents characterize this strategy as funding students instead of systems, while opponents argue it leaves fewer resources for the nearly one million students in Indiana’s traditional public schools.

Under current state law, charters do not receive a portion of the funding that districts can collect from property taxes, and can’t put their own referendums to raise operating revenue to voters.

Senate Bill 398, authored by Republican Sen. Linda Rogers of Granger, would require districts to share some of that tax revenue, though Rogers made changes that significantly pare down the scope of the proposal.

Beginning in 2024, districts would need to share any revenue from local property taxes earmarked for operating expenses that’s above the average they received from 2021 to 2023 with charter schools in the same or contiguous counties.

Rogers’ bill would require charter schools to hold public hearings on their budgets, and to set up operations funds to receive referendum dollars, which would only be available for a list of qualified expenses related to buildings, transportation, and technology.

The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday. Rogers said she would be open to meeting with the members of the public who came to testify to discuss the bill further. House lawmakers are considering a similar bill.

“To me, it’s simply unacceptable that a student who chooses a different public school than the one they are geographically assigned to should receive thousands less in education funding annually,” she said during Tuesday’s hearing.

Charter supporters argued during the hearing that the current local tax system leaves them with less. Furthermore, it means that parents who send their children to charter schools don’t benefit from the property tax dollars that they might pay.

But opponents of the bill said it would be inappropriate to direct more public money to schools that don’t have measures of accountability like publicly elected school boards. They also said charter schools have access to funding sources that are unavailable to traditional public schools — such as federal and state grants, philanthropic support, and assistance from the city of Indianapolis, for example.

One such source of funds, the state Charter and Innovation Network School Grant Program, provides grants of $1,250 per charter student, lawmakers noted. Meanwhile, two federally funded grants are earmarked for charter schools’ expansion and facilities.

“If a taxpayer is not satisfied with how their tax dollars are being spent, they have an opportunity to provide input at school board meetings, or through the voting process,” David Marcotte, executive director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association, told lawmakers Tuesday. “The prospect of losing these funds to charter schools … will be a burden on many school districts in my association.”

IPS superintendent opposes ‘zero sum’ funding

The legislature has repeatedly presented “zero sum” strategies that move money from one group of students with high needs to another, Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said at the hearing.

Johnson said that under the bill, the district would expect to receive around $2 million less in funding annually. She also noted that charter schools with small populations — a selling point for families — often have a higher per-pupil cost than other schools.

Independent charter schools received around $7,326 less than IPS in per-pupil funding in 2019, according to a report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education. Statewide, that gap is around $3,800, according to testimony from Kristin Grimme, senior vice president of strategy at The Mind Trust, a group that supports charter schools in Indianapolis.

But IPS was the first district in the state to share its latest 2018 operating referendum money with the Innovation Network charters considered part of the district, giving $500 per pupil to those charters.

The district has also noted that it pays more than $40 million in in-kind services to support charters within its Innovation Network.

IPS also covers facilities and transportation costs for 15 of its 24 Innovation charters, most of which comes from the district’s operating fund, Johnson noted on Tuesday.

Still, charter school leaders and pro-charter organizations have argued that a meaningful disparity exists.

In Indianapolis, the IPS school board’s decision last month to delay a vote on a new operating referendum came after high-profile lobbying from the charter school community that charters should benefit more from the referendum. The latest IPS referendum pitched by district officials would have shared more of the additional revenue with Innovation charters than the district initially offered, but none with independent charters.

Other proposals for funding on the table

The legislature is considering several other proposals that would affect local funding and resources for schools.

House Bill 1498 would place a one-time cap of 5% on operating referendum revenue for 2024.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 391 would compel districts to make their underused school buildings available to charter schools. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday.

Other proposals would direct more state money to vouchers and similar programs. One such bill seeks to open the state’s Education Savings Accounts to more families, allowing them to use state tuition support dollars to attend private schools.

And House Republicans’ signature education bill this session would create career scholarship accounts for students to be used for job training with organizations other than their high schools. House Bill 1002 will be heard by the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Sex ed in Indiana isn’t required. Here’s what it looks like in schools that teach it.

2023-02-13T16:38:43+00:00

The assignment started out easy. Two students acted out a conversation between a teacher and a student about homework help.

Then it got trickier.

The students needed to apply the same principles of communicating and listening effectively to a conversation between two romantic partners about having sex for the first time. And they had to use all the knowledge about healthy relationships, preventing pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases that their weeklong sex education class had just covered.

There were no wallflowers or shrinking violets in Haileigh Huggins’ class at Irvington Community Middle School, as nearly every hand shot up for a chance to perform the skit. But there was some giggling.

“This can feel a little awkward. A little weird,” Huggins told the students after they quieted down. “But the more we practice difficult conversations, the better we get. Remember: The only person who can make a decision about your body is you.”

Sex ed that covers birth control, pregnancy, and consent isn’t required in schools in Indiana.

Lawmakers and advocates have tried to change that, especially in light of the state’s abortion ban and statistics showing a decline in the number of students who receive sex ed at school or at home. But such efforts — including two bills on sex ed in the current legislative session — face an uphill battle as disputes about how schools should address complex social topics play out in Indiana and nationwide.

Despite evidence linking sex ed to improved behavioral outcomes, like delaying sex, Indiana is one of 21 states that does not require the course in schools.

It mandates only that schools teach lessons on HIV and AIDS, and expects schools that do teach sex ed to emphasize abstinence. Past bills to expand what schools need to cover have not been called for discussion, and other legislation this year instead seeks to place limits on classroom conversations about topics like sexual orientation.

Without statewide sex ed requirements, Indiana students might receive an incomplete education depending on where they go to school, experts say.

“When young people are given the information they need, they’re able to make really good decisions for themselves. They can ask questions, feel affirmed in who they are as individuals,” said Alison Macklin, director of policy and advocacy at SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. “Their experience will be vastly different from kids who didn’t get that education.”

Access to sex education in Indiana varies

Huggins had worked with many of the students in the class before, which helped put the teens at ease.

As an educator with LifeSmart Youth, a nonprofit organization that contracts with schools to offer sex ed, she taught their fifth grade course on puberty and the basics of reproduction. The curriculum begins with elementary school lessons on bullying, then turns to talks on healthy relationships that emphasize abstinence per Indiana law, but include all methods of contraception.

Now in seventh grade, the students had spent the week talking about different birth control methods and their effectiveness at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Their last day for the class was spent learning to communicate, first through familiar scenarios like asking for homework help and listening to the response. Then they applied the same principles of expressing their opinion and respecting their partner’s reaction to a mock conversation about safe sex.

One student read prompts — “What does safer sex mean to you? What else do we need to talk about?” — while another ad-libbed responses — “I think condoms would be a safer choice.”

The students performing the skit didn’t falter, and their classmates remained quiet and attentive. If the assignment was a little awkward, it was also an incredibly important example, Huggins said.

“You’re allowing us to hear these conversations,” Huggins told them.

But data indicates that fewer of these kinds of conversations are happening around the state.

Around 65% of students in 2015 said that their parents talked to them about sex, compared to 55% in 2021, according to the Indiana Department of Health’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Additionally, the share of middle schools that taught students about the efficacy of condoms has dropped in that time period from 58% to 41%.

LifeSmart CEO Tammie Carter said the organization has a waiting list of schools interested in the program. However, she noted that it has also seen districts drop the program in the wake of legislation that would restrict classroom conversations about “divisive concepts.”

This year, lawmakers are again considering a bill that would prohibit teachers from raising certain topics on race and discrimination, as well as another that would ban discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity from K-12 schools.

It’s not clear how many schools in the state include a sex ed curriculum.

But students in schools that do offer sex ed are likely to have better behavior outcomes in the near- and long-term, said Macklin of SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, including choosing to delay sexual activity or use contraception.

An ideal sex ed curriculum would be aligned to recommendations from pediatricians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and experts in child development, Macklin said. It would be structured as a K-12 framework, beginning in the early grades with topics like not touching others without permission.

It would also change the state’s requirement for schools to emphasize abstinence — one of the few requirements for schools that offer sex ed.

Bills to teach sex ed face challenges

Two bills in the Indiana House seek to expand what the state requires of a sex ed course, though neither would make the lessons mandatory in schools. Since 2018, Indiana has required schools to give parents a chance to opt students out of the lessons, which would not change under the bills.

House Bill 1066, authored by Rep. Sue Errington — a Democrat who at one time worked for Planned Parenthood and has brought the similar legislation forward in past years — and House Bill 1566, authored by Republican Elizabeth Rowray, would each require schools that do offer sex ed to provide medically accurate, age-appropriate sexual health education. That education would have to be applicable to all students regardless of gender, sexual orientation, and whether they’re sexually active.

The bills specify that schools that opt to provide sex ed must offer it to students once in fifth grade, twice in middle school, and twice in high school. And they emphasize teaching abstinence as the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and disease, but not to the exclusion of other methods of contraception.

Rowray, who supported the state’s ban on most abortions that passed last summer, said she sees education as key to reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in Indiana.

“It’s important for everyone regardless of identities to understand the ramifications of having sex and how it can impact you from a physical, mental, and emotional standpoint,” Rowray said. “Having the facts will dispel the myths.”

Rowray previously served as the director of a crisis pregnancy center — an organization that dissuades clients from having abortions — that offered sex ed to local schools. In this role, Rowray said she heard students repeat a number of inaccuracies about sex and pregnancy — like that they couldn’t get pregnant in a hot tub, or if it was their first time.

But one comment from a student stuck with her, Rowray said: A teenage girl wrote that until taking a sex ed class, she didn’t know she could say no to having sex with her boyfriend.

Around 17% of female students reported being forced to have sex they didn’t want to in 2021, compared to 15% in 2015, according to the state’s youth behavior survey.

“You might give consent one, 10 or 50 times, but you can choose to revoke that consent and say, this is not a healthy choice for me at this time,” Rowray said.

Rowray said she’s not sure if her bill has support from her statehouse colleagues. Neither bill has thus far had a hearing in the House Education Committee, like similar bills in the recent past.

She added that she hopes Indiana makes sex ed in all schools mandatory.

Educator training crucial for sex ed

In addition to curriculum, Macklin said it’s important for sex ed legislation to consider how to train educators in the topic.

It’s not uncommon for schools to turn to outside groups like LifeSmart, which sends in trained educators. But if classroom teachers are expected to teach the curriculum, they need to know how to create a safe environment for all young people, regardless of their personal or family background, Macklin added.

The Indiana bills from Errington and Rowray would allow school employees or contractors to teach sex ed, as long as they have “knowledge of the most recent medically accurate research on human sexuality, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases.”

Before Huggins closed out her lesson, her students wanted to know if she had “the talk” in school. Huggins said she had indeed received the puberty talk in fifth grade, but not the follow-up lesson on reproduction.

Did she laugh?

“Of course,” she said.

Huggins added in an interview that shepherding a classroom of teenagers through discomfort was part of her training. Laughter, when it happens, isn’t punished.

“This is funny stuff. It’s important, it’s normal, it’s natural,” Huggins said. “And if we’re comfortable, we’ll all learn better.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill would compel school districts to shutter underused buildings, offer them to charters

2023-02-08T21:57:40+00:00

A bill in the Indiana Senate would significantly expand a state law that requires school districts to make their empty buildings available to charter schools.

While existing state law compels districts to make vacant or unused buildings available to sell or lease to charter schools for $1, Senate Bill 391 would clarify that the law also applies to an “underutilized” building.

It would require districts to compile an annual report of the buildings it uses for instruction to determine if any are underused, which the bill would define as occupied at less than 60% capacity. Underutilized buildings would be closed, and charter schools would be notified, unless the district could prove it uses a building for other qualified purposes.

The proposal would also allow charter schools or the state Department of Education to request a review at any time of whether a school building should be closed. And districts that don’t comply with the law would be subject to a funding penalty, losing 3% of their state tuition support for 12 months.

Bill author Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger) said the purpose of the bill was to provide more clarity to the existing laws that govern school building closures.

The state has recently seen several high-profile cases of charter schools accusing public school districts of unfairly holding onto buildings that they say should be offered under the $1 law. In one example, a judge ruled last month that Carmel Clay Schools in Hamilton County did not violate the law by closing an elementary school and refusing to offer it to the Hillsdale College-supported Valor Classical Academy. The judge cited the “ambiguity” of existing law.

“Taxpayers paid for that building to be used for public education,” Rogers said. “All too often, buildings are being kept open to use for storage or offices, when there are much less expensive options available.”

The bill applies only to districts where enrollment has dropped by at least 10% over five years and where there is another suitable building serving the same grades located within 20 minutes of the targeted building.

It provides exceptions for buildings being used for alternative programs, storage, or office space, but districts must meet certain requirements, like using at least half of the building for storage and exploring other potentially less expensive options that would serve the purpose.

The bill would turn authority over building closures — which currently rests with the Attorney General’s office — to the Department of Education.

If passed, the bill likely would immediately affect districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, which is in the midst of a plan to restructure its use of underutilized buildings. A district facility condition report found that the district’s average utilization rate is 60%, with some schools operating far below capacity.

The bill heard mixed public testimony at the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday, serving as a proxy in the long-standing fight between charter and traditional public school advocates.

Many speakers said the expansion of the law would impact a local school board’s authority to decide what to do with its buildings. One district requested an amendment that would exempt districts if a school building is being used for a nonprofit educational program, like a Boys & Girls Club.

Jerell Blakeley of the Indiana State Teachers Association objected to a provision that would allow charter schools to request reviews of school buildings.

“There is nothing to deter an interested party from tying up the school board for months in bad faith,” Blakeley said. “There are no penalties for trying to take a building without merit.”

But charter supporters said charter schools don’t have access to property tax funding as traditional districts do, and thus can’t accommodate growing interest in their programs. The legislature also is considering bills this year that would compel districts to share property tax dollars with charters.

“This funding disparity forces charter schools to pay for their facilities amongst other expenses out of the tuition support dollars used to educate their students,” said Molly Collins of the Institute for Quality Education, a nonprofit organization that advocates for charter education.

Lawmakers did not vote on the proposal, but Rogers said she would consider some of the testimony in making any changes ahead of next week’s hearing.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

‘The right thing to do:’ Indiana considers in-state tuition for students without legal U.S. residency

2023-02-01T23:35:57+00:00

Hoosiers without legal U.S. residency may become eligible for in-state college tuition rates through a bipartisan bill currently under consideration by the legislature.

The students have had to pay out-of-state tuition instead of paying the lower in-state rates due to a 2011 law, and despite past efforts to change the policy.

This has left Indiana as just one of a few states that requires students lacking legal residency status to pay out-of-state tuition rates — often at a cost of many times the in-state rates — leaving college out of reach.

But lawmakers are trying once again to change that with Senate Bill 135, which would make students eligible for in-state rates if they have attended Indiana schools for four years and either graduated or received the equivalent of a high diploma.

The bipartisan bill would also require students to file an affidavit with their college stating that they will apply to legalize their immigration status as soon as the option is available.

The bill is authored by Republican Sens. Blake Doriot of Goshen and Linda Rogers of Granger, and Sen. David Niezgodski, a Democrat from South Bend.

Doriot said the bill would put Indiana in line with other states that make in-state tuition accessible to more students, like those who were brought to the United States as children, but who don’t qualify for temporary resident status as offered in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA recipients are currently eligible for in-state tuition at some Indiana public colleges, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.

Doriot added that many of his constituents have lived in Indiana for a long time despite not having legal resident status, and that the cost of college leads students to give up on higher education.

Given its critical need for workers, the state should help students who want to go to college, Doriot said.

“This problem has come to us… not from what the state of Indiana has done, but what the federal government has failed to do. We haven’t been able to get together and find a clean pathway to citizenship,” Doriot said. “And we are addressing children, young adults, who want to further themselves and they’re here, and they can’t go home.”

“The bottom line is, this is just the right thing to do,” Niezgodski added.

SB 135 had its first hearing Wednesday to public support from community groups and higher education systems, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Indiana Latino Institute, Stand For Children Indiana, and Ball State University.

Sen. J.D. Ford, a Democrat from Carmel, noted that at Purdue University, for example, in-state students paid around $10,000 per year in tuition, versus $28,800 for out-of-state students.

Rachel Santos, director of education policy at the Indiana Latino Institute, said Indiana is now just one of two states barring students without legal residency from accessing the less expensive in-state tuition rate. She added that the state’s Latino population is growing in large part due to immigration.

“This is not a handout. This is asking for a fair chance at earning an education,” Santos told lawmakers.

There were no amendments or votes on Wednesday. Chair Sen. Jeff Raatz said the committee would take up the matter next week.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s plan to ‘reinvent high school’ moves forward with grants of up to $5,000 for job training

2023-02-01T21:32:56+00:00

A proposal to bring more job training to Indiana high school students moved forward Wednesday over the objections of Democratic lawmakers who said the bill still had too many unanswered questions about its scope and funding.

The bill, which House Republicans have said will “reinvent high school” by allowing students to meet graduation requirements through career experience, gives students state-funded scholarship accounts to spend on workforce training outside their schools.

The voucher-like proposal saw a few tweaks Wednesday as author Rep. Chuck Goodrich, R-Noblesville, added a price range of $2,500 to $5,000 to the accounts, to be determined by the Department of Education and the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet.

New language also specifies that schools can host joint career fairs to meet the provisions of the bill, and requires all schools to offer a career awareness class for all students, regardless of whether they use the scholarship accounts, by July 2024.

The bill passed the House Education Committee by a vote of 8-4 and now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee, which will determine the cost of the program. If passed, accounts would be available for the 2023-24 school year, and the education department would be tasked with creating new diploma requirements by December 2024.

Though there was no testimony Wednesday, community organizations in past hearings have expressed support for more career development for students, along with reservations about the additional work the bill might create for schools.

Democrats on the education committee said the bill was moving forward with too many unanswered questions, including how the funding would be doled out between schools, students, career training providers, and any intermediaries between those entities.

They proposed a number of amendments to limit the scope of the bill — including one to make the proposal a pilot program in only a few schools around the state, and another to study the idea further in a summer committee — but most were shot down on party lines.

They also questioned whether the bill’s proposal to allow students to use funds from the 21st Century Scholarship Grant, which are currently earmarked for college tuition, for postsecondary career training would lead to fewer students from low-income families earning college degrees. Republicans on the committee denied this suggestion.

Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, added that the scope of the bill was enormous, and would affect private schools and state agencies while creating a parallel education system.

“They talk about not being ready for prime time; this bill isn’t ready for soap opera time,” DeLaney said in the committee hearing.

The committee also rejected an amendment to provide more funding to school counseling departments, which DeLaney argued would be burdened with implementing the program.

The committee did accept an amendment from Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith of Gary to offer schools funding for career fairs.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana advances plan to expand school choice program to more students

2023-01-25T22:01:02+00:00

A bill that would expand school choice in Indiana and divert funds from public schools advanced on Wednesday with major changes.

Senate lawmakers enlarged the pool of students who could receive state money to attend private schools, but backed away from an initial proposal that would have opened the state’s Education Scholarship Accounts to all students regardless of family income or education needs.

Sen. Brian Buchanan amended his bill on Wednesday to limit the accounts to families meeting the program’s current income requirements. His changes also would reserve half of the total appropriation for students who receive special education services — the group the accounts currently serve.

The amended legislation passed the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development by a vote of 8-5, with GOP Sen. Jean Leising joining the four Democrats on the committee in opposition. It now heads to the appropriations committee.

The bill could become one of the more notable education policy legacies of Indiana’s 2023 legislative session. Proponents say it puts more control in parents’ hands over their children’s education.

“Any time you can give more choice and more options for parents, I believe it’s better,” said the bill’s author, Buchanan, in committee hearings last week.

Meanwhile, critics assail the program for siphoning off funds from state education and public schools.

“This is not about parent choice, this is about diverting and divesting money away from public schools,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura, a Democrat.

Other concerns from opposition lawmakers included expanding a relatively new program to all families without data to gauge its effectiveness.

Created in 2021, the scholarship accounts currently are open only to students who receive special education services and whose families who don’t exceed certain limits on household income, allowing them to use state funding to attend private schools.

Buchanan’s bill would remove special education requirements, opening the choice program to families with a household income up to 300% of the federal poverty level. It would also raise the grant that a student would receive from 90% to 100% of the state tuition dollars earmarked for their public school.

The total cost of the proposal hasn’t been revealed, and that cost will determine the number of students who could participate. Buchanan said the appropriations committee would make that determination, but that he would support a $10 million appropriation, equal to its current budget.

Though just 143 students participate in the education scholarship program in 2022-23, interest is likely to increase as more people become aware of it, according to the bill’s fiscal note. Senate Bill 305 will make more families whose students attend private schools eligible for state support, potentially increasing the total cost to the state, according to the note.

The education scholarship accounts are separate from the Choice Scholarship program, which is open to most students from low- and moderate-income families in Indiana. That program served around 44,000 students last year, at a cost of about $240 million.

The expansion of the education scholarship accounts is not the only voucher or voucher-like program that lawmakers are considering this session. Another would create career scholarship accounts, giving students state grants to spend on job training with organizations outside their schools.

Career scholarship accounts would not come out of tuition support dollars for schools, though they would render schools ineligible for career and technical education dollars for each student who opts for a scholarship account instead.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana students may need to learn how to open bank accounts, take out loans in order to graduate

2023-01-25T20:25:32+00:00

A proposal to require all Hoosier high schoolers to take a personal finance course is moving forward, amid a spate of legislation aimed at improving students’ financial literacy.

Senate Bill 35 — one of five bills that would make personal finance a graduation requirement — mandates that schools offer a stand-alone course on topics like opening a bank account, applying for loans, and filling out tax returns. High schoolers would be required to take the class beginning with the Class of 2028.

The bill, authored by GOP Sen. Mike Gaskill, unanimously passed out of the Senate Education and Career Development committee Wednesday.

The vote puts Indiana on track to join several other states that have recently adopted financial literacy graduation requirements. However, some lawmakers and others questioned if the bill would create an additional burden for schools, or if the principles of financial literacy could instead be incorporated into other courses.

A total of 17 other states, including Michigan and Ohio, now require such a course for graduation, according to a report from Next Gen Personal Finance. The report also found that nationwide, schools where a majority of students are students of color — as well as those where most students receive federally subsidized meals — were far less likely to have a guaranteed personal finance course than whiter and wealthier school districts.

A mandate for such courses isn’t entirely new to schools in the state. Around 11% of Indiana students are currently enrolled in schools that require a semester-long course dedicated to personal finance, according to Next Gen Personal Finance’s report.

Another Indiana bill would allow students to meet a current graduation requirement to take Algebra II by taking a personal finance course instead.

Testimony from a committee hearing on the bill last week highlighted the necessity of such a course.

“Who’s to know what financial influences may challenge our students in the year 2030?” said Bob Taylor of the Indiana Association of School Superintendents. “To have a solid foundation of financial literacy is going to be critical for them to continue to be lifelong, articulate, intelligent consumers.”

A financial literacy bill has been expected since the Interim Study Committee on Education recommended the measure last fall. At that time, Democratic Sen. Shelli Yoder expressed some concern that math teachers would be tasked with teaching financial literacy while also trying to help students recover from pandemic-era academic setbacks.

Other lawmakers have asked if the bill would create an undue burden for schools.

Gaskill said that the Indiana Department of Education could decide to adjust another mandate to make room for this requirement, but that personal finance is important enough to merit its own class.

A one-semester course that exclusively covers personal finance is the ideal format, J.W. Fansler of the Indiana Council for Economic Education said, because it allows schools to reach all students just as they may be starting their first jobs.

Integrating personal finance into existing courses is possible, but presents issues, he said. Incorporating it into an economics course conflates two separate subjects, for example, while adding it to math classes might be tricky with high schoolers on different math tracks.

The class should cover budgeting, including tracking expenses like car and house payments, insurance costs, and utility bills, Fansler said. To teach this, some schools have turned to “reality stores,” in which students choose an occupation and learn how much they’ll make on average, and then spend their projected paychecks on both necessities and discretionary costs.

“A lot of students are surprised at how much things cost,” Fansler said of their reaction to personal finance education. “They think: I’m going to make $15 an hour — but wait — $15 an hour doesn’t go as far as I thought it would.”

Overall, creating a personal finance graduation requirement is good for Indiana students, and the state as a whole, Fansler said.

“Financial stress is one of the top stressors. If they can decrease that, it’s going to make their job performance improve, their relationships better,” he said. “If they’re job prepared, they’ve learned about discipline, it’s going to make their lives better.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the number of states that require financial literacy as of 2023, as well as the link to the most recent Next Gen Personal Finance report.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers will again consider a bill to ban certain topics on race and sex from classrooms

2023-01-20T19:07:52+00:00

Indiana lawmakers will again consider a bill to ban certain topics related to race and racism from classroom discussions, after similar legislation last year stirred national backlash and ultimately failed to pass.

This year’s bill, introduced by GOP Rep. Shane Lindauer, includes a list of seven concepts that educators would be forbidden from promoting, including that individuals are inherently consciously or unconsciously racist or sexist, or that they should feel “discomfort, guilt, or anguish” on the basis of their race or sex.

House Bill 1338 also reaches into the higher education sphere by prohibiting state educational institutions from requiring students to take gender or sexual diversity training, or racial and sexual bias training.

The bill is another indication that some members of the GOP supermajority want to tackle how schools address hot-button social issues this session, despite some lawmakers’ calls to focus on school funding in the biennial budget and not divisive cultural topics.

Reflecting broader political disputes, Republican lawmakers have also filed a series of bills focused on minors’ gender identity, including two that would prohibit the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. Other bills would compel educators to report if a student requests to change their name, pronouns, attire, or what restroom they use.

But so far, conversations about expanding school choice and voucher-like programs have dominated the first meetings of the House and Senate education committees.

Lindauer’s bill specifies that parents must be notified if a survey that their student takes would be shared with a school district’s third-party vendor.

His bill has been referred to the House Education Committee.

The bill has a much narrower focus than last year’s legislation, which in an early draft would have created curriculum review committees and required teachers to post their learning material online. The language in Lindauer’s bill also differs slightly from last year’s proposal, which included a broader list of protected characteristics, like ethnicity, religion, color, and national origin.

Last year’s House bill, along with its companion in the Senate, met with strong opposition from a coalition of teachers, parents, and community groups, who said the bills would silence conversations about history in classrooms.

Supporters of the legislation from last year said the proposals gave parents more control over what their children were learning via the curriculum portals.

Indiana’s contentious debate in 2022 was part of the national furor over whether K-12 schools were teaching critical race theory, a graduate-level legal theory focused on institutional racial bias.

The bill ultimately died in the Senate after passing the House.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills would ban teaching of gender identity, sexual orientation

2023-01-20T16:47:43+00:00

This story has been updated to include a bill filed in the Indiana Senate and a statement from Rep. Michelle Davis.

Bills to ban the teaching of gender identity, gender roles, and sexual orientation in schools have been filed by GOP lawmakers in the Indiana legislature.

House Bill 1608, introduced by Rep. Michelle Davis, would prohibit all Indiana schools and their third-party vendors from providing any instruction in kindergarten through third grades with the intent to “study, explore, or inform” students about six topics: gender fluidity, gender roles, gender stereotypes, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

Another bill, filed in the Senate by Sen. Gary Byrne, would go a step further and ban the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in all K-12 grades. Senate Bill 413 would also require schools to disclose to parents if their student is permitted to use a bathroom not designated for their biological sex.

Such bills have been anticipated since Rep. Bob Behning, chair of the House Education Committee, said in December that Indiana might follow the lead of Florida, which last year enacted similar legislation called the Parental Rights in Education Act that’s frequently referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Separate legislation introduced by another Republican legislator, Rep. Jake Teshka, would prohibit schools from encouraging the use of a pronoun, name, or nickname to identify a student or school employee that’s “inconsistent with the … individual’s sex.”

These and other bills indicate that Indiana lawmakers might continue or even expand on efforts from last year to control how teachers and schools address controversial cultural and social issues. Davis was the architect of last year’s state ban on transgender girls playing in girls’ youth sports; she called it a means of maintaining fair competition in female sports. A lawsuit challenging that ban was recently dismissed.

In 2022, amid a surge in Republican efforts nationwide to regulate teaching materials and classroom discussions, Indiana lawmakers debated but ultimately failed to pass a bill that aimed to restrict how teachers talk about race and racism with students.

The Indiana General Assembly is also considering several other bills focused on minors’ gender identity, including one that would require school employees to report if a student requests to change their name, pronouns, or attire. Davis has also introduced one of the bills this year that seeks to ban medical professionals from providing gender transitioning or puberty-blocking procedures to minors.

The bill from Davis that’s similar to the “Don’t Say Gay” law appears to be missing some components of the Florida statute, including the option for parents to sue a school district for violating the law. But Byrne’s bill in the Senate, which also covers parental consent for giving students certain health surveys, does create a pathway to filing a lawsuit.

Davis called her bill “commonsense legislation to support parents’ fundamental rights” in a statement.

“The goal of this bill is to empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children,” Davis said in a statement.

It’s not clear whether such proposals will receive support from the broader Indiana Republican caucus. So far this year, GOP lawmakers have focused on expanding school choice and a voucher-like proposal about job training in high schools.

Teshka’s bill would ban schools from encouraging the use of names or pronouns that are inconsistent with an individual’s sex, but it does include an exception if a student’s parent makes the request in writing with documentation from the student’s health care provider.

The ACLU of Indiana has referred to the bills as a “slate of hate.”

“A number of these bills represent a coordinated, hate-driven campaign to push trans people out of public life,” Katie Blair, ACLU of Indiana Advocacy and Public Policy Director, said in a statement. “LGBTQ people belong everywhere, including in our state and we will not stand for these attack bills.”

The bill from Davis banning the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in early grades, as well as Teshka’s bill, have been referred to the House Committee on Education, which doesn’t yet have its next meeting scheduled. Both bills were posted online the week after the Jan. 12 filing deadline for House bills.

Byrne’s bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers weigh bill to create universal school choice program

2023-01-19T21:51:50+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday began a contentious debate over whether it should bring universal school choice — and its daunting potential long-term cost — to Hoosier students and parents.

Testimony heard in the Senate education committee raised questions about how much universal education scholarship accounts would cost and whether the state can afford to fund all students who are eligible to participate. This would be separate than the state’s voucher program, known as Choice Scholarships.

Critics of the bill additionally doubled down on their concerns that the program expansion would pull additional dollars away from already cash-strapped public schools.

Bill author Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, maintained that his bill seeks to give families more options and ensure that students who don’t qualify for the program now — but want to — can participate.

“ESAs are designed all around to put parents in control of their kids’ education, allowing them to have more say in essentially determining how the money is going to be spent and what accountability and transparency will look like,” Buchanan said. “Anytime you can get more choice, more options for parents, I believe it’s better, and that’s what this bill is doing.”

The bill is awaiting committee approval, which could come as early as next week. Senate education committee chairman Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, said several amendments to the measure are likely to be adopted before a vote is held.

Will Indiana adopt universal school choice?

Indiana’s Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program was created by the General Assembly in 2021 despite pushback from public education advocates who argued that the program lacks oversight and takes money away from traditional public schools.

Currently, ESAs are limited to students who qualify for special education. Families must also meet income limits to participate. The income ceiling is high, however. A family of four can make up to $154,000 annually — equal to 300% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program.

But Buchanan’s bill would extend the program to all students, regardless of a student’s educational needs or their family’s income level.

Accounts set up by the state treasurer’s office provide each qualifying student with funding for private school tuition and various other educational services from providers outside of their school district.

Buchanan is seeking to increase the ESA grants from 90% to 100% of the per-pupil funding that the state provides to local public schools. That means, on average, a student is eligible to receive about $7,500 per academic year.

The previous state budget appropriated $10 million a year for the program, enough to fund about 1,300 ESAs. Fiscal year 2023 is the first year the program enrolled students. The treasurer’s office reports that 143 students are participating in the program this year.

Buchanan said he “would be happy” if budget writers kept the ESA funding the same in the next biennium, noting that the program expansion “is contingent upon getting a line item for a fiscal line item in the budget.”

While Buchanan repeatedly tried to focus on that initial $10 million price tag, the program could easily grow.

For instance, Indiana has about 87,000 private school students, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). About 44,000 of those use the state’s Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. But the remaining 43,000 would be eligible for the grant, which would average around $7,500 statewide.

That would equal more than $300 million annually.

The voucher program started similarly with a cap of 7,500 students at a cost of $15 million. The cap doubled the next year and now there is no limit and a current annual cost of $240 million.

Home-schooled students would also be eligible, along with public school kids. But the latter are already being funded in the state’s K-12 support formula.

Buchanan emphasized that less than 150 students currently participate in the ESA program. He said there are another 300 families who want to take part but aren’t currently eligible.

“This program only exists if it gets funded by the state budget that we’re currently crafting,” he said, adding that “whether it be $10 million again, or less or more than that, that will be the cap.”

Buchanan said the program will be “first come, first served” if the number of students who want an ESA exceeds the state cap.

It is unclear if the voucher program would still exist alongside a universal education savings account program.

It’s also not clear whether the GOP caucus will support a universal school voucher program in the current budget. Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said last week that he “would love to see” Indiana adopt such a program.

Changes to high school learning and degrees

Legislators on Wednesday also began discussions around a key education bill that seeks to “reinvent” high school curriculum. The House education committee heard two hours of testimony on HB 1002, a priority bill for the caucus that seeks to expand work-based learning in Indiana high schools, like apprenticeships and internships.

In addition, the bill would create a framework for students to earn a post-secondary credential before leaving the K-12 system.

Bill author Rep. Chuck Goodrich, R-Noblesville, said his proposal seeks to narrow the “skills gap” between Hoosiers and employers.

“Many students are not receiving the education and training they need to succeed in our workforce,” he said. “The world is changing at a rapid pace. We need to ensure that our students are ready for all that lies beyond high school — that they will have additional pathways to succeed.”

Paramount to the bill is a provision that would establish accounts for students in grades 10-12 to pay for career training outside their schools.

The career scholarship accounts (CSAs) would be similar to Indiana’s ESAs. Students would first be required to create a postsecondary plan in order to qualify for the scholarship accounts.

The amount each participating student can receive to pay for apprenticeships, coursework, or certification would be based on a calculation of the state dollars that their school receives. Students won’t qualify for a CSA if they’re already enrolled in a career and technical education program, though.

The IDOE would be tasked with approving the courses and tracks available to students, as well as determining the grant amount for each course.

GOP lawmakers said their goal is to get 5,000 to 10,000 students to participate in the next fiscal year.

Other provisions in the bill would require IDOE to put in place new diploma requirements by 2024, and ensure that high schools hold career fairs to help students connect with employers and work-based learning providers.

The bill would also allow students to apply funds from the 21st Century Scholars program — a statewide grant program that supports student enrollment at two- and four-year schools.

The CSAs have so far been met with support from business and economic leaders from across the state. Many education officials said they’re on-board with the idea, but they want more clarity around the bill’s fiscal impact.

The Indiana State Teachers Association, which opposes the current draft of the bill, said they specifically want lawmakers to ensure that public schools “play a major role” in work-based learning expansion.

“We are concerned that this bill drastically creates further privatization and outsources the public tax dollars that will have significant implications on school funding, how funding is streamed to schools and how it will affect students in classrooms,” said Jerell Blakeley, ISTA’s director of government, community, racial and social justice. “Educators in public schools are uniquely qualified, by training experience, to ensure that work-based learning experiences are both substantive and substantial.”

Indiana plan to create student career scholarships draws questions about funding and flexibility

2023-01-18T23:36:17+00:00

Indiana lawmakers provided some answers Wednesday about a draft plan supporters say would help more students find career pathways, although concerns remain about how flexible the career-preparation proposal would be for students and the negative impact it might have on schools’ current programs.

The voucher-like plan, outlined in House Bill 1002, is the result of a recent Republican push that lawmakers say would “reinvent” high school by providing more job training to students in order to address skills gaps and employee shortages.

The legislation would create career scholarship accounts to pay for students in grades 10-12 to take apprenticeships directly from employers. It would also change graduation requirements, and allow students to use money from a state program that supports free college on job training instead.

During a House Education Committee discussion about the bill, lawmakers and members of the public focused on how much the proposal would cost the state, how it would impact schools’ career and technical education programs, and whether students would be paid for their apprenticeship work or be allowed to change career pathways while using the accounts.

Rep. Chuck Goodrich, the bill’s author, and Rep. Bob Behning, the committee chairman, said there are still details about the accounts that lawmakers have to determine. They also said the Indiana Department of Education and the Governors’ Workforce Cabinet, which would jointly administer the program, would also play a role in how the program would work.

The bill’s supporters said the exact amount of funding for the career scholarship accounts would be left up to state lawmakers in charge of writing the biennial budget. And the state education department would determine how much students would receive for specific courses or programs.

However, the career scholarship accounts would not be funded from the tuition support dollars that are the primary source of state funding for traditional public schools, Goodrich said. The state’s education savings accounts, by contrast, provide a portion of those tuition support dollars to families for outside special education services.

Behning said he hopes between 5,000 and 10,000 students take up the scholarships in the first year of the program. Rep. Ed DeLaney, a Democrat, said that if each student were awarded a $5,000 grant, for example, the state would need up to $50 million annually to cover the cost.

Students could opt to use their scholarship funds at their schools, or at outside employers, for training and apprenticeships that align with their post-graduation plans. Courses and career tracks supported by the scholarships would be first approved by the education department.

However, schools would lose the career and technical education funding they receive for each student opting for a career scholarship account. Goodrich said this provision would stop schools from being able to “double dip” from state funding.

Some worried that the proposed scholarship accounts would siphon money from career and technical education programs that schools already offer, leading to fewer school offerings for students — especially in small and rural districts.

John Hurley, a career technical educator at South Spencer High School in Rockport, said his courses generate around $77,000 in funding annually, which often does not fully cover salaries and equipment maintenance. He added that his school already works with community employers to provide career opportunities to students — but that under the bill, he’d have to compete with those same employers for students.

“Smaller school corporations in Indiana work with extremely thin margins to maintain any programs,” Hurley said. “A loss of any funding would begin to weaken a program’s ability to be supported or even exist.”

Behning countered that many established career and technical education centers could become providers and intermediaries under the career scholarship program. He also noted that the proposal would incentivize schools to help students earn professional credentials, because each school would receive a $500 grant for doing so.

Rep. Becky Cash, a Republican, added that not every school district is able to offer every kind of career pathway for interested students.

“This brings equity and equality to the state in that every student would have an opportunity to participate in something like this,” Cash said.

DeLaney also asked if the bill provided additional support for schools, since they would be responsible for setting up career fairs and facilitating introductions to employers. Goodrich countered that the bill would actually reduce the pressure on schools, because it would outsource some career counseling and guidance to businesses.

It’s not clear yet if students would be paid for their on-the-job training or work under the bill. They would not be obligated to work for an employer that provided them training after the students graduate, according to Behning.

During public testimony, Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, told lawmakers that parents were frustrated that the legislature wanted to change graduation requirements yet again.

Indiana adopted its latest graduation model, which allows students to earn diplomas through different pathways, in 2017. It goes into effect for the Class of 2023.

Democratic Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a math teacher in Vigo County, asked Goodrich if students would be allowed to change career goals under the program. In a school-based career technical education program, she pointed out, students can try one career path and decide it’s not for them.

Behning and Goodrich replied that they hoped relatively few students would change career pathways because they’d be getting support from employers.. For those who did change their minds, Behning said he hopes some of their skills would be transferable to a new pathway.

Lawmakers did not amend or vote on HB 1002 Wednesday. The committee will meet again next week.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill would require teachers and schools to report student requests to change names, pronouns

2023-01-13T22:19:07+00:00

Gender identity and transitioning are the focus of a number of bills filed by Indiana lawmakers in the 2023 session, including one that would require teachers and schools to disclose if students request to change their names or pronouns.

The focus on transgender youth this year builds on similar themes from the 2022 session, when lawmakers passed a controversial bill to ban transgender girls from girls’ sports. At the same time, lawmakers appear to be steering clear of bills on other controversial social issues in schools that have sparked previous disputes in Indiana and elsewhere.

The proposed legislation is causing alarm in some camps, including the ACLU of Indiana, which has called for action to stop the “record number of anti-LGBTQ bills” in the Indiana legislature, referring to them as a “slate of hate.”

Senate Bill 354, authored by Republican Sen. Jeff Raatz, chair of the Senate Education and Development Committee, primarily deals with school accreditation. But Raatz’s bill would also require teachers and school employees to report to the school if a student indicates that they would like to change their “name, attire, pronoun, title, or word to identify the student in a manner that is inconsistent with the student’s biological sex at birth.”

They would also have to report if a student expresses having “conflicted feelings about … or difficulty handling” their gender identity or gender expression. The school would then be required to disclose this information to the student’s parents within five days.

GOP Rep. Michelle Davis, who authored the legislation banning transgender girls from girls’ sports last year, has introduced a bill this year that would prohibit medical professionals from providing gender transitioning or puberty blocking procedures to minors.

Another bill, authored by Republican Rep. Ryan Lauer and co-authored by Davis, specifies that a child could not be removed from their parents’ custody if the parent declines procedures or therapies that “affirm the child’s perception of the child’s gender or sex if the child’s perception is inconsistent with the child’s biological sex.”

At least one prominent lawmaker pushed in the opposite direction. A bill by Senate Minority Caucus Chair J.D. Ford, a Democrat, would extend anti-discrimination protections at schools to students based on their gender identity and sexuality.

Ford’s legislation, Senate Bill 39, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to state law prohibiting discrimination in public schools, which currently includes disability, race, color, gender, national origin, religion, and ancestry.

The bill would prohibit segregation based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and ban schools from denying students admission on that basis. It would also prohibit discrimination in hiring teachers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Aside from the early focus on transitioning and gender identity, the General Assembly seems to lack the appetite to tackle other bills about controversial social issues bills that marked the 2022 session, including another attempt to ban certain topics on race and racism from classrooms.

And despite earlier reports, lawmakers don’t appear interested in debating legislation similar to a Florida bill — commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last year — that restricts discussions of sexual orientation in early grades.

The House’s deadline for filing bills was Thursday, while the Senate’s deadline was Friday afternoon.

The bills from Raatz and Ford have been referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development, which meets for the first time on Tuesday. Neither bill is currently on the agenda for that day.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Sen. J.D. Ford's title.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how Indiana Republicans plan to make good on their promise to ‘reinvent’ high school

2023-01-12T23:00:23+00:00

A new bill in Indiana would establish accounts for students to pay for career training outside their schools, as part of House Republicans’ campaign to “reinvent” high school and align it more closely to the workforce.

House Bill 1002 creates career scholarship accounts similar to Indiana’s education savings accounts, which grant eligible families a portion of their school’s K-12 tuition support dollars to seek special education services and therapies from providers outside of their school district.

Like the education savings accounts, the amount that each career scholarship student would receive to pay for apprenticeships, coursework, or certification is based on a calculation of the state dollars that their school receives. But it’s not immediately clear whether career savings accounts would also be funded in part by state tuition support dollars.

The bill, authored by GOP Rep. Chuck Goodrich of Noblesville, aims to fulfill the promise that House Republicans made last November to change the high school experience in a way that prioritizes workforce experiences. It’s a recurring theme for the state, which already has several career-focused tracks for students, like local pathways to graduation that lead students to careers in certain industries.

HB 1002 would make further changes to allow students to apply funds from the 21st Century Scholars program — a free college program for students from low-income families — to apprenticeship programs as well.

“Whether our high school graduates want to further their education or enter the workforce, they’ve got to be ready to hit the ground running,” Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers, said in a statement. “We need to align our local employers’ needs with our students’ needs.”

Under HB 1002, students in grades 10-12 would need to create a postsecondary plan in order to qualify for the scholarship accounts, which can only be used to pay for courses or apprenticeships that align with that plan.

The Indiana Department of Education would be tasked with approving the courses and tracks available to students, as well as determining the grant amount for each course. Under the bill’s provisions, the department would also need to adopt new diploma requirements by 2024.

HB 1002 also requires high schools to hold career fairs, and prohibits schools from receiving money for career and technical education for students who are already enrolled in the career scholarship program.

The bill, filed on the Thursday deadline for House legislation in the 2023 session, has been referred to the House Education Committee.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana education groups seek school funding increase, expanded preschool access from lawmakers

2023-01-06T20:10:51+00:00

As Indiana lawmakers prepare to create the state’s next biennial budget, education advocates have coalesced around a few key issues that they say will best support Hoosier students and families.

They see expanding access to both early learning and higher education as critical to the state’s economic health. And they hope to see another historic funding bump for K-12 education in order to help alleviate rising operating costs and school staffing shortages.

They have support from Gov. Eric Holcomb, who shares at least a few of the advocates’ priorities.

It’s not yet clear how responsive legislators will be to these requests, though advocates say they’re hopeful. As of Friday, the education bills filed ahead of Indiana’s legislative session include another attempt to make school board elections partisan, and curriculum-focused bills to mandate teaching cursive, sex education, and internet safety.

Here’s what advocacy groups say should be on the legislature’s radar in 2023.

Increased funding for schools sought

Education watchers expected to see an increase in school funding as the state heads into a budget year with a surplus on the books.

Holcomb on Wednesday proposed a nearly $1.2 billion increase in K-12 tuition support, which funds both public schools and the state voucher program. Holcomb also said he supported continuing the state’s work to raise teacher salaries to an average of $60,000.

The Indiana State Teachers Association said increased funding is key to addressing teacher shortages and meeting the state’s salary goals.

“Without at least meeting inflation, services for students will continue to suffer,” the union said in its list of policy priorities. “Simply repeating Indiana’s historic commitment from its last budget would not meet today’s impact of inflation.”

The governor’s proposal represents a 6% increase in funding for the first year of the budget — a figure that’s in line with the Indiana School Boards Association’s recommendation to help schools meet increased operating costs. Terry Spradlin, the group’s executive director, said inflation has affected everything from food service to busing.

The final increase will likely be dependent on spring budget forecasts, said Denny Costerison of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. He pointed out that in the 2021 budget, schools received more than expected after a positive economic outlook.

But requests for more funding aren’t confined to the tuition support formula.

Many education advocates support the Department of Education’s request to increase funding for students who are learning English, which is allocated outside of the formula. Groups have also called for more funding for special education services, especially those that are considered unusual or relatively expensive, like out-of-state schooling.

Holcomb’s budget proposal includes increasing funding for English learners to $50 million a year, in line with the education department’s request.

Without the increases, district officials say they will have to continue using funds meant for students from low-income backgrounds to cover English learner and special education costs.

“In talking to legislators, no one is saying that’s not needed or we’re not looking at it,” Costerison said of the additional funding.

More for preschool and child care

Expanding access to preschool and child care has been a near-universal call this year from education groups, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and Holcomb. It’s too early to tell if lawmakers will acquiesce — one bill filed ahead of the session would seek to double the number of preschool grants awarded in Marion County.

The state has made strides in this area over the past decade, said Samuel Snideman, vice president of government relations at United Way of Central Indiana, including by funding all-day kindergarten and establishing the On My Way PreK assistance program for low-income families.

Still, there’s room to grow, he said, as well as a need to challenge the notion that early education is solely a parent’s responsibility.

“We think that making high quality early childhood education possible for as many families — especially families in poverty — as possible is worth the state’s investment,” Snideman said.

“There are lots of families where every parent available in the house has to work, and even then, they can’t afford childcare.”

United Way is calling for the state to expand eligibility for its two child care programs by raising income limits to 185% of the federal poverty level — a higher threshold than the 138% limit Holcomb has proposed.

The Indiana School Boards Association would like to see that threshold raised even higher to 300% of the federal poverty limit, which would match the income requirements for the state’s K-12 voucher program.

Spradlin said research has shown that every dollar spent on high-quality early learning provides at least a $4 return on the investment.

“There’s been hardly any pushback,” Spradlin said of talking to legislators about early learning. “It’s that there are so many priorities, we’ll see what we can fund.”

Other proposals include establishing a universal preschool program, incentivizing employers to create child care programs, and funding overall wage increases for child care employees.

Apart from funding, several groups have zeroed in on loosening regulations unrelated to health and safety in order to allow more child care programs to open.

Snideman said the state could streamline the inspection process to help established high-quality providers open additional locations in other parts of the state.

Auto-enrolling students in 21st Century Scholars

Another popular proposal this year is to automatically enroll all eligible students in the 21st Century Scholars program, which pays for college tuition costs.

The program is open to seventh and eighth grade students in Indiana who come from low-income backgrounds, and has been linked to increased college enrollment and completion rates.

But advocates would like to see greater participation. The state’s Commission on Higher Education in December found that fewer than half of all eligible students enroll.

According to the Indiana Youth Institute, while 69% of Black Hoosier students are eligible for the 21st Century Scholars program, only 17% are enrolled.

The higher education commission recommended in December a streamlined enrollment process using Indiana Department of Education and Department of Revenue data to mark students eligible.

“It’s an easy key to turn,” said Snideman of United Way.

Proposals focus on school staffing, retention

Groups have also put forward legislative proposals to address staffing and retention challenges in Indiana schools.

Both the Indiana State Teachers Association and the school boards association have called for more funding to increase the number of psychologists, counselors, and nurses in schools, saying that Indiana’s ratios far exceed recommendations.

For example, while the recommended ratio of students to psychologists is 500-to-1, Indiana has just one counselor for every 1,674 students, said Spradlin of the school boards association.

“We want to free up teachers to teach in the classroom, and not have their efforts diminished by focusing on wellness issues or health issues or behavioral issues,” Spradlin said.

The school boards association would also like to see the state re-establish a mentorship program that paid veteran teachers a stipend to support new teachers. At a cost of $1,000 per mentor, the program would cost an estimated $3 million a year, Spradlin said.

The teachers association, meanwhile, has renewed its call to restore teachers’ rights to collectively bargain their working conditions, and asked for paid parental leave for teachers.

Current laws, according to the association, “are another source of workplace frustration particularly when new parents are forced to return to the classroom before they are ready and/or effectively take a pay cut to have a child.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers revive bill at center of book-banning dispute for 2023 legislative session

2023-01-04T21:32:44+00:00

A revived proposal from Indiana lawmakers that would allow librarians to be held criminally liable for distributing material deemed harmful to minors is among the first education bills filed for this year’s legislative session.

Proponents of such a law have argued that they seek to target only material deemed pornographic or obscene under state statute. But opponents have expressed concern that the law could be used to intimidate librarians and remove books about sex education or LGBTQ relationships from schools and public libraries.

A similar bill failed in the 2022 session after an outcry from K-12 librarians and educators, who said they could be unfairly criminalized under its provisions.

This year’s legislation, Senate Bill 12, is authored by Republican Sen. James Tomes of Wadesville. Like last year’s bill, it specifies that only college and university librarians would be able to claim legal protections from the law for disseminating or displaying material deemed harmful.

The new bill signals that GOP lawmakers might ignore pleas from their Democratic colleagues and teachers unions to focus on matters like school funding rather than divisive social issues. Republican leaders have remained noncommittal about whether the General Assembly will reopen perhaps the most high-profile education debate from last year’s session: whether to ban certain topics related to race and identity from classroom discussions.

Senate Bill 39, authored by Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford of Carmel, meanwhile, would extend discrimination protections at the state’s public schools, including charter schools, to include gender identity and sexual orientation.

Other legislation filed ahead of the Jan. 9 start of the session includes a perennial attempt to mandate a course on cursive in K-12 schools.

Two other bills spotlight personal finance education. Senate Bill 68 would allow students to meet a graduation requirement to take Algebra II by taking a personal finance course instead. Senate Bill 35, meanwhile, would require all graduates to complete a personal finance responsibility course.

Indiana’s academic standards currently include financial literacy.

Senate Bill 142 would require the Indiana Department of Education to add a curriculum on internet safety for multiple grade levels.

Lawmakers will again consider whether to make undocumented immigrant students eligible for in-state tuition at Indiana colleges and universities, a proposal included in Senate Bill 135. If the bill passes, Indiana would join 17 other states who already extend in-state tuition benefits to those students, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

House lawmakers can file bills until Jan. 12, and Senate lawmakers have until Jan. 13.

The session begins on Monday.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Gov. Eric Holcomb proposes nearly $1.2 billion increase for Indiana schools

2023-01-04T21:17:39+00:00

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has proposed a nearly $1.2 billion increase for K-12 schools as one of his priorities ahead of the 2023 legislative session, calling it the single biggest funding increase for schools in the state’s history.

Under Holcomb’s proposal, state K-12 tuition support would rise 6% in the first year of the biennial budget, and 2% the following year, for a total allocation of $17.5 billion.

“[It’s] significant to say the least,” Holcomb said during a Wednesday press conference at Liberty Park Elementary School in Indianapolis.

The increase would come on the heels of another historic funding bump in the 2021 state budget, which was meant to help schools boost teacher salaries. In a press release, Holcomb, a Republican, said he supports further raising the state’s average teacher salary from the current figure of $56,600 to $60,000.

Holcomb also proposed eliminating textbook and curriculum fees for Hoosier families by creating a $160 million fund to pay for all such supplies for more than 1 million students in public schools, as well as students from low-income backgrounds at nonpublic schools. Indiana is one of only a handful of states that allow schools to charge families for textbooks.

Early literacy also featured in the governor’s budget proposals, which included a $20 million incentive program to reward schools that improve their passing rates on the state reading test, and a $4.1 million initiative to expand access to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library statewide.

Holcomb also proposed a $184 million funding increase for higher education institutions for a total of $3 billion over the biennium, as well as a new funding incentive for colleges that keep graduates in Indiana.

Echoing calls from local education advocates, Holcomb supported automatically enrolling eligible students in the 21st Century Scholars program, which pays for tuition costs at Indiana colleges for students who qualify.

Expanding early education is a priority

Community organizations, along with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, have pushed expanding access to child care as critical to the state’s economic health.

Holcomb’s budget proposal included several initiatives on early education, including expanding eligibility for the state’s two child care support programs, On My Way Pre-K and the Child Care and Development Fund.

His proposal would raise the income eligibility limit for the programs from 127% to 138% of the federal poverty limit, allowing around 5,000 more families to qualify, according to a press release.

The threshold would remain lower than the threshold for Choice Scholarship Vouchers, which offer money to students from families with an annual income equal to or below 300% of the poverty limit to attend private schools.

Holcomb’s proposal also includes establishing a federally funded grant to help employers create childcare programs.

Focusing on overall, not weighted, school funding

Holcomb said he chose to focus on an increase in the overall state tuition support — which supports both K-12 schools and the Choice Scholarship program — rather than increase funding earmarked for specific groups of students, like those who come from low-income backgrounds or are learning English. His budget proposal, however, includes a $45 million increase for English learner students.

“It provides obviously the most flexibility,” he said of the tuition support increase.

A summer legislative committee heard school district officials testify about the need to increase supplemental funding for specific student groups. The Indiana Department of Education has also called for the state to nearly double its support for English learner students, from $55 million to $100 million.

Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said at the press conference that the department still hopes to get the additional funds for English learners.

Asked whether he thought lawmakers would support his proposed funding increases, especially amid fears of a recession, Holcomb characterized the requests in the overall budget as legitimate and needed.

He added that he felt confident of convincing lawmakers to adopt his proposals as the legislature prepares to convene on Jan. 9.

“We’ll be mindful to not spend more than we have,” Holcomb said.

This story has been updated.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

From teaching about race to COVID and Rebuilding Stronger, here are our 5 most-read stories of 2022

2022-12-21T13:00:00+00:00

From Indiana Statehouse bills grabbing the national spotlight and a sweeping overhaul of Indianapolis Public Schools, to a high-stakes midterm election, 2022 was a full year for education news.

So as we look ahead to 2023, we’re also looking back at our top stories from 2022 to find the five topics that Chalkbeat Indiana readers were most interested in this year.

Below is a list of our most-read articles this year, plus a few related stories that you should check out too.

Statehouse debate on teaching about race

Several of our most popular stories were articles about bills in the 2022 legislative session, especially those that addressed how teachers approach race and racial issues in the classroom.

Most-read stories:

If you liked those, read:

What happens to my school under Rebuilding Stronger?

Rebuilding Stronger is an overhaul of IPS that aims to address pressing issues of enrollment, finances, and inequities for students of color. The school board approved the plan in November, and now district leaders are turning to a pair of referendums to help fund the overhaul’s changes.

Most-read stories:

If you liked those, read:

Election 2022: Voters chose school board members

For this year’s school board elections, Chalkbeat Indiana collaborated with WFYI to create voter guides for districts across Marion County, and also co-hosted a candidate forum for IPS candidates. Victorious candidates will start their terms in January.

Most-read stories:

If you liked those, read:

COVID learning recovery and virtual attendance changes

Nearly three years after COVID shuttered school buildings, data is showing the impact the pandemic has had on students and their learning. Plus, a state law changed how often students can learn virtually and guidance on COVID exposures continued to change.

Most- read stories:

If you liked those, read:

Accountability for state lawmakers

Aside from the legislation they proposed, lawmakers themselves made news too as they discussed race and education.

Most-read stories:

If you liked those, read:

How Indiana’s curriculum bill about racism motivated a new wave of statehouse candidates

Bonus: Charter troubles, special education staffing, and more

While the above topics were the most popular this year, there were a few more prominent stories that didn’t fit into a category. Read those and a few more below.

Most-read stories:

If you liked those, read:

MJ Slaby is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Are Indiana students ready for the future? Here’s how the state will track their performance

2022-12-06T21:38:09+00:00

Indiana is rolling out a new dashboard to track student and school performance data that emphasizes how well schools are preparing students for the future.

The Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard compiles data on testing and attendance, along with other statistics like employment and enrollment in college, into a snapshot of each district and school.

It’s the result of a 2021 law that tasked the Indiana Department of Education with creating a new system to view certain information like graduation rates and progress toward college. The department also wants to use it to track student skills that it has deemed essential, such as digital literacy and communication and collaboration, although these features won’t be available until a future update.

The dashboard could replace Indiana’s current measure of school performance, the A-F grading system, which has been in limbo since 2018 due to changes in state testing and COVID.

Though the A-F system remains a part of state law, Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said she expects legislators to discuss that system and the new dashboard during the next legislative session, which begins in January.

If the grades remain part of the statute, they will be incorporated into the dashboard, Jenner said.

Lawmakers have also indicated that they’d like to replace the annual school performance report with the dashboard.

She said the goal of the dashboard is to track and improve postsecondary outcomes for students, with an emphasis on “employment, enrollment, or enlistment.”

“It’s putting everything in one place in a transparent way,” Jenner said.

Dashboard highlights literacy, growth in math

Schools are currently reviewing the dashboard, with a public launch date yet to be determined, according to Jenner. The State Board of Education will also discuss the dashboard at a Wednesday meeting.

At a demonstration for reporters Tuesday, Jenner emphasized that the dashboard is in its first iteration, and uses data that’s available from sources like the education department and the Commission on Higher Education.

A screenshot of the new Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard showing data for Batesville schools.

Some of the metrics included on a school’s overview page include third grade literacy, as measured by the IREAD-3 exam, and sixth grade math growth, as determined by the ILEARN test.

The dashboard tracks how many students complete advanced coursework prior to ninth grade, as well as the number who fill out a federal financial aid application and enroll in the 21st Century Scholars program, which offers free tuition to eligible students. It also offers a look at employment numbers and median income.

Though tracking the number of students that enlist in the military is a priority for the department, the department is waiting for that data from the federal government, Jenner said.

Data like military enlistment will be forthcoming in future updates, she said.

And some measurements — like a way to gauge students’ skills in communication or digital literacy — still need to be developed, said Jason Callahan, assistant secretary of student pathways and opportunities.

The department will update the dashboard in January and again in the spring, Jenner said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana teachers want focus on more funding, not social issues in the 2023 legislative session

2022-11-23T00:21:52+00:00

Indiana teachers want lawmakers to boost funding for schools to address staff shortages in the 2023 legislative session, union leaders said Tuesday at events marking the ceremonial start of the session.

Representatives of the Indiana State Teachers Association and the American Federation of Teachers said the state’s disinvestment from public education has left schools struggling to attract and retain teachers and support staff at the expense of students.

“It has led to what people call a massive teacher shortage — but I would call it a massive teacher exodus,” said Randy Harrison, vice president of AFT Indiana.

Addressing those staffing woes through increases to state education aid would be more productive, union representatives said, than revisiting bills about divisive social issues that marked the 2022 session.

For their part, Republican leaders like House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) have said they expect to increase funding for K-12 schools while also investing further in the state’s school choice programs. In 2021 — the last budget year — lawmakers added $1.9 billion more for K-12 education.

But the money hasn’t stretched far enough, teachers said.

Casey Honkomp, a second grade teacher at Monroe-Gregg schools, said that while that extra funding allowed the district to raise salaries from $34,000 to the required state minimum of $40,000, the small, rural district is still competing for staff with other areas that can pay more. As a result, the district struggles to keep classrooms staffed, she said at an ISTA event.

“Keeping a teacher right now seems to be an impossible task,” Honkomp said.

Some Democratic lawmakers have also echoed the call for more funding.

“It’s fiscally irresponsible to be sitting on billions of dollars and neglect education,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis) at the AFT event, referring to the state’s surplus.

Dispute lingers over parents’ rights in school

Harrison also called on lawmakers not to revisit the controversial bills about social issues that defined the last legislative session, like one that would have created a list of concepts on race and identity that teachers couldn’t broach in the classroom.

Lawmakers and advocates who supported those failed bills characterized them as a matter of bolstering parents’ rights over their students’ education.

But speaking at the AFT event, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said rather than neglect parents’ rights, most schools and teachers beg parents to be more engaged in their children’s education.

“I’ve yet to walk into a school where teachers say ‘no thank you’ to parents,” McCormick said.

Republican leaders have remained noncommittal about whether legislators will bring another bill on curriculum restrictions. Both Huston and Senate leader Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) say they haven’t yet seen any bills on the matter. Tuesday was the first day for representatives to file legislation.

Skeptical of a plan to reinvent high school

The centerpiece of House Republicans’ education agenda is a plan to restructure high school requirements to allow students to receive credit toward graduation through work-based learning in lieu of specific courses.

The purpose is to better prepare students for postsecondary careers in the 21st century, Huston said Monday.

But ISTA President Keith Gambill characterized the idea as “pretty words.”

“If we want to make sure we are preparing our students for the workforce, we have to make sure each and every child has access to great educators,” Gambill said.

Apart from more funding, Harrison said AFT is also calling for an expansion of wraparound services in schools, less standardized testing, and local control for Gary schools.

The session will officially begin Jan. 9.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

3 takeaways from Indiana lawmakers’ hearing on funding for English learners, kids in poverty

2022-10-18T22:16:43+00:00

As Indiana lawmakers prepare for budget discussions in next year’s legislative session, school officials are pressing them to reconsider their approach to additional funding earmarked for students who live in poverty.

That funding, which schools receive in addition to base funding for all students, has not kept pace with schools’ actual costs, local district officials told members of a state legislative committee last week.

The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that programs for English learners and special education are underfunded, district leaders said, forcing schools to stretch dollars to serve more than just impoverished students, but students who need other additional services as well.

Rep. Greg Porter, an Indianapolis Democrat who brought the issue to the committee, said he hopes such concerns lead to a discussion about adequate and equitable funding during next year’s legislative session.

Here are three key points that the committee’s Oct. 12 hearing covered.

Base funding leaves big gaps

Indiana’s base funding for all students has increased from $4.75 billion in 2015 to $6.3 billion in 2023, the Indiana Urban Schools Association told lawmakers in a presentation.

Yet the association found that additional aid for students in poverty has decreased from $1.15 billion to $700 million in the same time period. (It wasn’t immediately clear if the figures had been adjusted for inflation.)

The result is that funding for schools with fewer students who live in poverty has increased faster than funding for schools with more students who live in poverty, the association said. The latter still receive more money per student on average due to the overall increases in basic funding.

Supplemental funding is meant to fund case managers, counselors, alternative programs, and classroom assistants.

Lawmakers also gave special education funding a $196 million boost in the 2021 budget. But schools sometimes still spend more on special education than they receive from the state’s special education grants to districts, advocates and district officials said.

This can leave schools to draw from their general fund — which includes the money they receive from the state for students who live in poverty — to cover special education expenditures.

Schools struggle with English learner services

Schools receive both federal funds and state funds specifically for educating English learners. But the federal money generally can’t cover teacher salaries, and schools may have to turn to the supplemental funding marked for students in poverty.

Meanwhile, the population of English learner students in Indiana has grown by 42% since 2017. That’s left districts unable to meet staffing recommendations set by the Indiana Department of Education, even as they try to spread dollars between different student groups. The department recommends one teacher for every 30 English learners.

For example, Fort Wayne Chief Financial Officer Kathy Friend said the district uses $4.5 million of its $30 million complexity grant to hire teachers to serve English learners.

The district also used $3.4 million of its federal emergency funds to bring student-to-teacher ratios down from 50-to-1 to 40-to-1, she said. (Indiana received roughly $3.1 billion in federal pandemic aid for state education agencies and school districts.)

But in spite of using other funding to hire those teachers, Fort Wayne would need around $2 million to add 30 more teachers and reach the state’s recommended ratio, Friend said.

“It’s a huge issue for us,” Friend said.

Bartholomew Community Schools spends $578,000 of its education fund on English learner teachers and has a ratio of 70 students per teacher, said Chad Phillips, the district’s assistant superintendent for financial services. He added that funding is not the only challenge in the face of statewide teacher shortages.

“If we posted 10 [English learner] positions today, we’d get one applicant,” he said.

To help address the issue, Phillips suggested integrating funding for English learner students into the base or supplemental funding, instead of keeping it as a separate grant that must be renewed.

Counting kids who qualify isn’t easy

Officials also expressed concern that students who receive special education or English learner services don’t necessarily count toward a school’s allocation of state aid for students with additional education needs.

That allocation is determined by the number of students at a school who are enrolled in food assistance programs, or who are in foster care. Families enroll in those programs through the Family and Social Services Administration, and the Indiana Department of Education matches the children to their schools to determine this funding.

Indiana and Illinois are the only states to rely on certification through benefit programs, according to the Indiana Urban Schools Association’s presentation.

Indiana switched to this system in 2015. Before that, the state relied on a school’s population of students who receive federally subsidized meals to determine the supplemental state aid — a common approach in other states. Since then, the number of students identified has dropped from 250,000 in 2015 to 187,000 in 2022, according to the state’s urban schools group.

The new system was meant to provide a more accurate count. But critics say it misses students, either because their families don’t enroll in assistance programs, or because the agencies’ systems don’t align.

In Fort Wayne, for example, around 67% of students qualified for subsidized meals, according to the district’s presentation, while 29% were identified under the method based on food assistance and foster care.

Rethinking the methodology for how students in poverty are identified is a priority, Porter said.

“Those numbers are not adequate and not accurate,” Porter said of the current system.

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Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How to get Indiana’s new tutoring grant for your student

2022-08-24T21:37:11+00:00

Some Indiana students who live in poverty and performed below proficiency on state testing will soon be able to apply for the state’s new tutoring scholarships that provide up to $1,000 for tutoring in reading and math.

State officials announced Wednesday that families will be able to apply online for the scholarships starting Oct. 1. To do so, they will need to make an account on IndianaLearns.org.

Students who qualify based on their grade levels, socioeconomic status, and test scores will receive $500 from the state to spend. School districts can also provide another $250 toward the scholarship — which the state will then match — for a total one-time grant allocation of $1,000.

“As we continue to make historic investments in education, this grant will increase access to tutoring opportunities for our students who need it most, regardless of a parent or family’s ability to afford this additional support,” said Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.

Like many other states, Indiana is leaning on tutoring to help students recover from the effects of the COVID quarantines and school closures that disrupted learning over the last two years.

Though the most recent state testing scores show a slight recovery for many students, scores largely remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Indiana’s decision to put up to $15 million in federal emergency aid from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund directly in parents’ hands for tutoring may be unique, however. Families will be able to spend the funds in a marketplace of pre-qualified tutors, or on virtual math and reading enrichment.

“To be able to put that agency and that ownership and opportunity in their hands to invest in their child — it’s powerful,” Jenner said.

The state is tapping the Mind Trust — an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit — to operate the program.

According to House Enrolled Act 1251, parents will be able to roll over any unused tutoring funds to the next year. However, the accounts will close on Oct. 1, 2024 with the expiration of the federal emergency funds.

How can students qualify?

To qualify for the state’s $500 grant, a student must reside legally in Indiana and be enrolled in a traditional public, charter, or accredited non-public school.

They must also qualify for free or reduced price lunch, and have scored below proficiency on both math and English/language arts state tests — the ILEARN — as a third or fourth grader in 2022.

Jenner said that in a perfect world, the program would be able to serve more students in the future. The state will collect data on the program in the hopes that it can eventually grow.

How can tutors participate?

To qualify as tutors, individuals and groups will need to apply through Indiana Learns and meet a list of qualifications.

They must provide services outside of regular school hours and keep to a 1:3 tutor-to-student ratio.

They must also utilize credentialed teachers — including licensed, retired, and prospective teachers currently enrolled in a preparation program — who can provide weekly progress reports to families and schools.

Their services should cost no more than $100 per hour for each student and session, and they will need to provide at least an hour of tutoring per week.

More information for tutors will also be available on the Indiana Learns website.

How can school districts match the funds?

The Department of Education will release more information in the coming weeks for school districts who want to participate in the matching program.

Three districts — Indianapolis Public Schools, Decatur Township Schools, and Muncie Community Schools — have already announced plans to match the tutoring grants for its qualifying students.

The state doesn’t know yet how many schools will match the state grant, but Jenner said her department is in talks with additional districts.

“We have not talked to any district yet who said no,” Jenner said.

IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the district is pulling information about which students will qualify for the grant in order to start notifying families of the opportunity.

The district has several of its own tutoring programs rolling out this fall as well, including virtual tutoring for all students.

“It’s about putting another tool in the toolbox of strategies to support our families,” she said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana legislature overrules governor; bans transgender girls from girls sports

2022-05-24T20:06:59+00:00

Indiana lawmakers voted Tuesday to overrule Gov. Eric Holcomb and ban transgender girls from playing in girls K-12 sports.

The Republican supermajority in both chambers of the Indiana legislature voted to overturn Holcomb’s March veto of House Enrolled Act 1041, despite objections from Holcomb, a fellow Republican, that the law’s lack of details left schools open to litigation.

The ACLU of Indiana announced immediately after the vote that it had filed a lawsuit challenging the new law on behalf of a 10-year-old transgender girl at Indianapolis Public Schools who plays on an all-girls softball team.

Attorney General Todd Rokita has vocally supported the law and promised to defend it.

The veto was overridden largely on party lines, 67-28 in the House and 32-15 in the Senate, in a special session expressly called to do so.

HEA 1041 affects only transgender girls and girls youth sports. It doesn’t prevent transgender boys from playing on boys sports teams, nor does it affect college sports.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association previously questioned the necessity of the bill, citing its existing procedure for transgender student athletes to request to play on a team. In 10 years, the association has had only one case of a transgender girl asking to play on a girls team, and the student dropped the case.

“We’re looking for a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist,” said Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-East Chicago).

But Republican lawmakers said the law was necessary — whether it affected one case, or 100 — to preserve girls’ access to athletics and scholarships.

“The purpose of this bill is to maintain fair competition in girls sports now and in the future,” said Rep. Michelle Davis (R- Greenwood), the author of the bill. “Today your vote will send a clear message that Indiana will protect the integrity of female sports.”

It requires schools to designate all teams as either mens, womens or co-educational, and creates a grievance procedure for students and parents. If a school permits a transgender girl to compete on a girls team, the law will allow other students to sue the district for being “deprived of an athletic opportunity.”

In a lengthy statement explaining his March veto, Holcomb said the “wide-open” nature of the grievance process would create confusion and inconsistency in schools throughout the state. He cited lawsuits over similar laws in other states that have already halted the laws on equal protection grounds.

Republican governors in other states have vetoed similar bills, including in Utah and North Dakota. In those cases, state legislatures also overturned the vetoes.

On Tuesday, Democratic senators passionately opposed the bill, while the ACLU of Indiana rallied at the statehouse prior to the vote.

“It makes no sense to me that we’ve assembled today to just double down on being hateful and discriminatory,” said Sen. Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington), asking the legislature to instead work on suspending the gas tax, or offering solutions to the child care crisis.

“Instead, we are spending our time to make children feel bad about themselves.”

HEA 1041 takes effect July 1.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

An IPS principal seeks a state Senate seat: ‘It’s clear our voice has been missing’

2022-04-28T20:58:41+00:00

Instead of observing teachers and loading students onto buses on a recent Friday afternoon, Indianapolis Public Schools Principal Andrea Hunley donned her walking shoes and campaign shirt to ask for people’s votes.

Besides leading Center for Inquiry School 2, Hunley is running for state Senate in the May 3 primary.

At the first house she approached in Martindale-Brightwood, she found a familiar face: the mother of a former student. Parent Jenni Bliss said her now-high school senior was about to graduate and travel abroad.

“She’s always been such an independent spirit,” Hunley said, momentarily shifting from political candidate to involved principal.

“We’ll definitely be voting for you,” Bliss said.

Hunley thanked her. “Will you please tell three friends about our campaign?” she added. “It’s going to be close.”

Hunley, 38, is hoping to beat out four opponents in the Democratic primary to win a chance to represent a newly-created Indianapolis district covering the attendance area of her current and former schools. She’s touting her experience as a working educator who can bring needed perspective to legislative debates about curriculum, teaching, and mental health.

It’s not surprising that with no incumbent to claim advantage, the new district has drawn a crowded field, said Laura Merrifield Wilson, an associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

The Marion County Democratic Party has endorsed City-County Councilor Kristin Jones, who as of April 18 leads in fundraising with around $117,000 raised to Hunley’s $75,000, according to the Secretary of State records.

The other candidates include Ashley Eason, who has worked for nonprofits focused on global issues and recently ran a close state House race; Karla Lopez Owens, the director of community outreach at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office; and Bobby Kern, a frequent political candidate.

Fundraising is a key predictor of outcome — two out of three times the candidate with the most money wins, Merrifield Wilson said. But other factors sway voters, too.

“The person who wins, they’re able to communicate their message,” Merrifield Wilson said. “It’s not just policy, it’s the person.”

She described Hunley as a competitive candidate.

It can be difficult for most working people to find time to run a successful campaign, but such campaigns are important to diversifying the statehouse, Merrifield Wilson said. Anecdotally, more educators are becoming involved in politics as politics becomes more involved in education.

“It’s not hard for a lawyer to make this decision, it’s more of a risk for her,” she said about Hunley.

The primary winner will go on to face the sole Republican candidate, Evan Shearin, in November’s general election. District 46, a horizontal slice of Indianapolis stretching from Fountain Square to Irvington, leans heavily Democratic.

If Hunley wins the seat, she plans to split her time between school and the statehouse. While campaigning, she has largely handed daily operations over to an assistant principal at the Center for Inquiry School 2 downtown, which serves 439 pre-K to eighth grade students.

Hunley believes the legislature needs more working educators to weigh in on issues like a K-12 funding formula, gun violence and its effects on student mental health, and the recent effort to restrict teaching about race and racism.

Looking at the map of the new district reminded Hunley of families she knew.

“I have to run now, because I carry their stories with me of the struggles they face every day,” she said.

From classrooms to a campaign

At the next house in the row of newly built homes, Hunley knocked on the door to ask, “Is it important to you to have more educators in the legislature?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” said the resident, Kelly Hill-Aronoff, adding that she had served as a director of early learning. The two chatted about the changes and challenges to schools during the pandemic, and Hunley asked her to volunteer.

Hunley campaign volunteer Suzanne Pritchard, the mother of two students at CFI 2 and wife of IPS commissioner Will Pritchard, accompanied the candidate in canvassing.

Suzanne Pritchard said she wholeheartedly supported Hunley’s candidacy after seeing her cool and calm at the helm of the school, especially during COVID. If she could run a tight ship in a public school system, Pritchard said, she was an excellent choice for the statehouse.

While canvassing, Andrea Hunley, right, encounters Terri Taylor, recognized by The Harrison Center as one of the founding members of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood.

Hunley said she always intended to run for office. A foster child who was adopted at a young age and grew up in Fort Wayne, she was voted in high school most likely to become the first woman president.

She moved to Indianapolis after college to teach English at Ben Davis High School. There, she integrated support for English learner students into their general education classes — a less common practice in the early 2000s. For the last 10 years, Hunley has served as the principal of CFI 2.

While Hunley is away campaigning, the campus still feels her presence.

The school newspaper featured her story. Students wear her campaign T-shirts, and families have volunteered to knock on doors and make phone calls.

Assistant Principal Micah Nelson meets weekly with Hunley to discuss school issues, and Hunley has returned to help when the school is short-staffed, like when Nelson herself got COVID.

Nelson said she felt comfortable taking over the school because of Hunley, who put her in leadership roles as a teacher and then encouraged her to pursue her administrative license — something Nelson said she never would have considered before coming to CFI 2.

Nelson said families may have been anxious about the popular principal stepping back, but they seemed to understand the tradeoff.

She said they will re-evaluate the arrangement after the primary.

“Staying connected to the school community has been really important to her,” Nelson said. “I think that has empowered her campaign, because I think it reminds her why she’s running.”

Bringing an educator’s voice to the Statehouse

Over the legislative session earlier this year, Hunley headed to the Republican-dominated Statehouse to speak on contentious education issues.

She argued against a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful bill to restrict teaching about race and racism.

When junior Eliza Bradbury wanted to write letters to state representatives about the bill, HB 1134, she emailed her former principal for help finding their addresses. Hunley replied almost immediately.

“She seems like she has infinite time in her day,” Bradbury said.

At the Statehouse, Hunley also ran into a student from her first year of teaching, who was lobbying against the bill.

Greylor Walston, who works for a teachers union, remembers how Hunley could make dense English class material feel engaging.

“Any time we can get perspective on these disastrous bills like 1134 is really important. As legislators, they will listen to their colleagues before the public can provide testimony,” said Walston, a National Education Association organizing fellow who now volunteers for Hunley’s campaign. “I hope she’s part of a new wave of teachers becoming more politically active.”

If elected, Hunley said she would prioritize education issues, like a weighted funding formula to allow all public schools to offer robust art and STEM programming.

Another pressing need is recruiting and retaining teachers, she said. With 700 teaching positions open statewide, Hunley said it’s critical to have educators in office to address the issue.

“It’s clear our voice has been missing. By the time laws hit the House or Senate floor, many legislators have already made up their minds,” Hunley said.

Hunley also testified against the state’s permitless carry bill, which passed into law. She recently attended the funeral of one of her former students who was shot and killed.

“The people who are currently in our state legislature are well-meaning people, but none of them grew up in Fort Wayne on a street riddled with gun violence, who live with this fear that at any moment, one of my kids could be shot,” Hunley said. “Because as a principal, they’re all my kids.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here are the Indiana education bills that passed in 2022

2022-03-11T21:06:12+00:00

Though Indiana’s 2022 legislative session lasted just two months, lawmakers managed to pack the calendar with education legislation.

Some of the most controversial bills that would have imposed restrictions on teachers and libraries stalled and died. But another bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports is headed to the desk of Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has indicated support for it.

Holcomb has seven days to sign or veto a bill after receiving it, after which it becomes law without his signature.

The other education bills that passed impose more measured changes on teaching and learning, such as one that permits schools to issue permits and hire teachers.

Here are some of the education bills that the state legislature passed this year.

Transgender girls in youth sports: HB 1041 bans transgender girls from participating in K-12 girls sports. The bill passed both chambers of the legislature without amendments despite significant public testimony against it. Among the opponents, the ACLU promised to take legal action should the bill become law. Similar bills in other states are already facing challenges in court.

FAFSA for high schoolers: An attempt to require all Indiana seniors to fill out an application for federal student aid, known as the FAFSA, was significantly watered down. Instead of requiring all high school seniors to fill out the FAFSA, SB 82 now only requires that schools send information about the form to families.

School board public comment: Two bills, HB 1130 and SB 83, require school boards to offer an oral public comment period. During a summer of confrontational meetings, at least one district suspended the practice. The new law requires local boards to allow for public comment before making a final decision on an issue.

Funding adjustments: SB 2 allows schools to receive full state funding for students who were in quarantine during the counting window of the 2021-22 school year. The bill extends the window and allows the Department of Education to retroactively adjust the funds.

Campus free speech: A bill to enshrine into state law First Amendment protections of free speech for college campuses sailed through the legislature this year. Despite unanimous support from lawmakers, some critics questioned why such a move was necessary if those protections were already guaranteed under federal law.

No school A-F grades: The state again will award public schools a “null” or no letter grade for the current school year while the Indiana Department of Education develops a new grading dashboard. The state has not issued schools meaningful A-F grades since 2018 due to the switch to a new state assessment and the pandemic.

Adjunct teacher permits: HB 1251 allows school corporations to issue permits for full- or part-time adjunct teachers who have at least four years of experience in a school subject and pass a background check. Those teachers need not have a degree in education. The omnibus bill also will allow vehicles other than yellow school buses to transport students between home and school — a change sought by charter schools — and orders the State Board of Education to streamline Indiana’s academic standards.

Here are some of the bills that passed one chamber but then failed:

“Divisive concepts” ban: The most hotly debated issue of the session, a bill to regulate classroom lessons on race and racism died after Senate Republicans declined to bring it forward for a vote. GOP legislators did not add any of the bill’s provisions in other legislation, but advocates on both sides expect they may reappear next year.

“Harmful material” protections: A bill to remove legal protections for K-12 schools and public libraries from a law that prohibits distributing harmful material to children almost revived in the final hours of the session. But the Senate voted those provisions down. Proponents said they wanted to eliminate books describing sexual encounters and that could be considered pornographic, but opponents feared the bill could ban a wide range of books, including those about sex education or LGBTQ relationships.

Revenue sharing: HB 1072 would have required all school corporations to share referendum money with charter schools that enroll students who live within that corporation’s boundaries, a controversial provision that’s come up before. Indianapolis Public Schools has volunteered to share some tax proceeds with its charter schools. The bill passed the House, but the Senate appropriations committee declined to give it a hearing.

Special education disputes: HB 1107 would have banned schools from requiring that parents sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to resolve legal disputes related to their students’ special education services. But the bill suffered a unanimous defeat in the Senate that advocates decried as embarrassing.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How Indiana’s anti-CRT bill failed even with a GOP supermajority

2022-03-10T21:29:32+00:00

It seemed like a slam dunk: A proposal for more parental oversight in schools, approved in other Republican-led states, in front of Indiana’s Republican supermajority.

Instead, a wide-ranging bill to restrict what teachers could say about race and racism stalled and died last week after vocal opposition from a broad coalition, a series of gaffes by lawmakers, and ultimately, an ideological split in the supermajority.

“The Indiana [bill] has just been a dramatic series of events,” said Jeremy Young, a researcher who tracks and opposes this type of legislation across the country. “It’s a little unusual to see one of these bills fail in a Republican-controlled state.”

While other states have debated the issue and passed bills, obstacles in Indiana set the state apart. But observers don’t regard them as permanently fatal flaws. The bill’s primary goals remain hot-button issues, and advocates on both sides expect they’ll reappear before legislators next year.

“We had some members of our caucus who felt like it didn’t go far enough,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said about the bill. “We had some members of our caucus that felt like it was too much of a burden on education and just not good policy.”

Bills face a rocky start

Last year, observers expected Indiana to join other Republican-led states in regulating books, teaching material, and discussions in K-12 schools. A movement swelled in opposition to critical race theory, a legal theory once rarely mentioned outside of colleges, until it became an umbrella term for discussions of race and identity.

The issue took center stage after Republicans claimed victory in the Virginia governor’s race in November, said Young, the senior manager of free expression and education for PEN America, a national free speech organization.

“It led to a great deal of bandwagoning, where politicians who wouldn’t necessarily be interested in it feel like they have to vote for it because it’s an electoral winner for their party,” Young said.

On Organization Day in November, House Speaker Todd Huston promised a bill to give parents more insight into classroom lessons.

But the twin bills — House Bill 1134 and Senate Bill 167 — introduced in January went a step further than transparency. Republicans claimed they stemmed from conversations with parents, although the bills contained measures promoted in other states.

The bills required schools to create parent-led curriculum review committees and to post their learning material online, and forbade teaching “divisive concepts” that mirrored those in an executive order by former president Donald Trump.

Indiana was unusual in lumping all these requirements together in a single bill, Young said. Some of the 39 states that have introduced similar legislation are dealing with the proposals in separate bills.

The curriculum bills were a part of a slate of legislation aimed at regulating schools and students.

Some passed, including one that banned transgender girls from playing girls’ sports in kindergarten through 12th grade, though it drew nearly as much opposition as did the curriculum bills. So did a bill mandating time for public comment at school board meetings, which had become a hotbed of controversy over the summer.

Others failed. One would have made libraries legally liable for stocking books that some could find objectionable, while another sought to make school board elections partisan.

“They were trying to scare the public with concepts people weren’t even aware of,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis).

At its first hearing in January, SB 167 drew over six hours of testimony, with much opposition from teachers who described it as an overreach that would stifle classroom conversations.

One line of questioning from a teacher led Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville) to suggest teachers teach Nazism neutrally. Baldwin was lambasted nationally and eventually walked the comments back.

“That maybe caused a pause,” Qaddoura said. “Like, are you serious? How can you raise a generation of critical thinkers who are civically engaged… if you morally equate what is right and what is wrong by just passing along that material.”

GOP lawmakers retreated, and the Senate bill died a few days later.

Carole Craig, a longtime local education advocate, said Baldwin’s comment was the first among Republican fumbles that became tipping points for the bill.

In February, progressive social media buzzed over Huston’s dual role as a vocal backer of the so-called “divisive concepts” bills and his job as a vice president of the College Board, which administers college-entrance exams. Huston abruptly resigned from his $460,000 job, and the board later issued a statement opposing censorship of curriculum.

Later in the month, Black education advocates criticized House education chair Bob Behning’s comment about Black students’ low test scores.

Craig questioned the predominantly white legislature backing a bill that would harm disenfranchised groups and wasn’t based on good education policy.

“I actually don’t believe every one of the legislators are being mean, devious, and intentional,” she said. “I think many of them don’t know, and so they get caught up in some of the movement across the country.”

Opposition grows through the session

Though the Senate bill faltered, the House voted 60-37 to pass its version, with nine Republicans joining Democrats in voting against it.

Among the opponents was Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville), director of Early College High School at Evansville Vanderburgh Schools, who said she would prefer to address the actions of a few “bad actors” rather than monitor all teachers.

Rep. Curt Nisly (R-North Manchester), who also voted against the bill, said it didn’t do enough for parents’ rights, while simultaneously creating too much of a burden for teachers.

“I think parents should be empowered, and this approach was not the right one,” Nisly said.

Facing mounting public opposition, senators crafted a compromise that lightened the burden on teachers and reduced the number of banned concepts.

Nearly 200 people signed up to speak at the bill’s first hearing, more than 90% of whom were opposed.

Fearing a growing teacher shortage, lawmakers took notice of teachers threatening to leave their jobs, said Senate Minority Leader J.D. Ford (D-Carmel).

“We heard from so many teachers about 1134, that if it passes, we will think about pursuing another career path,” Ford said. “That caused a lot of consternation.”

Marshawn Wolley, public policy director for the African American Coalition of Indianapolis, pointed out that diverse interests opposed the bill: religious leaders, school boards, youth advocates, civic groups, small businesses — and hundreds of educators.

“When this battle came down to it, it was teachers that stood up,” Wolley said. “Teachers stood up and said no, we’re going to teach history, and we’re going to teach Black history.”

Russell Skiba, professor emeritus at Indiana University, said opponents coordinated their efforts, deciding they wanted to see the bill defeated, rather than amended, because of the harm it would do to students of color.

“The Indiana bill did so many things that caused disruption to teaching, civil rights, mental health, that really there were so many different groups concerned about this,” Skiba said. “It impressed upon more moderate legislators that the opposition was so broad and so deep that this bill wasn’t going to fly.”

In the end, a statehouse divided

HB 1134 cleared the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development late last month, with one Republican — Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) — joining Democrats in voting against it.

“I have superintendents that are opposed. I have numerous teachers that are opposed. I have people on the right expressing their concerns about how this bill was amended,” Leising said.

But the full Senate hesitated.

On the day of a key deadline, Republican lawmakers negotiated privately. Sponsor Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger) then declined to bring the bill forward, effectively stopping it in its tracks.

Afterward, opponents held their breath as Republican leadership hinted they might add some of the bill’s provisions to other bills. That didn’t happen.

Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne, said he believes that on hot-button issues, some lawmakers want to defer to local control.

Republican wins on other bills — such as banning transgender girls in sports, passing tax cuts, and loosening gun licenses — could offset the death of HB 1134 with conservative voters, he said. He said Republicans risk alienating their base if social conservatives feel the supermajority didn’t deliver enough.

“The volume of social issues that were on the agenda certainly makes it easier for some things to not be dealt with,” Downs said.

Why the debate might not be over

It’s possible that the legislature will reconsider similar measures next year, though House lawmakers have indicated that it’s all or nothing.

If they do try again, they have options. In Arizona, the legislature is trying to pass curriculum restrictions a second time and also to require schools to post their curriculum material online.

“For those not comfortable doing a content ban, the transparency approach offers a different path. For those who are, transparency offers an extra layer,” said Matt Beienburg, education policy director of the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative think tank.

Having access to what a school is teaching is important to parents, he said, adding that parents of prospective students may have an especially difficult time in obtaining curriculum material while deciding where to enroll their children.

“This is a national issue that parents are making clear is a priority for them,” he said.

HB 1134’s opponents also say they’re bracing for Republicans to try again.

“They’re not giving up on this,” said Mark Russell, director of advocacy and family services for the Indianapolis Urban League.

“We’re in a 15-round fight now with this issue, because it’s the backbone of hope for Republicans at the polls,” Russell said. “It’s the bedrock of their re-election strategy, and for us to be able to defeat it — yeah, that’s a national story.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Stephanie Wang covers education in Indiana, including pre-K, K-12 schools, and higher education. Contact her at swang@chalkbeat.org.

Could Indiana’s ‘divisive concepts’ bill reappear in separate pieces?

2022-03-01T22:28:32+00:00

It’s not over until the session is over.

That’s the message from lawmakers and advocates about a dead bill that sought to restrict lessons about race in Indiana schools.

Immediately after the Senate killed House Bill 1134 on Monday, some lawmakers floated the idea of inserting some of its provisions into other bills before the session ends in two weeks, but remained mum about what those would be and which bills could carry them.

Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero), who authored the original bill, expressed disappointment over the Senate’s decision and said there was still time left in the session to “get a win for Hoosier families.”

“At its core, House Bill 1134 was about empowering parents and increasing transparency in education, and it’s what families across the state expected us to deliver,” Cook said in a statement.

HB 1134 originally sought to ban eight concepts from Hoosier classrooms, while creating curriculum review committees composed of parents at every school. Senators watered down the bill’s most controversial ideas in response to criticism before ultimately declining to bring it to a vote on Monday.

Bill opponent Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary) said the language could be inserted into other bills.

“Our caucus was happy it was defeated, but we’re staying vigilant to make sure there are not various sections inserted into other bills,” Melton said. “If it was up to us, the Senate Democrats, we would prefer to see it not move forward.”

Melton had proposed his own amendment to HB 1134 that would have required an enhanced study of Black history in all high school U.S. history classes. He said he was seeking a new bill to include that language.

But even if his colleagues had added his amendment to 1134, Melton said he would have voted against the bill.

Opponents of the bill said the demise of HB 1134 marked a win for a diverse coalition of educators, civic and community groups, youth advocates, and others who spoke out against it.

Mark Russell, director of advocacy and family services for the Indianapolis Urban League, called the bill a distraction from substantive policy issues.

Citing low literacy rates and high rates of graduation waivers, Russell said, “There are critical issues facing Black Americans particularly and our students that cannot be ignored and should not be manipulated in a political fashion.”

Education advocates also said they’re watching closely what may happen next, and are reviewing bills where the language could turn up.

“We’re definitely not thinking that the fight is over,” said Marshawn Wolley, public policy director for the African American Coalition of Indianapolis.

Wolley said he found it “extremely concerning” that some lawmakers were indicating an interest in adding back pieces of 1134 to other bills in the final stage of the session, with little public input or visibility.

“It would have been our hope that the legislature would have heard enough from Black parents, civil rights organizations, and teachers that they would just leave this alone,” Wolley said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Stephanie Wang covers education in Indiana, including pre-K, K-12 schools, and higher education. Contact her at swang@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s ‘divisive concepts’ bill dies in the Senate

2022-03-01T00:20:44+00:00

The Indiana Senate late Monday killed a bill that sought to restrict how teachers teach about race and racism.

Senate sponsor Linda Rogers (R-Granger) declined to call forward the watered-down House Bill 1134 on the Senate floor on Monday — the deadline for bills to receive a second reading there — after lawmakers twice delayed considering it.

The move signals that the bill lacked the votes among Republicans, who hold a supermajority in both chambers of the Indiana legislature, to pass in the Senate.

Speaking after the vote, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said the bill ultimately didn’t have enough support. Some Republican lawmakers thought the bill created too much of a burden for educators, while others thought it didn’t go far enough, he said.

Legislators may look to incorporate parts of the bill into other legislation, Bray said.

He declined to elaborate on what those pieces might be, but denied that legislators intended to pass the bill piecemeal.

Earlier this session, the Senate had quashed its own version of a bill banning school discussion of “divisive concepts” after national outrage over a lawmaker’s remark that teachers could teach Nazism neutrally.

But HB 1134 passed the House in January despite vocal opposition from Indiana teachers, Black education advocates, and some school districts. It originally created curriculum review committees that could veto learning material at every school district, while banning the teaching of eight concepts that lawmakers described as divisive.

Senate lawmakers quickly defanged the bill when it reached their desks. Their amendments cut the list of banned concepts down to three, removed provisions that would have allowed parents to sue over the banned lessons, and left the formation of curriculum committees up to individual school boards.

Rogers, who amended the bill when it hit the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development, said HB 1134 was a “very complex bill.”

“There’s so many moving parts to it, and so many people that it affected and so we wanted to make sure that we do something right,” Rogers said. “It probably needed a little more work.”

In a statement, Indiana State Teachers Association President Keith Gambill thanked supporters who “made their voices heard that HB 1134 has no place in Indiana.”

“Components of this bill could return during conference committee, so we’ll stay vigilant, but we hope lawmakers will take this opportunity to step back and collaborate with educators, parents, and others to create legislation that everyone can support for the benefit of all of our students,” Gambill said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana House education chair draws criticism for comments on Black students’ test scores

2022-02-25T18:25:07+00:00

An Indiana lawmaker is under fire for a speech that seemed to imply that a lack of “respect for learning” was to blame for low test scores among Indianapolis’ Black students.

While presenting a bill to the Senate education committee Wednesday, Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) said Black students’ low pass rates on the statewide assessment, ILEARN, could be attributed to different factors.

“I would suggest that part of the problem is — and there’s a number of things — poverty impacts that for sure, having respect for learning, there’s a lot of things that come into play,” Behning said. “But one of the things that clearly comes into play is our standards are still too wide.”

Behning, who is the chair of the House Education Committee, clarified his remarks Thursday after they drew criticism on Twitter and from Black education advocates.

“There are a variety of factors that affect student performance, including poverty, emphasis on education at home and school environment, and these are not limited to any one race or community,” Behning’s statement said. “That’s the sentiment behind my remarks yesterday. I’ve spent my career working to support and raise up all students, especially those who are most vulnerable.”

Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary), who sits on the Senate education committee, countered Behning’s comments in a statement, saying that structural factors like poverty, housing instability, and lack of access to food play the biggest role in determining student performance.

“So many Indiana communities with a large Black population have also experienced repeated attacks — stemming from racism — on public education and funding over the past decade,” Melton’s statement said. “To imply that Black students don’t care about learning is not only disrespectful but asinine, and it ignores the systemic problems that continue to plague communities of color.”

Behning’s remarks came in response to a question about how his bill — House Bill 1251 — would affect state academic standards.

HB 1251 is an omnibus bill that, among many things, would allow schools to hire adjunct teachers. It also would ask the State Board of Education to consult with colleges and industries to identify skills that students need to be successful after high school, and then streamline high school standards to better align with those skills.

Narrowing the standards would allow teachers to spend more time on creating engaging learning, Behning said, rather than trying to teach the breadth of the standards.

“How do we focus those so that we have students that are able to master reading?” Behning said.

Referencing again the number of Black students who did not pass the statewide assessment, Behning said, “I would guess that a significant number of those kids don’t have mastery of reading.”

Behning said 30 out of 1,000 Black students at Indianapolis Public Schools passed both the language arts and math sections of ILEARN, a figure presumably based on the results of the 2021 assessment that showed Black students had a 3.1% pass rate.

In total, 128 of 4,085 Black students at IPS passed both sections of ILEARN, according to state data.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

‘Divisive concepts’ bill moves forward in the Indiana Senate

2022-02-23T22:07:36+00:00

A bill to restrict teaching about race and racism has taken another step forward in the Indiana legislature, with an 8-5 vote of approval Wednesday from the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development.

House Bill 1134 now heads to the full Senate over the objections of Democrats, whose amendments to strip most of the bill’s provisions failed.

“The premise of the bill starts with a point that citizens are treated equally in the state of Indiana, and that is absolutely not correct,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis). “This bill has further divided our state, pushed teachers from the profession, and it has sent the wrong message to our kids.”

Senators added new language that allows proposed curriculum review committees to review material used by guest speakers in schools, and tweaks the bill’s definition of what constitutes “good citizenship” instruction.

The amendment requires schools to try to obtain parental consent for providing students mental health services, but allows them to proceed to offer services if a parent doesn’t reply within a given timeline. The original bill required parental consent; now a summer legislative committee will study the issue instead.

The bill retains the restrictions on teaching three ideas that lawmakers describe as “divisive.” The limits have drawn overwhelming public criticism.

One failed amendment would have changed the definition of the concepts to align with federal law on nondiscrimination of protected classes, including those of sexual orientation and gender identity, which are not covered in HB 1134.

Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) joined the four Democrats on the committee to vote against the bill, saying that the Indiana Department of Education was not fully on board, and that she had heard from many school leaders, teachers, and others who opposed the bill.

The committee rejected an amendment by Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary) that would have required high school U.S. history classes to include an “enhanced study” of the Holocaust and Black history, listing events from slavery and abolition to the election of President Barack Obama that should be used as lessons.

Committee Chair Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) and bill sponsor Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger) both said that Black history already was included in Indiana’s academic standards.

Two Republicans voted for Melton’s amendment. They were Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville), who came under fire in January for suggesting that teachers should teach Nazism neutrally, and Sen. Kyle Walker (R-Fishers).

Melton expressed disappointment, characterizing opponents’ reasons as “excuses.”

Melton urged senators to “do their homework” on the bill before a full Senate vote.

“Just because something makes us uncomfortable, it should not be prevented from discussion,” he said. “No one in here is accusing any white person of being a slave owner. But I still feel the impact of it.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Revised ‘divisive concepts’ bill sees no vote, but plenty of opposition

2022-02-17T01:22:10+00:00

Indiana senators pushed back a vote on a controversial curriculum control bill on Wednesday in order to allow for further changes after approving an amendment that tempers some of its provisions.

In public testimony, dozens of speakers told the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development that no changes could rehabilitate House Bill 1134, which still bans three “divisive concepts” from the classroom.

Among the speakers was Troy Fears, executive director of CANDLES, Indiana’s only Holocaust museum, who said teachers had told him they would hesitate to bring their classes on field trips to the museum should HB 1134 pass, for fear of complaints from parents.

Pastor Jerry Rairdon of the Noblesville First United Methodist Church also spoke in opposition to the bill, saying that as a history major in college, he had never heard of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and the massacre that followed.

“Even as it’s amended, (the bill) is still an act of censorship intended to reduce meaningful conversation,” Rairdon said. “My grandchildren need to receive a more complete understanding of history than I received. We need to make room for meaningful conversations surrounding race, not limit those conversations.”

As amended, House Bill 1134 would give districts the option to create curriculum review committees of parents, rather than mandating the outside committees as originally written. The bill also would erase the requirement for schools to post a year’s worth of curriculum material online, requiring instead only that they make materials available upon request.

The amended bill lists three — down from an original eight — topics that teachers couldn’t promote in the classroom. Legislators have refused to remove the list, which has drawn sharp criticism.

The committee delayed voting on the bill until next week, Chairman Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) said.

Opponents have said the bill discounts teachers’ professional training and censors classroom discussions, while proponents have said it’s necessary to offer parents a window into what their children are learning.

Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger), the Senate sponsor of the bill, said in opening remarks Wednesday that her amendment sought to give parents a path to involvement in schools while recognizing the work of the state’s 80,000 teachers, who she said should spend their time in the classroom rather than filling out paperwork.

Some teachers “go too far,” she said, and the bill would “rein them back in or have them moved to a different field,” but she did not provide examples.

The committee cut off public testimony after one hour and 45 minutes despite nearly 200 people signing up to speak, 91% of whom were speaking in opposition, according to Raatz.

Gwendolyn Kelley, an independent education consultant who said she works closely with the NAACP, the Indianapolis Alliance of Black School Educators, and other civil rights groups, said the African American community did not support the bill and didn’t want to see it passed.

“House Bill 1134 is unnecessary, complicated and divisive, and it has aroused the Black community to join with me and say, why, why this bill?” Kelley said, adding that she wanted the state to focus not on social and emotional learning and surveys, but on academic outcomes for Black students.

Parent Kyle Richardson said that as a gay man, he opposed language in the bill that required school staff to first contact parents before providing mental health services to students.

“I know friends who have struggled with their parents not supporting them, and I have lost friends to suicide,” Richardson said.

To loud cheers from a crowd assembled outside the Senate chamber, a Noblesville High School student told lawmakers about experiencing thoughts of suicide in seventh grade, and said the language of the bill would have prevented a trusted teacher from providing help.

“If I had known I had to get parental permission to talk to a teacher or counselor, I never would have opened my mouth in the first place. I was too embarrassed to admit what I thought was my greatest weakness,” the student said.

Three people on Wednesday expressed support for the bill, though the amendment alienated some original proponents, including Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office.

Parent Dawn Lang said she supported the bill, and especially its focus on transparency through online learning management systems at schools.

Lang said that though she was a “parent in a sea of red,” in reference to the Red for Ed shirts that teachers and other opponents of the bill wore, she represented more parents who couldn’t come and testify.

“My concern is that the parents are going to take their students out of the school systems and move and transfer to private or home school if they can’t feel that their voices are being heard,” she said.

The committee adjourned just after 6:30 p.m. despite some confusion over whether lawmakers would have time to ask questions, or whether they could allow more public comment.

Many still waiting outside the Senate chamber could be heard calling for a chance to speak.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Proposed change to ‘divisive concepts’ bill would ban fewer ideas

2022-02-15T23:39:07+00:00

A proposed amendment to Indiana’s so-called “divisive concepts” legislation would drop some of the most controversial parts of the bill, but stop short of completely removing a list of concepts that would be banned from the classroom.

The changes are an attempt to strike a compromise, according to a statement by Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger), who’s sponsoring House Bill 1134 as it makes its first appearance Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development.

Among its changes, Rogers’ amendment would narrow a list of concepts that lawmakers want banned from the classroom from eight to three, removing one that would forbid teachers from teaching that students should feel guilt or discomfort based on their personal characteristics like race or national origin.

Teachers had singled out this point in particular as potentially generating frivolous lawsuits and stifling classroom conversations.

The bill, passed out of the House last month, has faced an uncertain future in the Senate, which killed its own version of the bill early into the session after national outcry.

“The changes I am introducing may not be where we end up on all of these issues, but I am offering them as a good-faith attempt at a compromise that respects the valid concerns of both parents and educators,” Rogers said in a statement. “I appreciate the thoughtful discussions I’ve had with hundreds of interested parties on this bill, and I will remain open to input as the legislative process continues.”

Rogers’ amendment still includes three concepts that teachers couldn’t promote:

That any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior to another.
That any individual should be treated adversely or preferentially because of the above.
That any individual is responsible for actions committed in the past by people who share their personal traits.

Notably, the amendment would strike “political affiliation” from the list of characteristics that the bill protects from discrimination. Opponents had pointed out that such language could stop teachers from condemning Nazism.

Rogers’ amendment would strike the ability of parents who believe schools have taught a banned concept to file suit. Final authority to determine whether a violation has occurred would rest with the Indiana Department of Education.

The amendment would strike the original bill’s mandate for outside curriculum review.

Instead of mandating curriculum review committees composed primarily of parents, the amendment would give districts the option to form such committees. Parents could request that a committee review certain materials.

Finally, the amendment would not require schools and teachers to post most of their learning materials online for public review at the beginning of the year. Instead it would mandate that they use an online learning management system and allow parents to inspect materials upon request.

The Senate is scheduled to hear testimony, consider amendments, and vote on HB 1134 at Wednesday’s committee meeting, at the end of a packed schedule that also includes a hearing on House Bill 1041, which would ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports.

Proponents of the curriculum-control bill have said parents need a window into their children’s education. But opponents, including many teachers, say it discounts their professional experience and inserts politics into teaching.

In a statement, Indiana Democrats said the amendment “still falls far short of the mark for teachers, parents, and students.”

“The latest version of HB 1134 remains a slippery slope allowing bad actors to demand neutrality on issues, divide communities, and diminish Hoosier values,” said Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party. “The Indiana GOP’s original intentions were to put politics in the classroom, not to create a better future for our children.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Crackdown on incentives proposed after Indiana virtual school controversy

2022-02-09T00:33:42+00:00

Indiana lawmakers want to tighten restrictions on schools offering incentives to attract students, after an unusual virtual program advertised a $1,700 stipend for school supplies, music lessons, and Netflix subscriptions.

The legislature’s move follows a Chalkbeat report on rising criticism over Tech Trep Academy, which drew a warning last school year from state education officials who said the stipend violated state law.

The controversy led Tech Trep to stop directly reimbursing families. The program, which is privately run and receives state funding, converted to a point-based system. Each student receives 85,000 points at the beginning of each semester and can use them to buy Tech Trep courses or educational resources the school orders for them from Amazon or other retailers.

The tuition-free program doesn’t require traditional classes, leaving it up to families to choose their own curriculum. If a student wants to take Tech Trep courses, some cost 20,000 points.

Families have a lot of freedom on how to spend their points. They can redeem them for expenses including educational toys, gym memberships, science kits, and internet access.

Tech Trep Director of Operations Janet Cox has come under fire for saying she uses the funds to buy Christmas gifts for her children.

But House education leader Bob Behning says Tech Trep’s point system remains an enrollment incentive since all students receive a set number of points for signing up. The Indianapolis Republican has proposed a bill this year that could challenge Tech Trep again.

“We want parents to choose what’s in their best interest, but we don’t want them to be doing it for financial reasons,” Behning said. “We want them to be doing it for education reasons, or sometimes it’s school safety.”

The bill would clarify an existing law to say that schools cannot offer incentives with monetary value to prospective or current students in exchange for enrolling, re-enrolling, or continuing to attend a school.

As part of a larger bill that also includes suspending A-F school ratings again, the proposal unanimously passed the House last month, and the Senate education committee is scheduled to take it up Wednesday.

The original law, passed in 2015, more narrowly sought to prohibit schools from offering cash or gift cards to woo families, after an Indianapolis charter school promoted a $100 grocery store gift card for referring new students. Schools receive state funding based on how many students they enroll.

Behning drew a distinction between Tech Trep’s point system and an example of a school where students earn rewards for good behavior or academic progress.

But Cloverdale Schools Superintendent Greg Linton, whose district oversees Tech Trep, said he doesn’t view the point system as a monetary incentive. “Tech Trep’s point system allows families, who choose to home educate, access to the same type of educational support materials that our traditional students access at our school buildings,” he wrote in an email.

Tech Trep Indiana official Lauren Bailey declined to comment.

Run by a for-profit Utah company, Tech Trep has drawn backlash from lawmakers, public education advocates, and home-schooling supporters, who say the program receives public funds for students who are essentially home-schooled.

Tech Trep’s supporters defend the program as a way to support families that preserves flexibility in how they educate their children.

Tech Trep allows K-8 families to choose their own curriculum and requires them to submit learning logs and student work to demonstrate learning. Each student is assigned a homeroom teacher. Tech Trep also hosts free field trips and a Facebook support group.

While families can start spending their points at the beginning of the year, Tech Trep’s parent guidebook notes that students cannot access their points if their grades fall below 80%. Students in grades K-6 receive pass/fail grades, and teachers score submitted work in grades 7-8.

Families can keep the resources bought with points as long as their students complete required work and testing.

Now in its second year in Indiana, Tech Trep has grown to about 400 students, from about 165 last year.

Tech Trep has contributed to a sizable enrollment increase at Cloverdale, a small district near Greencastle. Over the past decade, Cloverdale’s student population had declined by about 20%, dwindling to just over 1,000 students last school year.

With the addition of Tech Trep Academy, Cloverdale jumped to about 1,400 students this year, hitting its highest enrollment since the late 2000s.

The partnership allowed Cloverdale to keep 20% of the state funding for each Tech Trep student, with the rest going toward hiring teachers and paying for materials for families. So far, Cloverdale has made about $400,000 from the Tech Trep partnership, Linton said. The district used the money to support the program and to give its other teachers raises, increasing its beginning teacher salary to $40,000 to meet a new state law.

“Without this partnership, Cloverdale Community Schools would have had to explore possible program eliminations or staff cuts to meet the statutory salary minimum,” Linton said.

Here are the education bills moving forward in the Indiana legislature

2022-02-01T23:02:26+00:00

Bills that would ban schools from teaching “divisive concepts” and open libraries to prosecution for distributing harmful material have passed the first hurdles of the Indiana legislature.

Along with other proposals to require school corporations to provide a public comment period, and to share referendum funds with charter schools, the bills met legislative deadlines in the last week and now cross chambers for approval.

Here are some education-related bills that are moving forward, as well as a few also-rans that didn’t make it through.

Moving forward

Transgender girls in youth sports: HB 1041 would ban trans girls from participating in girls’ sports at the K-12 level. The bill originally applied to collegiate sports as well, but the language was amended. Proponents say they’re trying to preserve a sense of fairness in girls’ athletics, while opponents say the bill targets already vulnerable children trying to play sports with their friends. After a heated comment period, spectators left the gallery shouting “shame on you” to lawmakers after the bill passed committee.

Revenue sharing: HB 1072 would require school corporations to share referendum money with charter schools that enroll students who live within that corporation’s boundaries. Author Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) said it would allow dollars to better follow students, but opponents decried the move as taking needed funding away from traditional public schools. Districts already have the option to share referendum funds with charter schools, as Indianapolis Public Schools has recently decided to do.

No school A-F grades: The state board of education would once again assign schools a “null” or “no letter grade” for the 2021-22 school year. The board did so last year due to disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic. Schools have not been issued A-F grades since 2018 due to the switch to a new state assessment.

Special education disputes: Schools would no longer be able to require that parents sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to resolve legal disputes related to their students’ special education services. If passed, Indiana may become the first state to ban the practice. HB 1107 would also require the state to create a database of issues addressed in these due process hearings.

School board public comment: Two bills, HB 1130 and SB 83, would require school boards to offer an oral public comment period. Last year, tense meetings led at least one school district, Carmel Clay Schools, to suspend public comment for several months. Rep. Tim O’Brien, the author of the HB 1130, noted that Carmel restored its public comment period shortly after HB 1130 passed unanimously out of committee.

“Divisive concepts” ban: A bill to regulate what teachers can teach about race would prohibit teachers from promoting eight concepts that lawmakers have deemed divisive. HB1134 would also require schools to post bibliographic information of their curriculum, and to create parent committees to approve curriculum. The Indianapolis NAACP has decried the bill as racist, joined by groups including the Indianapolis Urban League and Marion County Commission on Youth in opposing it.

Campus free speech: House lawmakers nearly unanimously supported a bill to enshrine in state law First Amendment protections for college campuses. But critics questioned why HB 1190 was needed if federal law already granted those rights, and universities have stopped short of supporting it. Sheila Kennedy, a professor emeritus at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, said it could complicate existing law.

Adjunct teacher permits: HB 1251 and SB 356 allow school corporations to issue adjunct teacher permits and hire adjunct teachers who meet certain requirements. Those employees would not be union members nor covered by collective bargaining agreements or salary schedules. Districts could hire such employees only part time under an amendment to SB 356.

Attendance adjustments: Lawmakers changed how schools’ average daily attendance is tabulated for the 2021-22 school year after schools expressed concern that they would lose money for students in quarantine since virtual students are funded at 85% of the normal state allocation. SB 2 extends the window for counting enrollment and allows the Department of Education to retroactively fund schools for students who were in quarantine.

“Harmful material” protections: Another hotly debated bill, SB 17 removes legal protections for K-12 schools and public libraries from a law that prohibits distributing harmful material to children. Colleges and college libraries would keep those protections, but other libraries could no longer claim the material was educational in nature. Proponents said the law targets only obscene material, defined in Indiana code as that which is “patently offensive” for minors and lacks literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. But opponents fear it could be more widely interpreted to ban books on topics like sex education and LGBTQ relationships.

FAFSA requirement: SB 82 requires Indiana high school seniors to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. The requirement passed the Senate previously, but had stalled in the House. Advocates say it would help improve Indiana’s declining college enrollment.

Not moving forward

In-state tuition: SB 138, which would have made undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition, failed to pass the Senate Education Committee.

“Divisive concepts” companion bill: The Senate abandoned SB 167, its own version of a proposal to regulate teaching race after national backlash over Sen. Scott Baldwin’s comments that schools could teach Nazism impartially. Lawmakers said at the time that SB 167 had “no path forward,” casting some uncertainty over how the nearly-identical HB 1134 will fare in the Senate.

Collective bargaining: The bill would’ve required school districts to bargain with teachers’ unions over matters like class size, teacher prep periods, and health and safety measures amid COVID-19 — provisions that were stripped by the state legislature a decade ago. Restoring the right was a legislative priority for the Indiana State Teachers Association this year, but SB 178 died in the Education Committee.

Partisan school boards: A proposal to require school board candidates to identify their political affiliation drew universal criticism at its first House Education Committee hearing. HB 1182 ultimately never came up for a vote.

Parents can be silenced in special education settlements. A proposed bill would change that.

2022-01-31T23:33:53+00:00

Karla knew something was wrong. Her daughter still couldn’t read by the time she reached the fifth grade.

In early elementary school, Karla’s daughter was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder, among other conditions. Her daughter’s school district in northwest Indiana provided her with special education services under an individualized education program, or IEP, intended to help her progress.

But Karla said her daughter had failed to make significant academic gains during her fourth grade year. She was concerned the school was missing something.

Karla paid thousands of dollars to have her daughter evaluated by a neuropsychologist. She scored a 91 on a nonverbal intelligence test, which placed her in the average range. That was nearly 50 points higher than what the school reported from its own IQ testing, which placed her in the extremely low range.

The results validated Karla’s suspicion about her daughter’s potential.

“My daughter was average. She was smart enough,” Karla said. “And the school was not giving her the credit that she needed.”

Armed with the independent report, Karla asked school staff to add the neuropsychologist’s recommendations to her daughter’s IEP at the beginning of her fifth grade year; those additions to help in the classroom included a one-to-one paraprofessional and a specialized reading program, among other requests.

But Karla said school staff refused.

Karla and her husband were desperate to get their daughter the help she needed. They hired an attorney who initiated a request for due process — a complicated legal proceeding intended to resolve disputes between families and schools over special education services. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, parents can request a due process hearing if they believe the school isn’t meeting its legal obligation to provide their student with appropriate services, accommodations or placement.

In Indiana there are about 90 requests for due process every year. Very few of these cases wind up in hearings before an impartial officer who decides the case. Rather most requests result in settlement agreements between schools and families.

WFYI spoke with multiple special education attorneys, advocates, parents and experts who say schools frequently request non-disclosure agreements or confidentiality agreements as a condition of a settlement.

It is an approach, a WFYI investigation found, that prevents parents from talking to other parents of children with disabilities about their experience. And it leaves parents in fear that a school district may take legal action against them for a perceived violation of the clause.

That’s what happened to Karla.

Her school district agreed to settle the case so long as Karla agreed to an indefinite NDA.

Karla said her attorney tried to negotiate, but the district refused to take it out of her agreement.

WFYI isn’t using Karla’s full name, identifying her daughter or her school district to both protect her daughter’s privacy and because Karla fears retaliation from her school for speaking out.

Karla said the agreement contained services for her child that she believed were imperative to her academic success and development.

“We had to look at the greater good,” Karla said about the family’s decision to sign the settlement with the NDA. “[My daughter] was already very behind. And the longer we fought, the longer it was going to take and the more she was going to lose.”

Karla is one of an unknown number of parents in Indiana who have agreed to an NDA as a condition of their settlement agreement.

The NDA continues to bother Karla. She wants to share her experience with other parents, but she’s fearful that doing so could lead the district to come after her for violating the agreement.

“It makes me feel like they still have some sort of power over me, because they can still control what I say about this,” Karla said.

Now, proposed legislation in Indiana would bar school districts from requesting parents sign NDAs, confidentiality agreements and non-disparagement clauses as a condition of a special education due process settlement or as part of the resolution of a special education dispute. Advocates of the measure say NDAs harm families of students with disabilities, while opponents say NDAs are a useful litigation strategy, and their elimination could result in more due process requests. The Indiana House has already approved the bill, and it is expected to be considered in the Senate in the coming weeks.

“I think probably every initial settlement agreement that we’ve received from a school district will include some form of confidentiality in it,” said Tom Crishon, legal director for Indiana Disability Rights, an independent state agency and legal organization that represents parents of students with disabilities.

“Oftentimes [NDAs are] even coupled with what’s called liquidated damages clauses,” Crishon said. “So if there is a perceived violation, it’s a set sum of money that the family would owe the school for violating that part of the agreement — which are often confusing and ambiguous.”

Rep. Ed Clere (R-New Albany) authored the proposed legislation, House Bill 1107, with help from Crishon and the Arc of Indiana, an advocacy organization for people with disabilities.

Both Clere and Crishon say there’s a power imbalance between districts and families in disputes over special education. While schools do not have unlimited resources, they have far more at their disposal than families, Clere said.

“Nondisclosure agreements put families in a terrible position,” he said. “They cause families to fear financial consequences for talking about their experiences and that deprives other families of learning from those experiences.”

Experts, advocates, parents and school district officials all agree that due process proceedings are extraordinarily stressful, time-consuming and expensive endeavors. It’s not uncommon for a family to accrue upwards of $10,000 in legal fees. Additionally, families of children with disabilities often feel alone in their struggle to obtain appropriate services, and Crishon said adding an NDA to their plate increases that sense of isolation.

Clere said the proposed legislation won’t force families to speak openly about their experiences, but it gives them the option to if they want.

Additionally, Crishon said NDAs shield schools from accountability.

“We’re talking about publicly-funded school districts who are provided funding to give appropriate services to students with disabilities hiding behind confidentiality agreements,” he said.

If passed, the legislation could be a one-of-kind law, according to Perry Zirkel, a professor emeritus at Lehigh University who studies special education law. Zirkel said he conducted a search of all state laws and regulations related to special education.

“And I found nothing that was even close to this,” he said. “So I think it is a very unusual provision.”

A policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures told WFYI a search through state statutes and consultation with the National Center for Learning Disabilities found no examples of this policy in other states.

Support for confidentiality

But not everyone agrees these settlements should be public. Special education administrators from across the state spoke against the measure during a recent House Education Committee hearing. Many feared that the elimination of NDAs would increase the number of due process requests — which they said typically cost between $10,000 and $30,000 per case — and pull staff away from classroom and administrative duties.

Angie Balsley, president of the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education, was one of the administrators who testified. In an interview following the hearing, Balsley said she understands that parents want to talk about their children and their experiences in their school districts. But in settlement agreements, Balsley said schools may compromise by offering services that are “above and beyond what they normally would do.”

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires schools provide a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities. Balsley said conflicts arise when parents and schools disagree over what an appropriate education entails.

Balsley is also the executive director of Earlywood Educational Services, and she said she’s been involved in multiple settlement agreements — and nearly all included an NDA.

She said school districts may agree to a settlement even if they believe they could win the case in a hearing. That’s because the hearings themselves can last a week or longer, require intensive preparation and take staff away from their job duties.

She said the NDA clause is a litigation tool executed in the “spirit of compromise and collaboration.” And Balsley worries that allowing parents to publicize their agreements will result in more parents filing for due process as a means to get educational services for their children.

“It’s just a general feeling amongst special education directors that you don’t want those very specific remedies in that situation to be shared publicly, as we fear that they might [lead] everybody [to feel] that’s their way to get that answer for their own child,” Balsley said.

She added that every child with a disability needs individualized services; it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Balsley said she believes the state should focus more time on promoting alternatives to due process, including mediation and facilitated IEP meetings.

Alexandra Curlin, an Indianapolis-based attorney who represents both parents and school districts in special education disputes, said the NDA portion of the proposed legislation is “at best, unnecessary, and at worst overreaching.”

Curlin said attorneys can structure confidentiality agreements that allow families to talk about their experiences without disclosing the terms of their settlement agreements.

“What this legislation teaches me is that the people who wrote this legislation are missing a lot of information about the reality of what special education litigation is,” she said.

Unintended consequences

Zirkel, the Lehigh University professor emeritus, said NDAs provide potential advantages to both parents and schools, but he acknowledged that schools likely reap the most benefit from these clauses. In situations where schools agree to pay for a student’s costly services, like a placement in a private school or a residential setting, the disclosure of that information could anger taxpayers who think schools are spending too much money on an individual student.

Under IDEA, parents aren’t entitled to monetary damages in a due process proceeding, however, they can receive reimbursement for expenses like tuition for private school placements, independent evaluations, and attorneys fees.

“I find in some cases that parent attorneys like these confidentiality clauses … because part of the agreement is that they’re going to get their fees,” Zirkel said. “And that ticks off a lot of taxpayers.”

He said the legislation could have unintended consequences such as fewer settlements for families.

School attorneys may be more likely to settle with parents if they can keep the details hidden from public view, Zirkel said. If they can’t guarantee that the details of these cases won’t be publicly shared, then they may be more likely to go to a hearing, in which there are higher costs for both sides.

“There’s a cost of time, there’s a cost of attorneys, there’s a cost of emotions. And there’s a cost of this child just sort of waiting to get this whole thing resolved,” he said. “And those costs of transactions get even worse once the due process decision is appealed by either side.”

Zirkel has studied the outcomes of due process hearings, and he found that independent hearing officers are more likely to side with schools than parents in these cases.

“Districts win the clear majority — it’s a sort of two-to-one ratio,” he said.

The reason hearing officers frequently side with schools, Zirkel said, is due in part to school administrators’ perceived expertise. There’s also a power imbalance between districts and parents, especially when parents can’t afford to hire an attorney, he said.

Settlement agreements are likely public records

While districts may pressure parents to sign NDAs in a bid to keep these cases underwraps, Zirkel said settlement agreements are likely public records. WFYI spoke with multiple attorneys who agree that these documents are subject to the state’s Access to Public Records Act.

Zirkel compares special education dispute resolutions to an iceberg; the only publicly available information about these cases are contained in hearing officer decisions and other court documents — in other words, the tip of the iceberg. Settlement agreements — while they may be public record in theory — are not posted publicly.

“The vast majority of this iceberg is below the water and very few people know what the hell is going on,” Zirkel said.

Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said he believes these agreements are public record and that “95 percent of the time those NDAs are going to be unenforceable as written if they attempt to shield otherwise disclosable public records from disclosure.”

Crishon, with Indiana Disability Rights, also said “it’s very likely they are public records.” But the problem is that parents may not know that these NDAs aren’t enforceable, nor do they want to go to court to fight schools on the issue.

“They’re probably going to be scared enough not to discuss or share any kind of information, which goes back to, you know, not being able to obtain support or give support to other families who are experiencing similar issues,” Crishon said.

The proposed Indiana legislation could offer a unique peek into the issues addressed in settlement agreements; the bill would require schools to send their settlements to the Indiana Department of Education on an annual basis. The department would create and maintain a database that includes the types of issues addressed, either explicitly or implicitly, in these agreements.

A spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Education, Holly Lawson, wrote in an email that, currently, the department does not receive copies of due process settlement agreements and therefore is unaware what’s included in these agreements or whether they include an NDA.

‘Really frustrating and sad’

It’s been several years since Karla, the parent in northwest Indiana, agreed to the settlement with her daughter’s school district. Yet, she still lives in fear that her school district might take her family to court.

“What [the school district] could do, should they have reason to pursue, would be absolutely devastating to my family,” Karla said. “They still have power.”

The good news is Karla’s daughter is doing well. While she hasn’t caught up to her peers, Karla said she’s on the right track, and attributes that improvement to the additional classroom and other services provided under the settlement agreement.

Had she not fought for her daughter’s educational rights, Karla said she would have fallen further behind in school, “and she was not going to reach her highest potential that way — she wasn’t even going to get close to it.”

But she still feels muzzled by the NDA.

“I can’t fully support my friends who are special needs parents when I have to be careful about what I say, as far as our whole journey with the school system and how that has gone. And that’s really frustrating and sad.”

Contact reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Indiana bill would duplicate First Amendment protections at colleges

2022-01-27T23:25:40+00:00

A bill to bar Indiana state colleges from restricting protests based on ideology passed overwhelmingly in the House Thursday — even though the legislation essentially duplicates federal First Amendment protections.

Universities have stopped short of supporting the bill, but said they agree with its ideas. Bill critics questioned why a state law is necessary when federal protections exist. They also warned the bill if signed into law could encourage litigation and complicate First Amendment case law.

Spurred by complaints from conservative and religious groups, House Bill 1190 would codify federal free-speech protections into state law and also allow students and student groups to sue for damages.

The bill would prevent state education institutions from prohibiting protests or leafleting on certain areas of campus or denying those rights to student groups based on their ideology.

Co-author Rep. Chris Jeter (R-McCordsville) cited examples of conservative and religious groups facing alleged discrimination on college campuses in explaining the origin of the bill. Still, he said the bill was neutral and didn’t distinguish among points of view.

Jack Jordan (R-Bremen), the author of HB 1190, also said the bill was not a Democrat or Republican issue, but stemmed from the First Amendment.

“This is a ‘we’ issue, that we all should be — and I’m assuming are — excited about,” Jordan said in presenting the bill.

HB 1190 received near-unanimous support from public speakers and other lawmakers, though Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) questioned why it was necessary if the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court rulings have affirmed First Amendment rights on college campuses.

It’s not necessary to put existing federal protections into state laws, said Sheila Kennedy, a professor emeritus of law and public policy at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI — and doing so inaccurately could create legal headaches for schools.

“There’s no legal reason to codify it. It is the law,” Kennedy said. “State legislatures do not have to go back every time the Supreme Court makes a law inapplicable. If the Supreme Court comes down with a decision, a law may stay on your books, but it is no longer in effect.”

Kennedy said HB 1190 encourages additional litigation, and complicates the legal precedent of the First Amendment and existing case law by potentially allowing somebody to claim they have additional rights under Indiana law.

Specific provisions of the bill — like one prohibiting colleges from denying a benefit to student organizations based on their ideology — could require schools to recognize and fund white supremacist student groups, she said.

“Even if their intent was not to protect student groups with abhorrent views, that certainly could occur under this language,” she said.

Jeter said the purpose of adding the language to state law is to provide additional guidance to universities.

“We’ve seen universities attempt to craft policies just based on the First Amendment, which is very broad, and those policies have oftentimes veered away… from some of the case law,” Jeter said. “(Universities) want to propagate rules that are fair, lawful, and viewpoint-neutral for all students.”

The bill says it should not be construed to prevent universities from restricting non-protected speech, such as threats or harassment, or conduct that “materially and substantially” disrupts the protected activity of another individual.

In an interview, Jeter said the bill pares down years of case law into specific guidance for schools to follow.

The enforcement provision — which allows students or student organizations to sue schools for violations — is novel, but Jeter said schools would likely be open to legal action even without it.

Jeter said he had met with Indiana schools about this bill

Indiana University hasn’t taken a position on the bill, spokesperson Chuck Carney said.

“We appreciate that it largely mirrors our existing policy, and especially appreciate that the legislature has worked with the public universities as they continue to refine the legislation,” Carney said in a statement.

Speaking to lawmakers on behalf of IU, Ivy Tech, and Ball State, Zachary Smith Howard, assistant director of state relations at Indiana University, said the universities were committed to First Amendment protections.

“Our institutions recognize the rights of all members of the campus community,” he said. “This is essential to the advance of each of our institutions’ educational measures.”

Jeter said the bill was a response to “national trends towards suppression of speech,” citing certain challenges that student groups have faced to their freedom of association.

He said higher education institutions in Indiana have been generally good about protecting First Amendment rights, but that they’ve still seen a handful of complaints, including a 2018 lawsuit by a pro-life group at Ball State University that claimed the school had unfairly denied them student activity funds.

An IUPUI graduate also told House lawmakers during testimony that her pro-life student group had been held to different standards than other student groups, including by having a display confined to a small area enclosed by bike racks.

Asked if the bill aimed to protect conservative viewpoints at traditionally liberal college campuses, Jeter said, “Those are the ones you see most in the news.”

However, he added that “there are reports of liberal groups on more conservative campuses also being marginalized.” The bill, he said, is politically neutral.

It’s not Indiana’s — nor Jordan’s — first foray into college free speech.

Last year, the state passed a law requiring universities to survey students on free speech by May 2022, in order to gauge whether students felt their schools “recognized and fostered” the free expression of opinions and ideologies.

Jordan separately had proposed that universities identify the ideological leanings of professors, courses, speakers, and student groups, according to the IndyStar.

Last year’s bill also required the Commission on Higher Education to create a report on free speech at higher education institutions, which was issued on Nov. 1.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana House sends sweeping anti-CRT bill to the Senate

2022-01-27T00:22:19+00:00

The Indiana House on Wednesday passed a sweeping bill that would ban schools from teaching “divisive concepts” of race and racism and from making students feel guilt or discomfort because of their race or ethnicity.

The Republican-controlled body passed House Bill 1134 on a 60-37 vote. It now heads to the Senate, which abandoned its own version of the bill after it elicited national criticism.

Author Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero) said the purpose of the House bill was to give parents more control over what their children learn in schools, through the curriculum portals and review committees that it creates.

“They have a right to be an active voice in their schools,” Cook said. Many parents feel they haven’t been heard, he said.

Dozens of educators have spoken against the bill, arguing that it would silence classroom discussions of racism and history as teachers fear losing their licenses over complaints.

Rep. Renee Pack (D-Indianapolis) said it was important for students to learn history to avoid repeating its mistakes. She shared her own experience of discomfort as a young Black student learning about slavery.

“I didn’t like hearing about the things that happened to my ancestors — the things they had to endure,” Pack said. “It’s a dirty, shameful truth about this country’s history. But let me tell you this. I took that uncomfortability and turned it into a life of service.”

Teachers also raised concerns about the workload the bill would create for teachers to post all their coursework, seek approval for new material, and create alternate lessons for parents who choose to opt their students out of certain topics.

An amendment added Tuesday attempts to address teacher workload issues by exempting supplemental lessons added at the last minute from online posting. Instead, schools must post only bibliographic information of preplanned curriculum and mind copyright laws.

The bill would allow school boards to require their schools to post more than what the bill specifies.

The amended bill no longer requires teachers to create alternative assignments for students who are opted-out of lessons.

The amendment also deletes references to state colleges and other state institutions. Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) previously had noted that the language of the bill applied to colleges.

The House rejected a DeLaney amendment to make the state, rather than school districts, responsible for damages brought by lawsuits allowed under the bill.

The revised bill caps damages for violating its provisions at $1,000. It places the responsibility on principals and superintendents for enforcing the ban on certain concepts.

Teachers could still lose their licenses for “willful or wanton” violations of the law.

Speaking in support of the bill, Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) said the amendments to the bill had struck a balance and that the proposal would likely continue to evolve as it moved to the Senate.

Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville), and director of Early College High School at Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp, said she didn’t support the bill because it required monitoring of all teachers.

She said she would prefer to address the actions of individual “bad actors.”

Democratic lawmakers overwhelmingly opposed the bill.

DeLaney questioned whether Indiana students would be able to learn about the history of the Civil War or the Klu Klux Klan in the state.

“Let’s get it out on the table what we’re afraid of. We’re afraid of change,” DeLaney said. “We don’t want our kids to be woke. We want them to be asleep. That’s what this bill proposes.”

“HB 1134 tells students that if you disagree with something, if it challenges your positions, if it conflicts with your preconceived notions of the world, you don’t need to debate or discuss it,” said. Rep. Blake Johnson (D-Indianapolis). “If there is anything in the marketplace of ideas that you don’t like, you don’t have to just disagree. You can pretend it doesn’t exist at all.”

Democrat or Republican? Bill would make Indiana school board candidates declare

2022-01-11T22:16:06+00:00

A bill to turn Indiana school board elections partisan drew unanimous public opposition in its first legislative hearing Tuesday, despite lawmakers’ contentions that it would improve transparency.

House Bill 1182, authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott, a Union City Republican, would require school board candidates to add their political party affiliation to the ballot, or identify as independent. The races are currently nonpartisan.

Opponents said the proposal would inject partisanship into school districts’ everyday decisions, like how to feed and transport students.

“The school board should be focusing on policy,” said Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a Terre Haute Democrat. “There are no Democrat or Republican schools.”

But Prescott said he had heard constituent support for greater transparency in school board elections. He said a candidate’s declaration of their stance on national issues indicated how they would handle smaller local issues.

“I think you can tell the difference between financial responsibility and moral character,” Prescott said. “Having that on the ballot will help tell voters a little bit more about the candidate.”

In down-ballot races where voters know little about individual candidates, they would at least know their political party, lawmakers said.

“I think politics are already in our schools, we just don’t know where our school board members are on the political spectrum,” Prescott said.

Under the proposal, candidates would have to have voted in the two most recent primary elections held by the party of their choice in order to claim the affiliation. If they hadn’t, they would need to seek written permission from the county party chairperson to claim party affiliation.

During public comment, dozens of school board members and their legal representatives spoke in opposition to the proposal, saying it would further fracture boards that have recently seen politically motivated furor over COVID-19 protocols and race discussions in schools.

“Inviting politics into the boardroom through partisan school board links could have the consequence of fueling conflict,” said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association. “What we witnessed as an unusual season will become the norm.”

Spradlin also said the proposal would prohibit federal employees from running for school boards under the Hatch Act, and leave out candidates who serve in the military as well as those employed by the departments of defense and corrections, and the Postal Service.

Spradlin said the school boards association — composed of 1,700 school board members across all 290 Indiana school districts — opposed the bill. But if it moves forward, he suggested adding an amendment that would allow local bodies to decide if their school board elections would be partisan, as Tennessee recently allowed.

Most other states hold nonpartisan school board elections.

Other speakers warned that the bill would make it harder to find quality candidates willing to serve on the school board, and, because the primary role of the board is to hire a superintendent, would politicize that position as well.

One person pointed out that the Indiana General Assembly had recently made the superintendent of public instruction an appointed position rather than an elected one, with the aim to depoliticize public education. Lawmakers said the office charged with appointing the superintendent — the governor — was still a partisan position.

No public speakers spoke in support of the bill.

The House Elections and Apportionment Committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday.

Indiana lawmakers debate how to teach race in schools

2022-01-05T23:48:40+00:00

Proponents and opponents squared off Wednesday over a sweeping bill to regulate how Indiana schools teach about race and racism.

The hearing, the first of likely many about Senate Bill 167, covered the basics of the bill and included several hours of testimony. It would ban educators from teaching eight specific ideas, would give parents a say in regulating curriculum, and would require schools to post lessons and materials online.

It also would require schools to obtain parental permission to survey students about social and emotional needs and to offer them mental health services.

The bill echoes the measures other conservative-led states have taken to excise from classrooms discussion about race. Some critics have seized on a university-level concept called critical race theory to stop schools from discussing racial history and events.

Indiana K-12 curriculum does not include that theory, nor does the Senate bill mention it explicitly.

The legislature likely won’t vote for weeks on the bill.

Its proponents argue that it would codify parental say over what their children learn in school, and would prevent the teaching of divisive ideas and political ideologies.

Criticism of the bill ranged from its detailed requirements — like the burden on teachers to post lesson plans and materials online — to the chilling effect it could have on teaching and learning the history of racism.

Several students in particular spoke of the effects that such a law would have on their classes and peers, warning of the harm of taking mental health services away from students, or preventing their teachers from teaching freely.

“Saying this bill is not intended to prevent the teaching of history is like slashing funding for road maintenance and saying you don’t intend to create potholes,” said Tilly Robinson, a senior at Bloomington High School South in Bloomington.

Sen. Scott Baldwin, a Noblesville Republican and author of the bill, asked many speakers to specify which of the eight points identified as divisive in the bill they objected to.

Among those points is that any individual is superior or inferior to another based on sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or political affiliation, or should be discriminated against based on those factors.

The bill also seeks to protect any student from feeling uncomfortable because of personal characteristics, or feel responsible for actions of those who share their traits — phrasing meant to prevent white students from feeling blamed for slavery and persecution of people of color.

In response to questions from Sen. J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) about how often the eight points identified in the bill are taught in Indiana, Baldwin said he had received stacks of materials and hundreds of emails and calls complaining about lessons that his bill seeks to outlaw.

Ford also asked Baldwin why the bill did not include gender identity and sexual orientation in its list of protected characteristics. Baldwin replied that the Republican caucus would not support such language.

Ford objected. “I think leaving out those particular folks sends a very loud and clear message to students that their existence is not worth bothering to put in the bill,” he said.

Baldwin said he had not consulted the Department of Education in creating the proposal.

He denied drafting the bill in the midst of the national furor over teaching race in the classroom, saying he had written an early version at the start of last year’s legislative session after hearing from concerned constituents.

Speaking in support of the bill, Center Grove parent Cara Cecil said the existing recourse for parents to pull their children out of lessons has failed her family.

When she tried to prevent her daughter from undergoing a social and emotional evaluation, she said the sixth grader was surveyed anyway and would have had to voice opposition to her teacher to avoid taking the survey.

Cecil said she removes her elementary-aged son from school every other week during social and emotional lessons she disagrees with, but as a result she has received a warning about his attendance. Those lessons can help students deal with emotions and interpersonal relationships, but opponents fear that teachers also use sessions to address inequity.

“I don’t want him to be told he’s guilty of the sins of other people,” Cecil said.

Attorney General Todd Rokita supports the bill. However, it doesn’t go far enough for Purple for Parents, a parent group that has voiced opposition to topics like critical race theory at school board meetings last summer.

At Wednesday’s hearing, teachers raised issues with the proposal to post their lesson plans online. The plans are often guidelines for veteran teachers, said Robert Taylor of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, and can change even over the course of one day.

In testimony, Brownsburg teacher Christianne Beebe said that for just one week of lessons, she’d be required to post 75 books, presentations, labs, activities, and video clips, and questioned whether she’d need to get approval from the curriculum review committee for every one.

Opponents also criticized provisions seeking to protect students’ feelings as too vague and open to unwarranted complaints.

Baldwin said the bill is not intended to stop the teaching of history neutrally. Several educators disputed that historical events like Nazism could be taught neutrally.

Justin Ohlemiller of Stand for Children Indiana said a lesson could devolve into a he-said, she-said dispute and involve threats of legal action that might deter teachers and schools from attempting to cover certain topics.

“We need to consider that this bill could have a freezing effect on teaching race and racism unless we make sure there’s a clear lane for them to do that without fear of retribution,” Ohlemiller said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana Republican lawmakers want parents to review school curriculum

2021-12-16T00:47:08+00:00

In the wake of contentious school board meetings throughout Indiana over critical race theory, leading Republican lawmakers said they will propose allowing parents to have more of a say in what their children are taught in schools.

Critical race theory has migrated from a little-known academic framework, which examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism, into a political touchstone for Republicans nationwide. It has animated debate about how schools teach about the role of race in this country.

Indiana Republicans are drafting multiple education bills for the 2022 legislative session in response to these controversies, without mentioning critical race theory by name.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said at a legislative conference Wednesday that they do not believe critical race theory, or CRT, is being taught in Indiana’s K-12 schools.

“CRT is not part of our state standards,” Holcomb told reporters. “If critical race theory is being taught in the classroom in our K-12 system, it’s counter to the standards, and the local school and parents need to hold those folks who are responsible accountable.”

Still, House education leader Bob Behning said the next legislative session, which starts in January, will include a bill inspired by the critical race theory controversy that focuses on “transparency.” He suggested requiring districts to form “curriculum control committees,” groups of parents, community members, and educators who would review curriculum, classroom materials, or library books and advise school leaders to change aspects they disagree with.

Every public school district would be required to create an advisory curriculum committee, composed of 40% parents, 20% members of the public, and 40% educators, Behning said. Each committee would be required to meet at least twice a year. Recommendations from the committees would not become binding without approval from school boards.

Behning, an Indianapolis Republican, said past statutes have allowed districts to create similar committees to review curriculum, but have expired.

“We had situations in Carmel where parents were reading [aloud] books in their school board meetings that had some obscene language in it,” Behning said. “Board members were offended, but parents were like, ‘Well, this is what my kids are having access to.’”

But Democrats voiced concerns about the soon-to-be-proposed legislation. Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor said that under the guise of transparency, the law would allow parents ways to prevent their children from learning about race at all.

“We know we have to have open dialogue about the history of this country,” Taylor said. “All that critical race theory is saying is that, ‘Hey, we tried that color-blind thing for a long time, a very long time; it’s not working. So let’s consciously infuse race into the curriculum, and hopefully that will lead to a better outcome for everybody.’”

Also in response to contentious school board meetings, Republicans are drafting a bill that could reshape school boards, which are currently formed through nonpartisan elections. Behning said his colleagues are considering a bill that would allow school board members or candidates to choose whether to reveal their political affiliation.

They may also “tighten up” the public comment procedures at school board meetings. Public comment sessions have become more heated in multiple Indiana districts in the past year, often because of critical race theory debates.

He also mentioned legislation that would create a procedure to discipline teachers who promote certain theories in the classroom, though he said promotion is not an issue with most teachers, and it is unclear what would be considered promotion and how teachers would be monitored, reported, or disciplined.

Schools have recently grappled with controversies over whether displaying Black Lives Matter signs or LGBT pride flags in classrooms could be considered promoting political ideologies.

“The overwhelming majority of teachers do not try to promote one theory over another,” Behning said. “I believe kids also need to understand authoritarian, totalitarian, Marxism to a degree, but definitely no promotion of that. So there will be some language dealing with promotion.”

Republicans and Democrats agreed about many aspects of the CRT debate during a Wednesday afternoon session at the conference. Taylor and Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray both agreed CRT should not be taught in K-12 schools. They also agreed that teaching more about different cultures in K-12 classrooms would benefit all students, regardless of their race.

Indiana districts get less money for quarantined students. That might change.

2021-09-14T17:56:15+00:00

Indiana school districts grappling with a possible loss of funding for quarantining students could get relief under newly proposed legislation.

The state code currently allocates students who receive primarily virtual instruction 85% of the funding given to students who attend physical classes — with no exception for those who might be learning virtually in quarantine.

The classifications are determined by how much time a student spends virtually between the beginning of the year and the Sept. 17 count day, which this year follows a surge in pediatric cases and accompanying quarantines that have kept many out of in-person classes.

But a legislative fix could extend the window for verifying a student’s primary learning mode, allowing the Department of Education to retroactively allocate 100% funding for students who attended school in-person for more than half the days through Dec. 31.

The legislature will consider that change in its next session, which opens in January, according to a Sept. 10 letter from House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray.

“There are details about this process that we must still work out, but we thought it important to publicly share our agreement now, given that Sept. 17 is rapidly approaching and schools may need to make policy adjustments accordingly,” the letter said. “We also understand if circumstances with the pandemic change dramatically in the months ahead, we might have to consider other solutions to this funding issue.”

The proposal would be a relief to school districts concerned about losing funding due to high numbers of students in quarantine at the beginning of this year, said Denny Costerison, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials.

“It was never the intent to have a penalty that way,” Costerison said.

The state provides the majority of funding for K-12 schools. The virtual category is funded at 15% less due to the difference in physical building costs for virtual students, such as maintenance and insurance, Costerison said.

Last year, the state allowed 100% funding for students who would be in their classroom seats if not for the pandemic.

But the legislature, expecting the pandemic to recede and widespread on-campus learning to resume, reverted to the state code rule of 85% funding for virtual students, no matter the circumstances, Costerison said.

“No one anticipated at the time the delta factor,” Costerison said. “No one anticipated talking about quarantine now.”

Costerison said he expects an additional legislative change that gives the Department of Education the power to review attendance and make adjustments for quarantines in the future.

Members of the Association of School Business Officials welcome the proposal, Costerison said, particularly those from districts whose enrollment has not rebounded as expected after COVID first closed schools.

“It’s a relief, if you were continuing to decline in enrollment, that you don’t have this problem too,” Costerison said.

Indiana State Teachers Association President Keith Gambill said the change would be a step in the right direction, allowing school districts to prioritize health and safety.

“It’s important for us that schools don’t get penalized in any way for things that are out of their control,” Gambill said.“That we don’t create a system that would hint at an incentive to not follow the science.”

It is also important for lawmakers to consider long-term proposals that could be used again should schools face another unforeseen situation like the COVID-19 pandemic, Gambill said

“I would hope we never have to use this language again ever,” Gambill said. “But having gone through this, let’s make sure we’re doing things in a way that would be good for the future.”