Weekly Planner: It's Going To Be A Busy Week At The Statehouse

Elle Moxley / StateImpact Indiana

Sen. Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis, speaks at an anti-Common Core rally at the statehouse in January. Schneider wants Indiana to pause and review the new academic standards before implementing them.

The General Assembly could adjourn as late as April 29, but lawmakers say they they hope to wrap up this week.

Voucher expansion — albeit much narrower than originally proposed — still needs to pass conference committee. And it’s hard to say what will happen to a plan to halt Common Core implementation as the legislature winds down the 2013 session.

Here’s what we’re working on this week at StateImpact.

Bills Coming Up

• Senate Bill 1: A conference committee looking at the school safety bill is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday. As we noted last week, the controversial amendment requiring armed personnel in every Indiana school has been sent to summer study committee, but lawmakers still need to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
• Senate Bill 207: Last week the House agreed to a partial rollback of a 2011 law that bars undocumented students from paying in-state tuition. The bill goes back to the Senate Monday for concurrence.
• House Bill 1003: The bill’s author, Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, says he won’t fight Senate changes to the bill that significantly narrow voucher expansion. Instead, he’s proposed a modest increase in the tuition cap — $400 over the next two years.
• House Bill 1327: House lawmakers are expected to vote Monday on a proposal to relax superintendent licensure requirements. Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann cast the tie-breaking vote when the bill left the Senate earlier this month. Now the House needs to approve those changes before the bill can go to Gov. Mike Pence.
• House Bill 1427: We’re waiting to see if a proposal that would halt implementation of new academic standards will pass the House or head to conference committee. Sen. Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis, added anti-Common Core language to the bill after a separate Senate timeout proposal stalled in the House Education Committee. Behning, who chairs that panel, is a staunch supporter of the new standards and says he’d like to see HB 1427 head to conference committee, but Schneider feels he has the votes he needs in the House to succeed.

What We’re Working On

• The spring testing window for End of Course Assessments opens Monday. Kyle takes a look at when students are passing the English language arts and math assessments they need to graduate.
• Got a question about the Common Core? Ask the education reporters! We’re starting to answer the questions that have been trickling in for the last few months. If you have a question about the new academic standards Indiana is on track to adopt, reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook or email and submit your question.