The Daily Report Card: Year in Review, National Anthem Bill, And Creationism

JournalGazette.net – Editorials | The Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne, IN A football game might be the headline event in Indianapolis this winter, but don’t count out the Indiana General Assembly for entertainment. Legislation already filed promises to command attention when lawmakers convene Wednesday, including a bill to allow schools to teach creationism. Indiana’s part-time legislature has been meeting annually since 1972, with even-numbered years reserved for emergency issues and tweaking laws. For 2012, Sen. Dennis Kruse has identified local school boards’ right to require the teaching of creationism as one of those pressing issues. (journalgazette.net)

Indiana National Anthem Bill: Vaneta Becker Aims To Set ‘Performance Standards,’ Impose Fines A state lawmaker in Indiana has introduced a bill that would set specific “performance standards” for renditions of the national anthem. The legislation, drafted by state Sen. Vaneta Becker (R), creates guidelines for what constitutes an “appropriate” performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The law would apply to all performers at events sponsored by public schools and state universities, who would be required to sign a contract acknowledging the rules. Anyone intentionally violating the law could be slapped with a $25 fine. (huffingtonpost.com)

Looking back at 2011 in education in Indiana | Get on the Bus | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com Happy new year! Before we move on to 2012, let’s take a quick look back at the incredible news in education reform in Indiana in 2011. This was perhaps the biggest shift in education policy in any single state in one year in history. (If you have another nominee, please let me know.) Here are the top-line highlights: –Vouchers. It’s always been a bit of an oddity that Indiana, which houses the Friedman Foundation, did not have a voucher program. (The Friedman Foundation, originally named for Milton Friedman but now called the Foundation for Educational Choice, has been the nation’s biggest advocate for school vouchers for years.) But when Indiana did go voucher, it went big. Indiana’s new program has the loosest rules of any major voucher program in the nation, leading to the biggest first-year voucher enrollment ever. (blogs.indystar.com)