Rep. Melanie Wright (D-Yorktown) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking her to hire a public school educator as her Deputy Secretary. (photo credit: Indiana House of Representatives)
Indiana Rep. Melanie Wright (D-Yorktown) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Thursday, asking for DeVos to hire more educators on her staff.
Wright’s letter asks DeVos to hire a deputy secretary with extensive experience in public schools. She says this request follows up on concerns expressed during Betsy Devos’ confirmation hearing: Devos has no experience in public education, which she now oversees.
Wright says she respects that the president can appoint anyone he wants, and she can’t change the confirmation. But she does hope DeVos will add an educator to her staff.
“I think it’s important that we harness the energy of our educators, our teachers, our teacher leaders, our building principals, and our superintendents,” Wright says. “Because they are on the front lines of how we are battling poverty, and in some ways the addiction issue.”
The Indiana Finance Authority will offer free lead testing for water in public schools. (Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting)
The Indiana Finance Authority will offer free drinking water tests at all of the state’s public schools.
The program, which was launched last week, will allow interested school districts to apply to the authority for lead testing in water sources. Water sources may include drinking water fountains, ice machines, food-preparation sinks, and other fixtures that provide water for human consumption.
Jim McGoff, the authority’s director of environmental programs, expects to find most schools at a satisfactory level, but says there is a plan in place for schools with elevated lead levels in drinking water.
“If a sample test reveals elevated lead levels, the IFA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management will work with the school district to map out next steps to address the situation,” McGoff said, in a statement. Continue Reading →
In a 41-9 vote, state senators pushed ahead a two-year, $32 million proposal that would begin a modest expansion of state-funded preschool in July 2017. (Sonia Hooda / Flickr)
Lawmakers voted Tuesday to advance a proposal to expand state-funded preschool in Indiana.
In a 41-9 vote, state senators pushed ahead a two-year, $32 million proposal that would modestly expand state-funded preschool beginning July 2017.
“It is not universal pre-K, there are a finite number of potential 4-year-olds [covered],” says Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Blufton), who authored the bill.
The preschool expansion proposal would increase annual funding for the state’s current preschool pilot from $10 million to $13 million. It would also add $1 million for “in-home early education services.”
Under current law, state funding is available for low-income children in five specific counties to attend highly rated preschools. This expansion would allow about 1,850 new children to attend elsewhere in the state.
Many Republicans, including Gov. Eric Holcomb, Democrats and business leaders wanted a larger increase. In the months leading up to Tuesday’s Senate vote, state-funded pre-K expansion enjoyed broad support from all of these groups, and Holcomb called for it to a least double the amount of current funding.
Yet, last week the Senate appropriations committee chose its own path and cut the bill’s proposed increase, from $10 million to $3 million. On that occasion, Republican Senate Appropriations Chair Luke Kenley said he doesn’t want to expand the program more until he sees a study showing it is effective.
However, Senate Democrats raise similar concerns over the bills funding for “in-home early education services.”
“Five percent of funds is being carved out for a program that has not been studied for decades, like preschool has,” says Sen. Mark Stoops (D-Bloomington). “It’s important that we expand preschool in the state, that kind of giveaway is removed and we increase the funding for this program.”
The Indiana State Teachers Association, the state’s largest teacher union, supports preschool expansion, but raised similar concerns over money going to digital programs.
“The little amount of increase that’s going into this, we’re taking a million of that and putting it into a program that we have no evidence whether its worked or not,” says John O’Neill, ISTA spokesperson.
Other Democrats raised concerns over the amount of funding brought to the expansion.
“I appreciate that we are increasing somewhat that level of funding, but this is something that every child in the state of Indiana could benefit from,” says Sen. Tim Lanane (D-Anderson).
The bill also maintains funding for the state’s early education matching grants. That bill, SB 276, now moves to the House.
House lawmakers passed their version of the budget Monday, which gives minimal funding increases to school districts. The Senate will now discuss the budget. (photo credit: Bill Shaw/WFIU)
The two-year House Republican budget was approved Monday despite criticism from Democrats that the education funding lacks transparency and will hurt rural schools.
Under the plan, K-12 education funding would be increased by 1.1 percent in the first year, and 1.7 percent in the second year, or a total of $273 million. That’s about $7 million less than Gov. Eric Holcomb had sought.
Crawfordsville Republican Rep. Tim Brown, chairman of the budget-making Ways and Means Committee, said the budget is a honest assessment of the state’s fiscal outlook. K-12 spending, he said, is a top priority as it makes up more than half of the state’s proposed $31.7 billion budget
Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) criticized the plan, saying all schools should receive more money. Instead, the budget leaves some 200 schools with a less than 1 percent funding increase next year.
“We really wanted to see common ground when it comes to the state budget,” Porter says. “A budget that I think we all could live with. One without winners or losers.”
Following Porter to denounce the bill was Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis). Both made failed attempts last week to amend the budget.
DeLaney said rural schools would be hit the hardest by the budget. Of the 25 largest reductions in funding, 22 are rural, such as Attica Consolidated Schools. The budget calls for a 9.7 percent cut in tuition support at the district over the next two years
But Brown, says he doesn’t see a problem that some corporations will see cuts.
“I am agnostic to corporations,” he says, adding that school districts of all sizes can fail students and help them succeed.
Students will leave schools to find better fits, he suggested, and that the money would follow.
“I am looking at children,” he says. “And when the children – the per child funding – goes up, every child is counted.
Porter also called for funding streams of traditional schools, charter schools and private school vouchers to be separated.
Brown countered that charters and schools in the Choice Program already face much tougher accountability than traditional schools.
The budget passed on a 68-29 vote. It now heads to the Senate where it can face changes. April 29 is the last day for legislation to be passed by both chambers before it is sent to the governor for final approval.
Overall, children in Indiana are “surviving, not thriving,” according to a new report from the Indiana Youth Institute. (elementalPaul/Flickr)
The Indiana Youth Institute released its annual Kids Count data book Monday. The report measures children’s well-being in five categories: family, economics, education, health and safety.
It highlights the well-being of children in preschool through college – and finds a mixed bag. Overall, it finds, Indiana’s children are “surviving, not thriving.”
We took a dive into how Indiana’s students and school systems measure up.
Major takeaways:
About one in five (19.8 percent) of Indiana high schoolers has seriously considered suicide.
One in five Hoosier kids lives in poverty, with more than half (50.6 percent) of single-mother households living in poverty.
One in six families struggles to afford and find child care for their kids.
Indiana’s rate of school bullying has dropped below national levels.
The number of homeless students decreased for the first time in a decade.
Students on state scholarships are succeeding in college.
Child Care And Preschool Issues
The report shows one in six families struggles to afford and find child care for their kids. The state offers vouchers to qualifying families for child care. The number of requests for that has decreased – from 59,000 in 2014 to almost 50,000 in 2015.
In the class of 2014, about one in 20, or 3,400 students, dropped out before graduating (4.6 percent). Low-income youth are more likely to drop out than their higher-income peers. Nationally, about one in 15 high school students (6.5 percent) drops out before graduation.
The report shows the number of high school dropouts continues to decrease since 2007. At that time, 11 percent of students dropped out before graduating. The numbers do fluctuate slightly from year to year.
(Indiana Youth Institute)
State Scholarship Helps Students Succeed In College
The Evan Bayh 21st Century Scholarship program is a state-funded college scholarship that recruits low-income Indiana students in middle school, and keeps them on a college-bound academic track. They receive money for college once they graduate and maintain their place in the program.
The Kids Count report shows that students receiving the scholarship are more likely to graduate high school with an honors diploma and attend college, compared to other students of the same socioeconomic background.
Once in college, most scholarship recipients are on track. About 72 percent have no need to take remedial classes. This success rate is higher than other low-income students without the scholarship.
Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) argues against the House Republicans proposed 2017-19 budget on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Indiana Statehouse. (Credit: Indiana House Democrats)
This week marked the last committee meetings of the first half of the session, as both chambers scramble to wrap up any bills they want to move forward into the second half of the session. Monday and Tuesday are the last days both chambers can approve a bill if they want it to move forward. The legislature will then take the rest of the week off and return the following Monday.
Appointed State Superintendent Gets Surprising Vote
A bill that would change the state superintendent position from an elected official to one appointed by the governor was surprisingly shot down in the Senate education committee this week. Republicans have long advocated to make the position appointed, so it was surprising when 17 Republicans voted against the bill.
Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) voted against the bill and says it could result in major policy swings each time a new governor enters office.
“In the long run, that will be more harmful to education, than some kind of stable, checks and balances, you have to fight each other over this to get a result done,” Kenley says.
Later that day, the House passed a similar version of the bill, which will be sent to the same committee that killed the Senate version.
A Senate rule says a bill that is similar in language to a defeated bill may not be heard again in the Senate. Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R- Ft. Wayne, says the House bill could still come into the Senate if someone dramatically changed the language.
Additional Pre-K Funding Package Reduced By $7 Million
The current pre-K pilot program, which served around 3,700 in the first two years in five counties, costs $10 million a year. Many Republicans, including Gov. Eric Holcomb, Democrats and business leaders asked for a doubling of that amount. An amendment authored by Kenley reduced the increase to $3 million.
A similar bill is still alive in the House.
Students With Disabilities Benefit From First 2017 Bill Signed Into Law
A proposal that eases transportation for students with disabilities is one of a few bills that has instantly garnered bipartisan buy-in and momentum.
House Enrolled Act 1507 lets groups that serve developmentally disabled students rent public school buses for private events or trips that are not state-sponsored. For example, a team of Special Olympic athletes could now use the bus from their local district to travel for a competition. This was not allowed before, as law required only “state-supported agencies” to use a public school bus.
“This bill moved to my desk quickly with bipartisan support, because it is a common-sense, quick fix to an existing law that gives Indiana schools the flexibility they need to better serve students with disabilities,” Gov. Holcomb said in a statement.
The law, which went into effect Thursday after Holcomb signed it, was authored by Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) and sponsored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso).
Dems’ Last Ditch Amendments To House Budget Fail
House Democrats have fought almost all legislative proposals this session that would give charter schools, virtual schools and private schools using vouchers from receiving any new financial or accountability benefits.
Indianapolis Democratic Reps. Greg Porter and Ed DeLaney offered up a slew of education changes Thursday on the House floor as the 2017-2019 budget was debated.
They called for: cutting both the $52.6 million funding for ISTEP and $25 million for the charter school grant program; shutting down the State Charter School Board; and retaining tuition funding for virtual schools at 90 percent per student instead of the proposed 100 percent in the budget bill.
DeLaney urged lawmakers to cease the ISTEP and the next generation ILEARN exam during the past two months.
On Thursday, these amendments failed mostly along party lines. On Monday the House will vote to approve the budget.
If made into law, schools would have to provide opportunity for students to express their own religious beliefs during events where other students are speaking. The Department of Education and state attorney would be required to provide a “model policy” on these issues for schools to adopt.
Kit Malone, who consults for the ACLU of Indiana, says it could mean some feel emboldened to deny trans children the respect and dignity they deserve. (Photo by Drew Daudelin)
One day after President Donald Trump’s administration removed Title IX guidelines that seek to protect transgender students’ rights, local groups and advocates spoke out against the decision Thursday. Kit Malone, who consults for the ACLU of Indiana, says it could mean some feel emboldened to deny trans children the respect and dignity they deserve. “We know that trans children in public schools face incredible rates of harassment and discrimination,” Malone says. “Up to 75 percent of trans children report feeling unsafe in schools.” Krisztina Inskeep, an Indiana Youth Group board member and the parent of a trans son, notes the decision to rescind the guidelines doesn’t change the law. “But it allows unnecessary confusion and turmoil in the schools and in society, it opens the door for denying students their rights,” Inskeep says. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a Virginia case involving a transgender student using the school bathroom, a case with strong ties to the newly-rescinded guidelines. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 28.
Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, reduced funding for a pre-K expansion bill, from $10 million a year to $3 million a year. (photo credit: Bill Shaw / Indiana Public Broadcasting)
A Senate committee voted Thursday to reduce the amount of additional money given to state-funded preschool. Democrats and many Republicans, including Gov. Eric Holcomb, advocated for a $10 million increase, but an amendment written by Senate Appropriations Chair Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, reduces the increase for On My Way Pre-K to $3 million.
Kenley’s amendment, passed by the appropriations committee 12-1, dramatically reduces the money to expand state-funded pre-K education, and it allocates money to a preschool program that would be taught at home. Kenley says the program is “not homeschooling.”
Holcomb asked the legislature for a $10 million a year increase to On My Way Pre-K before the session started, but Kenley says he doesn’t want to expand the program significantly until a longitudinal study measures success.
Kenley also has philosophical differences with state-funded pre-K.
“All it does is alleviate the responsibility of the parent to prepare the child for education,” Kenley says.
The amendment also allocates $1 million to provide assistance for people who are homeschooling a preschool-aged child.
In a statement released after the appropriations committee reduced the governor’s plan, Holcomb’s spokesperson, Stephanie Wilson, underlined his commitment to state-funded pre-K expansion.
“It’s a key component of the governor’s legislative agenda and one that will contribute directly to the state’s efforts to build a 21st century skilled and ready workforce by ensuring Hoosier students have a strong beginning to their education,” Wilson said.
When the state launched On My Pre-K in 2015, Indiana became one of the last states to have a state-funded preschool program. The pre-K pilot program gives scholarships to low-income families to attend an already established, high quality preschool.
But Indiana still offers far fewer education services for low-income preschools than most states in the country: The pilot is small, serving about 3,700 students in the three years since its launch.
But Kenley says the state does supports its preschoolers.
“There’s already $400 million a year that’s being spent on programs for kids under the age of 5, including the fact that 37 school corporations have a full pre-K program,” Kenley says.
But many of these pre-K programs aren’t free. Almost all school districts charge tuition until a child reaches K-12.
This bill, with the amendment, must pass the full Senate by Tuesday, the deadline for the first half of the session. If the full Senate passes it, it heads to the House for consideration.
The White House has released new guidance allowing schools to determine which bathrooms transgender students may use. (Pixabay)
Republican President Donald Trump’s administration is revoking the federal stance on guidelines to protect transgender students’ rights in schools, according to a letter sent to public schools nationwide by the Justice Department.
The letter reverses former President Barack Obama’s landmark interpretation of law that would have withheld federal funds from schools if they forced transgender students to use bathrooms that don’t align with their gender identity. The Trump administration says they are withdrawing that guidance, leaving it up to states and local school districts.
“There must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local districts in creating educational policy,” the letter says.
Andrew Clampitt, spokesperson for Monroe County Community School Corporation in Bloomington, Ind., says the change in guidelines will not change the district’s policies. Bloomington schools will continue to operate gender neutral bathrooms in all of their facilities.
Clampitt says that respects all students – transgender or otherwise.
“All bathrooms are clearly identified as gender neutral,” Clampitt says. “Those are available to all of our students and it’s been a non-issue.”
Bloomington has had gender neutral bathrooms in school since 2015. Farther south, other schools are cautiously optimistic with federal government’s change of stance.
Dan Scherry, superintendent of North Spencer Country School Corporation, says the new stance will allow schools to uphold values they see fit.
“I think that the federal government on requiring southern Indiana to follow laws based on other states that we may not share total cultural viewpoints with, I think that’s overreach,” Scherry says. “So, yeah, it helps us as far as not being mandated to follow other people’s expectations.”
Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, and chair of senate committee on education, welcomes the change. Kruse says children should should go to the bathroom in facilities aligned with their biological sex, not their gender identity.
“We should keep women’s and men’s restrooms separately,” says Kruse. “If a person who is confused or switching — if they think they are a man or a woman and go back and forth — they should have to go to the restroom the way they were born.”
LGBTQ+ organizations and civil liberties advocacy groups are decrying the change.
“We’re extremely disappointed that the administration would take this action, we think it sends a horrible message students, to vulnerable young people across the country, that this administration will not protect them,” says Jane Henegar, executive director of ACLU Indiana.
Schools are still barred from discriminating against students based on sex under federal law. Henegar says that if a transgender student is being treated differently than their peers by school administration – such as being forced to use a single-user bathroom – that could constitute as discrimination.
As we’ve reported, when the original guidance came down from the Obama administration, Indiana religious groups called for people to contact local school boards and government to reject it.
Then-Gov. Mike Pence said, in a statement, education should be a state and local function.
“Policies regarding the security and privacy of students in our schools should be in the hands of Hoosier parents and local schools, not bureaucrats in Washington, DC.,” Pence, said at the time. “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”
The U.S. Supreme Court announced in November that it plans to take a case where a transgender student was denied using bathrooms that match their gender identity.
Update: This post has been updated to reflect the stance of Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, and chair of senate committee on education.
The Indiana Statehouse. (Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting)
The Senate education committee wrapped up the the session’s first half Wednesday.
SB 250, which dealt with graduation cohorts, was not heard and therefore does not go forward this session. Both SB 407, which is a general education bill, and SB 498, dealing with teacher compensation, will go forward to the full House.
Next Tuesday marks the end of the first half of the session. All Senate and House bills must pass through their initial chambers to continue in the second half.
The Senate education committee will reconvene March 8, when it will begin hearing bills passed out of the House.
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