Statehouse Express: S4, E6
Hi! This is John Elcesser, Executive Director of INPEA. Welcome to Episode 6 of the Statehouse Express! We’ve entered the second week of the second half of the legislative session. That means only 6 more weeks to go!
Over the past two weeks, House and Senate Ed committees have heard 14 different bills. A few of the bills would have some direct impact of on non-public schools. Most others do not.
The Senate Ed. Committee, which in the second half of the session, is now hearing bills that passed out of the House.
Here are some highlights:
- HB1382 which provides funding for Robotics programs passed out committee 13-0,
- HB1442 which automatically enrolls eligible students in the 21st Century Scholars Program passed out of committee 13-0,
- HB 1528 which deals with transition to teaching grant programs also passed out of committee 11-2
- HB 1591 which includes a number of choice fixes was held for vote until next week.
- HB 1590 a various education matters bill includes among many other things a removal of the voucher lottery requirement. It will be up for amend and vote next week.
On the House side:
The House Education Committee heard the following bills of interest:
- SB 167 which requires all students to submit a FAFSA unless a waiver is requested passed out of committee 11-1
- SB 340 which provides funding for Dolly Parton’s Imagination library passed out of committee 10-1
- HB 1635 among many other things it gives non-public schools access to the adjunct teacher permit, which is an alternative approach to teacher licensing. This bill was introduced and testimony was taken. It will be up for amend and vote next week as well.
In these first two weeks, no real controversial bills have been heard, yet, but I’m sure that will change in the next few weeks.
This week testimony will be heard on the House version of the budget in the Senate Sub Committee on K-12 funding. A number of principals and parents will be providing testimony on the various choice expansions. We’ll let you know how it goes next week.
As I’ve shared before, we are moving into the most important part of the session. Sometime in the next few weeks, the Senate will release its version of the budget which we assume will look very different than the House’s version. We will desperately need Senators who will champion the proposed choice expansions within their caucus. It is critical that you reach out to your Senators and ask them to support the removal of the voucher eligibility tracks, ensure kindergarten access and increase the financial eligibility for both voucher and SGO programs.
For those of you out there in South Bend, Evansville and Northwest Indiana, we hope to see you and your key stakeholders at the Choice Rallies being held around the state. If you have questions about how or who should participate, reach out to Andrea here at INPEA.
Things will be heating up fast so stay tuned and we hope to see you here next week on the Statehouse Express.