Indiana is one of a handful of states that do not fund textbooks for public school districts. Instead, our state encourages districts to pass the costs along to families and to pursue debt collection if families are unwilling or unable to pay. Families who receive free or reduced lunch can qualify for textbook assistance, but money is tight for many families who do not meet the cutoff. The costs are considerable, anywhere between $100 to $300 per student, depending on the district and the grade level. (Wealthier districts are likely to charge and provide more—another avenue for disparities in the academic experience to creep into our schools.) Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation sued more than 500 families over three months this year for unpaid bills, including bills for textbooks. Think about it. Textbooks and other curricular materials are not exactly extras. They are central to teaching and learning. And yet our state pits schools' need for these essential tools against the finances of families who may struggle to pay. So much for a free public education. In 2014, then-state-superintendent Glenda Ritz asked legislators to fully fund public education and pay for textbooks by adding $70 million to the schools' budget. They didn't. To put that $70 million in perspective: $70 million or thereabouts is currently paid by Indiana's public school families for what is supposedly a "free" public education, and yet, for the 2016-2017 school year, Indiana sent $146 million in public dollars to private, mainly religious schools through the voucher program. In other words, even though the state is not paying for a basic necessity, textbooks, in public schools, we fling money away to schools which are not owned by the public and have no accountability to the public--no public oversight through elected boards, no transparency in budgets, curriculum, or hiring practices. To add insult to injury, private school parents and homeschoolers in Indiana can write off school supplies and textbooks when they file their taxes, but we don't get to write off those costs if we send our kids to public schools. House Bill 1169 would address this problem. It would require public schools to provide curricular materials at no cost to students, and would establish a fund and appropriations for state reimbursement of public schools’ curricular costs. Our challenge is to get state legislators to support House Bill 1169 and the idea of actually funding textbooks for all public school students. Lawmakers are only going to do this if they are contacted by people in their districts. We have written a petition asking legislators to act this session to eliminate textbook fees. We hope you will sign it and share it with your friends. Petition to the Indiana Legislature: Support HB 1169 to Eliminate Textbook Fees for Public School Students (click here to sign) Other ways you can act: 1. Share your story in the comments here. How much did textbooks cost you this year? Were there things you didn't do or buy in order to be able to afford to pay for textbooks? 2. Call or write Representative Tim Brown, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Representative Jeffrey Thompson, the chair of its K-12 subcommittee, to demand that HB 1169 receive a hearing. You can reach their offices through the House switchboard at 800-382-9841. 3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Most newspapers have online submission forms. Please email us (icpe.mc@gmail.com) if you need help finding your paper's online submission page. 4. Write a letter to your state senator and state representative. If you don't already know who your legislators are, click here to find them. 5. Write a letter to your superintendent and school board members asking them to take action to support HB 1169. Education bill digests in one convenient spot.
Education Bills Heard by the House Education Committee on Tuesday, 1/16 at 8:30 a.m. HB 1242 - Pass Resident tuition for serving on the USS Indiana. Provides that, after June 30, 2019, certain persons who serve or served on the USS Indiana (SSN-789) are eligible for the resident tuition rate determined by the state educational institution. HB 1264 - Pass Competency based high school education. Establishes the competency based high school education pilot program (pilot program) to provide grants to school corporations for the design and implementation of competency based education programs in high schools. Provides that the department of education (department) administers the pilot program. Requires a school corporation to apply and provide certain information to the department to participate in the pilot program. Requires the Indiana state board of education to establish requirements and standards concerning the competency based education programs. Provides that, after June 30, 2019, a school corporation is eligible to receive a grant for participation in the pilot program. Prohibits a school corporation to which an eligible pupil who received credit under a competency based education program transfers from: (1) requiring the eligible pupil to repeat the course work for which the eligible student received the credit; (2) changing the grade or credit that the eligible pupil received from participating in the competency based education program; or (3) otherwise penalizing the eligible pupil regarding the eligible pupil's previous attendance of a competency based education program. Requires, with exceptions, a school corporation to repay to the department a grant awarded for an eligible pupil who: (1) fails to attain a Core 40 diploma or, for students with disabilities, a high school diploma or certificate of completion in accordance with the student's individualized education program; or (2) is considered a dropout. Requires the department to: (1) before June 30, 2020, and before June 30 each year thereafter, evaluate and prepare a report concerning implementation and pupil outcomes of the competency based education programs; and (2) submit the report to the legislative council. Requires state educational institutions to recognize and accept credits awarded under a competency based education program and a diploma awarded to a student who successfully completes an education program that includes, in whole or in part, a competency based education program. Education Bills to Be Heard by the House Education Committee on Thursday, 1/18 at 8:30 a.m. HB1024 - PASS Heat preparedness training for coaches. Provides that head coaches and assistant coaches who coach interscholastic sports or intramural sports must complete a certified coaching education course that includes content for prevention of or response to heat related medical issues that may arise from a student athlete's training. HB 1314 Students receiving foster care services. Requires the department of education (department) to, in collaboration with the department of child services and the state board of education, prepare a report on foster care youth educational outcomes. Requires the department to, before November 1, 2018, and before November 1 each year thereafter, submit the report to the department of child services and legislative council. Requires the department to: (1) identify each student who attends a public school and is placed in foster care; and (2) provide notice to a principal of a public school when either of the following occur: (A) A student attending the public school is placed in foster care. (B) A student in foster care enrolls in the public school. Requires certain information regarding students receiving foster care to be included in a school corporation's annual performance report. Requires the department of child services to, not later than 10 days after a child who attends public school is placed in foster care, notify the department that the child has been placed in foster care. Read more here. Education Bills to Be Heard by the Senate Education and Career Development Committee on Wednesday, 1/17 at 1:30 p.m. SB 24 - Pass Student possession and use of sunscreen. Provides that a student may possess and use a topical, non-aerosol sunscreen product while on school property or at a school sponsored event or activity without being required to: (1) have a physician's note or prescription; or (2) store the topical, non-aerosol sunscreen product in a specific location; if the product is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration for over-the-counter use for the purpose of limiting ultraviolet light-induced skin damage. Allows school personnel to assist a student in applying the sunscreen if the school has written permission from the student's parent or guardian. Provides certain civil immunity for school corporations, schools, and school personnel for any action taken to comply with the sunscreen provisions. SB 65 - In Committee/Review Instruction on human sexuality. Requires each school corporation to make available for inspection to a parent of a student instructional material used in connection with instruction on human sexuality. Prohibits a school from providing a student with instruction on human sexuality unless the parent of the student or the student (if the student is an adult or an emancipated minor) consents to the instruction. Establishes requirements regarding the consent form. Requires the department of education and the governing body of a school corporation to give parents and students notice of these requirements. SB 157 - In Committee/Review Real world career readiness program. Establishes the real world career readiness program (program). Provides that the state board of education (state board) shall establish the program to provide a real world career readiness student with career and technical education credentials necessary to transition from school to the workforce. Provides that the state board, in consultation with the department of workforce development, may create an authorized program, or approve high or moderate value career and technical education programs administered by one or more school corporations or charter schools. Provides that a real world career readiness student may attend an authorized program for a period of not more than one school year after the student's cohort's expected graduation year in order to obtain an industry recognized certification, credential, or postsecondary degree. Provides that a program must include an apprenticeship program, a cooperative program, or a work based learning program. Provides that a student may participate in an authorized program if the student: (1) participates in the Indiana career explorer program or curriculum or an alternative Internet based system and curriculum approved by the department of education, in consultation with the department of workforce development, that includes an aptitude assessment that demonstrates the student's aptitude, in a manner prescribed by the state board, on the aptitude assessment administered for the applicable field of study; or (2) meets alternative qualification requirements for the student's applicable field of study established by the state board in consultation with the department of workforce development. Provides that not later than July 1, 2019, each school corporation or charter high school, either solely, or in a cooperative or consortia with one or more school corporations or charter high schools, must participate in an authorized program beginning with a cohort with an expected graduation year of 2023. Provides that an eligible pupil, for purposes of calculating state tuition support, includes a student enrolled in a program. SB 172 - Pass Computer science curriculum. Establishes the next level computer science grant program (program) and the next level computer science fund (fund) to award grants, after June 30, 2019, to eligible entities to implement teacher professional development programs for training in teaching computer science. Requires the state board of education to: (1) administer the program and fund; and (2) develop guidelines to award grants from the fund to eligible entities. Requires (beginning July 1, 2021) each public school, including a charter school, to offer a computer science course as a one semester elective course in its curriculum at least once each school year to high school students. Requires (beginning July 1, 2021) each public school, including a charter school, to include computer science in the public school's curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Makes conforming changes. Makes a continuing appropriation. SB 217 - In Committee/Review Dyslexia. Requires the following: (1) A school multidisciplinary team must include information about dyslexia in a student's educational evaluation if the multidisciplinary team determines that the student is eligible to receive special education and related services and has or has characteristics of dyslexia. (2) Information about dyslexia must be: (A) discussed by the student's case conference committee if information about dyslexia is included in the student's education evaluation; and (B) included in the student's individualized education program if the case conference committee determines that the information should be included. Requires school corporations and charter schools to screen: (1) each student in kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2; and (2) certain other students. Establishes requirements regarding dyslexia screenings, notifications to parents, and dyslexia intervention services (including instructional approaches). Requires school corporations and charter schools to: (1) use the response to intervention process to address needs of students who are determined to have characteristics of dyslexia; and (2) obtain parental consent before administering a level I dyslexia screening or a level II dyslexia screening. Allows a student's parent to elect to have an independent comprehensive dyslexia evaluation of the student. Requires school corporations and charter schools to report annually to the department of education (department) regarding the number of students who were: (1) administered the initial dyslexia screening during the school year; and (2) determined to be at risk, or at some risk, for dyslexia. Requires a school corporation and charter school to report on the school corporation's or charter school's Internet web site certain information regarding dyslexia. Requires, not later than July 1, 2019, the department to employ at least three dyslexia specialists. Establishes the: (1) requirements for a dyslexia specialist; and (2) services the dyslexia specialist is required to provide. Requires, not later than the 2019-2020 school year, each school corporation and charter school to employ at least one individual to serve as a dyslexia interventionist for the school corporation or charter school. Requires, not later than the 2019-2020 school year, the department to ensure that each teacher receives professional awareness information on dyslexia. Requires the department to develop and update an Indiana dyslexia resource guide. SB 297- In Committee/Review Employability skills curriculum. Provides that, not later than July 1, 2019, each school within a school corporation shall include interdisciplinary employability skills standards established by the department of workforce development, in consultation with the department of education and approved by the state board of education, in the school's curriculum. Establishes the work ethic certificate program (program) and fund. Requires the department of workforce development to administer the program. SB 354 - Pass Freeway school corporations and schools. Provides that the state board of education shall, upon request by a freeway school corporation or a freeway school, waive certain educational benefit requirements for a period of not more than 36 months if the freeway school corporation or freeway school meets certain thresholds regarding its school accountability grade. SB 415 - In Committee/Review Reverse transfer agreements and degrees. Requires, not later than January 1, 2019, each four year state educational institution to enter into a reverse transfer agreement with each two year state educational institution. Establishes requirements regarding the agreements. Establishes requirements that an individual and a state educational institution must meet before a state educational institution may award the individual a reverse transfer degree. Requires a state educational institution that awards a reverse transfer degree to report annually to the commission for higher education (commission) regarding reverse transfer degrees. Provides that the commission is not required to count reverse transfer degrees for purposes of performance funding. Read more here. Education Bills that Have Been Approved by Committees and Will Move Forward for Review by the House or Senate SB 8 - 1/16 - Senate requests second reading. School curriculum. Requires each school corporation, charter school, and accredited nonpublic elementary school to include cursive writing in its curriculum. SB 143 - 1/16 - Senate requests second reading. Study of student performance grades. Requires the department of education (department) and the commission for higher education (commission) to study and submit a report describing as to whether there is any disparity in determining enrollment eligibility in a state educational institution or educational program offered by the state educational institution that is caused by the use of different grading scales by public secondary schools. Requires the department and commission to submit the report to the general assembly. Requires a public secondary school to submit certain information to the department regarding the calculation of a public secondary student's grade. Requires a state educational institution to submit certain information to the commission regarding the use of a public secondary student's grade point average for determining enrollment eligibility. HB 1055 - 1/16 House 3rd reading Military uniforms at high school graduations. Provides that school discipline rules must allow a student to wear a dress uniform issued to the student by any active or reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or the national guard while participating in the student's high school graduation ceremony. HB1074 - 1/16 Amendment #1 (Sullivan) prevailed; voice vote Various higher education matters. Makes changes regarding the: (1) conditions required to qualify for the renewal of a twenty-first century scholars program scholarship; and (2) award amounts to twenty-first century scholars program scholarship applicants who attend a private, approved postsecondary educational institution. Makes the following changes concerning the primary care shortage area scholarship: (1) Amends the practice requirements to receive a scholarship. (2) Amends the repayment requirements for noncompliance with a primary care practice agreement. (3) Allows the commission for higher education (commission) to impose and collect interest on unpaid repayment amounts. (4) Provides that, if the commission and a recipient of a scholarship enter into a new written agreement that complies with the primary care shortage area scholarship provisions, the commission and recipient may terminate an agreement entered into or renewed before July 1, 2018. Requires the chairperson of the commission to appoint a: (1) seven member student member nominating committee; and (2) seven member faculty member nominating committee. (Current law requires the chairperson to appoint a ten member nominating committee of five student members and five faculty members.) Requires the commission to: (1) study and make recommendations regarding the expansion of the high value workforce ready credit-bearing grant to recent high school graduates; and (2) prepare and submit, not later than November 1, 2018, a report regarding the recommendations to the budget agency and legislative council. Modifies the procedures that a state educational institution must use to dispose of real estate (including any real estate acquired by gift, bequest, or devise). Provides that an applicant who: (1) does not maintain satisfactory academic progress as required to be eligible for a high value workforce ready credit-bearing grant; but (2) meets other certain conditions; is still eligible for the grant. Repeals certain statutes concerning: (1) the disposition of gifts, bequests, and devises of real estate to state educational institutions; and (2) matters that pertain to the closing process in the disposition of real estate by a state educational institution. Makes conforming amendments. Removes an expired provision. HB1001 - 1/16 - House requests second reading. Education funding. Permits the budget agency to transfer from the K-12 state tuition reserve account to the state general fund the amount necessary to cover the K-12 state tuition distribution amount when it exceeds the appropriated amount. Limits the transfer to $25,000,000 in state fiscal year 2018 and $50,000,000 for state fiscal year 2019. Makes conforming changes. Errors, corrections, comments? Contact us here. Please consider becoming a member! Join here. Compiled by Meghann Goetz and Keri Miksza Many bills pertaining to K-12 education have been filed for the short legislative session this winter/spring. The session got off to a start on January 3 and concludes on March 14. At this point, all bills have been filed. Now it's off to the races. Which bills will receive a hearing in the committees to which they have been assigned? Which bills will make it through committee? Which bills will become law?
Public awareness of potential legislation has an impact. Once we know which bills to cheer and which bills to fear, we can raise awareness by talking with friends, educators, and other stakeholders. We can contact our local reporters and write letters to the editor. We can call our state senators and representatives. We can call the chairs and members of committees to let them know how we, their constituents, want them to vote. But first, we have to know what is actually being considered. For that, we can rely in part on the reporting from the statehouse. However, we can also ourselves read the descriptions of the bills in one handy-dandy place on our web site. The list is too long to include in this post, so we have made it available through the link below. Click here to read a summary of the bills that have been filed. And please, please, let us know what you think. There's a lot here to wade through. Please draw our attention to anything you think merits wider discussion. You can comment here or post on our Facebook page. Once we identify bills to follow, the Indiana General Assembly web site is a great resource for information and bill status. 2018 Short Session: Bills Related to K-12 Education P.S. The bill list was updated on 1-12-2018. Dear Friends,
It was confirmed in a survey in my mailbox. A direct attack on public education is coming in the short session starting January 3rd. Public education parents and advocates need to be ready to fend off a new form of privatization. This attack would put in place Milton Friedman’s blueprint to end public education by giving public money directly to parents on a debit card. My previous notes (#307, Dec. 18, 2017) detailed this plan called “Education Savings Accounts”. When I read the annual survey in my mailbox from my state senator, Senator Ruckelshaus, one of only six questions asked whether I would support or oppose giving $6,000 on a debit card to unsupervised home schools for special education students. Actually, this is my description of the Educational Savings Account proposal. Here is how the survey question read: “Do you support or oppose giving parents of children with special needs the option to use state educational funding for services such as private-school tuition, tutoring or online courses?” Questions don’t get on the legislative survey unless the issue has support. This deceptive language tries to normalize a radical idea to give taxpayer tuition money to home schools for the very first time. It leaves out a lot of details:
The Battle to Come Wealthy advocates for private school vouchers such as Fred Klipsch have contributed heavily to the campaign funds of Indiana legislators, so legislators will take it seriously when private school advocates ask for a radical plan like Education Savings Accounts. Plans like this have been passed in Florida and five other states with the support of the Jeb Bush Foundation. This will be a major battle which needs your participation. What Can You Do?
Why Would “Education Savings Accounts” Undermine Public Education in Indiana? Public education advocates should be ready to oppose this “foot in the door” attack to allow public school tuition money to be diverted directly to parents. Here is a brief summary of the problems of “ESA’s” which I described in depth in my last “Notes” dated December 18th:
In a year when radical federal policies have been normalized, the “Education Savings Account” plan tries to normalize a radical plan to bypass schools and give taxpayer money directly to parents without accountability checks or audits. This plan should not be normalized but should be seen as the radical concept that it is. Our Indiana Constitution calls for the General Assembly to provide, “by law, a general and uniform system of Common Schools”. This proposal would hurt our Common Schools. Our Indiana Constitution calls for educational improvements “by all suitable means”. This proposal is not suitable because it would harm our Common schools and the students that rely on them for services. Republican leaders in the General Assembly typically have avoided allowing radical proposals to gain traction in an election year because they would make large numbers of public education parents and leaders angry. This proposal would make public education parents angry. You can help the leadership understand this fact so that they decide to back off in this short session. I urge you to participate in turning back this attack on our public schools of Indiana. Thank you for actively supporting public education in Indiana! Best wishes, Vic Smith vic790@aol.com “Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma! ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership. Our lobbyist Joel Hand represented ICPE extremely well during the 2017 budget session and is preparing now for the 2018 session. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word! |
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