Indiana General Assembly prepares to convene for 2023 budget-writing session
By Sue Loughlin
Tribune-Star
Increased funding for K-12 education is a priority for Republicans, Democrats and education advocacy groups as the Legislature prepares to convene for its 2023 budget- writing session.
Republican leaders also are advocating for more parental school choice and “re-inventing” high schools to make them more relevant for the 21st century economy.
Some bills that didn’t succeed last year may be introduced again this year, including ones dealing with divisive concepts including instruction on racism.
“We have real-world issues we need to concentrate on,” said Keith Gambill, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association.
“I would encourage our legislators, let us look to what really unites us as Hoosiers, or what is important for our students, our communities and our state, and get that work done.”
Party priorities
On the Legislature’s organization day Nov. 22, House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) stated, “We’ll once again make record new investments in K-12 education, and Indiana has always been a leader in parental choice and empowerment, and we’re going to build on that success.”
Every Hoosier parent should have the opportunity to send their child to the school of their choice, he said. He also has spoken about “re-inventing high schools,” although details have not been shared.
Another component to improving education “is to create more relevant, personalized educational pathways for students. This means providing more flexibility for applied learning classes to count toward graduation,” Huston said.
“It’s well past time to replace our 20th century education model with one that aligns the needs of our students with the needs of the 21st century economy,” he said.
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, it would involve an expansion of work-based learning opportunities available for high school students. The goal is to graduate Hoosier students who are better prepared for the workforce and to increase the likelihood they will stay in Indiana; meanwhile, the state also is working to reverse its declining college-going rate and address the academic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute and a high school math teacher, believes the top educational priorities of the next legislative session should be addressing the worsening teacher shortage and “alleviating the ongoing effects of the pandemic on our students, our teachers and our schools.”
The Legislature needs to work on reversing the shrinking teacher pipeline at the collegiate level and create new incentives for people to enter into the teaching profession, she said.
State Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, says of K-12 priorities, “We’re definitely looking at funding for schools and teacher pay.” There will be a continuation of efforts to improve educator salaries, he said.
Legislators also are getting requests for more funding to support English language learners and special education. “We are hearing schools have more and more need for that kind of support,” he said.
As far as the concept of re-inventing high schools, he said he lacked details on what that means.
The economy, state revenues and a potential recession are factors that must be considered in the next budget, Ford said.
Tuition support
Terry Spradlin, Indiana School Boards Association executive director, said the top K-12 priority is increased tuition support.
Tuition support increased 5.1 percent for the current 2023 fiscal year, and inflation has been 7.1 percent, so ISBA advocates a 6 percent increase for tuition support. “This level of funding will help address increased costs of operations while maintaining positive momentum on teacher compensation,” he said.
More importantly, he said, the increased funding would help support high-quality classroom instruction to support Indiana’s one million public school students.
K-12 education in fiscal year 2023 represents 45 percent of total state spending, and tuition support is the lion’s share of that, he said.
Private school vouchers and charter schools also receive education fund monies through the tuition support formula established by the General Assembly. “CHOICE expansion will be back on the table as part of tuition support formula discussion,” Spradlin said.
Teacher compensation must continue to improve, he said. Indiana hasn’t ranked favorably in regional or national comparisons.
It also supports eliminating the A to F school accountability grades to be replaced with the new state data dashboard system.
Teacher pay
The Indiana State Teachers Association says its top priority is addressing the teacher shortage crisis; increasing public school funding and improving teacher compensation is central to that effort.
Improvements in compensation also must be addressed for education support professionals, which include bus drivers, instructional aides, custodians and other groups, said Gambill, ISTA president.
Indiana is experiencing historic teacher shortages across the state, ISTA reports. As of December 2022, the Indiana Department of Education job bank had more than 1,500 teacher vacancies.
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Surveys indicate that inadequate compensation is the top reason teachers leave the profession, Gambill said.
The governor and Legislature have started to address the issue, and improvements in pay have occurred, particularly for beginning teachers, he said. But those efforts must continue, especially for mid-career teachers, whose salaries have grown stagnant “and their ability to advance has been restricted.”
Another priority is to improve student learning conditions and teacher working conditions, which includes such areas as class size. In addition, ISTA wants a greater emphasis on educator voice and professional autonomy.
Too often, educators are not asked for their feedback. “Before bill writing begins is when we should have educators at the table,” Gambill said.
Another priority is “inspiring and preparing the next generation of future educators,” including encouraging more students of color into the profession. That includes high school programs where students learn about teaching as a career.
Heidi McDonald, president of the Vigo County Teachers Association and a high school teacher, said that with the upcoming legislative session, she hopes to see long-term solutions to issues that face the profession.
“Improving funding for our public schools will provide resources to address many issues affecting staff and students. Increased funding to improve compensation for teachers as well as all the support staff in our schools is critical in attracting people to those positions. With improved funding, schools will also be able to expand educational opportunities and provide support services to students in need,” she said.
She would also like to see a focus on expanding the bargaining rights of teachers to include areas such as health and safety, class size and preparation time, “which are all items that directly affect not only our teachers, but our students’ learning as well.”