Much of what happened in the last Indiana General Assembly doesn’t seem to have benefited teachers or students.
Granted, it was a session where the mission was to tender a two-year state budget, but education takes up the largest chunk of that $44 million budget, with tuition support at $8.84 billion in fiscal year 2024 and $9.03 billion in fiscal year 2025.
More pupils go to public school than private, and it was disheartening to see the funding gap widen between the two.
Traditional public schools will see average increases in total funding of 5.9% in the first year and 2.1% in the second year, according to the Indiana State Teachers Association. Charter schools will receive average total funding increases of 6.8% in the first year and 3.8% in the second year.
The legislature also expanded voucher eligibility, allowing wealthier Hoosier families to get tuition discounts to attend private schools.
Many core elements of a robust education program, long sought by Hoosier families, were missing from the 2023 General Assembly. A proposal to expand a Marion County pre-K program died in committee. Another proposal, opening the On My Way Pre-K program to 3-year-olds, also perished.
Currently, Indiana offers On My Way Pre-K to 4-year-olds from lower-income families; more than 2,200 children received free education in 2022 through more than 1,000 approved programs. Since 2015, it has been a blessing for more than 21,000 Hoosier children, but hundreds of thousands of others have not been engaged in the program.
Other education priorities for the Indiana General Assembly, which begins Jan. 9, should include the following.
Control university costs
Last session, one promising note surfaced. Under a new law, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) will identify and notify high school students who meet low-income requirements for participation in the 21st Century Scholars Program, which covers tuition to state universities. In the past, the vast majority of eligible students have not applied for the program.
On a low note, Indiana ranks 41st for higher education appropriations for full-time enrollment. As more high school students are questioning the need for higher education, student debt is a top concern.
The ICHE maintains that future earnings outweigh the total costs of college. That probably doesn’t sit well with recent graduates trying to find jobs.
The General Assembly must find a way to reduce higher education costs while keeping an eye on decreasing student loan debt.
Attract, retain qualified teachers
College graduates pursuing a career in teaching may want to check the impact of last year’s Senate Bill 486. By reducing the power of unions, the bill removed a number of topics – class size and student discipline among them – that had required mandatory discussion between school administrations and union representatives.
The policy change could dissuade teachers from coming to Indiana, and it comes at a time when Hoosiers need the legislature to encourage the hiring of qualified teachers.
Indiana ranks 39th for average teacher salary, according to the National Education Association, about $12,000 below the national average.
The legislature must do better to improve pay for teachers and classroom aides.
Build on the Pathways program
The Graduation Pathways initiative allows students to match their high school graduation requirements with their postsecondary goals.
With encouragement by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, guardrails were placed on system abuses. While requirements must be enforced and students should still be required to pass core subjects, barriers should be relaxed and more courses explored to boost student participation.
Anderson Herald Bulletin
