Blog & Statehouse Notes
This space serves as vital resource for those who are dedicated to preserving and enhancing public education in Indiana. Through insightful articles, updates, and analysis, ICPE provides timely information on legislative actions, policy changes, and advocacy efforts impacting Indiana’s public education system. We strive to empower stakeholders with the knowledge and tools necessary to support and defend public education.
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #375 – Tremendous disappointments for traditional public schools
Dear Friends, The final budget unveiled Wednesday carries bad news for public education in Indiana. It adds 6% in the first year and only 2% in the second year for tuition support, low marks in our current inflation. Sadly, the enormous expansion of private school...
CTE is a gem that should not be shelved
Career & Technology Education (CTE) in Indiana doesn’t deserve what may have happened to it in the state budget. CTE leaders thought it was just an inadvertent oversight that its funding mechanism was left out of the budget while changes were moving quickly and...
Suckerpunched! A horrible day for Indiana K-12 public education with losses across the board
NOW IS THE FINAL TIME TO CALL ALL INDIANA LEGISLATORS: Senators: (800) 382-9467 House Democrats: (800) 382-9842 House Republicans(800) 382-9841 As we always say, a budget reflects your priorities. For those who believed that the Senate was signaling some kind of...
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #374 – Education budget analysis
Dear Friends, The Indiana Senate, led by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Ryan Mishler, unveiled its proposed budget on April 13 and passed it on April 18, by a vote of 40-10. The Senate budget is more favorable to public education than is the House budget on two...
It’s all just numbers until it’s your school district’s funding
Although the “average” public school funding increase in the Republican version of the budget being discussed tomorrow (March 16) is 5%, the increased funding for Fiscal Year 2024 can be anywhere between a high of 18.9% all the way down to less than 1% depending on...
Five years of vouchers – mapped by district
Every Indiana public school is losing money because of vouchers. Even if no students leave your school district to use a voucher, even if you don’t have any voucher-accepting schools in your small or rural school district, your school district still loses money due to...
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #373
Dear Friends, The second half of the budget session has now begun. Budget proposals from the Governor and from the House are on the table. A public hearing on the Senate budget has been scheduled by a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee for Thursday,...
Tell Indiana legislators – It makes no sense
The Indiana legislature is prepared to increase spending on private school vouchers by 70% ($1.1 billion) compared to a mere 5% increase for traditional public schools. Nearly 90% of Hoosier kids attend public schools, while 7% are in voucher schools. This is...
Speak Out at the Statehouse: Prioritize Public School Kids
Come to the Statehouse to speak up for our public schools next Thursday, March 16th. Plan to arrive by 10am. The School Funding Subcommittee begins immediately following the session that morning, but we have no idea how long that session will go. You must sign up...
Defend your public schools
At the half-way point Did you feel the collective sigh last week? It was every legislator, every staff member, and every citizen who cares about public education and has been following bills before the Indiana General Assembly. The session is at the half-way point. ...
Budget reflects priorities – leaky bucket of school funding
It's another budget session–one where we get to see the priorities of Indiana's legislature. We see already that charters and vouchers will likely wind up as winners. In fact, of the new money proposed in the House's version of the education budget, 37% of it will go...
“Indiana’s Billion Dollar Bake Sale”
During ICPE's Day of Action at the Statehouse held on February 20, 2023 (Presidents' Day), we hosted a mock bake sale to illustrate that no amount of fundraising can make up for the losses to public school budgets that have been caused by harmful education...
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