Robotics curriculum initiative targets younger, nonwhite kids
A $2.6 million grant from the Indiana Department of Education, announced Feb. 21, will help expand a program offered by the IUPUI Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.
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House passes $43.4B budget with no Democrat votes
Democrats denounced the budget for taking funding away from traditional public schools. Under the new proposal, families making up to 400% of the federal poverty level, roughly $220,000, qualify for vouchers.
Study: Smoking costs Hoosier businesses $3.1B annually in ‘hidden tax’
The Indianapolis-based foundation said the study, announced Thursday, shows that if the state cigarette tax increased by $2 per pack, from the current 99 cents per pack, an estimated 45,000 Hoosier adults would stop smoking.
Statehouse, City-County Council poised for dogfight over retail sale of pets
The Indianapolis City-County Council Public Affairs Committee voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of restricting the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits, days after the Indiana Senate voted in favor of a law that would override such an ordinance.
Lawmakers advance bill banning education on ‘human sexuality’ through 3rd grade
The latest draft of the proposal also targets transgender students by prohibiting school employees from using a name or pronoun that is inconsistent with a student’s sex without a parent’s written consent.
Catholic Diocese refutes state senator’s concerns about private Indiana high school
The Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is defending a private high school in northern Indiana after a top Republican lawmaker admonished the school for “disgusting” behavior.
FDA’s own reputation could be restraining its misinformation fight
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking aim at a new health hazard: online misinformation. It’s an unlikely role for the 100-year old bureaucratic agency, which has never been known for its communication skills.
Biden’s ‘Buy America’ bid runs into manufacturing woes it aims to fix
The initiative intended to promote domestic manufacturing and fuel a blue-collar renaissance is running into a problem: The United States no longer produces many of the items needed to modernize roads, bridges and ports.
Indiana House Republicans ‘committed’ to voucher school expansion
Indiana House Republicans will seek to expand the state’s “school choice” program despite a top GOP senator’s call for more voucher school reforms.
Prescription savings under PBMs, manufacturer rebates cause confusion
Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, were the target of state senators Wednesday as they attempt to find solutions to decrease Indiana’s elevated health care costs.
Indiana senators nix discussion on latest bill restricting classroom topics
The abrupt change in plans by the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development came after a Tuesday rally by groups opposed to such legislation.
IRS nominee: No audit boost for households under $400,000
President Joe Biden nominated Werfel to steer the Internal Revenue Service as it receives a massive funding boost—nearly $80 billion over the next 10 years through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in August.
Legislation would require Indiana districts to share property tax revenue with charters
Proponents characterize the strategy as funding students instead of systems, while opponents argue it leaves fewer resources for students in Indiana’s traditional public schools.
Committee advances changes to Indiana carbon sequestration pilot project
The proposal seeks to advance the construction of carbon capture and sequestration projects, while also giving special privileges to a company preparing to undertake the nation’s largest carbon dioxide storage project.
Rural hospitals worry as lawmakers move to lower costs for patients
Indiana lawmakers have seized on high health care costs as a priority problem to tackle this legislative session, but rural hospitals with thin profit margins are worried—and want more help from the state.
Marijuana backers prepping for ‘inevitable’ legalization
Supporters say Indiana is missing out on a valuable opportunity by remaining one of only 13 states without a medical or adult-use cannabis program.
Critics call for audit of county fair board
Several neighbors denied entry to a Marion County Fair board meeting want city-county government to stop supplementing the private organization’s budget until the fair’s leadership agrees to an outside audit.
Anti-ESG pension bill’s high price tag a concern for governor, top lawmakers
State senators are pointing to their less-stringent alternative as House lawmakers scramble to tighten up their bill on environmental, social and governmental investment.
Senators advance ‘site of service’ bill with reservations
A bill dictating payments for certain health services based on location—or site of service—cleared an Indiana Senate health committee Wednesday, though nearly every senator voiced concerns with the bill.
Indiana lawmakers look to broaden birth control access
While Indiana’s abortion ban is on hold pending a decision from the state Supreme Court, lawmakers are looking to bolster services that would prevent those pregnancies in the first place.