Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed education bills Thursday that will revamp the State Board of Education, speed up state intervention into failing schools and give teachers more flexibility to experiment in the classroom.
The new two-year state spending plan was approved by the General Assembly last week. Slightly more than half of the $31 billion budget goes toward K-12 education, with funding going up 2.3 percent each year.
Legislative Democrats say they plan to push next year to add nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity to the Indiana civil-rights law covering education, employment, public accommodations and housing.
As Indiana’s fast-growing suburban districts breathe a sigh of relief with more funding on the way, many urban and rural districts are bracing for drastic cuts under the state’s new budget and experts say there might not be a middle ground between the two.
Lawmakers passed bills on topics ranging from ethics reform to "religious freedom." Meanwhile, they shot down legislation that would have helped the Indy Eleven build or renovate a stadium and that would have permitted Sunday alcohol sales.
Lawmakers have approved a deal to allow Indiana's riverboat casinos to build on-land facilities, but live dealers won't be working table games anytime soon at the state's two horse track casinos.
A bill that would have funneled state money into a new or substantially renovated soccer stadium for the Indy Eleven has died in the legislative session's final hours.
Most charter schools would get additional money, teachers would get a $100 tax credit and the governor’s regional cities initiative would be funded under a budget compromise the Indiana House and Senate reached Tuesday.
Indiana legislators gave final approval Monday to a state ethics law overhaul that requires greater financial disclosure by lawmakers and expressly prohibits elected officials from using state resources for political purposes.
The question of whether the two horse track casinos in central Indiana will be allowed to add live dealers for their current electronic table games remained unsettled Monday with little more than a week left in this year's legislative session.
Lawmakers are at odds over a proposal to scrap the ISTEP+ standardized test for an off-the-shelf model. Meanwhile, schools are preparing to take the online portion of the high-stakes test, which has been glitchy in the past.
The new law allows Indiana residents to obtain and use a drug that can reverse heroin overdoses in their relatives, friends and loved ones.
After seeing a 2014 law fuel unprecedented collaborations between Indianapolis Public Schools and such charter schools as Phalen Leadership Academies, the Legislature decided to extend the same opportunity to school districts statewide.
The bill repealing the state law that sets wages for public construction projects is on its way to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence after his strong push for the measure.
Senate members approved a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal to possess, purchase, sell or use powdered alcohol in Indiana. It also requires further study on the issue this summer.
The Indiana Senate passed ethics legislation Wednesday that would require lawmakers to be more transparent about their finances and strengthen laws designed to keep legislators from taking advantage of state resources for political gain.
The legislation will move to a joint House-Senate conference committee where members will try to strike a deal that can be passed by both chambers by midnight April 29.
The Republican-controlled Senate defeated several proposed changes Tuesday to a measure that would repeal the state's construction wage law.
The bill would revoke a 2004 law that prohibits the highway from passing through southern Marion County's Perry Township.
The report from the State Budget Agency comes as the General Assembly faces a deadline in three weeks to finish work on a new two-year state spending plan.
