Vic's Statehouse Notes #295 - April 19, 2017

Dear Friends,
 
Thanks to all who came to Tuesday's rally for better K-12 funding!
 
The letter delivery and contacts with legislators afterward brought excellent conversations such as mine with Senator Ruckelshaus. Joel Hand and Indiana PTA leader Deb Fox were both interviewed on Channel 59 to get the message out that we need to do better for our K-12 students in the budget.
 
House Bill 1004 - PreKindergarten
 
This afternoon (Wed., April 19) the Conference Committee Report on the prekindergarten bill (HB 1004) was released. The final bill will be voted on tomorrow.
 
The final version, while it narrowed the problem, did not break the link between getting a pre-K grant and getting a K-12 voucher. The final version thus creates a new eighth pathway to K-12 vouchers.  Those who get a pre-K grant will be eligible for a K-12 voucher in many cases.
 
This is a provision that has nothing to do with the pre-K experience but will help private and religious schools build their voucher program.
 
The final version of the 1004 also reverses a ban on using pre-K grants funds to expand capital facilities. This reversal would allow private or public preschools to use the grant funds for facility expansion. This would of course be especially helpful to expand private facilities that serve K-12 voucher students.
 
If you oppose the K-12 voucher expansion in the pre-K bill, please contact your Senator or any Senator tonight or tomorrow morning to let them know you oppose the final version of HB 1004 and ask them to vote against it.
 

• Remind them that the Senate version passed with no language to expand K-12 vouchers and that's the way it should be.  The path to universal vouchers should not go through the pre-K program.

• Remind them that the pre-K pilot program has been running just fine with no provision to give pre-K students a lifetime K-12 voucher.

• Remind them if pre-K students go to private schools that want them to stay for K-12 enrollment, they can get a School Scholarship from the vastly expanded tax credit program run by Scholarship Granting Organizations.  The new budget is going to give $3 million additional dollars each year (a 31% increase) to the tax credit School Scholarship program, bringing the annual total available to $12.5 million. This should adequately cover any tuition need for pre-K students to enroll in private K-12 schools.

 
Thank you for any contacts you can make with Senators tonight or tomorrow and for your active support of public education in Indiana!
 
Best wishes,
Vic Smith      [email protected]
 

State Superintendent bill - from the Indy Star

"For the past 166 years, Hoosiers have elected the official in charge of overseeing Indiana's schools. By 2024, voters likely won't have the opportunity to choose the superintendent of public instruction.

"The Indiana House voted 66-31 for a measure to allow the governor to appoint the schools chief starting in 2025. Gov. Eric Holcomb is expected to sign House Bill 1005 into law. He identified the change as one of his top legislative priorities when he took office in January."  

Read the full article.

How does your school stack up in the two budget bills?

We've posted a spreadsheet on our website.