Indiana House backs no test scores in teacher evaluations
Schools would no longer be required to use student standardized test scores in teacher evaluations under a bill approved by the Indiana House.
Legislature
Articles
Indiana House passes $291M surplus spending bill
The Indiana House has approved a spending bill that uses $291 million in surplus dollars to pay for several capital projects at higher education institutions with cash instead of issuing debt.
Special prosecutor sought in attack after bus fatality sentence
A special prosecutor should be appointed to determine whether a northern Indiana woman will be charged in an attack on a woman who had just been sentenced in a crash that killed her three children at a school bus stop, county prosecutors said. Fulton County prosecutors asked a judge in a filing Thursday to appoint a special prosecutor, saying they cannot be unbiased in deciding whether Brittany Ingle should be charged in the Dec. 18 attack on Alyssa Shepherd.
Indiana redistricting critics keeping up push for changes
Critics of how Indiana politicians dice up the state for congressional and legislative districts know they are running out of time for changing that process with the once-a-decade U.S. census less than three months away.
Indiana may toughen retailer penalties with 21 smoking age
Indiana lawmakers are looking to toughen the penalties stores face for selling tobacco products to underaged customers as they raise the state’s minimum age for smoking and vaping from 18 to 21 to conform with the new federal law.
Indiana governor changes stance on teacher pay action
Indiana’s governor opened the door Monday to potentially boosting school funding and teacher pay after weeks of refuting any plans on such action until next year.
Bloomington annexation case heads to Supreme Court
A battle over a voided annexation ordinance between Bloomington and the Indiana Governor’s Office will continue this week when the Indiana Supreme Court hears oral arguments.
Redistricting reform advocates pushing for transparency
Redistricting reform advocates are taking a slightly different approach at the Republican-controlled Indiana Legislature this year, as they make more transparency the priority ahead of lines being redrawn in 2021.
Indiana GOP holding off teacher pay action in 2020 session
Members of the Republican-dominated General Assembly return Monday to the Statehouse in Indianapolis for their 2020 session, during which they will face continued calls from teacher unions and Democrats for better teacher pay and less reliance on standardized student test scores for evaluation of schools and educators.
Report blames 65 Indiana child deaths on abuse or neglect
A new report shows that 65 Indiana children died from abuse or neglect during 2018, the same number as its last year-long review. The Indiana Department of Child Services said it investigated 242 child fatalities that happened in 2018, determining 26% of those deaths were from abuse or neglect.
Senator tries again to ban Indiana vouchers over gay firings
A proposal aimed at banning private schools that discriminate against gay employees and students from receiving Indiana voucher program money is being backed by the state’s Republican school superintendent.
Indiana school bus safety program nets nearly 2,700 tickets
Indiana police departments issued nearly 2,700 tickets and 1,400 warnings for unsafe driving around school bus stops and routes during a two-month enforcement program, state officials announced Thursday.
Illinois sees first legal sales of recreational marijuana
The sale of marijuana for recreational purposes became legal Wednesday in Illinois to the delight of pot fans — many who began lining up hours early at dispensaries. Meanwhile, legislative leaders in Indiana remain opposed to marijuana legalization in the Hoosier state.
Despite conflicting statutes, COA affirms juvenile gun adjudication
A juvenile dangerous possession of a firearm adjudication has been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals despite the finding that state statutes in play in his case are in conflict.
Indiana woman gets 4 years for fatal school bus stop crash
An Indiana woman who plowed her pickup truck into four children, killing three of them, while they crossed a highway to board a school bus was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison.
Vaping crisis could be impetus for Legislature to raise smoking age to 21
Time and again, legislation in Indiana to raise the age to possess or purchase tobacco to 21 has failed. But that could be about to change.
Appeals court: Specialized driving privileges may not exceed 2½ years
Indiana trial courts may not grant specialized driving privileges to motorists whose licenses have been suspended without also limiting those privileges to no more than two-and-a-half years, an appellate panel ruled Thursday.
Split COA: Prosecutor can file for paternity at putative father’s request
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the dismissal of an alleged father’s time-barred petition seeking to establish paternity of a child. The majority held a prosecutor is authorized to pursue such a request outside the general two-year statute of limitations. A dissenting judge, however, warned the holding “makes a mockery” of the two-year statute of limitations in paternity cases.
Holcomb backs ban on drivers using handheld phones
Indiana’s governor on Tuesday threw his support behind a statewide ban on drivers using handheld cellphones as well as a plan to raise the minimum age for smoking and vaping to 21. Gov. Eric Holcomb made the proposals central to his 2020 legislative agenda.
‘Children are children’: Coalition forms after legislative attempt to lower waiver age
The Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana and more than 20 nonprofits and community groups have joined together to form the Indiana Coalition for Youth Justice, which advocates for reform in the juvenile justice system so that it offers treatment, programs and interventions that are age-appropriate, fairly applied and result in the best possible outcomes for Indiana children and public safety.