COLUMBUS, Ind. — More than 170 public school districts, including Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., have adopted resolutions opposing bills in the Indiana General Assembly that propose private school voucher programs, as well as new education scholarship accounts (ESAs) with public funds for non-public schools.
But with the Indiana General Assembly winding down quickly, it’s unclear how many state lawmakers will hear the objections from the school districts.
House Bill 1005, co-authored by State Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, passed the House 61-38 in mid-February and was assigned to the Senate’s Education and Career Development Committee, according to the Indiana General Assembly website. Committee chairman Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, told reporters there’s no need for his committee to hear the bill since the ideas have already received a public hearing.
But Raatz also revealed that items from HB 1005 have been amended into the House Budget Bill (HB 1001).
“Instead of providing items for public testimony, they were rolled into the budget bill itself,” BCSC superintendent Jim Roberts said. “That makes it much harder to address those items in a public way.”
At this time, the only public testimony allowed on the school choice bill will be in regard to the House Budget bill at this point, according to Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus.
“When there is a public reading for the budget, that will be, by default, the only public meeting remaining for the school choice bill,” Walker said.
For more details and the complete story, see Friday’s Republic.
