Indiana Coalition for Public Education endorses Jennifer McCormick for Governor  The Indiana Coalition for Public Education has endorsed Dr. Jennifer McCormick for Governor of Indiana. This is the first time our organization has endorsed a candidate for a state-wide office. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to preserving and improving public education for all Indiana students. We believe all Indiana children deserve an equitable, fully-funded education system under local control of parents and citizens. McCormick’s term as the 44th and last ..read more

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #384 – A new and negative precedent Dear Friends, A new and negative precedent was set today in the slow dismantlement of public education in Indiana. This morning the Senate Appropriations Committee approved HB 1001 which gives state money to parents of general education students who are siblings of special education students currently getting Education Scholarship Accounts (ESA’s) to run unaccountable homeschools. The committee’s final vote was 11-3, with Senators Qaddoura, Randolph and Yoder dissenting. Before the final vote, Senator Qaddoura, who strongly supports ..read more

Public Schools Week 2024 We are thrilled to share that Indiana Coalition for Public Education is joining with the Learning First Alliance and partners nationwide to celebrate educators, students, and school communities during Public Schools Week 2024. During the week of February 26-March 1, we’re highlighting the amazing things happening in our local public schools while expressing our support and advocacy for public education and all the benefits it provides children and families alike. We invite you to join us! We will be highlighting ways to make an impact each day this week. Below are ju ..read more

Password Protected To view this protected post, enter the password below: Password: Submit The post Protected: ICPE Day of Action: Fight for our Democracy! appeared first on Indiana Coalition for Public Education ..read more

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #378 – A radical experiment Dear Friends, Please join us for a DAY OF ACTION AT THE STATEHOUSE ON PRESIDENTS DAY HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: https://indianacoalitionforpubliced.org/2024/02/06/icpe-statehouse-day-of-action-unite-for-our-public-schools/  AND HERE’S WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT: Will Indiana become the next state to adopt a radical experiment wherein parents are given control of education money, not the schools? Instability A cloud of uncertainty and instability now hangs over public education funding until next year’s budget session. In the January ..read more

ICPE Statehouse Day of Action: Unite for Our Public Schools Mark your calendars for Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 19th and bring your friends and family to ICPE’s Day of Action. This legislative session has been a scary preview of what is to come next year when the legislature debates the budget and determines their priorities. We are deeply concerned about a proposed universal voucher scheme that could mean less accountability and more funding of the supermajority’s plan to privatize our public schools. Monday, February 19, 2024 Presidents’ Day 10:00am – 12:00pm Indiana Statehouse 3rd ..read more

Retention of third graders based on IREAD-3 For a legislative session that the supermajority promised would be short and sweet – and non controversial – we are finding some bills quite sour and we must yet again prepare to battle for our kids and the schools they deserve. Despite research to the contrary, the legislature seems to be targeting our 8 year-old Hoosier students with a bill that, among other things, seeks to exact the harsh punishment of retention more readily on their vulnerable heads. After passing the Science of Reading bill last year, which purported to ensure better teaching ..read more

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #377 – Not a good start It’s Not a Good Start for the Short Session Two Senate bills, SB 255 and SB 143, directly implement Milton Friedman’s plan to give school funding to parents and not to schools, abruptly ending the way public education in Indiana has been funded for over a century. Both bills must be strongly opposed, and promptly. Senate Bill 255 has been scheduled for a hearing on Thursday, January 18 at 9 a.m. in bill author Senator Mishler’s committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, which meets in Room 431. One immediate effect of both bills would have ..read more

ICPE Legislative Priorities 2024 With the first round of vouchers for the 2023-2024 school year increasing by nearly 30%, Hoosier taxpayers have the right to demand accountability and transparency for those tax dollars. Why are private voucher schools not audited by the State Board of Accounts like traditional public schools?Billions of dollars have gone toward private (nearly all) religious schools since the inception of the voucher program in 2011. While the money may “follow the child” to those private schools, children’s rights do not. Indiana’s Constitution requires our state legislatur ..read more

2023 Annual ICPE Member Meeting: Let’s Get to Work   We were thrilled to have the energy of many new faces and the dedication of our old friends who filled the room at the H. Dean Evans Community Center in Washington Township last August. If you were unable to attend, you can view the video below or here is a link to watch it back. After I introduced our amazing board members and welcomed the crowd, our Vice President and MC extraordinaire, Marilyn Shank brought up Dr. Jennifer McCormick, our last elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction, ICPE Board member, and now guber ..read more