Education Seen As Hot Topic In Legislature
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Education reform is expected to be one of the hot topics in an otherwise low-key Indiana 1998 legislative session, members of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce said this morning.
At the annual Legislative Preview, area business representatives were told that ICC expects a battle over how funds are allocated to education in the state.
The amount spent on education is not at issue, said Derek Redelman, director of ICC's education policy, since Indiana is 12th in the nation for total education expenditures, sixth in average teacher salary and 19th in non-adjusted per-pupil expenditures.
"Our problem is not the investment, it's the return on the investment," he said.
Compared to other states, Redelman said, only 20 percent of eighth-graders in Indiana are proficient in math and 33 percent of fourth-graders are proficient in reading.
That standing hurts Indiana's economic development on a national and international scale, he said.
Solutions supported by ICC include setting world-class standards that require the same performance levels as other states: holding schools, teachers and students accountable for achievement; getting state government "out of the business of micromanagement" and allowing more financial flexibility; providing more options for parents, such as credit vouchers; establishing charter schools for at-risk youth; and raising graduation requirements in math, science and language arts.
"Nationally, the world of work has changed. We need to keep up," he said.
Since the 1998 legislative session will be a short one, ICC representatives said, they don't predict major changes on existing issues.
For example, last year's hot topic was property tax reform, but the proposed tax restructuring went to the Indiana Supreme Court, which overturned it. The issue is being studied by a Citizens Commission on Taxes.
Increased government regulations, prevailing wage for municipal projects, and use of the $1.8 billion state surplus also will be issues the General Assembly will probably discuss, said Kevin Brinegar, senior vice president for government affairs. [[In-content Ad]]
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Education reform is expected to be one of the hot topics in an otherwise low-key Indiana 1998 legislative session, members of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce said this morning.
At the annual Legislative Preview, area business representatives were told that ICC expects a battle over how funds are allocated to education in the state.
The amount spent on education is not at issue, said Derek Redelman, director of ICC's education policy, since Indiana is 12th in the nation for total education expenditures, sixth in average teacher salary and 19th in non-adjusted per-pupil expenditures.
"Our problem is not the investment, it's the return on the investment," he said.
Compared to other states, Redelman said, only 20 percent of eighth-graders in Indiana are proficient in math and 33 percent of fourth-graders are proficient in reading.
That standing hurts Indiana's economic development on a national and international scale, he said.
Solutions supported by ICC include setting world-class standards that require the same performance levels as other states: holding schools, teachers and students accountable for achievement; getting state government "out of the business of micromanagement" and allowing more financial flexibility; providing more options for parents, such as credit vouchers; establishing charter schools for at-risk youth; and raising graduation requirements in math, science and language arts.
"Nationally, the world of work has changed. We need to keep up," he said.
Since the 1998 legislative session will be a short one, ICC representatives said, they don't predict major changes on existing issues.
For example, last year's hot topic was property tax reform, but the proposed tax restructuring went to the Indiana Supreme Court, which overturned it. The issue is being studied by a Citizens Commission on Taxes.
Increased government regulations, prevailing wage for municipal projects, and use of the $1.8 billion state surplus also will be issues the General Assembly will probably discuss, said Kevin Brinegar, senior vice president for government affairs. [[In-content Ad]]