Casey Smith

Indiana lawmakers advance ‘union-busting’ bill

Indiana lawmakers are one step closer to advancing a contentious bill to the governor’s desk that has been decried by the state’s teachers unions as “unnecessary” and “union-busting.” ... Read More

Lawmakers seek ‘science of reading’ to improve literacy rates

Determined to enact legislation that helps improve students’ lagging reading skills, Indiana lawmakers are throwing support behind a bill to require “science of reading” curricula in Hoosier schools.... Read More

Committee abandons library materials amendment — for now

A hotly-debated amendment that sought to ban materials deemed “harmful to minors” in school and public libraries stalled Monday, following hours of opposition testimony the week prior. Instead, lawmakers voted 12-0 to send the watered down bill, which deals with graduation rates, to the full House.... Read More

From pesticide to coal ash, lawmakers want more control

Indiana lawmakers want to give the General Assembly more power over decisions that are currently left to state agencies — a move that some advocates say would put Hoosiers’ health and environment in jeopardy.... Read More

Senate makes amendment to third-party food delivery bill

House Bill 1279 is intended to make it easier for dissatisfied restaurants to get out of contracts with delivery services, and to block those services from offering a restaurant’s food without its consent. ... Read More

‘$1 Law’ to expire, new funding for charters approved under newly amended bill

A bill originally focused on school building closures was transformed Wednesday to primarily provide Indiana charter schools with access to more state and local funding.... Read More

Dems: Budget should increase funding for public schools, not vouchers

Democratic state lawmakers continue to decry education funding “inequities” in the state’s draft budget and are now mounting pressure on their Republican counterparts to “fully fund” Indiana’s traditional K-12 public schools in the next spending plan.... Read More

Bill advancing Indiana’s carbon sequestration projects moves forward

A bill that seeks to propel Indiana’s ongoing carbon sequestration pilot project was approved Tuesday by lawmakers in the House, signaling momentum for what has so far been a divisive measure. Senate Bill 451 is part of a years-long effort to move forward the construction of carbon capture and sequestration projects.... Read More

Lawmakers say bill to monitor early coal plant closures would ensure reliability

How quickly can — or should — Indiana transition away from coal? That’s a key question in the state legislature as lawmakers debate a bill that seeks to slow down the retirement of certain coal-fired power plants. ... Read More

Indiana bill seeks to keep vaccination records and school transcripts separate

A debate over Hoosier students’ vaccination records ensued at the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday as lawmakers weighed a bill that seeks to prohibit schools from coupling health and academic documents. Current state law permits schools to include a student’s immunization information with their high school transcript.... Read More