Indiana is asking permission to cancel state standardized tests for schools in the wake of the coronavirus.
The Indiana Department of Education issued a notice to schools Friday saying it had requested forgiveness from the federal government for required state tests. In the meantime, standardized testing for grades 3, IREAD, and 10, ISTEP, is postponed.
State leaders are waiting to get permission from Gov. Eric Holcomb and the U.S. Department of Education before formally canceling or postponing the ILEARN exam.
The test for grades 3-8 is currently scheduled between April 20 and May 15 — soon after many students are expected to return from several weeks off of school as a result of the coronavirus closures.
“With the pressure, our schools are already facing navigating the COVID-19 outbreak, the last thing our schools need is the undue burden of preparing and administering statewide assessments,†said department spokesperson Adam Baker.
The state exams were already expected to be relatively low stakes because lawmakers approved a “hold-harmless†measure last month that protects schools and teachers from negative consequences from low test scores on the new assessment for two years.
This move comes after the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state reached 12 on Friday and a rush of districts announced closures, including all 11 in Indianapolis.
By Victoria Ratliff and Haley Carney TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Two controversial bills died in the final minutes of the 2020 session of the General Assembly Wednesday – one that could have resulted in Attorney General Curtis Hill’s removal from office and one that forced IndyGo bus service to raise private funds.
After weeks of negotiations, the Senate refused to vote on the attorney general measure and, after it passed easily in the Senate, the House refused to take up the IndyGo bill.
Senate Bill 178 had been amended in the House to include a provision that would have forced Hill to step aside if the Supreme Court suspends his license to practice law for at least 30 days, with no automatic reinstatement. In addition he would be barred from running for re-election. The bill was never called for a vote in either chamber.
Attorney General Curtis Hill. Photo by Eddie Drews, TheStatehouseFile.com
Hill faces discipline from the state Supreme Court on charges stemming from an incident at an end-of-legislative-session party two years ago. A hearing officer has recommended his law license be suspended for 60 days for his actions that night when he grabbed and groped four women—one lawmaker and three legislative staff members.
The IndyGo bill, House Bill 1279, had started as a bill affecting only mass transit in northwestern Indiana, but was amended in the Senate to force the Indianapolis bus system to raise 10 percent of their operating funds from private donors. That had been included in the law passed a few years ago that allowed the creation of the Blue Line rapid transit, thought it contained no penalty for not raising the funds. IndyGo didn’t – and two Republican senators from Indianapolis pushed a provision requiring them to raise the donations this year or face having the state withhold 10% of the operating funds for the Blue Line while barring them from future expansion.
The House and Senate negotiated a version that gave IndyGo more time to raise the funds, but while it easily passed the Senate 46-3, the House killed it.
Among the bills that cleared the House and Senate Wednesday and are now on the way to Gov. Eric Holcomb are:
Senate Bill 148: Landlord-tenant relationships
What it does: SB 148 would override local municipal ordinances, including those in Indianapolis and Bloomington, that regulate how landlords must deal with their tenants. The proposed law covers security deposits, the terms of the lease and other issues.
What happened: SB 148 passed both chambers of the General Assembly—29-19 in the Senate and 64-32 in the House—despite strong objections from Democrats who argued that lawmakers are more like a city council. Furthermore, they argued that the language was inserted in SB 148 at the end of the session without taking time for committee hearings and feedback from local communities.
“This body believes in local rule until it doesn’t believe in local rule, and I find that very hypocritical,†said Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, in urging a no vote on the bill because the state shouldn’t be regulating local governments.
Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, said Senate Bill 148 restricted local governments. Photo by Victoria Ratliff, TheStatehouseFile.com
Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, noted that the legislation protects tenants against retaliation if they file a complaint against their landlord.
In the House, Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, read one by one the names of 300 organizations who rallied in opposition to the landlord-tenant bill, which could strip leases of language informing tenants of their rights. The state law came as Indianapolis adopted new regulations to protect tenants from predatory landlords.
“I ask, ‘who are we really representing? Who is this legislation for?’†Shackleford asked her fellow lawmakers late Wednesday.
What’s next: The bill will now head to Holcomb’s desk to possibly be signed into law.
* * *
Senate Bill 1:Â Smoking and vaping age
What it does:Â SB 1 raises the minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine products to 21 and provides penalties for youth and businesses who violate the age restrictions.
What happened: SB 1, authored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, passed the Senate with a 37-11 vote and the House with a 75-16 vote. Throughout the 2020 session, Senate and House versions of the anti-smoking and vaping bill worked their way through the legislative process before lawmakers decided on the Senate version.
Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, introduces Senate Bill 1, the anti-smoking bill, in the Senate after it underwent minor language changes in committee. Photo by Victoria Ratliff, TheStatehouseFile.com
What’s next: The bill now goes to Holcomb who will decide whether to sign it.
* * *
House Bill 1022: Regulates panhandling
What it does: HB 1022 originally addressed technical issues in the state’s notary laws but through a legislative process call strip and insert became a bill to regulate when and where people can panhandle. The bill prohibits panhandling with 50 feet of the entrance to a bank, business or restaurant; a place where financial transactions occur; or a public monument. Violations are a Class C misdemeanor.
What happened: The legislation, which is the last bill of retiring former House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, easily passed both the House and the Senate Tuesday. The House vote was 84-10 with six members excused and the Senate vote was 35-14 with one member excused. Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, had taken ill earlier in the day.
What’s next: The bill now goes to Holcomb for his possible signature.
* * *
Senate Bill 299:Â Disposal of fetal remains
What it does:Â SB 299, authored by Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, says that a woman who has an abortion that has been induced by a drug has the right to take the fetal remains back to their health care facility or abortion clinic to be disposed of by cremation or burial.
What happened:Â The bill passed in the House 78-15 on Wednesday and in the Senate 39-10 on Tuesday.
What’s next: The bill will head to Holcomb’s desk for his signature before it becomes law.
* * *
House Bill 1006: Legal age to marry
What it does:Â This bill was previously the regulation of tobacco and vaping bill that got moved to Senate Bill 1. It now changes the legal minimum age to marry from 15 to 16-years-old. Also states that the intended spouse must not be more than four years of age older than the minor.
What happened:Â The bill passed in the Senate 47-2 and 93-0 in the House. Vice president of Frost Brown Todd LLC Lindsay Lux spoke in support of the bill during the House conference committee saying that initially the language of the bill said that a minor must be 17 years of age to legally marry, but since the legal age of consent in Indiana is 16, they had to lower it but would like to see it rise to 17 in the future.
What’s next: The bill will head to Gov. Holcomb’s desk for his signature before it becomes a law.
Victoria Ratliff and Haley Carney are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab†March 16, 2020
“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jabâ€Â was created because we have a couple of commenters that post on a daily basis either in our “IS IT TRUE†or “Readers Forum†columns concerning National or International issues.
The majority of our “IS IT TRUE†columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give our more opinionated readers exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and Middle Jab and RIGHT JAB† column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB†AND “MIDDLE JAB†AND “RIGHT JABâ€Â several times a week.  Oh, “LEFT JAB†is a liberal view, “MIDDLE JAB†is the libertarian view and the “RIGHT JAB is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments in this column is free to do so.
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(CNN)The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday recommended that no gatherings with 50 people or more take place for the next eight weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The agency said these gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies.
“Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities,” the CDC said in its new guidelines.
The CDC recommended organizers “cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.” The recommendation does not apply to some organizations like schools or businesses.
The new guidance underscores just how much life in the United States will change as the country continues to fight the outbreak, and as officials nationwide order more schools, bars and restaurants to close.
“For a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “We have to just accept that if we want to do what’s best for the American public.”
There are at least 3,482 coronavirus cases in 49 states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Washington DC, according to government agencies and the CDC. At least 65 people have died. West Virginia remains the only state without any confirmed cases.
INDIANAPOLIS —The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today reported four new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, bringing to 19 the number of Hoosiers diagnosed through ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories.
The new cases involve residents of Hamilton and Marion counties and have been included on ISDH’s online dashboard at https://www.in.gov/coronavirus/. Eleven counties now have cases. The dashboard will be updated daily at 10 a.m. Cases are listed by the county of residence.
Additional updates on the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak will be provided later today.
