Taking Session Priorities Over The Finish Line By Wendy McNamara

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Lawmakers concluded the 2019 legislative session ahead of schedule and under budget last week while accomplishing an aggressive agenda. Our top priority was enacting a responsibly balanced state budget, which maintains prudent reserves and provides a historic increase in K-12 public education by investing $763 million in new funding. We also successfully took the following Republican-led priorities across the finish line:
Increase Protections for our Youth

     • A new law I authored builds on Indiana’s already strong school
safety policies by implementing recommendations from Gov. Eric
Holcomb’s school safety report to improve physical security at
schools and mental health resources for students.

• A new law implements necessary reforms for the Indiana
Department of Child Services in order to improve outcomes for the
state’s most vulnerable children.

• A new law I co-authored aims to engage more at-risk expecting
mothers in early prenatal care, and requires medical providers to
give verbal substance use screenings to pregnant women to
improve and increase referrals to addiction treatment.

Strengthen our Commitment to Students and Teachers
     • A new law strongly encourages schools to shift more existing and
future dollars to Hoosier classrooms by setting a target for public
schools to spend at least 85 percent of state funding on
instructional and classroom expenses.
• A new law  creates new professional growth and advancement
opportunities through teacher career ladder models.

• A new law provides critical support for new educators by creating
residency programs to pair new teachers with mentors in the
classroom.

Align and Promote Workforce Initiatives
• A new law promotes early and continuing career exploration and
navigation, reinvigorates career and technical education courses
and encourages completion of certifications or postsecondary
credentials.
Support Hoosier Veterans
• A new law phases in a 100% income tax exemption for military retirement pensions.

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