Teacher: SB 251 would allow union educators more freedom to opt out
Angela Sheffield
As an educator, I urge him to sign it.
The Indiana General Assembly passed a bill last week that would make it easier for teachers to choose our association membership. Senate Bill 251 allows educators to opt out of union membership and dues at any time and would require us to annually affirm that we still want union dues taken out of our paycheck.
I’m a teacher, and I support this bill.
The Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) currently limits the period in which teachers can opt out, and it coincides with one of the busiest months of the year.
Educators Urge Lawmakers To Go Big On School Funding After New Revenue Forecast
Unable to load the audio player.
playpausemuteunmute
Article origination IPBS-RJC
Increasing teacher pay has been a multi-year debate among lawmakers, despite a massive educator rally in 2019 and the governor s teacher compensation commission outlining how to raise Indiana teacher salaries.
Lauren Chapman/IPB News
Indiana s legislative leaders say school funding remains a top priority as the latest revenue forecast indicates an additional $2 billion available in the next state budget, and education groups are urging them to go big sending more money to K-12 schools.
The state s largest teachers union says it wants lawmakers to take action on recommendations made by the governor s compensation commission to boost teacher pay. The commission s report says an investment of at least $600 million is needed to make Indiana teacher pay competitive with surrounding states.
Indiana poised to open school vouchers to families making more than $100,000
FREE NEWSLETTERS
April 14, 2021
Indiana lawmakers are poised to approve a significant expansion of what is already a broad private school voucher program, setting one of the highest family income ceilings in the nation.
Nearly half of all Indiana families already meet the income criteria to be eligible for the program. Both the House and Senate budget proposals would open voucher access even further, in some cases to families earning more than $100,000 per year for a family of four.
The plans would also eliminate partial vouchers, granting even middle-income families full scholarships which average more than $5,800 per student.
First published April 15 in in.chalkbeat.org, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for newsletter here.
Indiana lawmakers are poised to approve a significant expansion of what is already a broad private school voucher program, setting one of the highest family income ceilings in the nation.
Nearly half of all Indiana families already meet the income criteria to be eligible for the program. Both the House and Senate budget proposals would open voucher access even further, in some cases to families earning over $100,000 per year for a family of four.Â
The plans would also eliminate partial vouchers, granting even middle-income families full scholarships â which average more than $5,800 per student.
Better Indiana outlook brings calls for bigger schools boost
TOM DAVIES and CASEY SMITH, Associated Press
April 15, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, speaks during a news conference at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 15, 2021, with Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, center, and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville. A new state revenue report given Thursday to legislators projects tax collections will bounce back stronger than expected from the pandemic recession.Tom Davies/AP
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana educators called Thursday for a bigger school funding boost to help improve the state’s lagging teacher pay, as new projections showed state tax collections are expected to bounce back stronger than expected from the pandemic recession.