Education continues to be the key issue

Education has been a major discussion in front of the Indiana General Assembly this year.

It’s also a hot topic locally.

Elementary reading, as well as government meeting decorum, were two focus points of area residents while speaking with legislators.

State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) and State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) addressed education and other questions from area residents during a Third House Session on Saturday at Blackford County Farm Bureau in Hartford City.

Blackford County Republican Party chair Andy Dudelston asked Holdman to briefly summarize student retention as described in Senate Bill 1, which spells out rules for summer school courses — it requires certain schools to offer such courses for students who are at risk or are not reading-proficient — as well as early detection, remediation and retention procedures for students not reading at their grade level.

Holdman, who represents Jay, Adams, Wells and Blackford counties and part of Allen County and serves as majority caucus chair of the Indiana Senate, said the focus is to enhance reading skills.

He noted plans to test children in second grade for reading proficiency. (The test was previously given in third grade.)

“We’ve got to make sure the kids can read,” he said. “One out of five third graders fail, or don’t meet the standard, on the IREAD test.”

In December, Indiana Capital Chronicle reported 81.9% of Indiana third graders passed the 2023 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD-3) test. That’s around the same amount as the previous year, falling short of the state department of education’s 95% goal.

Elementary school teacher Heidi Dudelston, whose children attend Blackford County Schools, noted second graders at Northview Elementary in Gas City currently take the IREAD-3 test. (Schools could opt into administering the test to second graders beginning in 2022.) She suggested modifying the test for their grade level. She also recommended reading passages with topics that are more enticing to children.

“I totally agree with identifying it earlier and getting them the help they need before they hit that third grade mark, but you’ve got to test them on something that’s appropriate for that age,” she said.

Prescott, who represents the southern two-thirds of Jay County, all of Randolph and Blackford counties and part of Delaware and Henry counties, also brought up House Bill 1338. (It passed the House 79-17 in January and moves next to the Senate.) The legislation sets up a structure for local units of government to establish rules for public comment during meetings, such as having time restrictions, and sets up a “three strike” rule — two verbal warnings followed by removal from the meeting — and clarifies law enforcement officers won’t be held liable for removing individuals from those meetings. 

HB 1338 also specifies that individuals who knowingly or intentionally go into or refuse to leave restricted areas of a property are committing criminal trespassing. The bill originally clarified what areas of government property are open to the public. (Prescott noted the bill was amended and opened to all property that is clearly marked as a restricted access area, a decision tying back to an appellate court case in Vincennes last year regarding trespassing.)

John Bartlett, a Blackford County Democrat who is running for the District 33 House Representative seat in 2024 and lost to Prescott in the 2022 general election, asked how the bill would accommodate taxpayers with questions for local elected officials in the event they won’t take public comment. He questioned the choice to leave the decision up to the local entity and referenced First Amendment rights.

Prescott noted elected officials aren’t required to seek public comment at regular meetings. Likewise, he added, each local unit of government’s meetings will likely vary. He referenced committee hearings at the statehouse, with some bills bringing in dozens to testify while others garner a handful of individuals.

“On those bills where we have a mass amount of people, you might need to limit it to two, three minutes, to have ample time so everybody’s voice can be heard equally,” said Prescott. “But on bills where there’s not as much testify, we can allow for a longer discussion because there’s enough time to do so, so I can see the same thing from a local government meeting perspective.”

“We want to make sure everybody is treated equally at these meetings,” he added.

Prescott is running for a fourth term this year. A rural Union City resident, he’ll face off against Portland-based Greg LeMaster in the GOP primary. Holdman isn’t up for re-election this year.

All legislation may be viewed by visiting iga.in.gov.