It seems like just yesterday we started the 2020 legislative session of the General Assembly. I have been hard at work with my colleagues in determining new legislation to consider. All the bills approved by the House of Representatives must now make their way through committee and to the Senate floor and vice versa. As we have passed the halfway point, and I would like to bring you up-to-date on some of the important legislation that the House has supported this year.
Senate Enrolled Act 2 will hold teachers and schools harmless from poor ILEARN testing scores. ILEARN replaced ISTEP last year and is an adaptive online test with questions increasing or decreasing in difficulty depending on the student’s ability, which may have contributed to lower scores. These scores can be used in teacher and school evaluations and can carry financial benefits like teacher bonuses, and low scores can put these at risk. Therefore, the House unanimously passed this new law, which would not penalize teachers or schools for these lower scores for two years. This legislation has already been signed into law.
A bill I am excited about is House Bill 1003, which contains several changes that would be helpful to teachers and parents. First, it would revise 1 of the 4 teacher licensure renewal options that included what many perceived to be an externship with a company or professional development. Many educators voiced concern over this requirement, which would become optional under this legislation. I hope this proposal provides relief to teachers so that can continue focusing on educating their students.
Currently, school corporations are required to publish full annual performance reports in their local newspapers, which is very costly. Under this bill, a school corporation could publish in the local newspapers a smaller summary of the report and a way to access the full report online, saving our schools money. This will be helpful to parents so they can see a breakdown of how their school district is performing and easily find more details if they desire. This bill is currently in the Senate for consideration.
Another bill I want to address would completely eliminate township assessors. While House Bill 1027 would not affect our community, there is a township assessor in Elkhart County. This follows a law the General Assembly created several years ago to eliminate all but the largest township assessors and centralize everything at the county level. Only townships with a certain number of land plots could vote to retain their assessor, which 13 did. It is my belief that if a township wants to eliminate the position, it is their decision and not the job of the legislature, which is why I voted no.
I would like to talk about two bills that I authored, but unfortunately did not receive a hearing. House Bill 1089, the protection of life bill, would have made abortion illegal in Indiana and protected all life beginning at conception as already defined in Indiana Code. The other bill was House Bill 1211, which would have made Indiana a “constitutional carry” state for firearms and end the need to ask government permission to use your Second Amendment rights.
I heard a lot of support for both of these bills not only from the district, but throughout the state. While these pieces of legislation did not receive a hearing during this session, my fellow legislators know that these issues will not go away. I will continue to push for an end to abortion in Indiana, and for solid constitutional carry legislation for the Hoosier state.
As always, I enjoy hearing from constituents to learn more about how to better serve or community, Please continue to reach out regarding any legislation important to you at h22@iga.in.gov or 317-232-9833.
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State Rep. Curt Nisly (R-Milford) represents House District 22,
which includes portions of Kosciusko and Elkhart counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
