Education was once again a concern among those attending the final Cracker Barrel forum of the Indiana legislative season on Saturday at the Vigo County Public Library.
But elected committee officials also said the plethora of bills and amendments pushed through the session, sometimes at the last minute, was the reason some bad bills were passed.
The short session of the 2024 General Assembly ended late Friday night.
The panelists were Senator Greg Good of the 38th District, Representative Tonya Pfaff of the 43rd District, and Representative Bruce Borders of the 45th District.
According to Borders (R-Jasonville), 46th District Congressman Bob Heaton (R-Terre Haute) will cheer on the Indiana State University men's basketball team as they compete in Arch Madness, a Missouri Valley Conference tournament. He said he did not attend because he was in St. Louis for the event.
Most of the audience laughed when host Rondrell Moore announced that 42nd District Congressman Alan Morrison (R-Brazil) was not in attendance. Mr. Morrison rarely attends the sessions in Terre Haute.
Pfaff, a Terre Haute Democrat, and Good, a Terre Haute Republican, both lamented the passage of Senate Bill 202. The bill would allow Congress to weigh in on whether to grant tenure to faculty at public universities based on complaints about the practice of “intellectual” teaching. Diversity in course instruction.
Mr. Good expressed dissatisfaction with the development of the bill.
“It's not up to us to decide what the university does. That was tough,” Pfaff said. She praised ISU faculty and others who traveled to the state Capitol to protest the measure.
She was even more vocal when it came to the bill focusing on elementary school literacy, saying the only bad part of the bill was the part that would force failing third-graders to pass the state's literacy test. Ta.
Marie Theis, vice president of the Vigo County Council and president of the local teachers association, asked why, given the amount of money the council has authorized for education, there are still fewer teachers in schools and overcrowded classrooms. .
After multiple exchanges on the House floor, Pfaff said the failure of the Teacher Protection Act contributed to the problem. She felt that teachers should have been more supported when her students made unsubstantiated complaints about their behavior, but ultimately it died out because her parents didn't support it. she said.
He also said public schools shouldn't be hurt by charter school aid.
Good said he regularly contacts Pfaff, a longtime high school teacher in Vigo County Public Schools, for insight on the education bill.
Borders says some public schools are seeing a decline in student numbers. He said charter schools were established in rural areas because of residents' concerns that losing public schools through consolidation would have a negative impact on the community at large.
The question of whether cursive should be taught in schools received enthusiastic support from all panelists. “There is an art to cursive,” Good said, adding that he plans to co-sponsor a bill regarding cursive instruction in the next Congress.
Pfaff and Borders agreed, saying Pfaff “develops fine motor skills,” adding that school corporations should be responsible for making decisions about teaching cursive.
Borders also touted House Bill 1001, which expands work-based learning.
Pfaff expressed support for absenteeism legislation and a bill that would allow teachers to ban cell phone use in the classroom.
A couple whose son was killed by a drunk driver at a construction site and who was only sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison have asked whether MPs would support lowering the legal blood alcohol level to 0.05%.
Borders said he would be the perfect lawmaker to write such a bill, noting he has never consumed alcohol in his life.
Good supported tougher penalties for drunk driving. Pfaff added that he has long advocated for cameras to be installed in construction zones to monitor driver behavior.
When leaders were asked what they would like future legislative review committees to focus on, they received a variety of responses.
Good said he would like to serve on the Artificial Intelligence Task Force.
“I'm inspired by what AI can do in terms of eradicating disease, but I'm concerned about the nefarious acts that will destroy our economy and national security,” he said.
Pfaff responded that House Speaker Todd Huston is not a fan of the commission, but is interested in further discussions about things like AI and bipartisan redistricting.
Borders said that when he previously served on the commission, two members walked out of a meeting five minutes before a vote was due after three days of discussion.
Lawmakers explained how the sheer number of bills that cross members' desks can lead to decisions to pass certain bills that are not well thought out.
“We try to do too much in too short a time,” Pfaff said. “Some members don't read every bill, and with thousands of bills in one session, that may not be possible.”
Borders said he can't rely on his colleagues to explain the contents of the bill honestly, and that many amendments add up to a clutter that consumes precious little time before a vote. He pointed out that there are many.
Good said some lawmakers are “combining 10 different policy issues into one bill. We have to hold each other accountable and introduce independent legislation.”
Pfaff said a recent education bill included eight different amendments that no one in the House had seen before minutes before the vote.
“We need to extend the session or limit the number of bills passed,” he said.
As is common in Cracker Barrel sessions, several people spoke out against Wabash Valley Resources' plan to drill two deep underground injection wells to capture carbon dioxide in West Terre Haute and Vermilion counties. However, the plan was approved by council in April 2023 without the consent of local residents. input.
Some in the crowd had stickers over their mouths that read “No Voice No Choice.”
Another questioner criticized Mr Morrison and Mr Heaton for not attending parliament, saying MPs should “just give a damn” and stop making “poor excuses for not attending”.
In his closing comments, Borders reminded session participants that while he may be a “weird person” and frequently quarrels ideologically with those who attend Cracker Barrel, he still “I consider you all friends,” he said.