Issue Position: Public & Higher Education

Issue Position

Many of the parents and grandparents I've spoken with at their door are worried that our public schools are not giving our kids all the opportunities they need to compete for the jobs of the future and that college is unaffordable. To turn things around, we must:

Guarantee Quality Public Education
Aggressively advocate for quality education by making sure that state funding formulas (readjusted every two years) result in maximum dollars for our district’s schools;
Recognize that quality education includes (a) smaller class sizes, (b) programs for special needs and advanced learners, and (c) resources for computers, art, sports, and music;
Build greater local control, accountability, and higher academic standards into decisionmaking through joint collaboration between parents, teachers, and administrators;
Acknowledge that Indiana is behind most of the U.S. in early education and invest in pre-K and full day kindergarten so our kids have the best possible start in life;
Attract the best and brightest teachers by creating a “Teacher Academy” that offers free tuition for students graduating in the top 10% of their high school class who commit to teaching at an Indiana urban school for at least five years;

Make Higher Education and Vocational Training More Available
Increase access to low-interest college loans, oppose cuts in higher education, and ensure quality vocational training for students who choose not to go to college;
Advocate for initiatives that further bolster IUPUI as a world-class institution.

PROGRESS MADE ON PUBLIC & HIGHER EDUCATION:
After four years of advocating, Justin was at the bill signing for the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarships a $43 million program to attract the best and brightest students to lead our classrooms. Students who graduate in the top 20% of their graduating class and commit to teach in Indiana schools for a minimum of 5 years are eligible for $7500 annual scholarships.

Justin supported efforts to eliminate the ISTEP test from our schools and scrapped Federal Government Standards for a new process where Indiana schools, parents and teachers help craft new standards and a test.

Due to funding cuts, teachers often times must buy their own supplies for classrooms. Justin co-authored a new law to provide up to $100 income tax credit for teachers who find themselves in this situation.

For the first time in the State’s history, the state established funding for pre-K programs in our schools. This Early Education Pilot Program is up and running and Marion County was awarded funds to help get a program up and running.

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