STATEHOUSE — Governor Eric J. Holcomb commends the Indiana General Assembly for prioritizing his essential key agenda items, which will build on the momentum of a successful 2023 budget session.
“I laid out a significant agenda that will strengthen fundamental programs, resources, and services that impact the everyday lives of Hoosiers,” Gov. Holcomb said. “I’m pleased that leadership and members of the General Assembly responded to my 2024 Next Level Agenda with such broad support. The legislative successes provide a game plan to ensure that progress continues for affordable and accessible child care, improved literacy rates, and increased access to post-secondary degree programs to prepare Hoosiers for jobs of the future better.”
The Indiana General Assembly approved all crucial components of Gov. Holcomb’s 2024 Next Level Agenda.
Child care
SEA 2 will provide Hoosiers more access to quality child care by:
- Expanding eligibility for the state’s On My Way Pre-K Program and state-administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers for the employees of licensed childcare entities, providing free or reduced-cost child care to members of this critical workforce who earn up to 85 percent of the state’s median income.
- Reducing the minimum caregiver age for infant and toddler rooms from 21 to 18, with appropriate requirements for child safety.
- Lowering the minimum supervised caregiver age for school-age classrooms from 18 to 16 with appropriate oversight and requirements for child safety.
- To expand the pool of early childhood educators, it would be beneficial to allow qualified individuals working in other fields, such as K-12 teachers, to register as ‘substitute educators’.
- Authorizing a statewide employee compensation study to inform ongoing efforts to improve salaries for early childhood educators.
- Enabling more K-12 public schools to qualify as eligible providers for the On My Way Pre-K Program.
K-12
SEA 1 supports Gov. Holcomb’s commitment for 3rd grade students to reach 95% reading proficiency by 2027 by:
- Schools must identify struggling readers earlier, such as administering IREAD in second grade.
- This requires that summer school reading programs be offered to students not on track for reading proficiency.
- Non-passing students must retake IREAD annually through sixth grade to ensure ongoing literacy support.
- Strengthening retention to ensure significantly fewer third graders who cannot read advance to fourth grade.
HEA 1243 prepares secondary students for the workforce by:
- A computer science course for high school graduation beginning in 2029 is required to better equip Hoosier students with the digital skills to enter the mid-21st century workforce.
Higher Education
SEA 8 promises to provide more degree opportunities by:
- Encouraging state universities to offer and develop more structured three-year bachelor’s degree programs.
- Studying the advisability of public four-year campuses awarding certain earned associate degrees to eligible current and former students.
- Establishing a statewide ‘Reverse Transfer Program’ that identifies former community college students who transferred to a state university eligible for an earned associate degree.
Community Development
SEA 190 offers communities more support in recovery efforts after a disaster by:
- Streamlining how the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) can be used to ensure more disaster-related expenses are eligible.
- Allowing a portion of the SDRF to be awarded for disaster mitigation programs to protect against future damage.
- Simplifying the public assistance grant formula for easier access when needed.
- It is increasing the maximum potential award for individual assistance from $10,000 to $25,000.
- Incentivizing counties to prepare hazard mitigation plans by increasing the amount the county can receive in a disaster.
Good Government
SEA 70 seeks to better public safety efforts for communities by:
- Create a task force to review bail reform efforts by analyzing data to determine the impact on public safety, including violent crime and recidivism rates.
Additionally, Gov. Holcomb will focus his work on connecting Hoosiers with the right jobs for future mobility by continuing work on the following agenda items:
Economic and Workforce Development
- Maintaining the“One Stop to Start” workforce hub that offers real-time support and one-on-one navigation that connects Hoosiers and employers to workforce, education, and training programs that meet their needs.
- Promoting the state’s workforce education and training programs, including Next Level Jobs and other resources.
For more details, click here for Bill Watch 2024.
