(INDIANAPOLIS) – State Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick today released her 2020 legislative priorities for the Indiana Department of Education. Student Learning, School Improvement, and Operational Effectiveness continue to be a central focus of Dr. McCormick and the Department, as evidenced in her 2020 legislative priorities.
“Our 2020 legislative priorities build upon past successes with a focus on areas in which we can improve to better serve students and educators,” said Dr. McCormick. “Our goal remains to create safe learning environments that academically prepare students for life beyond high school by providing educators the tools necessary to be successful in the classroom. This has been the Department’s focus since day one of my term. As Indiana’s last elected state superintendent, I will continue to advocate in the best interest of kids.”
Strategic Priority One focuses on Student Learning. Supporting measures that create better learning environments by addressing the public health epidemic of vaping among students, while ensuring all K-12 students are provided an inclusive environment is pivotal to the well-being of children and Indiana’s success. Dr. McCormick will continue to propose increased operational accountability and programmatic quality for virtual schools.
Strategic Priority Two focuses on School Improvement. In response to recent ILEARN results, Dr. McCormick supports hold harmless, while urging legislators to allow the State Board of Education emergency rulemaking authority for accountability and to pause the intervention timeline. In addition, Dr. McCormick will advocate for charter school quality by holding authorizers accountable for academic and fiscal responsibilities. In continued support of educators, Dr. McCormick will champion a number of measures, including: making the career awareness requirement of earning 15 professional growth plan points optional for teachers, allowing educators serving special education populations within inter-locals and career tech centers to receive Teacher Appreciation Grant dollars, and requiring educator preparation programs to provide learning opportunities for those entering the teaching field in state-recognized computer science programs and project-based learning approaches.
Strategic Priority Three focuses on Operational Effectiveness. In an effort to create more efficient operations among education partners, Dr. McCormick will encourage the consolidation of the number of data collection dates, including count dates, for charter schools, traditional corporations, and accredited non-public schools to October first. In addition, Dr. McCormick will push for various changes to hold charter schools more accountable to students and Indiana taxpayers.
