Greetings!
I once had a favorite poem that was called The Middle Times. It talked about finding ourselves so often “in between” things in life. It starts with the ultimate “In between creation and completion”. That echoed in my head this week as we find ourselves in a multitude of middle times.
In between winter and spring (at least temperature-wise)
In between pandemic and normalcy or just in between variants
In between parts of this legislative session
In between careers
In between tasks or projects
Or in between stages of life
Many of us are programmed to get to the end. Move from point A to Point B. To finish something and check it off our list. I know I do! But If we approach those times with an openness, much can be gained. Here's an excerpt from the poem by Lona Fowler:
And we in our Middle Times
of Wondering and Waiting,
Hurrying and Hesitating,
Regretting and Revising -
We who have begun many things ...
and seen but few completed -
We who are becoming more ... and less -
Through the evidence of God's Middle Time
Have a stabilizing hint
That we are not mistakes,
That we are irreplaceable,
That our Being is of interest,
and our Doing is of purpose,
That our Being and our Doing
are surrounded by Amen.
If we allow ourselves to live in that white space, even if briefly, where we can discern, be open, pray, and grow, we may get to a much more satisfying conclusion. So give it a try… experience and enjoy those Middle Times!
Thanks for all you do,
John
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2022 Legislative Session Updates
Today marks the second reading deadline for all bills, which means that bills that moved from one chamber to the other but never received a reading or passed out of committee will be considered “dead”. We began the session watching 33 bills that could impact non-public schools and now we are just watching 13 bills that are still active. As these bills continue their way through the process, we will need our stakeholders ready to engage with their legislators.
Some bills we are still watching:
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HB 1041 deals with schools designating sports as either a male sport, a female sport, or co-ed. The intent, as we understand it, is to ensure athletes participate according to their birth assigned gender. As written, it places enforcement responsibility at the school level and it calls for a local school grievance procedure.
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HB 1251 requires the Indiana Department of Education to apply to the U.S. Dept. of Education to establish and operate an innovative assessment system. This system would only assess students in grade 3, 5, 8 and 11. It also requires a synthesizing of state academic standards. Finally, it gives state board emergency rulemaking regarding state accreditation.
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SB 82 intends to help ensure that all families are aware of the importance of FAFSA and the potential opportunities it can provide their children. It includes procedures for both the school and the Commission for Higher Ed.
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SB 115 deals with expanding background checks and prohibiting schools from hiring or continuing the employment of a person who has been convicted of an offense requiring license revocation.
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SB 123, a bill dealing with dyslexia, was going to require non-public schools to follow the same requirements passed a few years ago for public schools. Although the requirement for non-public schools has been removed, we strongly encourage our schools to include dyslexia screening.
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SB 331 fixes how schools access tuition and fee dollars and special ed APC dollars from enrolled Educational Scholarship Account (ESA) participants. It passed out of the Senate Ed committee and was later amended in Senate Appropriations. The Senate Appropriations Committee amendment stripped a number of important fixes out of the bill. Thank goodness, the House Education Committee amended them back in. Now, the challenge is keeping the fixes in as the bill returns to the Senate. Watch for an action alert on this bill in the near future. The State Treasurer’s Office has been very responsive to our concerns and supportive of ensuring that the new ESA program will work for our non-public schools.
If you want some additional information or commentary, make sure you’re listening to our Statehouse Express podcast!
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Legislative Liaison Corner
One of the most helpful ways you can engage school families in the legislative process is to share content in your school’s newsletters. Below you'll find content that you can easily copy and paste from our newsletter to your school newsletter. Let us know if there are certain topics you'd like us to cover for your school community in future newsletters! This month’s school newsletter topic relates to legislative updates - please share this information in an upcoming newsletter. Be sure to follow us on social media on Facebook and Twitter too!
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School Newsletter Topic: 2022 Legislative Updates
The Indiana Non-Public Education Association has your back! Each year during the legislative session, INPEA lobbies, testifies at General Assembly committee meetings, and monitors the development of bills that could impact non-public schools. We began the session watching 33 bills and now we are watching 13 bills related to non-public schools that are still active.
Here are some of the bills currently making their way through the General Assembly this session that INPEA is still watching:
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HB 1041 deals with schools designating sports as either a male sport, a female sport, or co-ed. The intent, as we understand it, is to ensure athletes participate according to their birth assigned gender.
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HB 1251 requires the Indiana Department of Education to apply to the U.S. Department of Education to establish and operate an innovative assessment system. This system would only assess students in grade 3, 5, 8 and 11.
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SB 115 deals with expanding background checks and prohibiting schools from hiring or continuing the employment of a person who has been convicted of an offense requiring license revocation.
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SB 123, a bill dealing with dyslexia, was going to require non-public schools to follow the same requirements passed a few years ago for public schools. Although the requirement for non-public schools has been removed, we strongly encourage our schools to include dyslexia screening.
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SB 331 fixes how schools access tuition and fee dollars and special ed APC dollars from enrolled Educational Scholarship Account (ESA) participants. It passed out of the Senate Ed committee and was later amended in Senate Appropriations. The Senate Appropriations Committee amendment stripped a number of important fixes out of the bill. Thank goodness, the House Education Committee amended them back in. Now, the challenge is keeping the fixes in as the bill returns to the Senate. Watch for an action alert on this bill in the near future.
There has been a great deal of media coverage about HB 1134, which deals with what is being referred to as “curriculum transparency”. Because HB 1134 does not include non-public schools, INPEA will not take a formal position on it. That does not, however, preclude non-public school staff and families from engaging in the legislative process to support their public school counterparts.
Want to learn more about Indiana Non-Public Education Association? Visit us at www.inpea.org and follow us on social media on Facebook and Twitter too !
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Save the Date: INPAC 2022
Join us September 22-23, 2022 at the Renaissance Indianapolis North for sessions that will inspire participants to continue Leading with Passion and Purpose. We are excited to announce that Ted Neitzke, CEO and Agency Administrator for CESA 6, will be one of our keynote speakers. CESA 6 is a non-profit, member-driven cooperative educational service agency that serves 39 public school districts in Wisconsin and prior to his role as CEO, Ted served as a school superintendent, assistant superintendent, and teacher. He is also currently serving as Mayor of Port Washington, Wisconsin.
We are finalizing topics and speakers for our pre-conference program, which will focus on special education, and our general program sessions, which will include topics related to these strands: Operational Vitality, Instruction and Culture, and All Things Indiana. Registration materials will be available before the end of this school year.
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EANS Updates
EANS II Application
Indiana’s EANS II application was approved at the end of January. The approved application requires a 20% poverty threshold and will use a tiered approach to per pupil allocation. Schools that don’t meet the poverty threshold will be able to apply for residual EANS I funds and should plan to submit an application this round. An application will be available to schools on Friday, February 25 with a March 31 submission deadline. More information can be found at https://www.in.gov/doe/grants/eans/. We will share the February 23 EANS II webinar recording as soon as it is available - expect an email from us next week with additional EANS information!
EANS Office Hours
There is one remaining EANS office hours session this spring on March 9 from 10-11 a.m. ET. Please join for all updates regarding EANS and as an open platform to ask any and all EANS related questions. Be sure to register in advance by clicking here. You can join the meeting by clicking here.
EANS Vendor Resource Guide Now Available!
Check out our newly released IDOE EANS Approved Vendor Resource Guide! This guide is a searchable catalog of vendors that have completed the registration process with IDOE and are approved as EANS vendors. The list will open as an Excel file that you can filter using the multiple criteria at the top to assist you in finding the exact service you are looking for. For a walkthrough on using this guide and the filtering processes, please click here!
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ESA and ADAC Updates
ESA Program Webinar
The new Education Scholarship Account Program was passed in the 2021 State Budget and is slated for implementation in the 2022-23 school year. Our friends at IQE and the State Treasurer’s Office are currently scheduling meetings across the state about the ESA Program so it is critical that you are aware of this program. If you were unable to attend our ESA Webinar on January 24 or 25, you can view a recording here.
ADAC Study Results
Thanks to all the school leaders who participated in the ADAC special education training and completed the leadership survey. The INPEA Board received ADAC’s final report on February 7 and met with IDOE on February 8 to discuss the recommendations. Stay tuned for additional updates.
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Friends of INPEA
For years, INPEA member schools have affirmed the important role our organization plays for their schools. If you'd like to personally help financially support our work, please visit our website and learn more about our "Friends of INPEA" designation or fill out our form to become a "Friend" today!
We greatly appreciate all those who are a part of the INPEA family, past and present, and we are truly excited to see what the future holds. Together with the “Friends of INPEA” and our stellar school leaders, there is so much more we can accomplish!
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Choice Awards Information
2021-2022 Estimated Choice Awards
The estimated Choice award amounts have been re-calculated for period 1 and period 2 Choice Scholarships. As you may have noticed on our newly published award amounts, although the amounts are different, they are still considered estimated. This is due to proposed legislation that may affect the calculation of public school tuition support used in the calculation of Choice award amounts. IDOE will notify schools when final award amounts are calculated, and any change may be reflected in the May Choice Scholarship payment. The estimated amounts are available in the documents below:
2022-2023 Choice Scholarship Program Income Guidelines
The income guidelines for 2022-2023 Choice Scholarship eligibility are now available here. These have been posted in the Nonpublic School Community on Moodle. Other documents for the 2022-2023 school year will be posted in the community as they become available.
2022-2023 Choice School Application
All schools wishing to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program must apply in each year, even if the school is participating in the current year or participated in other prior years. The Choice School Application Packet includes required forms and information about requirements for application approval. Please see this memo for additional information.
Calendars
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IU School of Education Interview Day
The IU School of Education cordially invites you to participate in its Annual Interview Day on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. This event, featuring pre-scheduled interviews with IU’s talented and passionate teacher candidates, will be held in the Indiana Memorial Union. Masks are currently required in all campus buildings and if the need arises, the event will change to a virtual format.
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Thank You to Our Business Partners! |
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Would you like to be come an INPEA Business Partner or know a business that would be a good fit? Check out our website here or contact John Elcesser at jelcesser@inpea.org for more information!
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Mission
The Indiana Non-Public Education Association serves as an advocate,
promotes engagement, and strives for the advancement of non-public schools.
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(317) 236-7329
1400 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
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