Some people hate legislative gridlock when political parties are split in the state and federal legislatures. Their complaint is that nothing gets done. Others breathe a huge sigh of relief and say, "Whew - at least if there is gridlock they will kill each other's bills. At least then they can't screw it up any worse than it is!"
No matter what your position is on political gridlock, this is your monthly reminder to keep track of what your Indiana General Assembly is up to. Here is the complete list of bills still alive in the Indiana General Assembly. The bills listed in gray have already been dropped. (Gridlock at its finest.)
The bolder type lists bills that are still alive.
Remember to put your zip code in the little red, white and blue box on the Wawascene sidebar and click "GO." You will be prompted for your address and then your personal legislator's email address will pop up. You will be able to give your representative your personal opinion on one of those bills. (Tip #1: Once you fill out the address form, you shouldn't have to fill it out again the next time you want to send them an email. Tip #2: After you send them a message, you will be given an option of providing 6 friend's email addresses so you can let them know what you sent to your legislator.)
Doc Stock's rule for the day is, "If you haven't sent your legislator an email about something this session, then you are hereby forbidden to complain about a political issue until you do!" So there! :-)
I have made it as easy as click click click.
Doc Stock's short list of education related bills of interest:
SB 0567: Full Day Kindergarten
HB 1304: Requires state to tell teachers what standards are to be tested (imagine that!)
SB 0262: Public School Choice
HB 1581: Allows schools to use 3 full days for professional training instead of only 6 half days
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6 comments:
Next Monday will be my 6th trip to Indy during the session. I've now talked to most of my elected reps at least three times.
But, I didn't make it to a single 'third house' meeting this year.
The only time that really matters is the last two weeks. I predict it will be extra crazy this year.
Crazy is right.
When state coffers are empty it's easier for them. When the state coffers are full it is easier for them. But when the state coffers have a LITTLE money, it is a horse-trading dogfight in the last two weeks. So it is this year.
All kinds of deals get done in the dead of night!
Dr. Stock~
I do apoligize for this posting, but I couldn't find where to request a topic. I would like to know if Wawasee will ever do anything to verify proof of residency with enrollment? I know of a few families that attend Wawasee and yet are not in the district and I kow that they don't pay the tuition (they make comments about getting away with it or how an administrator told them they could get away with it.) Let's do something to fix this. Ask for proof of residency at enrollment, it's that easy. (Electric bill in their name, phone bill, rental agreement, property tax bill, etc.)
With 3,400+ students all registering in a short window of a few days in the summer, it is impossible to verify everything. It is inevitable that some slip through the cracks.
Maybe the current legislation on public school choice will take care of this dilemma!
Currently when we find out someone is living outside the line, we have to either expell them or require tuition. Then if they don't make their tuition payments we become collection agencies. Then it is further complicated by legislation that makes it legal for a student to attend a different school if the parents are separated or divorced and the child attends the district where the other parent lives.
When the principals find out about these cases they follow up on them.
Maybe, registration could be handled differently? We must be the only school around that makes parents come each year and stand in lines for hours. I think we could put our technology to better use! Everyone is already in the system. Why do we have to sit with the people putting all the info in again?
It is a crazy waste of time in August for all involved!
I agree with mom of 3. Registration here is ridiculous! Most parents with children in other school districts think I misunderstand the system because it does not make sense to have to re-register students who are already registered. In fact when we moved here, I must have aksed 3 or 4 times for clarification because, although I have been an Indiana (not Wawasee school district) resident for my life, I have never seen such an ineffecient system...What a waste of time. And just think of all the time Mom of 3 will spend in line when her 3 are at 3 different schools--the elementary, the midddle school and the high school!
Maybe we should have our legislators pass legislation against having to re-register every year in person. Why not just send us the bill and let us pay that way or create a way to do it online. It certainly should save the school money in the long run...have you noticed how many school employees must be paid to re-register students who are already registered, assigned to classes,etc!
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