Frye: Supporting Our Students This Year And Beyond

State Rep. Frye is among the supporters of a bill to fully fund K-12 public school students.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - This past year many schools temporarily shifted to a virtual or hybrid learning format, allowing Hoosier students to learn at home to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Even now, many continue operating under a hybrid model. Indiana law requires students to be in-person for classes to receive full funding. Many traditional public schools shared concerns about potentially losing out on much-needed funding – all because they had to make a shift to virtual for part of the year. That's why we are fast-tracking a bill to address this issue. Along with fully funding our students this year, we will work to find new ways to invest in education through expanding broadband access and creating a grant program to combat learning loss.

House Bill 1003 will fully fund K-12 public school students for the 2020-2021 school year whether they are attending classes virtually or in person. Currently, schools receive 85% of the tuition support per virtual student, which is defined as a child learning 50% or more of their instruction online. Without legislative changes, most schools would qualify for a lower funding amount because of moving classes online this past year. House Bill 1003 already passed the full House of Representatives and is now one step closer to being signed by the governor.

While many states around us are making cuts to their budgets, Indiana's fiscal responsibility is allowing us to look for ways to invest in education. We are prioritizing a balanced, biennial budget that prioritizes rural broadband expansion to help close the digital divide for Hoosier students and families. We also plan to invest in grants to help combat student learning loss resulting from the pandemic. According to a study by Stanford's Center of Research and Education Outcomes, the average Indiana student lost 129 days of reading knowledge and 209 days of math knowledge during the 2019-2020 school year. House Bill 1008 would provide $150 million to help provide summer school programs to combat learning gaps created by COVID-19.

We are committed to supporting our students, teachers and school this session, and I look forward to supporting all of these policies this session. We will also continue working on a balanced budget that invests not only in education, but all Hoosiers. To learn more about the legislation we are working on this year, visit, iga.in.gov.