E Newsletter

Indiana House Republicans are committed to improving the quality of public education as a top priority for the 2015 legislative session. Education is one of the key focuses of the State Budget (HB 1001) and one of the main points of the House Republican 2015 Legislative Agenda.

The House passed budget contains $16B total spending on K-12 education and accounts for over 50 percent of the state’s biennial budget. The House budget also increases the foundation for every Hoosier student and invests $10M for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teacher recruitment. With a $469M increase, this is the largest education funding increase in the state budget in Hoosier history.

This historic investment in education in the House Republican budget ensures that every student in Indiana has the opportunity to receive a high quality education.  House Republicans will continue to work toward crafting a budget that best fits the needs and interests of Indiana.

Senate Republicans introduced their state budget proposal this week. HB 1001 passed out of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate.

View more of our education initiatives:

ed 1    ed 2

There has been a tremendous amount of misinformation by both the opponents and proponents surrounding the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA).

Hopefully the information below will work to dispel the myths surrounding this piece of legislation. In addition, please visit our resource page  for more information.

Why Indiana Needs Religious Freedom Legislation

The Indy Star recently published a piece that focuses on what the bill actually does. It was written by a Constitutional Law professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Daniel Conkle. Professor Conkle states that:

The bill would establish a general legal standard, the “compelling interest” test, for evaluating laws and governmental practices that impose substantial burdens on the exercise of religion. This same test already governs federal law under the federal RFRA, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. And some 30 states have adopted the same standard, either under state-law RFRAs or as a matter of state constitutional law.

To read the entire article entitled, Law professor: why Indiana needs religious freedom, click here.

16 Law Professors Urge Indiana Legislature to Pass RFRA
Read a letter  written by 16 distinguished law professors from across the country about the need and legality of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In the letter, the professors explain their support for the legislation and address some of the objections opponents have made.
More questions regarding RFRA?

In order to help sort through the misinformation, we developed a list of frequently asked questions on this topic. Please click here  to view this short FAQ.