INDIANA – A review of a random sampling of constituent surveys from several lawmakers appears to show a Republican priority to tackle the topics of education and fiscal concerns in the upcoming 2024 legislative session.
Aside from those two broad areas of concern, questions ran the gamut from health care and broadband to farmland policies and Ohio River tolls, reflecting the individual focuses of each lawmaker.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reviewed over 113 questions across 58 different surveys, trying to include a variety of lawmakers across the political spectrum and those with or without leadership roles. Each survey notes that the inclusion of a question doesn’t indicate whether a member supports or opposes any specific policy.
However, reviewing the questions can reveal whether an individual senator or their caucus is wrestling with an issue and how to best reflect the wishes of their constituents.
Easily the most popular topic was education, especially the ongoing discussion over “reinventing high school” to include more work-based learning. Questions drilled in on whether to expand youth apprenticeship opportunities, change the graduation requirements, and the overall adequacy of the K-12 education system.
The next most popular category focused on fiscal policies, including taxation. Particularly in the House, Republicans seemed keen to know how voters felt about the state’s use of excessive revenue and whether funds should be dedicated to cutting taxes, investing in “quality of life” projects, or paying down state debt.
Only one of the reviewed House Republican surveys included a question about retaining third graders who fail to meet reading requirements. It proved to be more popular in the other chamber, where ten of the fifteen reviewed senators included the question, “Should Indiana law require students to be held back if they can’t demonstrate basic reading skills by the end of third grade?”
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