by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Hoosiers hold opinions about K-12 education: where it should take place, who should pay, and how to determine its quality. The assumption that the K-12 student next door is attending the traditional public school down the street or the religiously affiliated one around the corner is no longer valid. The changes to Indiana K-12 education during the past 10 years have been significant, and, for those not directly engaged in…

Let the Yard Signs Bloom — A friend no longer gives to Indiana political campaigns. To be more specific, he no longer gives to the reelection campaigns of House Republicans stamped with party approval. The reasoning is logical, not ideological, and conforms to the realpolitik of a supermajority: His representative doesn’t need the money, having already been assured by the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) of enough to fend off a primary challenge. Analysis of voting…

THE HOLCOMB ‘TRANS’ VETO by Leo Morris I was a little taken aback a few days ago on reading of praise for Governor Holcomb’s “conservative” approach in vetoing a bill that would have banned transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams. He said he was taking the action because, “[T]he presumption of the policy , , ,  is that there is an existing problem . . . that requires further state government intervention,” a presumption…

A CENSUS REALITY CHECK: A cover essay of The Indiana Policy Review some years ago featured a study entitled “The Nine States of Indiana.” It described with various metrics the nine distinct economic regions of the state. Wouldn’t you think that each would develop a different economic strategy — perhaps different even from city to city? We haven’t seen that. Indeed, the strategies look pretty much the same: old-fashioned Chamber of Commerce schmoozing to attract…

by Mark Franke It’s primary season in Indiana. I know this because my mailbox is beginning to fill with postcards from current elected officials bragging about their record as well as challengers bragging about what they will accomplish as an improvement over the incumbents. Even though the above generalization sounds cynical, I have not lost all hope for our representative democracy. We have not yet descended into Dante’s third circle of hell with its warning…

by Leo Morris Someone at the gym last week asked me what I thought about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and I said, “I’m firmly on the side of those against World War III.” Yes, that was a pretty glib answer, but it was a defensive response masking my uncertainties. Just the week before, I’d scoffed at the idea of the governor and the General Assembly expounding on the conflict – Indiana now presumes to have…

THE DESIGNERS of IndianaScorecard, featured in the upcoming spring journal, say they provide everything you need to mount a primary challenge except the shoe leather. Visitors to the site can look up a representative or senator by last name or district by using the search function or more simply scrolling the columns (which can be set in descending or ascending order). Each legislator’s entry displays scorecard rank, percentage score, committee assignments, district map, summaries of, and…

Understanding Holcomb (For the use of the membership only.) “This victory (Governor Holcomb’s veto of a bill banning transgenders from playing on girls sports teams) belongs to the trans youth of Indiana, who deserve to live as their authentic selves and to play the sports they love, free from discrimination.” — Katie Blair, ACLU of Indiana. WE HAVE SOLVED one great mystery of political life — why officeholders don’t care what we think — but we still are puzzled by…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” — Title IX The March 10 Wall Street Journal featured a celebratory picture whose caption read, “Tennis legend Billie Jean King helped mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX civil-rights law.” The picture was a reminder of how…

by Leo Morris Up in the mornin’,Out on the jobWork like the devil for my payBut that lucky old sunGot nothin’ to doBut roll around heaven all day. — Beasley Smith, Haven Gillespie, 1949 If there is any justice in this world, the kind that makes public officials have to live by the rules they set for others, Purdue President and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels will have stumbled to work this morning unshaven, bleary…