Indiana House Votes to Repeal Common Core

From Truth in American Education -

"SB 91 originally stated that the new Indiana standards must “comply with federal standards to receive a flexibility waiver under 20 U.S.C. 7861.” Proponents believe that “college and career ready standards” means adopting Common Core or something practically identical to the Common Core State Standards in order to stay within compliance of the state’s conditional waiver. The bill also says the standards must “Prepare Indiana students for college and career success, including the proper preparation for nationally recognized college entrance examinations such as the ACT and SAT.” While that seems good, ACT and SAT have said their tests will be aligned to the Common Core."

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Ivy Tech moves Franklin campus to central region

Reported at the IBJ -

"Ivy Tech Community College says it's shifting administration of its Franklin campus into its central Indiana region as part of a system-wide reconfiguration. The shift follows several Ivy Tech cost-cutting consolidations, including those of the Columbus and southeast regions and of the Bloomington and Evansville regions. The 175,000-student statewide system is trying to close a $68 million budget deficit. Franklin is in Johnson County, which previously was divided between two Ivy Tech regions."

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Ballard outlines list of initiatives in annual 'state of' address

From the Indianapolis Business Journal -

"Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, in his annual State of the City address Thursday night, exhorted citizens to become ambassadors for Indianapolis as a great place to live. “I know Hoosiers are humble, but be proud Indy,” he said in closing remarks. “Be proud. Be determined to make the next decade in our city better than the last. And, be an ambassador for all things that make Indy a great place to live, work and raise a family.” “Live Indy” was the slogan behind a panoply of initiatives geared toward making Indianapolis a more desirable place to live. While that’s the obvious goal of almost any city, Ballard’s administration is focusing its effort on residential growth in order to capture more local income-tax revenue in hopes of eventually closing a large structural budget deficit. The gap is projected to be $40 million in 2015."

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Daniels gives more modest agenda to Ind. lawmakers

CBS News

"Gov. Mitch Daniels asked Indiana lawmakers on Tuesday to approve a statewide smoking ban and dedicate more money toward victims from last summer's state fair stage collapse during his final State of the State speech.

Daniels used part of his 30-minute televised speech to push the right-to-work bill that has prompted boycotts by Indiana House Democrats, while spending more time touting actions from his first seven years in office.

Daniels presented lawmakers with a more modest agenda than a year ago, when he pushed for a major revamp of Indiana's education system that the Republican-led Legislature largely approved."

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Indiana House Dems end chamber boycott, GOP plans initial vote on divisive labor bill

Washington Post

"A divisive labor bill is back in Republican hands after Indiana House Democrats on Monday ended a three-day boycott of the chamber to stall the measure.

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said the right-to-work bill will get a committee vote Tuesday morning and could make it out of his chamber by the end of the week if Democrats continue to attend House sessions.

Indiana House Democrats returned to the Legislature after spending three days blocking the contentious bill but did not promise to stay long enough to allow a final vote on the measure. House Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer told The Associated Press that Democrats were returning “just for today.”"

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Butler moves on to Monday

Washington Post

Butler Coach Brad Stevens does not possess a wealth of Final Four experience. In fact, the third-year, 33-year-old head coach never had stepped onto college basketball's grandest stage prior to Saturday night.

But it didn't take the sterling credentials of his counterpart, Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo -- whose teams have made six Final Fours in the past 12 seasons -- to understand that shooting 30.6 percent was not a prudent plan for success, which made Stevens that much prouder of his team's defensive effort in the aftermath of Butler's 52-50 win over the Spartans.

Ind. worker fires shotgun into office, no injuries

AP

Police say a state Department of Workforce Development auditor who had just received a poor job review shot at co-workers at an agency office in the northwest Indiana city of Portage.

No one was injured.

Sgt. Keith Hughes says the 60-year-old man became upset during his job review Friday and told his supervisor he needed to go to his car. When the man retrieved a shotgun, a manager locked the front door of the office and ordered the other 15 employees to the rear.