LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday that he and top legislative leaders will seek to delay a crucial enrollment count, a short-term move aimed at letting school districts with virtual learning keep their full state funding.
Holcomb, Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston support asking the Indiana State Board of Education to push back the count that sets funding levels, the three said in a news release. All three are Republicans.
A delay would move the fall count of pupils in K-12 schools to December or possibly later, an extension from the currently scheduled date of Sept. 18. Indiana law allows a change in the date in cases of illness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns that the fall count could lower state funding at schools that begin the year with virtual-only classes. On the day of the count, Indiana school districts must designate students who get 50% of their learning virtually; school systems receive 85% of funding for students learning remotely.
Among the chief worries: If a school is teaching all classes online when the count occurs, that school would get 85% of funds for all of its students. Holcomb said during an online news conference that the leaders’ request will ensure that schools, for now, get their full funding.
"That gets us into January, and we can have a full conversation about everything under the sun come January in the General Assembly," said Holcomb, who suggested a change in state law will be needed, however, to address funding changes.
"How we then address virtual education — we’ll have time to do that," he said.
Holcomb’s office said in the news release that it will consult with House and Senate leaders and the State Board of Education and the Department of Education in the coming days on a resolution for education board members to consider.
"We believe that the State Board of Education has the authority under existing law to adjust schools' student count date to allow schools to receive 100 percent of their per-student funding," Bray said in a statement. "In the next legislative session, the General Assembly can take a fresh look at these statutes in light of the pandemic to ensure schools are adequately funded."
Huston, the top House leader, said his chamber’s members are committed to giving schools "100% of their funding during these unprecedented times."
Indiana reported 671 new cases of the coronavirus-caused illness on Wednesday from positive tests results between Aug. 5-11.
The state’s seven-day average of new cases was 946. Newly reported infections have been above 900 — all record highs — each day since Saturday.
Overall, 7.7% of all COVID-19 tests in Indiana were positive over a seven-day period ending Aug. 5, according to the most recent state data. That infection rate has been mostly flat since early July; in June, it reached as low as 5%.
Meanwhile, coronavirus patients are using 13% of the state’s intensive care unit beds as of Aug. 11, down from 14.1% a week before. There were 936 COVID-19 patients in Indiana hospitals, also down from levels of more than 1,000 this month.
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