Indiana lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming legislative session with emphasis on education

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana lawmakers are getting ready for the upcoming legislative session.

Statehouse leaders unveiled their top priorities for the session on Tuesday. Leaders from both sides of the aisle agree problems in education need to be addressed quickly.

The General Assembly will take a serious look into reading proficiency and truancy issues within k-12 education during the 2024 session. House Speaker Todd Huston urged lawmakers to set a goal of a 95% reading proficiency rate among third-graders by 2027.

"So there's some avenues to do that, but we just want to make sure that it's a focus, again, because it's ... anything else, anything good we do in the education system, if those kids aren't there, they're not going to have success," said Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Senate President Pro Tem.

Other topics for Republicans include improvements to Interstates 65 and 70 in Indiana and antisemitism on college campuses, according to a report by FOX59 News in Indianapolis.

Another top priority for Democrats is regulating marijuana. Legislation that would allow for referendums on issues like cannabis is in the works. But Republican leadership said any chance of a marijuana legalization bill passing is unlikely.

Other priorities for Democrats include childcare, health care and allowing ballot initiatives in the state.