Statehouse to take up Indianapolis education changes

• It would create the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation and board, a new body to manage school buildings, transportation and other operations of all schools within the Indianapolis Public Schools boundaries.
• It would also exempt IPS from the state's "dollar law," something the district has requested for years.

Catch up quick: Lawmakers created the alliance last year to find ways to make the district and charter schools in its boundaries more efficient stewards of limited public resources.

• Mayor Joe Hogsett and IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson endorsed the recommendations, albeit as an "imperfect solution," Johnson said.
• Charter schools were largely supportive, though some public school advocates were vocally opposed to the diminished power of the elected IPS board.

Zoom in: HB 1423 would give the new board its powers as soon as April.

• The bill would limit who can authorize charter schools within the IPS boundaries to the mayor's office, state charter school board and IPS board.

The latest: The House Education Committee will meet at 9am Monday to consider the bill.

Here are the other bills we're watching this week:

🏛️ Public defenders

House Bill 1025, which would remove residency requirements for public defenders, will be considered on the House floor this week.

Why it matters: As bill author Rep. Alex Zimmerman (R-North Vernon) said, "there's an attorney shortage in the state of Indiana, especially on the defense side."

Zoom in: Ray Casanova, the chief public defender for Marion County, said the current residency requirement (which doesn't apply to the prosecutor's office) has hurt recruitment and retention.

• He supports the measure, which passed the House's Courts and Criminal Code Committee last week.

🎰 Online gaming

After years of trying, the Hoosier Lottery may get its wish to sell online tickets.

State of play: The House Public Policy Committee last week passed House Bill 1078, which would allow online lottery sales but not online gaming from Hoosier casinos.

• The same committee passed a bill last year that would have legalized online lottery and casino gaming, but it stalled over concerns it could hurt in-person casino gaming.
• Flat lottery sales would increase between $300 million and $600 million annually, according to an analysis by the Legislative Services Agency.

What's next: The full House will hear the issue this week. It's eligible for floor amendments as early as Monday.

🥪 State sandwich

It'd be easy to assume that the pork tenderloin is Indiana's official state sandwich, but you'd be wrong.

Why it matters: Maybe not for long.

Driving the news: Senate Bill 21 would make it official, designating the breaded tenderloin sandwich as Indiana's official state sandwich.

• The tenderloin must be made from Indiana-raised pork, but no word on the correct tenderloin-to-bun ratio.

What's next: The bill passed committee last week and heads now to the Senate floor.

📵 School cellphone ban

Last year's ban on cellphones in classrooms may be getting stricter.

Catch up quick: Lawmakers banned phones during class time last year.

• Educators have said it's been a largely positive change, but supporters have testified that stronger "bell-to-bell" restrictions could reduce distractions and improve student wellbeing.

The latest: The Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 78, which would do just that, sending it to the floor for consideration this week.

• A similar measure has been filed in the House, but it hasn't received a hearing.

🖥️ Doxxing

Senate Bill 140 defines and outlaws doxxing, the posting of someone's personal information to threaten them.

Why it matters: The bill was inspired by a rash of doxxing and other intimidation tactics perpetrated against more than a dozen lawmakers during last month's redistricting debate, said bill author Sen. Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville).

What's next: After an initial committee hearing last week, the bill is expected to be amended and voted out of the Senate's Corrections and Criminal Law Committee Tuesday morning.

⚖️ Firing squads

You read that right.

Driving the news: Indiana is considering bringing back firing squads as an option for death row inmates with Senate Bill 11, which will also be amended in committee Tuesday.

The big picture: The drugs used for lethal injections, the primary form of carrying out the death penalty, are expensive and have become hard to source.

• Firing squad executions are extremely rare in the U.S but five states — Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, South Carolina, Idaho — authorize the method, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

What they're saying: The bill's author, Sen. Mike Young (R-Indianapolis) said it's a matter of choice — his bill would allow inmates to opt for a firing squad of five people, rather than lethal injection.

• "I just say, let the prisoner decide which way he prefers to have the execution carried out," Young said. "If he's OK with it, so am I."