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Request a DemoIndiana’s graduation rates could be artificially inflated. Lawmakers want to change that.
Update, May 3, 2023: Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1635 this week, which, as passed, requires students to show they intend to enlist in the military if they use the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test to graduate. It also provides more transparency to state graduation rates.
The Gist
Indiana appears to be in the middle-of-the-pack when it comes to its high school graduation rates, but those statistics may be inflated by two loopholes.
More than a quarter of Indiana students graduated in 2021 because their school waived a graduation test requirement or allowed them to use a military enlistment test instead, state data shows. Most of those students never enlisted.
Proponents of a change in the system fear that students who fall in either of those categories aren’t prepared for what comes next on their career or educational journey in a state with declining college enrollment. Opponents, however, warn that the data could be flawed, and that both the alternative test and the waiver are beneficial tools to their students.
Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, and Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, are carrying bills this legislative session to increase graduation rate transparency, but not everyone is on board.
What’s happening
Graduation waivers are intended to be used in unique situations, such as if a student transfers into a school district their senior year or struggles with test taking, as long as the student maintains a “C” average grade and meets other attendance requirements. But thousands of students who graduated in the most recent year did so only because their school waived a graduation requirement.
Some groups, such as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, however, worry the waivers are overused.
In 2022, more than 5,000 Indiana students received a graduation waiver. The rate among Black students is higher, with nearly a quarter of Black students graduating with a waiver in 2019, according to data from Business Equity for Indy.
Oftentimes, though, the graduation rate parents see includes those students graduating with a waiver.
For example, take the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Marion County, a district with a relatively high rate of usage of waivers. The district had over a 90% graduation rate in 2022, higher than the states’ average. But when excluding all of those students who received waivers, that rate drops to just under 77%, lower than the state average.
“When we report as a state these lumped graduation rates like 90%, it does a disservice to parents and to students and the families,” said Ascend Indiana CEO Jason Kloth, who spoke on behalf of Business Equity for Indy during a committee hearing. “And it’s not fully transparent.”
Multiple groups, including Business Equity for Indy which is pushing for reform, emphasized that completely getting rid of waivers isn’t the solution. Schools, they say, still need flexibility.
Behning’s solution in House Bill 1635 is simply to increase transparency by prohibiting schools from counting any more than 6% of waiver students in their graduation rates. In 2027, that would drop to 3% under the bill.
More than 230 schools wouldn’t be able to count some waiver students in their graduation rates, based on 2022 Indiana Department of Education numbers.
Senate Bill 380, which will be heard in the House education committee Wednesday, similarly caps the percent of waiver students that can be used to calculate a school’s graduation rate.
Why some are concerned about the proposal
Some organizations are telling lawmakers to think long and hard before making sweeping changes to graduation waivers.
The Indiana State Teachers Association urged caution during committee testimony because of the potential lingering impacts of COVID-19 on educational attainment. Likewise, the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township emphasized that placing a cap on the number of waiver-using students counted in the graduation rate would lower the state’s rate and could tank economic development efforts.
Had those students who received waivers instead not graduated, Indiana’s graduation rate would have dropped to under 81% in 2022, putting the state at the bottom end of the spread of graduation rates across the U.S.
Leaders from the district added that the waivers benefit their students and “a number” of them have graduated from college.
“We ask our legislators to think critically about their intent behind SB 380 and HB 1635 before acting,” School Corporation leadership said in a statement. “ We believe having data or a more clear picture that speaks to what students who graduate with waivers end up doing post high school graduation would better inform the intent of these legislative proposals.”
What about the test for military enlistment?
Perhaps the more controversial piece of the conversation surrounds the use of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test as a means of meeting the state’s graduation requirements.
Roughly 1 in 5 students in 2021 completed their graduation requirements by pursuing what could be seen as an easier testing option, state data shows.
Behning said the option was intended for students who planned to enlist in the military, but Hoosiers can use the test to graduate regardless of if they intend to pursue a military career. Entire cohorts of students at some schools take the test for career exploration purposes.
What score a student needs to graduate is directly tied to the score needed to enlist in at least one of the branches — currently 31 out of 99.
A significant portion of students taking the test request certain accommodations, automatically disqualifying them from using it to enlist, Behning said. Others declined to share their scores with the military altogether, likely meaning both of those groups have no interest in a military career whatsoever.
“It’s totally contradictory to what we intended it for,” Behning said.
In the 2021-2022 school year, more than 13,000 students used the ASVAB test to graduate, Indiana Department of Education’s public database shows. Only 131 people used their student test to enlist in 2022, according to United States Military Entrance Processing Command data.
Behning argued the overuse signaled a problem within the state’s education system.
“What it indicates is that we’re not preparing our kids for that next step,” Behning told State Affairs. “The American dream can be open to almost any kid, but if you’re not getting out the minimum which they need to be successful in life, I fear that we’re robbing them of the opportunity and dream as they deserve.”
Under House Bill 1635, in order to use the ASVAB to graduate, a student would need to later enlist.
Here’s why House Bill 1635 isn’t an easy solution
The Indiana School Counselors Association and Indiana Association of School Principals both warned that Indiana might not have an ASVAB abuse problem; the state has an ASVAB data problem.
For example, some schools provide the test to all students as a career exploration option. In other cases, a student may qualify to graduate using the ASVAB and a guidance counselor simply doesn’t go back and check a different box when they qualify using another option later on in high school.
“The strength of pathways was flexibility,” said Tim McRoberts, associate executive director of Indiana Association of School Principals. “If we limit the ASVAB to just those who enlist, we’re afraid that’s going to diminish some flexibility.”
Democrats in the House opposed the bill in part because they were concerned about forcing students to enlist in the military. Plus, they argued, the legislative fixes regarding waivers and the ASVAB don’t get to the heart of the problem: Why are so many kids unable to meet the graduation requirements?
Gary Democrat Rep. Vernon Smith, for example, suggested a lack of early childhood education is a contributing factor to Indiana’s education woes.
“While I think the bill has good intentions, I do believe that the path to hell is paved with good intentions,” Smith said. “It doesn’t get to the root of the problems that we’re having in education.”
Behning is considering other solutions as well, such as capping the use of the test.
Why it matters
Those with associate or bachelor's degrees earn more money on average than those with just high school diplomas, but only 53% of Indiana’s high school students enroll in college.
Advocates of adding guardrails to graduation requirements think the loopholes may be contributing to the low rate.
“If students aren’t able to do that type of academic work,” Kloth told State Affairs, “the likelihood that they will go on to enroll in post-secondary education is far less likely.”
What’s next?
Both chambers have already passed a bill increasing transparency when it comes to waivers, so it’s likely some form of that proposal will make it into law.
What’s less certain is the language in House Bill 1635 surrounding the ASVAB. The bill passed out of the House last month by a 66-24 vote. It has already been heard in the Senate education committee and is scheduled for amendments and a committee vote Wednesday afternoon.
It’s likely there will be changes to the bill before it crosses the finish line.
Contact Kaitlin Lange on Twitter @kaitlin_lange or email her at [email protected].
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Who is Jamie Reitenour? Indianapolis mom mobilized volunteers to make governor’s ballot
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of profiles of the candidates running for Indiana governor.
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — It wasn’t the largest campaign event the 2024 election cycle is likely to see.
About 15 people, some of them children, gathered on a rainy April night at Our Place Coffee, nestled just feet from the watchful eye of Zionsville’s Abraham Lincoln mural. But Republican gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour, an Indianapolis mom with no previous political experience, spoke with every single one of them.
It was one part coffee-and-issues politicking and one part informal Bible study, complete with scripture quiz questions for the kids in attendance.
Reitenour, well-worn Bible in hand, shared her oft-repeated story of being called by God to run for governor about six years ago — a destiny confirmed by friends and strangers alike along the way, she said. This charge, she told the group, would allow her to rise above traditional campaign currency, such as fundraising dollars and polling numbers.
Suzanne and Shon Hough sponsored the event after meeting Reitenour at their shared church, Horizon Christian Fellowship in Lawrence.
“As soon as we met her, we knew this is someone to support,” Suzanne Hough said. “We knew she wasn’t a politician. She was called. She has a love and compassion for people.”
That is how Reitenour has made it this far — how she gathered the 4,500 state-mandated signatures to qualify for the May 7 primary ballot, how she’s made it onto a stage filled with more experienced and wealthier opponents. For more than a year, she’s hosted several small events per week throughout the state, traveling some 35,000 miles, by her count.
The dozen or so latte-sipping supporters had a part to play, the candidate said.
“Go to your contact lists and tell them about our Facebook,” Reitenour said. “We could reach 144 people today if we all did that.”
The call
Reitenour’s purpose changed in 2017 while walking through downtown Indianapolis with her husband, Nathan.
“I just heard a whisper: You’re going to be the governor of Indiana,” Reitenour told State Affairs.
The couple wandered over to the governor’s mansion.
“We looked at it and thought, ‘That does not look like our family,’” she recalled. “So I just put the calling on the shelf.”
Indiana requires gubernatorial candidates to have lived in the state for at least five years. She had only just moved from Michigan.
Reitenour believed the country was in a good spot under then-President Donald Trump. Why would she need to run?
“I just thought about it,” Reitenour said. “Why would the Lord call an ordinary person to something like that when the nation was doing so well? But the reality of scripture is that you see these times where people are called, and you can see the reasons for the calling around them.”
Her regular Bible contemplation soon took her to the Book of Nehemiah, who was a governor. Another sign, she said.
The state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic set off alarm bells for Reitenour, who considered steps like mask requirements an affront to personal liberty. She brings up the subject often, and it made it into her coffeehouse remarks.
“How am I in a conservative state, but I don’t feel free?” she told the crowd.
After COVID-19 and the election of President Joe Biden, Reitenour began to think more seriously about running for governor.
Her mission was affirmed first by a close friend, whom Reitenour said received a similar calling from God to help her candidacy, and then by strangers, whom she said confirmed her destiny during separate chance meetings at a Panera Bread location.
She began to meet with church groups and advocacy organizations that align with her views, including Moms for Liberty and Indiana Right to Life. Despite being referred to as an activist on the campaign trail, Reitenour said she is not part of any activism group.
Getting on the ballot
This network of like-minded supporters would soon serve as the volunteer arm of Reitenour’s campaign.
Indiana requires candidates for governor to collect at least 4,500 signatures from voters, including at least 500 from each of the state’s nine congressional districts. It’s a tall order even for seasoned politicians, who often hire specialized operatives for the task.
“The mystery of how we did that will also be the mystery of how we win,” Reitenour said.
She focused on growing supporters and gathering signatures at each small event she hosted, then mobilizing those attendees to gather still more for her.
“I had a formula in my heart for this that the Lord gave me at 4 a.m. one morning,” she said.
The campaign
Reitenour made the ballot, but she is the least-known candidate in a field that includes Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former state Attorney General Curtis Hill, former state Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers and Eric Doden, a Fort Wayne businessman and previous president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
She has no previous political experience. She is a stay-at-home mom who also homeschools her five children and volunteers through ministry. Her previous work experience includes compliance management at a mortgage company, secretarial work and even a stint as an assistant coach in women’s field hockey.
Reitenour was selected in the governor’s race by just 2% of respondents in a recent State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana poll, tying her with Hill for last place behind front-runner Braun (44%). She has consistently polled in the low single digits.
While other gubernatorial candidates can draw from years of campaign fundraising experience or millions in personal finances, Reitenour had raised just a little more than $54,000 as of March 31.
She has thus found herself paddling in a proverbial ocean of campaign spending.
The four top-polling candidates — Braun, Chambers, Doden and Crouch — have spent a combined $20 million.
After participating in the first gubernatorial debate on March 11, Reitenour did not qualify for a March 27 debate hosted by WISH-TV due to her fundraising numbers, as the television station required candidates to have raised $300,000 by December.
She was also excluded from a March 26 Fox59/CBS4 debate for not reaching a 5% polling threshold. She will be included in the final April 23 debate, hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission.
Reitenour has campaigned using a constantly shuffling group of volunteers. She has only one full-time employee: campaign assistant Casey Pierce, who met Reitenour through his mother’s church.
“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Pierce said of joining the campaign. He has never worked in politics before.
Pierce called his initial meeting with Reitenour “a Holy Spirit encounter.”
Reitenour’s platform
Reitenour described education as the state’s “greatest vulnerability,” and thus her primary platform.
“The next generation is not being educated well, and this has been a long time coming,” Reitenour said.
She has received guidance from the Hamilton County chapter of Moms for Liberty, which made national headlines in 2023 after using a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler in its first newsletter. The nonprofit, which pushes against socially minded education reforms like critical race theory, subsequently apologized.
Reitenour likewise opposes ideas like social-emotional learning in classrooms. Her plan also proposes removing technology from grades K-5, calling for private businesses to sponsor classrooms and requiring all students to pursue an apprenticeship before high school graduation.
She also favors an audit of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., tax cuts, a focus on investing in small towns and generally “pointing Indiana in the direction of family.”
The future
At her coffee shop appearance, Reitenour shied away from admitting her long odds in the race.
“The political system is meant to squeeze people out, but I am working against it,” she said.
She pledged to continue organizing no matter the primary election results.
About Reitenour
- Age: 44
- Hometown: Indianapolis
- Education: Psychology degree from Missouri State University
- Family: Married to Nathan Reitenour, with five children, ages 13, 11, 10, 9 and 4
- Job: Stay-at-home mom, homeschool teacher
- Work history: Former compliance manager at Windsor Capital Mortgage, former athletic director at Calvary Christian School (at Calvary Chapel Vista church in California)
Read these related stories
- Eric Doden is running from behind but hopes his ‘bold vision’ will propel him forward
- Suzanne Crouch positions herself as a ‘different’ candidate for the voiceless
Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].
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Child care: Where Republican candidates for governor stand
Six candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Indiana governor in the May 7 primary. State Affairs is providing looks at their stances on several issues. Jennifer McCormick is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Indiana’s high cost of child care ranks as a primary concern for many of the state’s families.
According to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit organization that studies child care costs, Indiana ranks as the eighth most expensive state for infant and toddler care. The cost for caring for a baby averages 14.5% of a family’s median income, while toddler care is 12.9%.
Only 5% of Indiana families can afford infant care, the Economic Policy Institute found.
State Affairs asked each of the six Republicans vying for Indiana governor — U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, former state Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden, former state Attorney General Curtis Hill and Indianapolis mother Jamie Reitenour — how they would lower Indiana families’ child care costs if elected.
Here are their responses.
Mike Braun
“The high cost of child care burdens Hoosier families and businesses, who are trying to recruit and retain the best workers. As governor, I am open to and will work on solutions that will reduce the cost of child care, which is a win for our economy and families.”
Brad Chambers
“As governor, I’ll explore strategic expansions of all-day pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, including potentially increasing the income eligibility level for state-funded pre-K programs. I’ll create a state-level child care tax credit that requires recipients to work to be eligible to receive it.”
Chambers said he would also explore incentives for employer-sponsored child care.
Suzanne Crouch
“First, I would lead the effort to eliminate the state’s individual income tax, which will mean more money in families’ pockets and help reduce the financial strain of child care expenses … As governor, I would propose that the General Assembly put a priority on early childhood education throughout Indiana.”
Crouch would also support the expansion of at-home and religious-based child care, she said, noting Indiana has “some of the highest relative child care costs in the country.”
Eric Doden
“I’ve offered a bold plan to expand pre-K access to every community in the state. By partnering with communities, nonprofits and education partners, we will begin addressing this important need. … We need a state with thriving communities and access to opportunity. Cost of child care concerns are downstream of family formation rates, good-paying jobs, home ownership and a host of other economic and community issues.”
Curtis Hill
“The government is not responsible for providing child care for private sector employees. Its responsibility is to dismantle the licensing and regulatory burden that prohibits new child care providers from entering the market. If we want to lower the cost of child care, we must cut the government regulations forcing child care facilities to either close or raise prices to meet unnecessary government requirements.”
Jamie Reitenour
“We cannot bear down on taxpayers for everything. We just cannot do it. But we can talk to the private sector and reason together. Can we have in-house day cares at offices? Yes. Can we have employers operate growth centers for employees’ kids? Yes. Taxpayers are not the answer; the private sector is. With competition for qualified workers, larger businesses already employ creative benefits, including child care assistance, to attract talent.”
Read these related stories:
Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].
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Poll finds Holcomb popular among Republicans even as potential successors keep distance
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb remains popular among Republicans, according to a State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana poll, even as the GOP candidates to take his place have kept their political distance from him. The polling results released Thursday show Holcomb with an overall positive job-approval rating of 69% among self-identified Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. The results …
‘It’s sort of a blowout’: Braun holds commanding lead in ‘State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana’ poll
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun holds a commanding lead in a new State Affairs/Howey Politics Indiana poll of likely Hoosier Republican voters in the May 7 gubernatorial primary. Asked who they would vote for if the primary were held today, 44% of respondents picked Braun. Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch trailed with 10% of the vote, and …