Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick on Monday called for state education officials to preserve Indiana’s academic honors diploma or establish an equally rigorous substitute amid an ongoing rulemaking process.

“I don’t care what you call it; as long as the requirements are there, the kids can get admitted into our universities without a lot of problems or remedial needs,” McCormick told reporters during a Monday news conference. “The rigor associated with it needs to be in place so that our kids have that avenue.”

McCormick’s comments came after nearly all of Indiana’s public universities criticized the state’s proposed high school diplomas. Purdue University President Mung Chiang said the diplomas in their current form do not meet all of the university’s admission requirements.

McCormick noted parents are now questioning whether they should leave Indiana to ensure their children have a high school education that prepares them for college. She said Indiana would be “disincentivizing higher education” with the proposed diplomas.

Tasked by state lawmakers, education officials earlier this year published a draft rule that would create two high school diplomas: the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed diploma and the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed Plus diploma.

The proposed diplomas would replace Indiana’s four current offerings, including its Core 40 with Academic Honors diploma. The proposed diplomas are designed to give students more coursework flexibility. They also would place a greater emphasis on students earning college credit and completing work-based learning opportunities in high school.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner has said officials will make changes to the proposed diplomas based on feedback and open a second comment period. The Indiana State Board of Education is expected to unveil the adjustments during its Wednesday meeting. State law requires the board to adopt the rule before the end of the year.

“Does some of it need to be tweaked? Sure. But this major overhaul, where you’re eliminating big tracks, is certainly not the way to go,” McCormick said.

In a Monday news release, McCormick highlighted “inadequate” funding and a “depleted educator pipeline” as root problems that must be addressed to bolster Indiana’s educational attainment.

In recent years, Indiana’s college-going rate has fallen to and remained at 53%. Many high school students are missing school. And the state’s college attainment has slightly decreased, according to recent data. However, a greater percentage of Hoosier students are graduating from high school.

“This is not just about filling the jobs of today,” McCormick said. “A high school redesign should be about a rigorous look at transferable skills to prepare kids for five to 10 decades.”

Throughout the campaign, McCormick, a former Republican and the final state superintendent of public instruction, has lambasted the GOP for its education policies — especially its support of vouchers, a policy she says has taken money away from public schools.

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said in a statement to State Affairs that “far too many of our graduates are not prepared to enter the workforce or pursue a degree.”

“As a former school board member, I know parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s education and every family, regardless of income or zip code, should be able to enroll in a school of their choice and pursue a curriculum that prepares them for a career, college or the military,” Braun added.

Braun said at a March business forum during the primary campaign that his biggest concern was filling open jobs in the state and didn’t mention a push to get more students into college.

“If you take on higher education, just like if you take on big health care, there’s going to be pushback,” Braun said in March. “We need to flood parents and kids with transparency about high-demand, high-wage jobs, and you do not necessarily need an additional degree if you get better at K-12 with basic life skills.”

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said in a Monday statement: “Watching Braun push for these changes is incredibly frustrating because the only thing they succeed in doing is giving our high schoolers a less robust educational experience that fails to prepare them for the rigors of university if that’s what they choose to pursue.”

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Donald Rainwater said in a statement to State Affairs that “individualized high school courses and offerings are the most efficient ways to meet the diverse needs of our students; along with flexible graduation requirements Hoosiers would be well equipped to decide what education path works best for themselves.”

In June, education officials put forward three optional diploma seals — one each for enrollment, employment and enlistment — as a solution to critics’ concerns and a way to signal a student’s competency. The seals would be jointly developed with corresponding experts and would appear on a student’s transcript, officials said.

McCormick said the enrollment seal would need to have the same rigor as the state’s academic honors diploma. However, if it does, it would be a “tracking nightmare” because the state lacks the resources and personnel to do so, she said. McCormick also argued a seal would not carry the same clout as a diploma.

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

A federal appeals court has sided with the push by attorney James Bopp to void a state law prohibiting corporations from giving money to super PACs.

The prohibition has not been enforced by state election officials, but the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Bopp’s request that it be blocked as violating the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010. 

The appeals court’s 3-0 decision released last week comes in a case filed by Bopp in federal court in 2021 for the Indiana Right to Life Victory Fund and Bloomington-based radio station owner Sarkes Tarzian Inc.

They argued the fund’s political activities were threatened because Sarkes Tarzian wasn’t willing to risk breaking state law by making a $10,000 contribution to the anti-abortion group.

Court rules promises insufficient

The Chicago-based appeals court found that even though the Indiana law hasn’t been enforced, it still could have a chilling effect on contributions to super PACs. 

The Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision found that limits on corporate contributions to super PACs for independent expenditures in political races were unconstitutional under freedom of speech protections.

The appeals court said assurances from state election officials that they would not enforce the ban were insufficient.

“The necessary promises fall well short here,” the decision said. “Indeed, not every defendant — most especially the State’s Attorney General — has filed an affidavit or taken any official action purporting to disavow any intent to enforce the challenged provisions against a company like Sarkes Tarzian and a super PAC like the Fund.”

Democrats decry possible state impact

The Indiana Democratic Party criticized Bopp and state Republican leaders for exposing the state to “mega donors” looking to “buy elections.”

“By bringing the Citizens United doctrine to Indiana, they are opening the floodgates for millions of dollars by special interest groups and large corporations to influence our elections for governor down to your local school board,” state Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said in a statement.

Bopp, a former vice chair of the Republican National Committee who was among the lawyers who pushed the Citizens United case to the Supreme Court, said corporations have First Amendment protections and disparaged the Democrats’ statement.

“Corporations can’t contribute to candidates, but they can argue in favor of a candidate or against a candidate, as long as that is independent [of the campaign],” Bopp told State Affairs. “They are wanting to really mislead people on the effect of the ruling.”

Appeals court orders injunction against law

Bopp won a ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court in September saying state election law prohibited corporations from giving money to super PACs. 

The state justices took up that question after the federal appeals court had ruled it couldn’t determine the constitutionality of Indiana’s law without a state court determination of the law’s limits.

The federal appeals court’s opinion overturns a 2022 decision from U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in which she found the Indiana Right to Life Victory Fund had “failed to establish a credible threat of enforcement of the election laws which they have challenged.”

The appeals court sent the case back to Barker with instructions to issue a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law against the fund or Sarkes Tarzian.

Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office had argued it was not necessary for federal courts to block the law as no state officials intended to enforce it.

Ruling follows Bopp’s withdrawal from cases

The appeals court ruling followed Bopp’s withdrawal last month from several cases in which his Terre Haute law firm was representing the Attorney General’s Office in state and federal court.

Bopp’s contract with Rokita’s office included a provision allowing Bopp to continue pursuing the super PACs case while representing the state in other matters.

Bopp said Monday that the super PAC case had nothing to do with his withdrawal decision but declined, as he did last month, to discuss why he did so amid Rokita’s reelection campaign.

“I support him for reelection. I’ve contributed to his campaign. In fact, I’ve hosted a fundraising reception that was very successful,” Bopp said. “It’s just I am not willing to continue to be outside counsel for their office.”

Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.