March 6, 2020

Supporting Our Hoosier Teachers

Hoosier teachers are dedicated to giving our kids a great education, and they should be evaluated fairly for the work they do. That’s why I supported House Enrolled Act 1002, which would repeal language in state law that requires each teacher’s annual evaluation to be based in part on their students’ test results.

This change would increase local flexibility in designing teacher evaluations and reduce the stakes of testing in Indiana. Local schools would still have the ability to use test results in teacher evaluations if they so choose, but state law would no longer mandate this policy.

Supporting our Hoosier educators and students remains a top priority for me, and I will continue to advocate for policies that support Indiana’s schools.

HEA 1002 now moves to Gov. Holcomb for his signature. To learn more about HEA 1002, click here.

Treatment Connection
Launches in Indiana

To make Indiana’s mental and behavioral health systems more responsive to the people it serves, the Family and Social Services Administration, in partnership with OpenBeds, recently expanded online treatment referrals beyond clinicians and treatment providers.

The new online platform, Treatment Connection, is now available to the public and makes it easier for Hoosiers seeking mental health and substance use disorder treatment to find the resources they need for themselves or others.

This self-service platform includes access to a:

Decision support self-assessment tool to help determine the appropriate type and level of treatment needed;
Searchable list of trusted treatment services and providers by zip code and distance;
Collection of resources and educational materials;
Contact list of providers with current treatment capacity; and
Means to anonymously communicate with nearby providers about next steps using a confidential numeric identifier.

To learn more about this resource, click here.