ISTA

The state's largest teachers union is calling on Indiana lawmakers to fully fund schools and provide educators with more bargaining power during the upcoming legislative session. The union is also calling for the state to do more to address teacher compensation. 

The state’s largest teachers union called on Gov. Eric Holcomb to take a more direct role in how, or if, schools reopen for in-person teaching.

The Indiana State Teachers Association met with Holcomb Tuesday to express concerns about the return to classroom teaching. The virtual meeting was a follow-up to a letter Holcomb received from the association last month, with ten “requests” to address the impact of the pandemic on the 2020-21 school year.

Teacher compensation was shaping up to be a hot ticket policy item for lawmakers in 2021, after thousands of educators flooded the Statehouse six months ago to highlight teachers' and public schools' financial needs. 

The Indiana State Teachers Association is pressing forward on demands for lawmakers to send more funding to schools for better teacher pay despite most legislative leaders saying big budget asks have to wait until 2021.