On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) was joined by State Senator Tim Lanane (D-Anderson), State Senator J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) and other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to discuss their plans to reform the state’s redistricting process. With Census data being collected this year, 2021 marks the final opportunity to pass redistricting legislation before voting maps are redrawn for the next decade.

“My caucus has been fighting to get redistricting reform on the books for over a decade now,” Sen. Taylor said. “While we have been persistent in our efforts to put an end to partisan gerrymandering, we have been roadblocked each year by the Republican supermajority. As a result, we are now heading into the critical year of 2021 when voting maps will be redrawn, and we do not have an independent commission or any necessary procedures in place.

“Fortunately, there are still things we can do to make sure our redistricting process is fair and unbiased. Last year, I introduced a proposal to put guidelines in place on how districts can be drawn. My bill would ensure that partisan influence is cut out of the redistricting process, and I plan to reintroduce that bill again in 2021.” 

Sen. Taylor’s legislation would do several things, including:

• Require districts to be as compact as possible
• Discourage the division of cities and counties between districts
• Discourage the separation of school corporation boundaries and communities into separate districts
• Prohibit the drawing of district lines to favor a particular party or person
• Require that new voting maps do not violate the Voting Rights Act
• Put procedures in place to provide public with redistricting data and computer software to draw maps, and creates a process for the public to submit their maps

“After a year of record voter turnout, I’m hopeful that the Republican supermajority will be inclined to meet the desires of Hoosiers and promote fairness and trust in our elections,” Sen. Taylor said. “The standards that I am proposing are common-sense guidelines that would remove much of the hyper-partisan influence from the process of drawing our voting maps.

“I truly believe that all legislators should want to ensure that Hoosiers have more faith in the integrity of our elections. Therefore, I ask both chambers to give my bill a hearing immediately and approve it within the first two weeks of the legislative session.”

Ball State University announced it will require all students to provide a  COVID-19 test result before returning to campus for the Spring semester in January.  

The information was distributed to students Monday afternoon via an email from Vice President of Student Affairs, Ro-Anne Royer Engle.  

In the message, she said, “As our Fall Semester draws to a close, we are actively planning for the Spring Semester when students return in January. Together, we learned a lot about COVID-19 this semester and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control has evolved to reflect clearer public health recommendations about COVID-19 testing. 

“With the revised guidance in mind, and to further protect our campus community, we will require all students to be tested for COVID-19 before returning to campus in January.” 

Students are required to submit a test result within seven days before arriving on campus and they are being asked to self-quarantine between the date the test is administered and the date they return to campus. 

A full description of the student pre-arrival testing protocol can be read here, and more information, including answers to some Frequently Asked Questions, can be found here.  

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating after a body was located floating in the Ohio River. 

Conservation Officers were notified of the body at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Friday November 13, 2020, just downstream of Diamond Island in Posey County. A recovery was made at 2:52 p.m.

The victim has been identified as Ronnie D. Felton, 62, of Evansville, IN.

An autopsy was performed, and foul play is not suspected. 

Responding agencies included the Posey County Sheriff’s Department, Marrs Township Fire Department, Posey County EMS, Posey County Coroner’s Office and Indiana Conservation Officers.

State Sen. Erin Houchin (R-Salem) has been named the 2020 Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Indiana, an organization that assists Hoosiers with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Sen. Houchin earned the award for her work on Senate Enrolled Act 346 during the 2020 Legislative Session.

SEA 346 requires the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to provide certain accommodations to students in grades 6-12 on every section of Indiana’s standardized annual assessments, to the extent permitted under federal law, if such accommodations are included in the student’s individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan.

This includes text-to-speech, screen reader or human reader accommodations, and calculators.

Previously, certain accommodations for students with disabilities were prohibited on portions of Indiana’s standardized tests.

“After learning students with certain disabilities were not being allowed to use all of the accommodations listed in their IEP or 504 plans during state testing, I immediately began working with parents, educators, administrators, and groups such as the Arc to solve the problem,” said Houchin.

“It is our responsibility to ensure every student has access to the tools they need to be successful and to give all students an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge. I am grateful to all who contributed to our efforts, and I am honored to be named Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Indiana.”

“Sen. Houchin led the charge for this milestone legislation to ensure students with disabilities have a fighting chance at a level playing field on Indiana’s statewide assessments, like ILEARN,” said Hannah Carlock, director of public policy for The Arc of Indiana.

“We have been advocating for years for this issue, and Sen. Houchin finally got the ball rolling and the conversation started. We have a long way to go, but Sen. Houchin has paved the way for progress for assessments and accommodations for students with disabilities.”

SEA 346 also requires the Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE), in consultation with the Arc of Indiana and the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education, to consult with individuals who specialize in special education as part of the SBOE’s oversight of the development and implementation of the ILEARN test.

Additionally, SEA 346 established the Indiana Standards and Assessment Accommodation Task Force to further review the accommodations provided during the ILEARN exam and whether they are appropriate for accurately measuring a student’s learning.

The Arc of Indiana’s Legislator of the Year award goes to a legislator who has been a true champion for Hoosiers with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout the previous legislative session.

The Arc of Indiana is an organization committed to all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities realizing their goals of living, learning, working and fully participating in the community. 

The Indiana State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred at a Batesville, Indiana residence after a nearly four-hour standoff with an armed suspect who had fired at officers.

The incident began at around 8:00 AM when the Batesville Police Department responded to a disturbance at a residence located on Bridlewood Trace Road in Batesville. 

Upon arriving at the home, officers were able to get an adult female and three children out of the home.  While an officer was standing outside the garage door attempting to make contact with the man inside, a shot was fired by the suspect in the direction of the officer. 

The officer received minor injuries when he was struck by debris caused by the shot.  The officers then set up a perimeter around the residence.

Officers from numerous agencies responded to the scene.  The Indiana State Police SWAT Team and Hostage Negotiation Team also responded.  Negotiators were briefly able to make contact with the suspect, who lived at the home. 

Shortly after 11:00 AM, additional shots were fired by the suspect from inside of the residence. 

At approximately 11:30 AM, the suspect exited the garage of the home with a handgun. 

Officers fired their weapons, striking him with at least one shot. 

Officers provided immediate medical attention to him. Batesville EMS, which was already on scene, immediately began providing care and transported the man to Margaret Mary Health in Batesville where he passed away as a result of the injuries received. 

Detectives from the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post are leading the investigation into the incident.

The identity of the suspect and the officers involved will be forthcoming.

The autopsy and toxicology results are pending at this time.