The Indiana Small and Rural Schools believes: 

-In local control and community autonomy.  Our association has no problem with consolidation or reorganization conversations if they are led by and involve the local parties affected by the policy.  

– Local schools should be able to transfer buildings and property to local cities, towns, and counties for economic development, post-secondary job training opportunities, and post-secondary education opportunities.

-The Indiana General Assembly should increase per-student funding to keep pace with inflation at a minimum.   

-The Indiana General Assembly should delay new diploma requirements for one year to give schools time to adjust to requirements for current student schedules.  

-Local school boards should be given Local Option Income Tax funding as a referendum option instead of property tax as the sole source for referendum funding.

-The Indiana General Assembly should refrain from creating unfunded mandates and pass them on to locals without funding.

-All Indiana private, public, or charter schools receiving public funds or tax dollars from the tuition support fund should be required to meet the financial reporting requirements, operational expectations, and the same academic and legal standards.   

-The General Assembly should limit the ability of chronically absent or truant students to transfer schools to escape accountability for poor attendance.

-The Referendum ballot language should be changed to reflect the increase or decrease in the tax rate for taxpayers compared to the current year’s tax rate.  

-The Indiana Small and Rural Schools supports an expansion of school safety funding and simplifying the application process.  

-The curricular materials funding should be a silo that is not included in bargainable funds and should be increased based on inflation.  

-Indiana should increase pre-K funding to ensure all high-poverty students qualifying for SNAP and TANF benefits also qualify for On My Way Pre-K.  

-Virtual student attendance should be clarified to improve student performance and student daily engagement.  

Full-time virtual schools should submit different DOE-AT data documenting students with no LMS activity on a particular school day as an absence equating to an attendance event or absence. 

Career Scholarships Accounts should not be funded with tuition support dollars.  

The Indiana Small and Rural Schools opposes: 

-School voucher expansion without improved taxpayer transparency.