Latest news with #GaryByrne
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
If we want better political representation, let's stop voting straight ticket in Indiana
Indiana is one of only six states to allow straight-ticket voting. (Getty Images) A few years back, I was knocking on doors for a school board candidate I supported. It was a day of productive conversations about transportation, curriculum, funding, taxes, extracurriculars, school lunches, and so much more. That was until I knocked on what was probably the twentieth door of the day. The man who opened it immediately saw I was holding a pamphlet, and simply asked, 'Which party?' I was frozen for a split second, before gathering my wits and explaining. 'Actually, this is for a school board race! The candidates are nonpartisan.' I saw a look of disappointment flash across his face. But the conversation that continued from there was just as rich as the ones I'd had before. By the end of our chat, I think we both learned something about the role of schools in our community. Sadly, conversations like these are rare in Indiana, because we are one of only seven states that still allows straight ticket voting. Straight ticket voting was once widespread nationwide, but most states have abolished it since the 1960s. While Indiana limited its use in 2016, it persists for most major votes. It's a practice that rewards partisan ignorance — you don't even have to look at candidate names. Check a box, R or D, and almost all votes are marked. I say almost because some candidates, such as judges and school board members, are left out of a straight ticket vote. As a teacher, I'm grateful. And I'm relieved that this exclusion was maintained in the final version of Senate Enrolled Act 287, which put Indiana in a club of just nine other states requiring school board candidates to declare a political party. But I found it telling to hear how the bill's author, Sen. Gary Byrne, justified adding parties into school board elections: 'People don't know who they're voting for…Knowing which political party a candidate identifies with will help Hoosiers know what kind of principles that person would apply to their position.' CONTACT US Of course, this assumes that there are only two ways to govern – Republican or Democrat. In education, as in any other sector, nothing could be further from the truth. The partisan binary in a straight ticket simplifies a much more complicated discourse, enabling people to be uninformed when they vote. If everything comes down to party, we may as well allow artificial intelligence to determine election results based on population characteristics and party affiliation. But that's not how democracy is supposed to work. Democracy requires an open debate that transcends parties. It requires voters to weigh heavily the responsibility of their choice. Advocates of straight ticket voting claim it's popular, but if that were true, Indiana wouldn't have one of the most abysmal voter turnout rates in the nation. In fact, the partisan heuristic is just as likely to turn off voters. Both of our major political parties are deeply unpopular, with solid majorities viewing both unfavorably. About half of Americans don't even identify with a political party, and those rates continue to decline. The data is clear: straight ticket voting is about tribal self-preservation, not voter education. That's how we often find ourselves stuck with problematic, mean, and ethically questionable candidates sliding into positions of power, especially down the ballot. There's too few options on the table. By emphasizing partisan affiliation over all else, proponents of straight-ticket voting assume that voters are too busy or uninformed to understand real issues. That's a dismissive way to understand the electorate. So as voters, how do we push back? It's simple: just refrain from voting a straight ticket. We should feel uneasy if we put someone into power without knowing what they are capable of. Get to know the full ballot ahead of time — your coroner, your auditor, your treasurer. Ensure that you walk into the voting room and recognize every name. Google them. Email them. Call them. Ask questions early. When election day comes, you can confidently cast each vote, with no abstentions, knowing exactly how they'll use the power you're giving them It takes time. But when we stop using the straight ticket, maybe Indiana will send it to the dustbin where it belongs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Consent added into sex education bill, anti-DEI bill pass in final days of Indiana legislative session
In the final two days of the session, the Indiana legislature approved last-minute changes to a sex education bill and passed an anti-DEI bill. Senate Bill 442, which addresses instruction on human sexuality, and Senate Bill 289, which addresses unlawful discrimination, were both authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville. After the session ended Thursday, Byrne issued a brief statement that he championed legislation that aimed to 'promote educational curriculum transparency' and 'prevent unlawful discrimination.' 'I look forward to spending time this interim hearing from local constituents on how to continue to make Indiana a better place to raise a family,' Byrne said. Sex education bill In Senate Bill 442, a school board would have to approve any materials used to teach human sexuality for grades 4-12, and for the material titles to be posted online. The bill also requires elementary school students, if they participate in the lesson, to watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development. In the final week of the session, Byrne said he would remove language in the bill that required teaching 'the importance of consent on sexual activity.' But, after receiving pushback, Byrne added the language about consent back into the bill. 'The primary goal of Senate Bill 442 is to promote transparency in sexual education curriculum by requiring that curriculum to be approved by school boards and posted publicly online. The new conference committee report, which I approved yesterday morning, will also retain language added by the House of Representatives, which would require schools to teach about the importance of consent to sexual activity in an age-appropriate way and teach about fetal development during pregnancy,' Byrne said in a statement last Tuesday. Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, said he was glad that consent was added back into the bill. But, Ford opposed the bill because he didn't understand the specificity of watching a three-minute ultrasound video. Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said consent should be taught beyond just 'sexual activity between two individuals.' 'I don't know why there has to be some qualifier,' Yoder said. 'I think what's important here is we're teaching young people to be able to have agency and sense of self and be able to make those determinations no matter what.' The bill passed the Senate last Wednesday 35-12, with Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, and all Democrats voting against the bill. It passed the House 72-20 the same day. Anti-DEI bill Senate Bill 289 prohibits 'discrimination' in state education, public employment and a licensing setting that 'is based on a personal characteristic of the person.' The final version of the bill exempts 'employment actions concerning participation in a public contract by a minority business enterprise, women's business enterprise, or veteran business enterprise, if the employment action is authorized by law.' Under the bill, schools can also make decisions around grants, scholarships or fee remissions based on 'personal characteristics' as long as those awards do not include any 'state funds or resources.' State offices and universities can't require employees to complete training or licensing 'asserting that, or endorsing the theory that,' a person with a certain personal characteristic is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person. 'You can't fix discrimination with discrimination,' Byrne said. 'This bill is good for Indiana, and everybody should be judged by how hard you work.' In the bill, Earline S. Rogers, who was a former Lake County legislator, strikes the word 'minority' from the scholarship requirement and lists that those eligible for the scholarship 'reside in an underserved county in Indiana.' The bill defines five underserved counties: Lake, Allen, Marion, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh. Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, raised concerns about limiting the scholarship to five counties while aiming to 'fight discrimination.' 'It just doesn't make sense that the supermajority would pass a bill that discriminates against most of the counties in the state,' Randolph said. Yoder said Senate Bill 289 is a 'culture war bill,' The legislature should defend scholarships for minority students 'full stop,' she said, and said the bill discriminates against who can receive scholarships. 'I strongly continue to be opposed with this direct attack on truth and progress all in the name of unlawful discrimination. You can't put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig,' Yoder said. Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, said diversity, equity and inclusion benefits white women, people with disabilities and veterans before it benefits Black and brown people. As a Black woman, Jackson said tearfully it was difficult to have to complicate an anti-DEI bill as she listed the history of Black people, from the three-fifths compromise to Martin Luther King Jr. leading the civil rights movement. 'By eliminating DEI, we are limiting perspectives and ignoring the richness of our diverse state. Life is not black and white – there is nuance, and we must embrace the complexity that makes Indiana what it is,' Jackson said. Byrne said everyone in the Senate 'is 100% whole,' and he said he taught his three sons as they were growing up Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of judging a person based on the content of their character. 'I love every person for their personal characteristics,' Byrne said. 'I do love every person, even on the other side. I don't care what color skin you are, it has nothing to do with it.' The bill passed the Senate last Thursday, the final day of session, 34-16. It passed the House 64-26 the same day.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-DEI bill cracking down on ‘unlawful discrimination' en route to governor's desk
Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, defends a compromise provision shifting teaching scholarships named after Black former lawmakers to five teacher-strapped counties on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) A bill to limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools, state government and health profession licensing advanced to the governor Thursday following a 64-26 vote in the House and a 34-16 tally in the Senate. Senate Bill 289 — authored by Republican Sens. Tyler Johnson of Leo, and Gary Byrne of Byrneville — was tweaked in the final days of the session to specifically outlaw 'discrimination' in state education, public employment and licensing settings that is 'based on a personal characteristic of the person.' Lawmakers also made last-minute changes to characteristics outlined in the bill, removing 'disability and status as a veteran' from the list. The 'personal characteristics' remaining in the bill are 'race, religion, color, sex, national origin, or ancestry.' 'You can't fix discrimination with discrimination,' Byrne said. 'This bill is good for Indiana, and everybody should be judged by how hard you work — and that's what this bill is about.' The latest draft exempts 'employment action(s) concerning participation in a public contract by a minority business enterprise, women's business enterprise, or veteran business enterprise, if the employment action is authorized by law.' A carveout also exists for colleges and universities. Schools can also make decisions around grants, scholarships or fee remissions on the basis of 'personal characteristic(s)' as long as those awards do not include any 'state funds or resources.' But state offices and universities would not be allowed to require employees to complete training — or licensing — 'asserting that, or endorsing the theory that,' a person with a certain personal characteristic: is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person. Democrats remained opposed to the bill on Thursday — particularly in the Senate, where debate lasted nearly two hours. 'In a utopia, every human should be treated equally and should not be discriminated against based on their race, their gender, their creed, their nationality, their political identity,' said Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis. 'But this legislation is extremely harmful because it gives a blind eye to historical injustices by which generations of communities have been discriminated against.' 'It flips the script by saying we have no discrimination, we have no racism, and we should treat everybody equally. It ignores historical facts that continue to occur until this moment,' he continued. 'This legislation ignores that people have different starting points in their lives, and in most of our history as a country, it was our government that pushed people behind the starting line.' The legislation's passage comes on the heels of Gov. Mike Braun's executive order to replace DEI throughout state government policies and programming with 'merit, excellence and innovation,' or MEI. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After pushback, requirement for Indiana schools to teach consent in sex education returned to bill
(Getty Images) Two days after plans were announced to delete a proposed requirement for K-12 schools to teach about consent during sex education instruction, a Republican senator has since reversed. Last-minute edits to Senate Bill 442, a 'human sexuality instruction' measure, were detailed Monday during a brief conference committee meeting. The underlying legislation requires any materials used to teach 'human sexuality' for grades 4-12 be approved by a school board and posted online. Additional language would mandate that elementary school students watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development if they participate in human sexuality coursework. In contention, however, was a provision to require any sex education curriculum to include instruction on 'the importance of consent to sexual activity.' Last-minute change removes requirement for Indiana schools to teach consent in sex education Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, said earlier in the week that he intended to get rid of the language in the final version of his bill. He pointed to 'different thoughts in different communities' and preferred to let school boards decide if local curricula include topics on consent. The removal drew sharp pushback from Democrats on the conference committee, and Byrne backtracked the decision in a Wednesday morning statement. 'The primary goal of Senate Bill 442 is to promote transparency in sexual education curriculum by requiring that curriculum to be approved by school boards and posted publicly online,' he said. 'The new conference committee report, which I approved yesterday morning, will also retain language added by the House of Representatives, which would require schools to teach about the importance of consent to sexual activity in an age-appropriate way and teach about fetal development during pregnancy. I look forward to shepherding this bill through the rest of the legislative process.' The conference committee proposal had not been signed and officially approved as of Wednesday morning, however, meaning the bill's provisions were not finalized and could still change. The introduction of sex education usually starts in the fourth grade, according to state guidelines. But Indiana does not require the course in schools. Instead, it only mandates that schools teach lessons on HIV and AIDS. Schools that do teach sex education are expected to focus on abstinence. Critics of the bill have argued that school boards already have the authority to review and approve curricular materials. State law further requires school corporations to make instructional materials available to parents so that they can consent to instruction on human sexuality. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Axios
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Consent requirement stripped from sex ed bill
Indiana schools don't have to teach kids about consent in sex ed. Why it matters: More than half of Hoosier kids are sexually active by the time they leave high school, according to a 2023 school-based survey of students. Nearly a quarter of female students and 1 in 10 male students are physically forced to have sex when they don't want to by the time they're seniors, according to the same survey. Driving the news: Language that would have required schools to teach the concept of consent to sexual activity was removed during a conference committee meeting this week for Senate Bill 442, a bill that would require schools that teach sex ed to have their curricular materials approved first by their school board. Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, said he'd rather leave the decision to local school boards. "This is a sensitive subject for many," Byrne said in a brief conference committee hearing Monday. "I believe there may be different thoughts in different communities. It leaves … local control on making those decisions." Yes, but: The bill would not let locals decide whether they wanted to show a "high-definition ultrasound video — at least three minutes in duration — showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs and other vital organs in early fetal development." It would make that a required part of sex ed, if schools chose to teach it. It also would mandate that schools show students a rendering or animation of the process of fertilization and each stage of fetal development. What they're saying: "We are talking about teenagers that sometimes don't learn that they can say, 'no,'" said Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute. "We're protecting our youth." Pfaff, a high school math teacher, amended the consent language into the bill while it was in the House. The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, supported the amendment. Several other Democrats raised concerns about removing the consent language from the bill, and Rep. Becky Cash, R-Zionsville, suggested Byrne add language about age-appropriate teaching of consent as a compromise. The other side: Byrne said he "understands the concerns" but would be leaving the decisions to local school boards and repeatedly said there wasn't time for more discussion. The meeting lasted less than 15 minutes. What's next: The conference committee report could change before it's signed or voted on, but Republicans maintain a supermajority in both chambers and don't need Democrats to sign off on legislative changes at this point in the process.
