Should Indiana pay for before and after school care?

INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the Senate Monday (Jan. 25) debated whether the state government should pay for before and after school care.

Senate Bill 251 would create the Indiana Out of School Time Learning Fund to pay for before and after school programs that are operated through the schools. The Department of Education would be in charge of the fund. The fund would consist of appropriations, gifts, fees deposited in the fund by law, and grants.

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, asking questions about Sen. Scott Schneider’s, R-Indianapolis, amendment to SB 251. By Jasmine Otam, TheStatehouseFile.com

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, asking questions about Sen. Scott Schneider’s, R-Indianapolis, amendment to SB 251. By Jasmine Otam, TheStatehouseFile.com

Sen. Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis, proposed amending the bill Monday to remove “the term appropriations and fees deposited in the fund by law.”

“This is a fund to establish an after school network. Most of these organizations are already funded federally,” said Schneider.

However, Schneider’s approach concerned some.

“What his amendment did, in essence, is it said that the state could not appropriate funds for before and after school care for students, which is true. But we should never mandate that the General Assembly cannot do something. We should just decide as a General Assembly not to do it,” said Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis.

Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, also opposed the amendment.

“I think the after school/before school programs do a lot of great service to kids in Indiana, especially the neediest kids in our state,” said Kruse.

Schneider, however, does not want the state to be responsible for contributing funding the programs.

“We have to ask ourselves a question within the process – is this what we wanna do? Is this another line item that’s gonna put pressure on the budget or should we continue to allow the federal and local levels to fund this?” said Schneider.

“Let the process be the process and let Sen. Kenley and the Appropriations Committee and all of us vote on a budget that gives the DOE money for before and after school care. We should not be saying you can’t do it. We should leave it up to the discussion of the legislature,” said Taylor.

The amendment failed in the Senate.

 

Article writer Anastasia Gentry is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.