>> The Indiana Chamber's economic vision plan, Rokita on religious expression, less college sports realignment and more.

From the television studios at WFYI, it's Indiana Week in Review, the week ending August 11, 2023.

>> Indiana Week in Review is made possible by the supporters of Indiana Public Broadcasting stations.

>> This week, Indiana Chamber of Commerce later said the state is "a lap or two behind" its competition when it comes to workforce development and educational attainment.

The chamber unveiled its new economic vision plan for the next dozen years, laying out the ways that things Indiana must move to succeed.

>> The chamber's plan extends some of the goals it set in previous plans, for example it wants 70% of the state earning some sort of post secondary degree or certificate by 2035.

Its previous target was 60% by 2025, which Indiana will almost certainly not meet.

Chamber President Kevin Brinegar says the state needs more than 90% of its students reading proficient by third grade, it's currently less than 82%.

>> If Indiana excelled in addressing every other goal outlined in this plan, but failed to make significant progress in the workforce and education goals, it's highly doubtful that Indiana's economy will hold its place.

>> The chamber says its goals will influence what it advocates for of the next decade with legislators and policymakers.

Are the chamber's goals achievable?

It's the first question for our Indiana Week in Review panel.

Democrat Ann DeLaney, Republican Mike O'Brien, Jon Swan as of Indiana Lawmakers and Nikki Kelly editor-in-chief of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, I'm Indiana Public Broadcasting Statehouse Bureau Chief Brandon Smith, Mike O'Brien obviously is the chamber wants to set lefty goals, are the achievable?

>> Yeah, the chamber they should set a high standard I think, there's a little bit of fatigue around the State House around workforce, it isn't for lack of trying to move kids into higher, to train them up, skill them up.

>> Not just the traditional four-year or two-year colleges, certificates-- >> Certificates and all that.

You're renting high school curriculums, so that's out of the way and they are career oriented, finish your high school career.

So there's been a lot happening, a lot more needs to happen because we are coming up short of what the old goals were.

But again, there is a bit of fatigue in the State House, just think about the legislature of the kind of constant retooling of the workforce cabinet, all these workforce programs we are trying to put in, the money that goes behind that train.

But it's not something they can ignore either, which is why it's constant on the front burner.

>> Yeah, I mean a lot of goals they set in the new economic plan or visual plan were a lot like the old goals, just moving them even further, moving goalpost in a progressive way but they haven't hit the old once yet.

Are the achievable?

>> I think there achievable, I don't think the population of Indiana is any less intelligent than any other state, but they are achievable, but is the wheel on the legislator able to put things within you to go.

The big step forward was enrolling people in the 21st century role holders, we've got to stay ahead of these kids like kindergarten, I had to be ahead of all these states that are having, ingrained in these children the notion that getting out of high school or at the GED is not the goal, the goal is something that will give you a career that will support a family, and we've got to start doing that much younger.

That means the allocation of resources, not in little tiny steps, which is what the legislature and Governor do, we should have mandatory kindergarten, number one, and we should have preschool available to everyone who wants it.

And if we do that, in addition to expanding the 21st century scholars program, we're going to do a lot to get into those goals.

>> Mike said the legislature has been very pro chamber,-- >> Except on social issues.

>> That's my question, so they created this tax climate envy of the other states, undoubtedly leading the Midwest, leading other countries Emma is paid dividends, we've seen major companies move to Indiana, but we are needing a sort of bulkhead here of now we are struggling to get people to come to the state or stay in the state because they don't perceive it as an attractive place to live.

In the chamber is very aware of that, and that's part of one of its pillars on its new plan.

But is the legislature willing to go there?

>> I think there willing to go there on things like quality of place.

You've seen that in the READI grants, and parks and housing they stretched out a bit in that manner, but in terms of political climate, inclusivity, I don't think they are quite ready for that, if you mean changing sort of how we Quality of place yes, but they certainly are going to change their conservative philosophies in order to try to attract a younger, you know, more diverse-- >> More educated population.

>> And if that's the case, and I agree, is there sort of a ceiling for Indiana in terms of how much of its workforce it can attract and retain?

>> That assumes the legislature in its belief system will always be rigid, and is a constant static force.

One could argue that if it becomes apparent that that is-- that thinking is an impediment to economic growth, one could foresee a situation where the legislature's makeup changes.

And becomes-- now, there's a lot of if's there and it would have to be pretty pronounced for whose Hoosier's to say why would they go to Texas or George or whatever the hotspots are and if this is the impediment, this is roadblock, maybe it would take something like that to change.

Would always say this legislature is in lockstep though with, you pointed out some of the social issues, taxation over tobacco products and smoking, that's been on the front burner issue for the chamber and many other large employers for years, COVID, we saw in terms of workplace rights or employer rights, we saw quite a schism they are as well.

So there are areas where there's a bit of division.

I will take with the metaphor of the lapse, we are "a lap or two behind".

The flag-- the racing flight metaphor when you get a blue flag with the orange stripe which means there's faster traffic you better pull over, they are trying to pass you, that's when we're in trouble because other states ostensibly are going to be eating our lunch, if you will.

>> Now high-profile examples in the wake of gay marriage and transgender bills, Eli Lilly is now the most valuable healthcare company on the planet, they are expanding in Indiana.

>> And elsewhere.

>> And elsewhere, everyone is, in the season, every other place, the Salesforce was the biggest opponent of it, and they put their name on the side of the building, and companies making ESG decisions and they will keep making them until investors start pulling back or putting limits on a.

>> Even Lily-- >> It's been soured on socially progressive Emma but even I look at it and go, this is more of a mixed bag that are being made here than just-- >> It's also harder, is harder to draw the straight line.

>> It is also how much publicity goes with it.

they hit the NCAA hard, they had to because they were laughing, there were too many other Republican-controlled states doing the same kind of thing at the moment.

>> Students head back to school, at Kearney general Todd Rokita this week updated his so-called "Parents' Bill of Rights" with a focus on religious expression in the classroom.

>> Rokita initially created the documents two years ago to, in part, condemned teaching about recent schools.

It was sharply criticized at the time as a political tool aimed at stirring division.

Rokita maintains it's about helping inform Hoosier parents about the rights related to education, and his office has updated multiple times since its creation, including sections about vaccinations in private school vouchers.

The latest update answers questions about how religion and education intersect.

In a Facebook Live event Tuesday, Rokita laid out what is allowed, such as students praying at school as long as it doesn't interfere with instruction, and what's not.

>> What is prohibited in schools, public schools, is teacher or school official, as arms of the government, government led practice of a particular religion.

>> The document, which is laid out in a frequently asked questions four, sites state law and US Supreme Court precedents for how religious expression is treated in the school environment.

>> Ann DeLaney, Rokita was asked about the separation of church and state and called it a myth, say the Constitution says that simply the government doesn't establish a particular religion, is he right?

>> Maybe he should read the entire amendment, first of all I wouldn't go to him for any advice on constitutional law, but the point is you can't coerce.

If it's authorized by a teacher for a student to lead in prayer, that gets very close to the establishment clause.

It does.

And all students can pray in class right now, who didn't say a prayer before an important test, that's absolutely-- it's not only prohibited, it's encouraged.

This kind of stuff is the same kind of stuff he does all the time, he looks for excuses to get out there and do appeal to his right wing base of the party.

Nobody, nobody with any sense, think that it's good in a public school to try to coerce people into one system of leave.

OK?

Everybody should be free to practice his or her religion as they see fit.

And that's why it's done privately, in the school environment.

If there's a club they want to have Emma of Christians or Muslims or Jews, they do that on their spare time after class is over, no problem with that, but you can't be doing something where other students were not comfortable with that type of religion or that type of approach have to sit there or feel somehow that there is something wrong with them, or that people will look down on them because they do that.

That's the law, and the reason is pretty clear, our founding fathers did not want a religion that served all, and that everyone had to serve.

And that is perilously close to where our Attorney General comes.

>> We talked before on the show about his "Parents' Bill of Rights", the first edition of which was the most controversial, where he sort of putting out more of his opinion the necessarily legal analysis we saw in the section.

As this Bill of Rights as it comes and goes, this one is fairly straightforward, uncontroversial, is that fair?

>> It's not unhelpful to have this document, it's not unhelpful for parents to have a resource where they can go, how do I transition a kid out of a traditional school to a church school, how do I qualify?

Those kind of things because it's Todd Rokita, it's dripping in hyperbole, and if you just stopped it, here's a very helpful resource, that would be great but it's not.

It's us versus them, here's this document because they are trying to indoctrinate you him and that's where everyone is just like kind of done.

And that's why he doesn't get anywhere, that's why there's no credibility to this exercise in terms of educating parents, because it creates this parallel political dynamic that he can't help but tee up.

>> Stoke, yell.

>> Turn people against each other.

You think it's all great parents are showing up yelling at volunteer school working members.

>> Does not limit the effectiveness of something like this?

>> It depends, when you're trying to determine effectiveness I guess you have to say what is the goal?

Is the goal to actually see some kind of legislative change?

Statutory change?

A practical change in process?

No, it won't be for the reasons Mike outlined very well.

There isn't an appetite for that.

If however the goal is one of self-aggrandizement or one where the person is espousing this guy together, the Bill of Rights together, is looking to Jen up what he perceives as his base, which is the faction that might go and yell to a certain extent at volunteer school board members were think there's some sort of Marxist, you know, satanic COBOL.

>> Carefully look at the angry emails.

>> I do get a lot of those in my poor son with the same name gets them first usually.

That if your goal is that, you can probably get people to be enthusiastic and to say your name and Todd Rokita is our standard they are in leading the charge, so you have asked the question, what is the goal?

>> I do know though you mentioned the idea of legislative change or some sort of change, and love this document, he answers the question with a fairly solid legal analysis, no question about that.

In some of the questions though, there's an extra that's folded out, he want to identify that it is separate, not here is what the status quo is, it's "Welcome if you want to change it this is what you would have to do to change it.

", the exam will use the question about COVID vaccines and FDA approval and what that means for students, and did a particular question of the bottom, but if you think vaccines should be-- no vaccine should be mandated for students you contact your legislator and do this.

In this entire expression session, nothing like that.

So, is this the least sort of controversial of all of them?

>> Yeah, I mean 95% of that was very fact-based and useful information for all parents.

It's not targeted to all parents, and I think that's why half the parents will immediately turn it off, because they feel like it's trying to target them as being too progressive or something like that.

A lot of it, like how your school board works, what the new laws are on library books, things like that, were all very fact-based.

Is just I agree with everyone, he has trouble just putting the facts out there and not following it up with very, you know, hyperbolic wording.

>> In certain Bibles the words of God appear in a different typeface, they might be red or they might be bold, I will let you draw your own conclusions.

>> This is something we don't get to talk about very often, so I'm excited about-- not that, this, which is Division 1 college athletics underwent certificate of people this week is another round of conference rely may change the face of college sports, including major changes to the Big Ten.

The dominoes began with the Big Ten, a conference historically associated with the Midwest and home to Purdue and Indiana University's.

It added Washington and Oregon from the Pac-12 conference to its ranks, after agreeing last year to add the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles.

That triggered Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to flee the Pac-12 conference for the big 12, which had already lured Colorado from that same conference.

And in the span of just a few hours, the Pac-12, which existed for more than six decades, was gone.

>> Jon Schwantes, this is all about college sport, has any thought been given by all these college officials to the student athletes, student athletes, who don't play college football?

>> Probably not as much as you would hope Orwood think.

Since it's those non-$$JOIN -- >> I think almost none, so probably that or-- >> I know football is a revenue sport, primary revenue sport he gets a lot of attention and is driving this.

If you look at on a percentage basis it's a small fraction of the sports playing, sports participating student body.

And so, others though, maybe not the decision-makers, because this is happening so fast, I mean you saw the scramble over the past week or two, there hasn't been time or thought, it's almost a desperation sort of, you know-- >> Here, let's align with you and maybe we can save our bacon, but others are starting to look at it because you do look at the non- revenue sports and other sorts of things which I saw an example someone was looking at the longest trip, it would be for in this case a soccer team, either from USC or USC LA praying at-- playing at Rutgers, a lot of the marquee football programs have their primary aircraft that they take-- >> My UHT doesn't have that.

's PEAK their flying commercial.

Maybe if you buy a fly into Newark, but chances - are there will be delays, they will be baggage claim, it's not as expeditious as getting on your private aircraft, every thing is loaded on you and taken on.

Every thing is going to encroach, I presume on this thing that is sort of quaint in hindsight, studying and academic.

>> There's a perception, there's been the perception of college sports particularly local investable love, well, are they really student athletes are just really athletes?

Speaker Mark and most of the sports most people playing in college and university they are students who happen to be athletes.

>> Correct.

>> Does not put them the most in trouble?

>> Honestly I think this is ridiculous at this point.

The fact that the NCAA hasn't stepped in in some way to say, look, you can't be having students traveling for X number of miles.

>> We've seen they've been-- >> The NCAA, not sure what it does other than punish students-- >> If we don't have solid limits on how often these kids are traveling, how far they are traveling, some point you mentioned how affluent sort of reacted in the last couple weeks I felt like it was in gym class and you are trying to get picked for the team and you didn't want to be the last one.

>> Part of this is, Stanford University, not going to go crying for people who get to go to Stanford, but Stanford is when we call I think the college cop, a lot.

I have the most collective championships per year across every single sport.

Stanford wins that all the time.

And they are left without a conference, which if that doesn't reveal how stupid this all is I don't know what you're does.

>> They can join Notre Dame.

They can play Notre Dame.

>> There's a West Coast Ivy League.

>> Thinking of Notre Dame, the women's basketball coach there floated the idea in the wake of all this, let's separate football out.

You can do whatever you want with whatever conferences you want in football.

Basically make your own league, it's amateur or whatever, but make your own league and everybody else go back to conferences that used to be in with the rivalries that mattered and regionals that mattered.

>> Makes a lot of sense, the Eileithyia would do is, football is a revenue generator.

>> It is.

>> If that trickles down-- you need to get revenue for that, but if it trickles down the other sports it may make it easier for all the real student athletes to participate and travel, and travel maybe not quite like the football players but better than they have been.

>> Going back to something Nikki said, is the biggest issue here something that as we see this now play out of the next few years, because it does not happen instantly, but as we see this play out if there are some pretty negative consequences for nonfootball athletes, is the biggest problem with that the NCAA doesn't seem to have the power to do anything?

>> This is all happening organically, but is all being driven by TV deals in football, in part and ask about primarily in football.

The big 12 is easily just integrated because maybe the Pac-12 and their TV deal, but all this is changing and it's going to be-- I will be interested if we have the super conferences of we can't go back, almost reverse and break them out by division or region, like the AFC and NFC and NFL, and at least breakdown kind of by region.

>> Or the American League.

>> Keep in mind NCAA has drawn lines in the sand on issues such as gambling, on issues such as-- >> For the longest time, they've been-- >> On these issues, basically ended up the defendant in long-running lawsuits.

>> I'm not sure they have the power to stop it.

>> The other thing this week was barstool getting out of gaming because they are going to partner with ESPN and Disney, so Disney is getting into sports.

>> They can go on the cruises with the kids and watch-- >> Odd making and moving.

>> It already and much was, time now for viewer feedback, each weekly pose an unscientific online poll question, this week's question is is the latest round of college sports conference realignment good for student - athletes?

A yes, or B, no.

Last week's question was does the end-- another indictment of Donald Trump make him more or less likely to become a Republican nominee for President?

43% said there be no change, if you like take part in the full go to WFYI.org/IWIR look for the pool.

The State Budget Committee this week approved a request for the Indian economic developer Corporation for $120 million to help Landon advance auto manufacturing plant, that's about as much information as the company the IEDC will share.

The IEDC says the company would invest $3.2 billion and potentially create almost 1400 jobs, but the agency declined to share more about the company, including its name, citing concerns about public disclosure and shareholder interests.

The money comes from a new deal closing fund lawmakers created the IEDC come and the agency notes that if the company doesn't end up locating in Indiana, the $120 million will something go back into that fund.

Democrats raise concerns about the lack of transparency and question the return on investment for such dollars.

Niki, is the secrecy just the reality of you, develop and?

>> Yes, Republicans seem OK with that, but the public's monies, they don't still get to know, that his barely the way it's going to go, one main thing is they are burning through that money pretty fast that they gave them and that budget so we only have a couple more months of this before they are out of it.

>> Seriously, $500 million, still closing fund 120 million out the door already, we hope it works so the money is gone, but I mean-- >> Think of how many preschool kids we could have with that.

>> What is the future of this?

>> You know, the future I guess will be in, the proof is in the pudding, if we get a lot of these job bearing facilities people are probably willing to forgo transparency if this turns out to be a boondoggle and seems money was well spent, there might be some pushback.

But keep in mind the government works best, I mean, I'm not advocating this, but when you get voters and pesky taxpayers out of the way you can really be effective as a government entity, the question is, at what price is effectiveness?

We are a democracy, we are based on taxpayer funding, but we do have a stake in this.

>> The biggest problem here is we won't know if this was all worth it-- >> Until the money is spent.

's PEAK until years and years down the line.

's PEAK outcome is to get 120 million for 1400 jobs?

How much are we spending per job.

And do those jobs ever come to fruition?

>> Some of the incentives are determined by it-- >> When you have large infection plan sometimes you will see almost a secondary and third sort of circle-- >> That's Indiana Week in Review for this week, our panel is Democrat Ann DeLaney, Republican Mike O'Brien, Jon Schwantes and Niki Kelly of the Indiana review, you can find our podcast at BUF I dot org/IW IRR or on the PBS App.

I'm Brandon Smith of Indiana Public Broadcasting, join us next time because a lot can happen in an Indiana week.

>> The opinions expressed are solely those of the panelists, Indiana Week in Review was