The Indiana Chamber backs the overall sentiment conveyed during the legislative session by the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus that the academic outcomes for Black students must be addressed and improved. The Indiana State Conference of the NAACP, in partnership with NAACP branches across the state, put forth an initiative, the Indiana Black Academic Excellence Plan, that rightly says “success is what we should expect for all students.” Read the plan’s press release.
Results from last year’s ILEARN test showed that only 8% of young Black students passed both the math and English portions, compared to 35% of White students. While that last number is discouraging itself, the figure for Black youngsters is very alarming and directly impacts their future job prospects.
Raising up the education level of Black students – and students overall – is a priority of the Indiana Chamber and the business community as it promotes economic opportunity that leads to economic prosperity.
We support the Black Caucus for calling out the achievement differences and calling for the Indiana General Assembly to focus on the matter. The Indiana Chamber looks forward to seeing recommendations from all parties and hopes to see substantive movement on this front in the next legislative session.
Kevin Brinegar is president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. He joined the organization in 1992 and assumed the leadership role a decade later.
