WATERLOO â Northeast Indianaâs state senators heard concerns about school vouchers and career education at a public forum Saturday morning in the DeKalb High School auditorium.
Sens. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, and Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, differed in their responses to opponents of proposed expansion of private-school vouchers.
Both senators responded sympathetically to fears that funding might be cut to four programs at Impact Institute at Kendallville and similar career and technical education centers.
Approximately 50 people attended the two-hour forum sponsored by the DeKalb Chamber Partnership. Staff members for U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun also spoke.
Bills to Block Mandatory Worker Vaccines Falter in the States: Stateline By Sophie Quinton | February 24, 2021
Lawmakers in at least 23 states, often encouraged by vaccine skeptics, have proposed banning employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. Most bills are sponsored by Republicans, who say employees shouldn’t have to choose between getting a shot and staying employed.
“I just kind of like the idea of personal freedom, and that’s one of my biggest things as a legislator,” said Republican state Sen. Dennis Kruse, who sponsored one such bill in Indiana.
Although vaccines protect individuals and communities from disease outbreaks, online disinformation has turbocharged some people’s concerns about vaccine safety and potential mandates in recent years. Some anti-vaccine activists have spread false information about the science and public policy surrounding immunizations.
New federal guidance allows employers to require workers to get COVID vaccines, though they must accommodate employees’ religious objections and ensure requirements don’t discriminate against employees with disabilities.
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Bills to Block Mandatory Worker Vaccines Falter in the States
Wendy Vottero, a nurse practitioner at Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital in Indiana, receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot from Rob Dowling, director of emergency medical service. Some state lawmakers want to prevent employers from requiring employees to be vaccinated.
Kale Wilk
The Northwest Indiana Times via The Associated Press
Lawmakers in at least 23 states, often encouraged by vaccine skeptics, have proposed banning employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. Most bills are sponsored by Republicans, who say employees shouldn’t have to choose between getting a shot and staying employed.