Gov. Eric Holcomb has led the push for adding 2% to what the state puts into its K-12 education budget, but educators say its not enough.

Widespread protests in several states have brought teacher pay and school funding into the spotlight, and this year, Indiana educators have pressed for statewide action on the same issues.

Senate lawmakers heard hours of testimony Thursday from teachers and education professionals urging the state to give schools, and ultimately teachers, more money.

Teachers say they've seen teachers leave the profession because of poor pay, lack of resources.

The group will determine what competitive teacher pay should look like for Indiana, and make policy recommendations to the governor and lawmakers on how to achieve competitive compensation ahead of the 2021 legislative session.

The recent report from Teach Plus and Stand For Children Indiana says policymakers need to invest at least $535 million to make up for decreasing teacher pay over the past two decades.

The president of Indiana's largest teacher's union says they're waiting to see what lawmakers do before deciding whether to take more serious action.

Gov. Eric Holcomb wants to free up $140 million for schools over the next two years as a way to potentially boost teacher pay.

Gov. Eric Holcomb's budget includes a 2 percent funding increase for schools, per year of the biennium. It also cuts the state's Teacher Appreciation Grants, which provide bonus money to highly rated teachers.

House Bill 1003 would allow school districts to move just 15 percent of funding in their budgets away from "education" expenses - things like teacher pay - toward operation costs.