Erika Brock - TheStatehouseFile.com

Republican lawmakers pulled back slightly Wednesday from a last minute effort to shift more authority away from State Superintendent Glenda Ritz even as they let her remain the chair of the State Board of Education through the end of her current term.

Teachers would get a $200 tax credit to help pay for classroom supplies under legislation considered Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee.

House Bill 1358 allows companies such as banks, credit card company, service providers and other firms to seize a person's tax refund - only after paying the state $8 to see if the debtor is getting a refund check.

Educators could receive an unexpected tax deduction next year to reimburse, at least partially, the personal money they used to purchase classroom supplies.

A two-year-old teacher evaluation system has led to "effective" or "highly effective" ratings for the vast majority of educators - again.

An attorney for an Evansville newspaper on Thursday told the Indiana Supreme Court that the public should be able to find out a person's cause of death.

"The Hardship & Hope: The Life of the Hoosier Solider during the Civil War" will give a more personal understanding of the everyday realities from the perspective of a Hoosier soldier.

Pence says the Indiana Tax Competitiveness and Simplification Conference on June 24 will examine both business and individual taxes.

The ticket sales for this Friday's matchups that pit Louisville against Kentucky and Michigan against Tennessee have already been 15 to 20 percent greater than last year, said Visit Indy spokesperson Morgan Greenlee.

State officials are urging the federal government to take the problem of robo-calls generated outside of the United State more seriously with a resolution slated to be sent to the Federal Communications Commission.