A month-old Indiana law targeting chronic absenteeism in K-12 schools aims to collect data on student attendance to better understand and address the issue.

The law defines chronic absenteeism as missing 18 days of school, which is approximately 10% of the academic year. The initiative seeks to gather detailed data on why students are missing school, whether due to illness, travel, or other reasons, to develop strategies to reduce absenteeism.

Emil Ekiyor, a community leader and entrepreneur who is a contributor to WISH-TV, said Friday on News 8 at 5 p.m., “We need to collect data on what’s happening in this situation, why are kids missing school. It was shocking to find out that we didn’t have a strong data-collection system.”

The law does not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences when calculating chronic absenteeism. Even if a student has valid reasons for missing school, such as medical appointments or family travel, accumulating 18 absences categorizes them as chronically absent.

Indiana state Sen. Andy Zay, a Republican from Huntington, was involved in clarifying misunderstandings about the law, emphasizing that the focus is on understanding the reasons behind absenteeism rather than penalizing students.

It’s hoped the data collected will help educators and policymakers understand the correlation between absenteeism and academic performance, potentially leading to new policies or support systems to help students stay engaged in their education.

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The Madam Walker Legacy Center has elected two Indianapolis natives as board members: singer-songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and comedian Mike Epps.

The board says the addition of Edmonds and Epps “reflects the Center’s ongoing commitment to expanding national programming and elevating the visibility of the historic venue as a cultural destination.”

Board Chair Nicole Wilson shared, “We are thrilled to welcome Babyface and Mike Epps to the board. Their influence and commitment to Indianapolis will help us amplify our mission on a national scale.”

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There have been three IMPD officers attacked and injured on the job in the last week, according to the department, as the city works to get a handle on recent high-profile shootings.

Tuesday, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was shot three times while trying to arrest the driver of a stolen car.

The shooting ended with two suspects under arrest, both now charged, another suspect in the hospital in critical condition, and a fourth suspect still on the run. The officer, a four-year veteran of IMPD, left the hospital on Wednesday, surrounded by a crowd of cheering police.

Tuesday’s shooting happened in the Haughville neighborhood at an apartment complex just down the road from Pastor Dwight Harwell’s church, Latter House Ministries.

Haughville is an area where there’ve been multiple public efforts to build the relationship between police and the public. IMPD recruits helped paint over graffiti in the spring, and officers joined a show of unity when neighbors faced rampant vandalism.

IMPD has not identified the officer shot. He’s on administrative leave, pending a review of the shootout. Later Tuesday evening, IMPD said an officer broke their fibula while arresting a man for assault, marking the third line-of-duty injury in a week.

Anyone with information on the other suspect or about the shooting was asked to contact Sgt. Brian Lambert at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.

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An initiative aimed at improving the quality of life in the city’s Black communities is entering its final phase.

The Indianapolis Urban League and the African American Coalition of Indianapolis hope to bring millions in funding to local nonprofits, with $29 million is available to support programs aimed at improving the lives of Black residents across the city.

Applications are due by Aug. 11.

Tony Mason, president of the Urban League, is a co-director of the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative, “It’s about empowering communities and changing lives, so that’s what we’re doing through the IAAQLI.”

The initiative launched in 2022 with a $100 million grant from Lilly Endowment.

Mason said, “A third of African American families here in metropolitan Indianapolis are either poor or working poor. We have to put the opportunities and resources in place, to hopefully bring those families forward.”

So far, more than 150 local groups have received support for projects in education, health, housing, arts and culture, leadership and civic engagements, and Black-owned business development to prevent further gaps in the community. Willis Bright, chairman of the African American Coalition of Indianapolis, is the a co-director of the initiative. “From the need for individuals to have employment with a living wage, to a house that meets code, to children that can learn about their history through community centers, etc.”

The $29 million in new funding is available to eligible nonprofits. After funding goes out to this year’s recipients, the organizations plans to evaluate the impact the initiative has had on the Black community. Bright said, “They can let us know that it has had meaning that, it has improved quality of life, that there are more people who’ve been able to receive employment, better housing and other indices that suggest it has been a successful venture.”

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The wait is over! The Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration kicks off Friday!

About 88,000 people are expected for the 20-day event, organizers say.

The annual celebration of Black excellence in arts, entertainment, culture, an community begins Friday evening with an Ecumenical Service.

Other highlights include the IBE Film Festival, a Cultural Pavilion, a multi-day business conference, a health fair, the Music Heritage Festival Outdoor Concert on July 18 and the annual All-White Affair on July 19.

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Indiana is quickly becoming a hub for digital innovation, with over 9,000 tech firms calling the state home.

These tech companies are tapping into the potential of small and mid-sized businesses, creating a vibrant ecosystem in Central Indiana, said Emil Ekiyor, the CEO of InnoPower, a community development organization in Indianapolis. He is a contributor to WISH-TV.

In the last 10 to 15 years, Ekiyor said, Indianapolis has transformed into a tech hub in the Midwest, thanks in part to organizations like TechPoint and Elevate Ventures.

He said the Rally Cross-Sector Innovation Conference, to be held Sept. 24-25 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, is being touted as the largest of its kind in the country, further cementing the city’s status as a tech leader.

Finally, Ekiyor emphasized the importance of maintaining this momentum, noting that every business in the future will leverage technology, making them essentially tech companies.

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Sunday’s Carmel Pride festival is set to break the event’s all-time attendance record. It’s the fifth year for the Pride event.

The event is organized by volunteers between 12 and 18 years old in Carmel.

In 2021 a group of 15 Carmel high schoolers decided to put on the city’s first Pride festival. In its first year, 2,500 people showed up. The attendance has only grown since then.

The festival is the second biggest Pride event in central Indiana, following Indy Pride.

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June 26 marks 10 years since the Supreme Court ruled in the Obergefell V. Hodges case to effectively legalize same-sex marriage across the country.

The ruling came almost one year to the day after a separate decision temporarily legalized same-sex marriage at the state level in Indiana.

On Wednesday, 11 years ago, a federal judge ruled that Indiana’s then-ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Two days later, another judge blocked that federal ruling. Yet, in that window, numerous couples were able to rush to the City-County Building in Indianapolis to have their marriages legally recognized.

Earlier this month, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention voted to call for the reversal of Obergefell.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law says about 591,000 same-sex couples have married in the 10 years since the Obergefell decision.

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