Minority Teacher Scholarship bill advanced by State Rep. Cherrish Pryor awaits final approval

INDIANAPOLIS — Legislation that would honor the late State Representative William A. Crawford from Indianapolis by naming a minority scholarship program after him now awaits final approval from Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

House Bill 1034, authored by State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis), was approved unanimously today by the Indiana Senate.

HB 1034 would rename the Minority Teacher Scholarship in honor of Crawford, the original author of the program. The measure drew strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

“The fact that this bill traveled through both the House and Senate without any changes, speaks volumes to the respect and admiration members of the legislative body had for Representative Crawford,” said Pryor. “Throughout the hearings in both the House and Senate, we heard testimony from both sides of the aisle that reinforced the need to honor Bill Crawford. He was an outstanding legislator and a true advocate for minority students.”

The scholarship, created in 1987, provides financial assistance to Black and Hispanic students pursuing a degree that would allow them to teach in an accredited Indiana school.

“Representative Crawford’s dedication to these students and his commitment to helping them reach their goals is commendable,” said Pryor. “Right now, there are a number of educators in our schools who would not be there without the assistance of this scholarship program. Their success, is Indiana’s success and we have Bill Crawford to thank for that.”

The bill also makes these changes to the scholarship:

requires that a student maintains his or her institutions’ required GPA to qualify;

unifies the eligibility requirements; and

allows the Commission on Higher Education to adjust eligibility based on financial need.

The scholarship is expected to improve communication between the commission and interested parties while ensuring that those most in need have access to the funds.

“I am so happy that we have had this opportunity to honor Representative Crawford and hope that we can secure the governor’s approval to credit Bill for his achievements,” said Pryor.