INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Statehouse leaders with divergent views on education policy are leading two investigations into why fewer people are becoming teachers in Indiana.
Democratic state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz has started a 49-member commission to identify ways of attracting and keeping more teachers in Indiana classrooms. Republican legislators who've sponsored many of the state's education overhauls will oversee another promised study.
The state Department of Education says Indiana has seen an 18 percent drop in the number of initial teaching licenses being issued over the past five years.
Indiana House Education Committee Chairman Robert Behning tells The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/1JkAd8C ) that the situation is a national trend even though some blame the state's troubles on steps such as additional student testing and allowing private school vouchers.
