Launched in 2021, Parents' Bill of Rights empowers parents to direct children’s education and upbringing by ensuring they know legal rights and responsibilities
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently rolled out the fourth update to his office’s Parents’ Bill of Rights — a roadmap for moms and dads seeking to maximize their involvement in school governance, curriculum, medical decisions for their children and choosing where their kids attend school.
The latest version includes a new section emphasizing Hoosiers’ precious freedom to practice their religious beliefs, including within the walls of public schools.
“The Parents' Bill of Rights is the result of direct conversations with parents,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Across Indiana, Hoosier moms and dads tell us that their children's schools spend more time indoctrinating kids with historically and scientifically incorrect anti-American propaganda and exposing them to sexual and perverted materials than teaching math, science, reading and writing. With our test scores falling behind the rest of the world, schools cannot afford one second of distraction from these subjects.”
The best educators fully respect the value of involved parents in the process of maintaining high-quality schools, Attorney General Rokita noted.
“The single most effective way to ensure school accountability is for parents to fulfill their rightful roles in directing their children’s education and upbringing,” Attorney General Rokita said. "The Parents’ Bill of Rights empowers them to do just that by ensuring they know their legal rights and responsibilities in Indiana.”
Attorney General Rokita and his team released the first volume of his Parents’ Bill of Rights in June 2021. That installment focused on school governance, curriculum adoption, standards adoption and civil rights complaints.
The second volume, released in November 2021, detailed parents’ rights regarding medical decisions for their children, such as access to student health records, vaccination requirements, and educational accommodations.
The third volume, released in July 2022, focused on school choice — the liberty of parents to choose where their children attend school.
Attorney General Rokita’s team has updated all three of those existing volumes with fresh information arising from such developments as new legislation or to answer additional questions submitted by Hoosiers from across Indiana — along with adding the new section on religious liberty.
“In this one nation under God, America’s founders knew the fundamental importance of faith,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Just as they sought to protect liberty in their generation, our team works to prevent government from infringing on Hoosiers’ rights in our own time.”
The latest installment features a helpful Q-and-A section, including such questions as:
- Can students read or distribute religious material at school? (Yes, provided that the material is distributed during non-instructional time.)
- Can students leave campus during the school day to participate in religious instructional activities? (Yes. Under Indiana law, a parent may request that a student be released from his or her public school for up to two hours each week to attend outside religious instruction.)
- Can religious clubs meet on school grounds? (Yes. A school must treat every recognized non-curriculum-related student organization equally.)
The entire Parents' Bill of Rights is available online at in.gov/attorneygeneral. Changes to the law will be reflected in future digital publications.
Watch Attorney General Rokita's live press event discussing updates on his office's work to protect Hoosier children and defend parents' rights here.
Attorney General Todd Rokita and team sue Indianapolis apartment complex over negligent disregard of tenants’ living conditions
Attorney General Todd Rokita and his Homeowner Protection Unit team recently filed a civil lawsuit against the owners and property managers of Willow Brook Apartments in Indianapolis — alleging that they have habitually failed to respond to residents’ maintenance calls, allowed conditions to become uninhabitable, failed to provide executed lease agreements, and improperly billed tenants.
“We are here to protect Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “That’s why we regularly take action against businesses doing harm to consumers through either negligent or willful misconduct, and this case represents just one more instance in which we are defending the rule of law and standing up for the little guy. This case represents yet another example of out-of-state real estate investors seeking to put their heel on the neck of working-class Hoosiers. Our office will not allow that kind of conduct to continue.”
Defendants in this case are Willow Brook Gardens LLC, the property owner, and Beztak Properties, the property management company, who the lawsuit alleges are not registered to do business in Indiana and are also operating without a required real estate broker company license. The mortgage assignee, U.S. Bank N.A. — as trustee for a mortgage-backed security underwritten by Freddie Mac — is also named as a defendant to assert any interest it may have in the property.
The complex, which consists of 48 townhomes, is located at 2121 E. 52nd St., Indianapolis.
Allegations of uninhabitable conditions and unresponsive property management personnel have been corroborated by civil actions initiated by Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County. Violations cited by local authorities include issues associated with the facility’s plumbing, electrical wiring, foundation, moisture control, and utility shutoffs.
Marion County’s Health and Hospital Environmental Court has ordered judgments against Willow Brook Gardens LLC on Jan. 24, 2023, and May 9, 2023.
Neither Willow Brook Gardens LLC nor Beztak Properties have responded substantively to authorities’ efforts to communicate with them about issues at the apartment complex. Residents also report that management is absent and unresponsive to requests for assistance.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants’ conduct violates Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and the Home Loan Practices Act.
Attorney General Rokita thanked members of his team for their hard work. Overseeing the Homeowner Protection Unit is Section Chief Chase Haller. The State of Indiana is represented in the lawsuit by Assistant Section Chief of the Homeowner Protection Unit Timothy Weber and Deputy Attorney General Regan Perrodin. Further, HPU Investigator Molly Jefford also worked on this matter.
“In each instance in which defendants renew or sign a new lease with a tenant, they do so with the knowledge that they have been deficient at meeting their basic legal obligations to their tenants all the while they continue to unfairly collect rent and line their pockets,” Haller said. “Such activity is unfair, deceptive and abusive to their tenant residents. Our unit has a duty to protect vulnerable Hoosiers who are simply trying to keep a stable roof over their heads, and we take that duty very seriously.”
This lawsuit primarily aims to force the defendants to make good on their obligations to tenants. Alternatively, Attorney General Rokita and his team will seek a court-ordered receivership of the defendants’ assets if they are noncooperative or otherwise prove unable to meet their legal obligations to tenants.
The lawsuit — which is attached — also seeks costs and civil penalties.
The mission of the Homeowner Protection Unit is to protect the rights of all individuals involved in the housing market, including tenants, homeowners, and aspiring homeowners, by investigating and redressing deceptive acts in connection with mortgage lending and violations of relevant state and federal laws. The unit strives to ensure equal access to housing opportunities for Hoosiers and promote the proper functioning of homeowner’s associations. The unit works closely with law enforcement agencies at all levels to ensure justice is served and homeowners and tenants are protected.
Attorney General Todd Rokita thanks Thomas M. Fisher, Indiana’s first-ever solicitor general, for more than two decades of service
Fisher set to take on private sector role at EdChoice
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently announced that Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher will depart next month to take a leadership role with a nonprofit advocacy group.
“The people of Indiana received an incalculable level of value from Tom’s service,” Attorney General Rokita said. “He is a highly skilled and talented lawyer who could have made millions of dollars with his God-given talents over the last 20 years. Instead, he put those talents to good use for the people of Indiana, and as Hoosiers we couldn’t be more thankful.”
The solicitor general oversees litigation involving constitutional challenges and other issues of vital interest to the state government.
Fisher will join EdChoice, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering every family to choose the educational environment that best fits their children's needs.
“I am a lawyer who believes in a calling,” Fisher said. “And after two decades in the Office of Attorney General, I have been called to advance the cause of liberty on a new front.”
Nonetheless, leaving his current position was not an easy decision, said Fisher, who joined the Office of the Attorney General in 2001 and became solicitor general in 2005.
“It has been the professional honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Indiana as solicitor general, representing Hoosier values, common sense and the rule of law in courts here and across the nation,” Fisher said. “I am grateful to Attorney General Rokita and his predecessors — Attorneys General Hill, Zoeller and Carter — for affording me this challenging and gratifying opportunity. The people of Indiana are fortunate to have had such distinguished and visionary leaders as these to handle the important legal affairs of our state.”
Fisher also expressed gratitude to all the colleagues with whom he has worked over the years in the Office of the Attorney General.
“This is the finest, most consequential law firm in the state,” Fisher said, “and we should all be proud of the exceptional service our deputy attorneys general, paralegals and staff provide daily to Indiana citizens. I wish every citizen could see firsthand the hard work and dedication these talented professionals put forth daily to safeguard liberty and the rule of law.”
As solicitor general, Fisher has argued five times before the U.S. Supreme Court and dozens of times before the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court. Fisher’s practice has also included authorship of dozens of amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts on a wide range of issues, including climate change, telephone privacy, law-enforcement defense, legislative prayer, Ten Commandments displays, the definition of marriage, abortion regulation, blocked railroad crossings, and the right to trial by jury, among many others.
Asked to name the three most memorable cases he has argued, Fisher cited Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (defending Indiana’s robust voter ID law in the U.S. Supreme Court), Meredith v. Daniels (defending Indiana’s school choice scholarship law in the Indiana Supreme Court) and Planned Parenthood v. Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana (defending Indiana’s new law protecting the unborn in the Indiana Supreme Court).
Fisher has received numerous awards for his efforts. Among others, he is a two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award for excellence in U.S. Supreme Court brief writing, was named a Fellow of the exclusive American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was recently awarded the prestigious Senior Peck Medal by his alma mater, Wabash College.
“Without question, Tom Fisher is one of the finest public servants you’ll ever meet,” Attorney General Rokita said. “On top of that, he has one of the sharpest legal minds of his generation. While we’re certainly sorry to see him go, we also look forward to cheering his success in his next chapter.”
Robert C. Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, said his organization is elated to hire a leader of Fisher’s caliber.
"With the rapid growth of universal choice in education over the last three years, Tom Fisher will be joining EdChoice as it expands its legal affairs work," Enlow said. "With so many new programs and efforts around the country, there is more need than ever to provide legal services to the school choice movement."
Attorney General Rokita is now conducting a nationwide search for Fisher’s successor.
Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team have continued a months-long crackdown against illegal robocallers responsible for billions of calls nationally and tens of millions to Hoosiers.
As part of this effort, Attorney General Rokita’s team has collaborated with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other law enforcement partners nationwide — including attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia — in a national sweep the FTC has dubbed “Operation Stop Scam Calls.”
“All Hoosiers, my wife and I included, hate these unwanted automated calls that disturb our peace and interrupt our routines,” Attorney General Rokita said. “But these calls are more than mere annoyances. Quite often, they’re part of elaborate scams aimed at stealing people’s money and identities. We’re working to stop these criminal acts and hold perpetrators accountable.”
The national sweep targets telemarketers and the companies that hire them — as well as lead generators who deceptively collect and provide consumers’ telephone numbers to robocallers. These deceptive lead generators falsely represent that consumers have consented to receive calls.
Operation Stop Scam Calls also targets Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers who facilitate tens of billions of illegal robocalls every year, which often originate overseas.
Over past months, Attorney General Rokita's team has taken the following actions:
- In April of 2023, Attorney General Rokita’s team finalized settlements with Startel Communication LLC, Wanda Hall, and Rapid Eagle Inc. — doing business as VoIP Essential Inc. These companies allegedly helped robocallers make over 4.8 million phone calls to Hoosiers and hundreds of millions of calls to other states across the United States. The alleged robocalls included a variety of scams, including IRS and Social Security Administration imposter scams, legal action or arrest scams, Apple support scams, and Amazon subscription scams. The settlements included civil penalties and injunctive terms. Rapid Eagle Inc. LLC agreed to follow state and federal laws on telephone privacy and pay $150,000 to the State of Indiana. Startel Communication LLC and Wanda Hall agreed to leave the robocalling and telecom industry forever.
- In March of 2022, Attorney General Rokita’s team settled with Piratel LLC — a California telecommunications company whose clients included the aforementioned Startel Communication LLC. The settlement resolved allegations that Piratel LLC had accepted money to essentially “look the other way” rather than act upon its knowledge that Startel facilitated robocalls. Piratel LLC agreed to follow state and federal laws on telephone privacy and pay $150,000 to the State of Indiana.
- In April of 2023, Attorney General Rokita's team settled with Greg Sheppard doing business as Connected Leads out of Chicago, Illinois for allegedly sending at least seven robocalls sent to Hoosiers on the Indiana Do Not Call List. The settlement included a judgment of $30,000 and other injunctive terms.
- In August of 2022, Attorney General Rokita announced that his team was leading The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force. The Task Force is a 51-state-member collective, led by the Attorneys General of Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio, which is focused on actively investigating and pursuing enforcement actions against various entities — currently, VoIP providers — in the robocall ecosystem that are identified as being responsible for significant volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocall traffic routed into and across the country.
- On behalf of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, Attorney General Rokita’s team in November of 2022 filed a petition to enforce a Civil Investigative Demand issued earlier that year to One Eye LLC. In May of 2023, the court ordered that One Eye LLC, its ownership group, and its successive company One Owl Telecom Inc. stop transmitting calls to: 1) phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry; 2) phone numbers on the Indiana Do Not Call List 3) phone numbers with an Indiana Area Code; and 4) Indiana residents.
- Co-leading a 49-attorney-general coalition, Attorney General Rokita filed a civil lawsuit in May of 2023 against Michael D. Lansky LLC — doing business as Avid Telecom — and others alleging violations of various state and federal telephone privacy and telemarketing laws. The complaint alleges that Avid Telecom sent or transmitted more than 7.5 billion calls to telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. This was the first enforcement action that arose out of the investigative efforts of the 51-member Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force. As of July 2023, the case remained pending.
- Attorney General Rokita and his team, along with six other states, prepare for trial in August of 2023 against Health Advisors of America Inc., Michael T. Smith and Scott Shapiro for their alleged role in one of the United States’ largest robocalling schemes. The complaint alleges defendants made 25 million calls to Hoosiers in 2019 and 2020, which included more than 13.5 million calls to people whose numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry and 5 million calls to Hoosiers on the Indiana Do Not Call List. In March of 2023, the Attorney General settled with John Spiller and Jakob Mears.
“Collaboration is a key component in investigating and prosecuting illegal robocallers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We will continue working with state and federal partners to combat this criminal activity and achieve positive outcomes for Hoosiers.”
Attorney General Todd Rokita and team win court victory affirming that juveniles accused of murder may be
tried as adults
Montez Ellington, who allegedly fired gunshots that killed teenaged girl, will be tried in adult criminal court
Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team recently prevailed in an Indiana Court of Appeals case over whether juveniles accused of serious crimes may be tried as adults — successfully arguing that violent offenders must be held accountable.
“In Indiana, we don’t believe in coddling criminal defendants,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Our office handles more than 1,000 criminal appeals cases each year, and we will continue working tirelessly to keep dangerous offenders off the streets. Hoosiers deserve to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods.”
The case decided by the Court of Appeals this week involved defendant Montez Ellington, now 17, who allegedly fired gunshots into a car at a gas station in 2021 — killing 15-year-old Chloe Carroll.
Attorney General Rokita thanked his team for their excellent work on behalf of Hoosiers — specifically naming Deputy Attorney General Ellen Meilaender and her supervisor, Angela Sanchez, who oversees the Criminal Appeals Division.
“Adult criminal courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate criminal charges filed against juveniles who have been waived out of the juvenile court system,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Thanks in part to our team’s strong efforts, the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed this important principle.”
The court’s decision is attached.
Attorney General Todd Rokita fights for Hoosier farmers and food consumers
Congress must prevent California from imposing radical agenda onto Indiana and other states
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently called on Congress to enact legislation preventing states such as California from dictating rules to farmers and ranchers in Indiana.
“California’s got every right to regulate agricultural practices within its own borders,” Attorney General Rokita said. “But it shouldn’t have the authority to impose restrictions on farmers here in Indiana. If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t recognize this basic reality, then Congress needs to take action.”
In a letter sent Wednesday to congressional leaders, Attorney General Rokita and other attorneys general call for passage of the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act — H.R.4417 in the U.S. House and S.2019 in the U.S. Senate.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a California law that outlaws the sale of pork originating from sows housed in less than 24 square feet — even if such pork comes from out-of-state producers.
Attorney General Rokita led a 26-state coalition in that case supporting the National Pork Producers Council and other petitioners contesting the California law.
“This law hurts Hoosier hog farmers by forcing them to change their livestock systems in order to sell to California markets,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Beyond that, it also hurts Indiana families everywhere by increasing the costs of bacon and ham at grocery stores.”
Some small- and medium-sized pork producers could be forced to go out of business. California buys about 13 percent of the nation’s pork.
Extending beyond the pork industry, the Supreme Court’s decision paves the way for California and other states to similarly impose their will pertaining to other types of livestock production — and even other types of industries altogether.
On a philosophical level, Attorney General Rokita said, the court’s decision flies in the face of American federalism and free enterprise.
In the letter to congressional leaders, Attorney General Rokita and the other attorneys general noted that U.S. farmers already follow prudent techniques in raising livestock.
“American farmers and ranchers raise massive amounts of animal protein as affordably and humanely as possible,” the letter states. “American farmers’ techniques have developed over generations to constitute global best practices. No other country raises anywhere near as much delicious and high-quality pork."
The letter is attached.
This case is not the only one in which Attorney General Rokita has stood strongly for the interests and liberties of Hoosier farmers. Among other things, he has led efforts to curtail federal bureaucrats from riding roughshod over farmers’ property rights through such power grabs as the EPA’s expansion of its own powers under the Water of the United States rule. In this scenario, the EPA has used a rule intended to apply to navigable waters as a blunt instrument with which to smash property rights anytime a ditch crossed a land parcel or heavy rains caused flooding.
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