Indiana GOP lawmaker apologizes for remark on Black students

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A top Republican Indiana legislator on education policy has apologized for comments suggesting Black students don’t perform better academically because they lack “respect for learning.”

House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning of Indianapolis made the remark last week while pointing out that just 30 out of 1,000 Black students in the Indianapolis Public Schools system passed both the English and math portions of the state’s ILEARN standardized exam last year.

He said many factors could be involved, saying “poverty impacts that for sure, having a respect for learning." Behning apologized Monday in a statement to The Indianapolis Star. A leader of the Indianapolis Urban League called the remark “offensive.”