Attorney General Todd Rokita launches
‘Eyes on Education’ portal to further empower parents
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently launched Eyes on Education, a transparency portal to empower parents to further engage in their children’s education by providing a platform to submit and view potentially inappropriate materials in their schools.
“As I travel the state, I regularly hear from students, parents and teachers about destructive curricula, policies or programs in our schools,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Our kids need to focus on fundamental educational building blocks, NOT ideology that divides kids from their parents and normal society. The media and schools themselves have continued to deny that this indoctrination is happening here in Indiana, so my office is launching Eyes on Education — a platform for students and parents to submit and view real examples of socialist indoctrination from classrooms across the state.”
Here are several examples live on the portal already, including:
- A gender support plan from Clark-Pleasant Community School Corp., which directs faculty not to disclose any information that reveals a student's gender identity to others, including to their parents or guardians.
- A pride flag featuring a Black Lives Matter symbol in a classroom in Kokomo. (Black Lives Matter is a political organization. If classrooms choose to display this type of material, all other political organizations must have the same opportunity.)
- A Carmel Clay survey that asks students their political beliefs, including their stance on abortion.
- A presentation from Martinsville High School instructing kids to “become emotionally independent of parents”
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Race and gender-based college fairs and scholarships at Penn Harris Madison School Corporation.
The Office of the Attorney General will follow up on materials you submit to the portal that may violate Indiana law using investigative tools, including public records requests, and publish findings on the portal as well.
Beyond K-12 classrooms, the Eyes on Education portal also accepts submissions involving colleges, universities and other affiliated academic entities in Indiana.
From the start, Attorney General Rokita has consistently prioritized empowering parents — from creating and publishing the Parents’ Bill of Rights to stopping federal authorities’ investigation of parents deemed excessively vocal at school board meetings and other venues. The new portal continues that mission.
“We not only want to help empower parents,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We also want to help empower excellent educators. In some cases, district bureaucrats suppress the conscientious efforts of caring and well-qualified teachers. Our portal is a place where educators, too, can submit examples of materials they find objectionable.”
Visit our website in.gov/attorneygeneral and select ‘Eyes on Education’ to submit examples or view others from around the state.
To submit to the portal, select the school corporation, name of the school, and upload your documents. Upon submission, someone from our office may contact you for additional information or clarification. Submissions to the portal will be reviewed and published regularly.
Attorney General Todd Rokita opens doors
for neglected Hoosier tenants
Attorney General Todd Rokita and the Homeowner Protection team recently announced a settlement with the owners of Willow Brook Gardens Apartments, Wellington Apartments, and Briergate Apartments in Indianapolis after their poor treatment of renters.
Todd Rokita’s team jumped on this issue when it was initially reported in order to improve the rights and living conditions of the tenants.
“Our mission is to protect the rights of all people involved in the housing market, including tenants, homeowners, and aspiring homeowners, by investigating deceptive acts involving mortgage lending violations,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We strive to ensure equal access to housing opportunities for regular, everyday Hoosiers. I’m very proud of my team for the good results they continue to achieve.”
The owners of the apartment complexes agreed to the following:
- A payment of $70,000 in rent credits to current tenant accounts based on a review of health department notices, rental account discrepancies, consumer complaints, and related maintenance requests. Eligible tenants at Willow Brook, Wellington, and Briergate will be separately notified by mail of their eligibility and 101 eligible tenant accounts will be automatically credited in amounts ranging between $250 - $2,000 within thirty days of entry of the agreement.
- A total of $20,000 in additional restitution for complainants will be allocated by the Attorney General’s Office following a review of consumer complaints and the alleged harm. Complainants who are eligible for additional restitution will be directly notified by mail of their eligibility.
- The dismissal and expungement of over 150 prior eviction proceedings conducted in Warren and Washington Township Small Claims Courts. Prior tenants of Willow Brook, Wellington, or Briergate do not need to act in order to be eligible for this relief. Cases impacted are listed in Appendix A to the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance.
- A two-year compliance monitoring period in which the Unit will receive ongoing reports related to maintenance and open health department cases.
Litigation against the remaining defendants remains pending. If impacted consumers have questions about the current settlement, they can contact Homeowner Protection Unit at [email protected].
“We work closely with law enforcement agencies at all levels to ensure justice is served and homeowners and tenants are protected,” Attorney General Rokita said. “I encourage Hoosiers to contact our office about any suspected scams or scam attempts.”
Consumers can file a complaint by visiting indianaconsumer.com or calling 1-800-382-5516.
Attorney General Todd Rokita fights back
against deceptive drug advertiser, Publicis
Opioid settlements alone total $925 million under Rokita Administration - a record for the state
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Indiana will receive over $7.6 million from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis.
In agreeing to the terms of the settlement, Publicis recognized the harm its conduct caused, and the agreement will give communities hit hardest by the opioid crisis more financial support for treatment and recovery, building lasting infrastructure, and saving lives.
The company will also disclose on a public website thousands of internal documents detailing its work for opioid companies like Purdue Pharma and will stop accepting client work related to opioid-based Schedule II or other Schedule II narcotics.
“The deception by Publicis and big pharma in this case is astonishing, but it’s sadly what we continue to witness over and over again,” Attorney General Rokita said. “The company refused to take human life into consideration when they falsely marketed many prescription drugs to patients and doctors.”
Today’s filings describe how Publicis’ work contributed to the crisis by helping Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids.
Court documents detail how Publicis acted as Purdue’s agency of record for all its branded opioid drugs, including OxyContin, even developing sales tactics that relied on farming data from recordings of personal health-related in-office conversations between patients and providers. The company was also instrumental in Purdue’s decision to market OxyContin to providers on patient’s electronic health records.
Purdue Pharma, with the help of Publicis, disseminated these drugs to healthcare providers, patients, and policymakers without full disclosure. Their dishonest conduct resulted in a dramatic rise in opioid prescriptions across the United States, which led to a devastating increase in opioid abuse, dependence, addiction, and overdose deaths.
These deaths—and the impacts on thousands who have struggled with opioid addiction—have created considerable costs for our health care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems. More significant than the dollars and cents in damage to our state, the impact on opioid addition, substance use, and overdose deaths have torn families apart, damaged relationships, and devastated communities.
Attorney General Rokita has made it a priority to combat the opioid crisis by fighting back against multiple pharmaceutical companies who are harming everyday Hoosiers. Opioid settlements alone total $925 million under the Rokita administration – a record for the state.
“Hoosiers have watched their friends and family members suffer and even die from drug abuse,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Far too many of these overdoses are directly related to misinformation spread by Publicis. Our office values life above all other things, and this company needs to be held accountable. I know it doesn't bring our loved ones back, but it’s the only way we can prevent similar practices from happening in the future.”
A copy of the consent judgment is attached.
Attorney General Todd Rokita leads fight to
protect civilian access to ammunition
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently led several states in defending Second Amendment liberties against radical efforts to restrict civilian access to legally manufactured ammunition.
“The right to keep and bear arms is foundational to protecting all the rest of our liberties from the long arm of government overreach,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Regular law-abiding Hoosiers know that our office will fight to defend this right to our last breath.”
On Jan. 9, 2024 Democratic attorneys general sent a letter to the White House demanding an “investigation” into a specific ammunition manufacturer — Lake City Army Ammunition Plant — in order “to ensure that military-grade and military-subsidized ammunition stays out of civilian hands.”
If the U.S. military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, however, then other widely and commonly available ammunition — including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells — would also be prohibited for public use.
“A tyrant’s tactic is to chip away at liberties little by little,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Americans cannot exercise their constitutionally protected right to use their firearms without access to ammunition. That’s why we’re taking a strong stand.”
In their own letter to the White House, Attorney General Rokita and several joining states pledged “to take any and every action necessary to defend our citizens’ Second Amendment rights.” Perpetrators of gun violence should be punished—not the firearm and ammunition manufacturers.
“The anti-gun radicals leading this effort are not interested in public safety, “Attorney General Rokita said. “We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law abiding patriots” Attorney General Rokita said. “The federal government’s failure to secure our border and protect Americans is exactly why citizens need the liberty to defend themselves.”
There is an additional and important benefit to protecting civilian access to this company’s products. By keeping this military contractor and its 1,700 workers operating at maximum capacity, the civilian law-abiding gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness.
“The geopolitical threats to America’s national security have never been greater,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Rather than penalize the law-abiding civilian gun owners doing business with military contractors, we should give them medals.”
Attorney General Rokita’s letter is attached.
Attorney General Todd Rokita fires off legal opinion in
support of Hoosiers’ Second Amendment rights
Attorney General Todd Rokita is defending Hoosiers’ Second Amendment rights in a legal opinion requested by the Indiana State Police regarding the FBI’s misunderstanding of Indiana law.
“In Indiana, we believe expungement restores civil rights, including Hoosiers’ Second Amendment rights,” Attorney General Rokita said. “America values justice and liberty for all, and this includes reinstating the right to vote, hold public office, serve as a juror, and purchase a firearm.”
The FBI has denied the right of Hoosiers who have successfully had specific categories of felony convictions expunged in Indiana courts to purchase or possess firearms.
Each state has its own list of criminal records that can be expunged. What is eligible for expungement depends on the state – not the FBI.
The Legislature has spoken unequivocally as to what categories of felonies are eligible for expungement consideration, and Indiana’s expungement process does NOT apply to the following felonies:
- a sex or violent offender
- a person convicted of official misconduct
- a person convicted of any homicide offense
- a person convicted of any human and sex trafficking offense
- a person convicted of any sex crime offense
- a person convicted of two or more felony offenses that involved the unlawful use of a deadly weapon and were not committed as part of the same episode of criminal conduct
- a person convicted of a felony that resulted in the death of another person
These exceptions aim to keep people safe from violent felons obtaining weapons while also preserving the rights of those who have had more minor crimes erased or expunged from their criminal record.
“Our legislators are voted in by regular, everyday Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “They take on issues important to the public while ensuring they follow the U.S. and Indiana constitutions. Any limitations on owning or purchasing a firearm must be very narrow and clearly justified to avoid the violation to our Second Amendment rights.”
Guy Relford, an Indiana attorney, radio host, author, Certified Firearms Instructor, and founder of The2AProject.com also submitted feedback in support of Attorney General Rokita’s Opinion.
"Bureaucrats in Washington have repeatedly attempted to thwart the clear intention of the Indiana General Assembly to restore the right to possess a firearm of persons who have earned the opportunity to expunge their felony convictions,” Relford said. “In that process, I believe that the FBI and the federal Department of Justice have intentionally mischaracterized and misinterpreted our expungement statute so as to wrongfully deny the Second Amendment rights of Hoosiers. Official Opinion 2024-1, issued today by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, clarifies our expungement statute and demonstrates Indiana's continued fight to protect the Second Amendment rights of Indiana residents against the constant onslaught on those rights by the federal government.”
Attorney General Rokita's Office released the Gun Owners’ Bill of Rights in 2022 to ensure law-abiding Hoosiers fully understand their Second Amendment rights, including the right to purchase and own firearms in cases of expungement.
A copy of the Opinion is attached.
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