The Indiana State Board of Education approved a new temporary, special education teaching license designed to help schools address the special education teacher shortage.

Mike Hosinski, 61, was set to appear in court Thursday, but waived his right to an initial hearing. Elkhart Superior Court Judge Teresa Cataldo set his next court date for late April and a bench trial for June 13.

The Indiana Department of Education launches a database to track schools’ spending of pandemic relief funding. The state health department shuts down vaccine and testing sites during the winter storm. And statewide COVID-19 cases are down.

Indiana schools are getting nearly $3 billion in federal coronavirus relief to help safely operate and make up for the instruction students missed out on. But public information on how local districts are spending it is inconsistent and often hard to find.

Indiana will spend $2 million to help fully license special education teachers by offering scholarships for required training and streamlining required coursework.

In the upcoming legislative session, the IDOE plans to request $20 million in funding to support STEM programs across the state.