Statehouse Update 9
Introduction
The General Assembly reconvened on Monday, February 16, to continue its legislative activities for the 2026 Legislative Session. This week, the House and Senate held its final committee hearings, conducted second and third readings, and started concurrence votes.
After a bill passes out of the second chamber, if there are changes made in that chamber, it is returned to its chamber of origin. If the author agrees with those changes and files a motion to concur, the bill moves to a floor vote to approve the latest version of the bill. If the bill’s author disagrees with the changes, a motion to dissent is filed, and the bill is referred to a conference committee to negotiate the differences. The conference committee report must then be voted on by both chambers before moving to the Governor’s office for either signature or veto.
The third reading deadline for both chambers remains February 24, which means that legislation not voted on by that date will be considered dead for this session. Additionally, the General Assembly is scheduled to Sine Die on Friday, February 27, which will officially end the 2026 Legislative Session. Next week, both chambers will be focused on finishing second and third readings, concurrence votes, and conference committees.
Approximately 230 bills remain active of the almost 750 bills originally introduced at the beginning of session, and the Ball State Governmental Relations team continues to track almost 50 bills with potential impacts to University operations.
Below is a sample of the bills being followed by Ball State. If you have questions about these or other bills that you may have heard about, please contact the Office of Governmental Relations at gov@bsu.edu.
Bills That Moved
House Bills (HB)
HB 1004 – Various Education Matters: Makes changes to various education provisions concerning the following: (1) Certain school corporation accounting requirements. (2) The "nonpublic school" definition. (3) Recodification and state board of education (state board) transition provisions. (4) The state board's duties. (5) Powers of the governing bodies of school corporations. (6) Public-private agreements by charter schools for the construction or renovation of schools. (7) Adoption of certain rules by the state board. (8) Department of education's (department) duties regarding initiatives for teacher recruitment and retention of certain educators. (9) Regular teacher's contract requirements for principals and assistant principals. (10) Graduation plan requirements. (11) Instruction on alcoholic beverages, tobacco, prescription drugs, and controlled substances. (12) Recognition program criteria application. (13) Reporting on certain student expenditure information. (14) Excused absences. (15) Automated external defibrillator (AED) requirements. (16) Grant awards from the Indiana secured school fund. (17) Joint meetings of governing bodies of school corporations. (18) The borrowing of money by school corporations for certain hardware. Relocates a provision regarding certain possession and storage of a firearm educational materials from the department to the department of homeland security. Allows use of temporary teacher contracts for teachers who have been issued an emergency permit. Removes or repeals various education and higher education provisions concerning the following: (1) Expired and expiring provisions. (2) Duties, discretionary actions, and restrictions regarding the department. (3) Posting of certain information by schools. (4) Discretionary display of certain words by qualified districts. (5) Academic receivership. (6) Staff performance evaluations regarding Indianapolis Public Schools. (7) Certain powers of governing bodies of school corporations. (8) Certain student teaching agreement requirements with postsecondary educational institutions. (9) Certain discretionary authority of school corporations regarding joining regional school study councils, distributing payroll based on contractual and compensation plans, and establishing and using funds for nursery schools. (10) Spending restrictions for remediation programs. (11) Certain website posting requirements for school corporations and charter schools. (12) Reporting regarding students who meet certain requirements during their expected graduation year. (13) Discretion regarding certain feasibility studies. (14) Certain rights and privileges of teachers employed in a joint program or special education cooperatives or with regard to certain interlocal cooperation agreements. (15) Joint investment funds. (16) Application of certain laws to joint programs. (17) Establishment of certain students as transfer students. (18) Discretion regarding employee health coverage for certain individuals. (19) Notification to the secretary of education by a superintendent regarding a conviction or certain final actions. (20) References to an online platform for training. (21) Reports regarding adjunct teachers. (22) Teacher contract requirements regarding the number of work hours per day. (23) Voiding of contracts with teachers if certain conditions apply. (24) Regular teacher's contract requirement for principals, assistant principals, and directors of special education. (25) The provision of certain individual test scores regarding examinations required for teacher licensure. (26) The definition of "secondary school" regarding the federal teacher loan forgiveness program. (27) The definition of "deficit financing" with regard to the Gary Community School Corporation and the Muncie Community school corporation. (28) Allowing instruction on bullying prevention and child abuse by certain individuals. (29) Timing of statewide assessment requirements for state accredited nonpublic schools and eligible schools. (30) Requirement that the department make available certain diagnostic tools. (31) Discretionary portfolio programs by governing bodies of school corporations. (32) Allowing expulsion if a student's legal settlement is not in an attendance area. (33) Report requirement by the education commission of the states. (34) Duty of a school corporation to preserve instructional programs. (35) The primary care physician loan forgiveness program. (36) Required payments by postsecondary credit bearing proprietary educational institutions regarding cost of performing team onsite investigations. (37) Indiana excellence in teaching endowment. (38) Listing of funds established outside certain education provisions. Repeals and relocates education provisions regarding programs administered by the state with the following changes: (1) Removes or repeals the following: (A) Dissemination of certain information regarding the teacher referral system. (B) Expired provisions. (C) Certain uses of the Senator David C. Ford educational technology fund. (D) The technology plan grant program and requirements. (E) School social worker qualification requirements. (F) An annual report regarding system of teacher and student advancement grants. (G) The Indiana education residency pilot program. (H) A biannual progress report regarding the next level computer science program and fund. (I) A noncompliance and transfer of responsibility provision regarding the next level computer science program and fund. (2) Amends certain requirements regarding the process for evaluating curricular materials. Makes conforming changes. This bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee (Yeas: 8, Nays: 3) and is now eligible for second reading amendments on the Senate floor.
HB 1266 – Department of Education and Education Matters: Makes various changes to education provisions concerning the following: (1) Schools eligible for grants from the Indiana secured school fund, teacher appreciation grants, grants under the robotics competition program, and funding for certain advanced placement examinations and Cambridge International courses. (2) Creating and updating a list of employers that have agreed to provide career support for or interview Indiana residents who graduate with an Indiana diploma with an employment honors plus seal. (3) Creating a teaching and learning framework for the implementation of mathematics academic standards. (4) Development of a data science math pathway. (5) Submission of a report to the general assembly concerning recommendations on strategies to support academically and fiscally underperforming schools, and interventions as necessary. (6) Evaluating, approving, and publishing high quality curricular materials time lines. (7) Local board membership for a local centralized school facilities board and local student transportation board. (8) Salary differentiation regarding teachers who possess a literacy endorsement. (9) Amounts expended in participating in an interlocal agreement included in determining amounts school corporations expend on full-time teacher salaries for purposes of teacher salary minimum funding requirements. (10) Summer school program and reimbursement administration. (11) Criteria required for eligibility of a waiver for conducting four day school weeks. (12) Oversight of career and technical education program designation. (13) Uses of teacher appreciation grants. (14) The calculation of operating referendum distributions and school safety referendum distributions to charter schools with regard to virtual instruction. (15) Petitions regarding reconsidering payments of choice scholarships. (16) Eligibility for teacher appreciation grants by the department of correction. (17) Membership of the board for proprietary education. (18) The effective date regarding the changes to the definition of "eligible choice scholarship student". (19) Career specialist permit eligibility. Provides that an emergency permit may be renewed up to two times to an individual enrolled in an alternative teacher certification program if the program provides documentation verifying the individual's good standing in the program to the department of education. Creates a new qualification option for a transition to teaching program participant who seeks to obtain a license to teach in grades 5 through 12. Provides that: (1) state accredited nonpublic schools; and (2) nonpublic schools that are accredited by a national or regional accreditation agency that is recognized by the state board of education; are eligible to participate in the teacher residency grant pilot program. Removes a provision that provides that the department may not release less than 10 items per subject matter level per grade level regarding the statewide summative assessment. Removes a requirement that for a parent or student to use a career scholarship account (CSA) annual grant amount for costs related to transportation a CSA participating entity must pay a matching amount for the transportation costs. Repeals certain provisions concerning postsecondary career and technical education. This bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee (Yeas: 12, Nays: 0) and is now eligible for second reading amendments on the Senate floor.
HB 1278 – Nursing Education Programs: Requires the Indiana State Nurses Association, any time there is a vacancy or expiration of a term on the board of nursing, to recommend to the governor a list of qualified nurses for appointment. (Current law requires the Indiana State Nurses Association to recommend the list when there is a vacancy on the board.) Allows an institution that has been operating an eligible nursing program for at least five years to increase the enrollment in any eligible nursing program at any rate the institution considers appropriate. This bill passed third reading (Yeas: 45, Nays: 0) on the Senate floor and is now eligible for concurrence vote in the House.
HB 1360 – Access to Public Records: Allows a public agency to establish and maintain an electronic portal for submission of public records requests that: (1) incorporates CAPTCHA or an equivalent mechanism for ensuring that a requestor is a human; (2) requires verification of a requestor's physical address; (3) indicates to the public agency whether the requestor is a resident of Indiana; and (4) automatically logs and reports submissions suspected to be automated or to have originated from known sources of phishing or data scraping. Provides that a public agency may decline to respond to a public records request that is submitted to the public agency electronically if the public agency suspects: (1) the request to be data scraping or phishing activity; or (2) that responding to the request electronically may: (A) expose the public agency's electronic systems or data to unauthorized access or alteration; or (B) otherwise jeopardize the security of the public agency's electronic systems or data. Provides that the public agency must report: (1) the request to which the public agency declined to respond; and (2) the public agency's reason for declining to respond; to the public access counselor not later than seven days after the public agency receives the request. Allows a public agency to collect a supplemental fee for processing public records requests submitted by non-Indiana residents or out-of-state entities. Allows a public agency to give priority in fulfilling public records requests to: (1) Indiana residents; and (2) requests submitted for civic, journalistic, academic, or personal use. Requires public agencies to report to the public access counselor regarding public records requests suspected of being automated, data scraping activity, or phishing activity (suspect public records requests). Provides that the general assembly may establish reasonable and narrowly tailored procedural safeguards to preserve the integrity and availability of public agency resources. Requires the public access counselor to: (1) take specified actions with regard to identifying excessive and suspect public records requests; and (2) include in the public access counselor's annual report: (A) information regarding the volume and nature of public records requests received by public agencies, including information regarding suspect public records requests reported by public agencies; and (B) recommendations to the general assembly regarding statutory or administrative remedies to excessive and suspect public records requests. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Commerce and Technology (Yeas: 10, Nays: 0) and is now eligible for second reading amendments on the Senate floor.
Senate Bills (SB)
SB 76 – Immigration Matters: Provides that if a law enforcement officer, governmental body, or postsecondary educational institution is made a party to a civil suit and the attorney general determines that the suit has arisen out of certain immigration matters, the attorney general may defend the law enforcement officer, the governmental body, or the postsecondary educational institution if representation is requested and the actions subject to the suit do not violate federal or state law. Provides that the prohibition on governmental bodies or postsecondary educational institutions limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration law applies regardless of whether the enforcement related activity is carried out by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency. Removes the mens rea standard in the statute concerning governmental bodies or postsecondary institutions violating the citizenship and immigration status information and enforcement of federal laws chapter. Provides that if the attorney general determines that probable cause exists that a governmental entity has not complied with certain requests, the attorney general may bring a court action to: (1) enjoin an act or practice constituting a violation; (2) impose a civil penalty for noncompliance; and (3) and obtain other such relief as is necessary. Provides that before bringing an action against a county jail for certain violations, the attorney general shall consult with the department of correction concerning the most recent inspection report and provide the county jail with notice of the attorney general's probable cause determination. Provides that a governmental body that has the custody of an individual who is the subject of an immigration detainer request shall: (1) provide the judge authorized to grant or deny the individual's release on bail notice that the individual is subject to an immigration detainer request; (2) record in the individual's case file that the individual is subject to an immigration detainer request; (3) comply with the immigration detainer request; and (4) inform the individual that the individual is being held pursuant to an immigration detainer request. Provides immunity to a governmental body or an employee of a governmental body for any action taken concerning an immigration detainer request as long as the action does not violate federal or civil law. Requires a judge who receives notice that an individual is subject to an immigration detainer request to ensure that the notice of the immigration detainer request is recorded in the court's record. Provides that the department of correction shall, in consultation with the attorney general, identify options for training concerning minimum standards for county jails. Provides that compliance with certain standards and the results of an inspection do not preclude and are not a defense to the attorney general bringing an action under IC 5-2-18.2. Provides that the department shall submit to the state budget committee status update reports. Requires the office of the secretary to submit a report to the legislative council concerning certain immigration matters. Provides that each hospital shall, not more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the end of each calendar quarter, file with the state department beginning January 1, 2027, in cases where Medicaid is the patient's payor, the form of identification, if any, used by the patient when the patient was admitted. Specifies that it is unlawful for an employer to knowingly or intentionally recruit, hire, or continue to employ an unauthorized alien in Indiana. Allows the attorney general to bring an enforcement action against an employer if the attorney general determines that probable cause exists that the employer has violated certain recruitment and hiring restrictions concerning an unauthorized alien. Prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee because the employee communicated or cooperated with the attorney general. Provides that indecent nuisance means a place in which human trafficking is conducted and is not limited to a public place. Provides that a governmental entity that employs a prosecuting official is entitled to investigative costs, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in an indecent nuisance action if the existence of an indecent nuisance is admitted or established in the action. Makes technical changes. This bill passed third reading in the House (Yeas: 61, Nays: 28) and is now eligible for a concurrence vote in the Senate.
SB 88 – Various Education Matters: Amends good citizenship instruction requirements. Includes the Classic Learning Test in certain references to nationally recognized college entrance examinations. Requires a state educational institution (SEI) to accept the Classic Learning Test examination to the same extent the SEI accepts the ACT or SAT examination with respect to admission criteria. This bill passed the House Education Committee (Yeas: 7, Nays: 3) and is now eligible for second reading amendments on the House floor.
SB 199 – Various Education Matters: Makes changes to the composition of the case review panel established by an interscholastic athletic association. Requires the secretary of education, not later than December 1, 2026, to identify key metrics and activities concerning civic literacy and to submit the information to the general assembly. Requires the secretary of education, not later than December 1, 2026, to identify and make certain recommendations concerning paid leave for employees following certain events and to submit the findings to the general assembly. Provides that certain requirements apply to schools in which, over the course of three consecutive years, fewer than 75% of students achieved a valid passing score on the determinant evaluation of reading skills. Requires the commission for higher education (commission), not later than December 1, 2026, to evaluate accrediting agencies of state educational institutions and to report the commission's findings and recommendations to the general assembly. Provides that state educational institutions with degree programs that meet the definition of a low earning outcome program under federal law must request approval from the commission to continue the degree program. Establishes requirements and restrictions regarding adolescent use of social media. Makes a violation of the requirements and restrictions a deceptive act. This bill passed third reading (Yeas: 67, Nays: 28) on the House floor and is now scheduled for conference committee.
SB 204 – Various Education Matters: Provides that an individual who has obtained a license to teach in a charter school may be eligible to obtain an initial practitioner professional educator license under certain conditions. Removes a requirement that an individual must hold a bachelor's degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics as a component of certain pathways to receive an initial practitioner license. Provides that academic needs based salary increases may not: (1) apply to all eligible teachers in a bargaining unit uniformly; or (2) be based on certain other factors. Repeals the: (1) state educational institution (institution) annual report to the legislative council (council) and commission for higher education (commission) concerning financial aid; (2) commission report to the general assembly concerning certain institution information; (3) student athlete cardiac arrest provisions; and (4) Ivy Tech Community College report to the budget committee concerning campus information. Expires certain physical facilities reporting requirements on June 30, 2029. Provides that a state educational institution that has been denied approval to continue a degree program may: (1) permit students to enroll in the degree program until June 1 of the year following the denial; and (2) provide students enrolled in the degree program with the opportunity to finish their degree prior to the degree program's closure. Requires the commission to submit an annual report concerning degree program closures to the general assembly. Changes the reporting of disclosable gifts to January 31 and July 31 of a given year (current law requires disclosure on January 1 and July 1 of a given year). Changes certain amounts concerning construction, land purchases, and repair and rehabilitation by an institution to $3,000,000. Voids a provision in the Indiana Administrative Code. Requires each institution to submit a report annually to the budget committee and the commission for higher education listing certain capital projects for the immediately preceding full calendar year that did not receive review by the commission. Specifies the contents of the report. Provides that a student enrolled in a health profession education program may not be required to receive an immunization as a condition of: (1) participating in; or (2) obtaining; clinical training or clinical experience required by the program if a parent of the student or student objects on religious grounds. Adds requirements regarding the principles of the core transfer library. This bill passed the House Ways and Means Committee (Yeas: 15, Nays: 8) and is now eligible for second reading amendments on the House floor.
Looking Ahead
The General Assembly is scheduled to return on Monday, February 23, for the final week of legislative activities for the 2026 Legislative Session. Our office will continue to monitor events and provide a final update upon the conclusion of session.
