Statehouse Update 4
Introduction
The Indiana General Assembly increased committee activities this week, which included hearing testimony, amending, and reporting bills out, as legislation moved through the House and Senate. Both chambers also ramped up second and third readings of bills and have started passing legislation to the opposite chamber for consideration. This pace will continue to increase as legislators work to meet the February 20 deadline for third readings. Generally, activity in the second chamber will begin after the third reading deadline. The current total of bills for this session remains nearly 1,250, of which our office is monitoring over 250 bills that could have an impact on University operations.
Governor Braun conducted his first State of the State address on January 29 and outlined his first-term agenda on a variety of issues including education, public safety, and tax relief. The state budget (HB 1001) continued through the legislative process this week as state executive agencies presented their respective portions of the Governor’s budget to the House Ways and Means Committee. The Governor’s budget recommendations serve as the starting point for the General Assembly to debate and amend during this long session.
This week President Mearns also traveled to the Statehouse to meet with policymakers, as well as host a reception to honor the Ball State alumni serving our state as members of the General Assembly and staff, as well as our students serving as interns during the 2025 legislative session.
Below is a sample of bills being tracked by Ball State Governmental Relations that moved during the last week. 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 1002 – Various Education Matters: Removes and repeals various education provisions and expired education provisions. Merges and amends provisions regarding fund distribution upon the termination of a charter and the cessation of a charter school. Amends the age eligibility for a member of a governing body. Establishes information that must be included in a consolidated audit by an organizer. Provides adult high schools are excluded from all cohort based graduation rate calculations except to the extent required under federal law. Amends the termination and notice requirements with regard to terminating a transportation program. Relocates a provision regarding trauma informed classroom instruction curriculum in teacher preparation programs. Provides that a provision that decreases state tuition support for failure to meet student instructional day. This bill passed out of the House Committee on Education (Yeas: 7, Nays: 4) and second reading. It is now eligible for a third reading vote on the House floor.
HB 1326 – Student and Teaching Scholarships: Provides that a student must be at least three years of age to qualify for a scholarship granting organization scholarship and removes income eligibility requirements. (Currently, the student must be at least four years of age to qualify and be a member of a household with a certain annual income.) Provides that applicants enrolled in a transition to teaching program after June 30, 2024, may qualify for certain scholarships if the applicant is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than 400% of the amount required for the applicant to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program. (Currently, the annual income threshold is $100,000 or less.) Permits the commission for higher education to use the remaining balance allocated to certain teaching scholarships or in certain teaching scholarship funds to fund additional specified teaching scholarships. This bill passed the House Education Committee (Yeas: 6, Nays: 4) and is now eligible for second reading on the House floor.
HB 1515 – Education and Higher Education Matters: Provides that accredited nonpublic schools are eligible to participate in the following: (1) The establishment of police departments. (2) The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher recruitment grants. (3) The principal institute. Provides that charter schools are eligible to receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher recruitment grants. Allows a parent of a choice scholarship student or an eligible choice scholarship school on behalf of a parent to petition the department of education to reconsider the eligibility of a choice scholarship student enrolled in the school if the parent has reason to believe that the student was determined ineligible due to enrollment data inaccuracies reported by a school. Provides that a student must be withdrawn from enrollment in a school corporation's virtual education program if the student accumulates 10 consecutive or 18 cumulative unexcused absences (instead of the number of unexcused absences sufficient to result in the student's classification as a habitual truant). Amends eligibility requirements for the high value workforce ready credit-bearing grant. Restricts a county, city, or town (unit) in using the unit's planning and zoning authority to regulate a school corporation's or charter school's use of school property. Provides the following regarding a charter school: (1) A charter school is a permitted use in all zoning districts. (2) A charter school's land use application must be processed by a unit on a first priority basis. This bill passed out of the House Committee on Education (Yeas: 7, Nays: 4) and is now eligible for second reading on the House floor.
HB 1520 – Professional Licensing: Removes the following licensing provisions: (1) hearing aid dealers; (2) auctioneers and auction companies; and (3) electrologists. Removes specific courses required for certain behavioral health licensure. Replaces specific courses required for certain behavioral health licensure with a requirement that the program be nationally accredited. Makes conforming changes. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
HB 1634 – Math Education: Requires each school corporation and charter middle school to automatically enroll a student who meets certain conditions in a middle school advanced math course. Allows a parent of a student to opt out of automatic enrollment. Allows a parent of a student who does not meet the conditions for automatic enrollment to opt the student into a middle school advanced math course. Establishes requirements regarding: (1) mathematics screening, evaluation, and intervention; and (2) teacher preparation program math curriculum and content. This bill was heard in the House Education Committee on January 29 and held for further consideration.
Senate Bills (SB)
SB 74 – Extension of Lifeline Law Immunity: Provides that an individual who is: (1) reasonably believed to be suffering from a health condition which is the direct result of alcohol consumption; and (2) assisted by a person who requested emergency medical assistance for the individual; is immune from prosecution for certain crimes. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law and second and third readings. It is now referred to the House for the next step of the legislative process.
SB 181 – Nurse Training in Trauma Informed Care: Requires the state board of nursing to adopt or amend rules to require trauma informed care training as part of the required curriculum for nursing education programs. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services and passed a third reading (Yeas: 49, Nays: 0). It will now move to the House for consideration.
SB 146 – Teacher Compensation: Requires the department of education to submit a report to the general assembly before November 1, 2025, that provides an analysis of the feasibility and cost of increasing school corporation employee health plan options. Creates the Indiana teacher recruitment program and fund. Provides 20 days of paid leave for a full-time teacher employed by a school corporation and 10 days of paid leave for a part-time teacher employed by a school corporation upon: (1) the birth of the teacher's child; (2) the birth of a child to the teacher's spouse; (3) the placement of a child for adoption with the teacher; or (4) the stillbirth of the teacher's child. Removes a prohibition on ranking teacher preparation programs. Beginning June 30, 2025: (1) increases the minimum salary for a teacher employed by a school corporation to $45,000 (current law requires $40,000); and (2) requires a school corporation to expend an amount for teacher compensation that is not less than 65% of state tuition support (current law requires 62%). Changes the name of the "teacher appreciation grant" to the "teacher incentivization grant". Amends the requirements regarding the teacher incentivization grant. Joins the interstate teacher mobility compact. This bill passed out of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee (Yeas: 11, Nays: 0) and Senate Appropriations Committee (Yeas: 13, Nays: 0). It is now eligible for second reading on the Senate floor.
SB 235 – Limitations on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Establishes prohibitions and requirements on state agencies, recipients of state contracts or grants, state educational institutions, and health profession licensing boards regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. Allows the attorney general to bring an action concerning noncompliance against a state educational institution. Establishes: (1) requirements regarding a standardized admissions test; and (2) requirements regarding altering academic standards; for postsecondary educational institutions that offer certain health education programs. This bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary (Yeas: 8, Nays: 2) and is now eligible for second reading on the Senate floor.
SB 255 – Education Matters: Requires the department of education to grant an initial practitioner license to an individual who: (1) holds a bachelor's degree with a major in any combination of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; (2) successfully completes a total of at least nine academic credits regarding certain instruction in teaching; and (3) meets other specified requirements. Requires a principal to allow a student who is enrolled in a public secondary school to receive religious instruction for a period or periods that do not exceed the amount of time that is equivalent to attending one elective course at the public secondary school during the week. (Current law provides for a period or periods of not more than 120 minutes in total in any week.) Changes certain requirements regarding the reporting of a bullying "incident" to the reporting of a bullying "investigation". Requires discipline rules to include a provision to make a reasonable attempt to notify both the parent of a targeted student and the parent of an alleged perpetrator that the school is investigating a possible incident of bullying before the end of the calendar day on which the school is made aware of the possible incident of bullying. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development (Yeas: 11, Nays: 0) and second and third readings. It is now referred to the House for the next step of the legislative process.
SB 285 – Comparative College and Career Information: Tasks the commission for higher education (commission) and the department of workforce development with collecting and compiling certain information concerning: (1) postsecondary education; (2) career and technical education; (3) workforce qualifications; (4) workforce earnings; and (5) workforce debt. Requires the commission to create an interactive website known as the student horizon dashboard to provide public access to certain collected and compiled information. Requires the commission, with assistance from the department of education and the department of workforce development, to create a report known as the student graduate horizon scorecard (scorecard) for annual distribution. Specifies that the scorecard must contain certain information concerning high paying civilian and military careers and in demand jobs. Requires the commission to prepare an annual report for the legislative council. Requires state educational institutions and career and technical education centers to collect and provide information as requested by the commission. This bill passed the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development (Yeas: 12, Nays: 1) and is now reassigned to the Committee on Appropriations.
SB 289 – Nondiscrimination in Employment and Education: Requires a school corporation, charter school, state agency, and political subdivision to post on its website certain training and curricular materials concerning nondiscrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex, and bias. Provides that a school corporation, charter school, state agency, or political subdivision may not: (1) require or otherwise compel a student of the school corporation or charter school or an employee to affirm, adopt, or adhere to certain beliefs or concepts; or (2) use public funds to contract with, hire, or otherwise engage consultants, trainers, or other persons to take certain actions to promote the beliefs or concepts. Provides that a school corporation, charter school, state agency, political subdivision, or an employee of a school corporation, charter school, state agency, or political subdivision may not, in the course or scope of public service or employment, promote, embrace, or endorse stereotypes. Establishes a process for an employee, a parent, or an emancipated student to file a complaint of a violation. Allows the attorney general to file an action for mandate to compel a school corporation, charter school, state agency, or political subdivision to comply with certain requirements. This bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary (Yeas: 7, Nays: 3) and is now eligible for second reading on the Senate floor.
SB 472 – Cybersecurity: Requires political subdivisions, state agencies, school corporations, and state educational institutions (public entities), with the exception of specified categories of hospitals, to adopt not later than December 31, 2025, a: (1) technology resources policy; and (2) cybersecurity policy; that meet specified requirements. Requires the office of technology (office) to develop: (1) standards and guidelines regarding cybersecurity for use by political subdivisions and state educational institutions; and (2) a uniform cybersecurity policy for use by state agencies. Requires the office to develop, in collaboration with the department of education: (1) a uniform technology resources policy governing use of technology resources by the employees of school corporations; and (2) a uniform cybersecurity policy for use by school corporations. Requires: (1) a public entity to biennially submit to the office the cybersecurity policy adopted by the public entity; and (2) the office to establish a procedure for collecting and maintaining a record of submitted cybersecurity policies. Establishes: (1) the cybersecurity insurance program (program) for the purpose of providing coverage to a participating government entity for losses incurred by the government entity as a result of a cybersecurity incident; and (2) the cybersecurity insurance board (board) to administer the program. Provides that coverage for losses incurred by a participating government entity as a result of a cybersecurity incident are paid under the program from premiums paid into a trust fund by participating government entities. Provides that the board shall contract with cybersecurity professionals who can be dispatched by the board to assist a participating government entity in the event of a cybersecurity incident. Provides that fines recovered by the attorney general for any of the following violations are deposited in the trust fund: (1) Failure of an adult oriented website to implement or properly use a reasonable age verification method. (2) Failure of a data base owner to safeguard personal information of Indiana residents. (3) Failure of a data base owner to disclose or provide notice of a security breach. (4) Violation of consumer data protection law. Makes an appropriation. This bill passed out of the Senate Commerce and Technology Committee (Yeas: 11, Nays: 0) and is now referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Looking Ahead
Next week we can expect the General Assembly to continue to increase committee activity, hold second and third readings, and pass bills from one chamber to another. We will continue to monitor important legislation and provide weekly updates.
