Statehouse Update

Statehouse Update

February 3, 2023

The IU State Relations team has reviewed every bill that has been introduced at the Statehouse, and determined if and how the bill could impact the university. This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills the team is tracking and that moved during the fourth week of session.  

House Bills 

HB 1002: Education and workforce matters 
Passed House Education 8-4 and recommitted to House Ways and Means Committee 
 
The bill aims to "reinvent" high school by providing more job training to students in order to address skills gaps and employee shortages. The legislation would create career scholarship accounts to pay for students in grades 10-12 to take apprenticeships directly from employers. It would also change graduation requirements and allow students to use money from the 21st Century Scholars and Frank O'Bannon Grant programs on job training instead.  
 

HB 1449: Twenty-first century scholars program enrollment 
Passed House Education 11-0 and recommitted to House Ways and Means Committee. Indiana University testified on behalf of itself, and the other state educational institutions, affirming support for the bill and our collective efforts on helping 21st Century Scholars persist year to year and complete a program of on-time study with a degree or credential. 
 
The bill allows the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indiana Department of Education to identify eligible students for automatic enrollment in the 21st Century Scholars program with an opt-out provision. 
 

HB 1528: Transition to teaching 
Passed House Education 13-0 and recommitted to House Ways and Means Committee 
 
The bill allows an individual enrolled in an alternative teacher certification program to apply for a one-time $10,000 scholarship under the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship program. It requires an applicant to possess a baccalaureate degree, agree to obtain an initial practitioner license and teach at a qualifying school for five years. 
 

HB 1637: Teacher education programs 
Passed House Education 13-0 and recommitted to House Ways and Means Committee 
 
The bill increases the annual Next Generation Hoosier Educators (NextGen) Scholarship amount, from $7,500 to $10,000; the William A. Crawford Minority Teacher Scholarship amount, from $4,000 to $10,000; and the Earline S. Rogers Student Teaching Scholarship for Minority Students, from $4,000 to $5,000. It adds requirements that a William A. Crawford minority teacher scholarship recipient must maintain for eligibility, and it removes the 200 new applicant per year limit on the NextGen scholarship. 

Senate Bills 

SB 35: Financial Literacy 
Passed Senate 47-2 
 
The bill provides that, beginning with the cohort of students who are expected to graduate from a public school, a charter school or a state-accredited non-public school in 2028, an individual must successfully complete a personal financial responsibility course before graduating high school. The bill also creates requirements for content that must be covered in the course. 
 

SB 38: Donation of income tax refund for cancer research 
Passed Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy 13-0 and engrossed on 2nd Reading 
 
The bill establishes the Senator David C. Ford cancer research account within the Indiana health care account and allows taxpayers to designate all or a part of their state income tax refunds to be paid over to the Ford account. The monies collected shall then be equally shared between the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research. 
 

SB 56: Armed forces reservist tuition supplement program fund 
Passed Senate Veterans Affairs and the Military 9-0 and recommitted to Senate Appropriations 
 
The bill establishes the armed forces reservist tuition supplement program fund to be administered by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The fund shall be used to provide annual scholarships to members of a reserve component of the armed forces of the U.S., not including the Army or Air National Guard, under certain conditions and establishes renewal criteria. 
 

SB 135: Eligibility for resident tuition 
Heard in Senate Education and Career Development and held for amendments and committee vote 
 
The bill would provide eligibility for resident tuition for undocumented individuals who have obtained four years of education in an Indiana high school. The individuals would have to sign an affidavit that they will formally seek to become a resident of the U.S. 
 

SB 384: Purple star designation 
Passed Senate 46-0 
 
The bill requires the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement the higher education purple star designation for the following purposes: (1) to recognize postsecondary educational institutions that are supportive and inclusive of veterans and military connected families; and (2) to provide veterans and military connected families with enhanced support for pursuing and finishing a degree or postsecondary credential. 
 

SB 402: Reading Standards and Curriculum 
Heard in Senate Education and Career Development and held for amendments and committee vote 
 
The bill defines "science of reading" and requires the Indiana State Board of Education to adopt academic standards that use the science of reading. Beginning July 1, 2024, it requires the Indiana Department of Education to review teacher preparation programs for science of reading integration. Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, it requires local school corporations to adopt curriculum that is based on the science of reading. Beginning July 1, 2025, it requires an individual to show proficiency in science of reading instruction and to obtain a science of reading certification in order to be licensed as an elementary school teacher. Finally, the bill requires public schools to post certain reading materials on the public school's website for inspection by parents of students enrolled at the public school. 
 

SB 486: Education matters 
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 7-6 and recommitted to Senate Appropriations 
 
The bill (among other provisions) repeals teacher training requirements regarding: (1) criminal gang organizations awareness; (2) identifying and reporting human trafficking; (3) use of bleeding control kits; (4) the appropriate use of effective alternatives to physical restraint and seclusion; (5) certain information concerning homeless students; and (6) recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to the symptoms; and requires that information concerning these subjects be included within the curriculum of teacher preparation programs. The bill requires the Indiana Department of Education to establish or license for use an online platform to provide information and training concerning these and other subjects.