Statehouse Update
The fifth week of the legislative session was a planned short week as the House and Senate reached third reading deadlines on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Bills must pass on third reading out of their originating chamber to still be eligible to become law in the second half of session. Of the 297 bills filed in the Senate, only 110, or 37%, survived. The House passed roughly the same number of bills —111, or 25%, of the 442 filed. The 221 remaining bills will be assigned to the opposite chamber’s committees and will be eligible to be heard in committee beginning next week.
House Bills
HB 1304: Education Matters
Passed House 98-0
The bill establishes the committee on school data reporting to review regulations by state agencies and defines "literacy coach" and sets forth the requirements for a literacy coach. It requires the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, in conjunction with the Indiana State Board of Education (SBOE), to partner with the National Council on Teacher Quality to evaluate teacher preparation reading instruction programs. The bill provides that, beginning July 1, 2027, the IDOE may not renew a practitioner license or a comparable license to certain individuals unless the individual receives a literacy endorsement. The bill also requires the IDOE to develop guidelines regarding the use of curriculum or content that prepares elementary school teacher candidates in math instruction and establishes requirements regarding math instructional materials, support and assessment systems, intervention programs, and summer programs.
Senate Bills
SB 8: Higher Education Matters
Passed Senate 48-0
This is the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE)’s agency bill with priorities added from the Governor’s Office.
This bill requires Indiana high schools to provide the Indiana College Core or create an implementation plan by the 2025-2026 school year. Colleges are required to offer a 3-year degree program and require 4-year campuses to submit a study on advisability and feasibility of offering an associate degree to students who do not wish to continue their education. The bill requires CHE, in coordination with the Indiana Department of Education and institutions, to maintain and post a list and syllabus of each eligible college core course.
SB 48: State educational institutions
Passed Senate 48-0
The bill requires a state educational institution to prominently display on the home page and individual degree pages a hyperlink to the state educational institution's profile on the United States Department of Education's College Scorecard.
SB 139: Psilocybin Treatment Program
Passed Senate Appropriations 47-1
This bill establishes a research fund, administered by the Indiana Department of Health, to provide funding for Indiana institutions to study the use of Psilocybin to treat mental health and other conditions.
SB 202: State Educational Institution Matters
Passed Senate 39-9
President Whitten put out the following statement this week in response to media inquiries on the bill:
“While we are still analyzing the broad potential impacts of SB 202, we are deeply concerned about language regarding faculty tenure that would put academic freedom at risk, weaken the intellectual rigor essential to preparing students with critical thinking skills, and damage our ability to compete for the world-class faculty who are at the core of what makes IU an extraordinary research institution.
We all share the common goal to maximize the university's capacity to make scientific breakthroughs, attract talented students and faculty, drive economic development, and create better outcomes for all Hoosiers. As crafted, my concern is that SB 202 risks unintended consequences that threaten not just the stature of Indiana University, but the economic and cultural vitality of the state.”
The bill amends the duties of state educational institutions' diversity committees and provides that certain offices or individuals established or employed by a state educational institution regarding diversity programming must include within the mission of the office or position programming that substantially promotes both cultural and intellectual diversity. It establishes various requirements and restrictions for institutions regarding free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity that does the following: (1) Requires the establishment of certain policies regarding (a) disciplinary actions for certain persons that materially and substantially disrupt protected expressive activity; (B) limiting or restricting the granting of tenure or a promotion if certain conditions related to free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity are not met; and (C) disciplinary actions that will be taken if, after a review, a determination has been made that a tenured faculty member has failed to meet certain criteria related to free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity. (2) Requires the review and consideration, at least every five years, of certain criteria related to free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity. (3) Requires the establishment of a procedure that allows students and employees to submit complaints that a faculty member or contractor is not meeting certain criteria related to free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity and establishes requirements regarding the procedure and submitted complaints. The bill provides that certain individuals may request the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to review a final decision by an institution concerning a violation of these provisions. The bill adds one member appointment by the House Speaker and one member appointment by the Senate Pro Tempore to each institution’s board of trustees and establishes various reporting requirements by institutions with the submission of their legislative budget request.
SB 273: Biomarker Testing Coverage
Passed Senate 47-1
This bill requires a health plan to provide coverage for biomarker testing for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, appropriate management, or ongoing monitoring of an enrollee's disease or condition when biomarker testing is supported by medical and scientific evidence.