Statehouse Update
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 that have had activity up to this point during the thirteenth week of session. Bills must move out of the opposite chamber’s committees by next week’s deadlines to remain eligible to still become law.
House Bills
HB 1002: Education and workforce matters
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 8-5 and recommitted to Senate Appropriations
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 enroll in and attend sequences, courses, apprenticeships, or programs of study designated and approved by the Indiana Department of Education, in consultation with the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. It would also change high school graduation requirements for the cohort of students expected to graduate in the 2027-2028 school year and thereafter. It establishes the career advising grant program and fund for approved intermediaries and career advising providers toprovidecareer advising for students in grades 9 through 12.
HB 1449: Twenty-first century scholars program enrollment
Passed Senate Appropriations 8-0
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 1511: Higher education scholarships, grants, and cost exemptions
Passed Senate Appropriations 8-0
The bill provides that an eligible applicant for the national guard tuition supplement program or an educational costs exemption may apply a scholarship or exemption to a state educational institution or an approved postsecondary educational institution under certain conditions.
HB 1528: Transition to teaching
Passed Senate Appropriations 9-0
The bill allows an individual enrolled in a transition to teaching program or 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 1558: Science of reading
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 11-2 and recommitted to Senate Appropriations
The bill defines the "science of reading" and establishes the science of reading grant fund for the purpose of assisting school corporations in placing literacy instructional coaches in elementary schools and training teachers and school principals in instructional practices aligned with the science of reading. The bill requires the Indiana Department of Education to develop guidelines for science of reading integration into teacher preparation programs.
HB 1637: Teacher education scholarship programs
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 12-0 and recommitted to Senate Appropriations
The bill increases the annual Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship amount, from $7,500 to $10,000 and the Earline S. Rogers Student Teaching Scholarship for Minority Students, from $4,000 to $5,000. It creates the Next Generation Hoosier Minority Educators Scholarship for black and Hispanic students with similar requirements to the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship and a $10,000 annual award amount. Finally, it removes the 200 new applicant per year limit on the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship.
Senate Bills
SB 35: Financial literacy
Passed House 88-1
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 nonpublic school in 2027, 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 and allows schools to offer instruction on the course either as a separate subject or as units incorporated into appropriate subjects.
SB 167: FAFSA
Senate concurred in House amendments 45-3
The bill requires all students in their senior year of high school to complete and submit the FAFSA unless certain conditions are met.
SB 384: Purple star designation
Senate concurred in House amendments 48-0
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 404: Access to transcripts
Senate concurred in House amendments 48-0
The bill provides that if a current or former student owes $1,000 or less to a state educational institution or private for-profit postsecondary educational institution operated in Indiana must provide a transcript if the student has paid to the institution in the past year at least $100 or the total debt owed by the student to the institution, whichever is less. If a current or former student owes more than $1,000, the institution must provide a transcript if the student has paid to the institution in the past year at least ten percent (10%) of the total amount of the debt owed to the institution or three hundred dollars ($300), whichever is less.