Statehouse Update
The fourteenth week of session marked significant milestones as Tuesday was the final day for Senate bills to be heard in House committees and Thursday was the final day for House bills to be heard in Senate committees. Bills that did not receive a hearing or pass a committee are no longer eligible to move forward. By the middle of next week, IU State Relations will know which bills passed through the chamber opposite their origination and are still eligible to become law.
House Bills
HB 1001: State budget
Passed Senate Appropriations 10-2
- The Senate’s biennial budget includes operating funding recommendations for a 4% increase in FY24 and 6% increase in FY25 (equaling $134 million new higher education operating funding over the biennium).
- In FY24, 1% of the funding is run through the legacy outcomes-based funding model, 1% of the funding is run through the new prospective outcomes-based funding model and the other 2% is a base support increase.
- In FY25, 4% of the funding is run through the new prospective outcomes-based funding model and the other 2% is a base support increase.
- Higher education line-item funding was held flat in the Senate budget and dual credit funding remained at $45 per credit hour (as in the previous biennium).
- The Senate cash funded all state educational institutions’ top priority capital projects (rather than using debt service funding), which included $89.5 million for the Wells Quad renovation at IU Bloomington.
- The Senate budget fully funds the Repair and Rehabilitation Formula at 0.5%, resulting in a $10.3 million increase in each year of the biennium (which equals a $4.5 million increase each year for Indiana University), as well as providing an additional $9.7 million for deferred maintenance projects at the IU Regional campuses.
HB 1002: Career advising grant program
Passed Senate Appropriations 9-3
The bill establishes the career advising grant program and fund to be administered by the Indiana Department of Education. It established the program to provide grants to career advising providers for the purpose of providing career advising for students in grades 9 through 12.
HB 1201: Rare disease advisory council
Passed Senate Health and Provider Services 11-0
The bill establishes the rare disease advisory council, to be administratively managed by the Indiana Department of Health, to address various issues concerning the needs of patients in Indiana with rare diseases and their caregivers and providers.
HB 1449: Twenty-first century scholars program enrollment
Passed Senate 48-0
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 48-0 and the House dissented from Senate amendments
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 48-0
The bill allows an individual enrolled in a transition to teaching 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 Appropriations 12-0
The bill defines the "science of reading" and requires the Indiana State Board of Education, in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), to prepare and submit a report regarding the alignment of science of reading concepts in IREAD. The bill requires the IDOE to develop guidelines for science of reading integration into teacher preparation programs.
HB 1637: Teacher education scholarship programs
Passed Senate Appropriations 12-0
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
Senate dissented from House amendments
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
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto
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
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto
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
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto
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.
SB 486: Education matters
Passed House Education 8-4 and engrossed on 2nd Reading
The bill (among other provisions) repeals teacher training requirements regarding: (1) criminal gang organizations awareness; (2) certain information concerning homeless students; and (3) 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.