April 28, 2023

Statehouse Update

The 16^th and final week of the budget session ended in the early hours of the morning today when both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly adjourned “Sine Die.” During the coming days, the governor must decide whether to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.

This will be the final weekly Statehouse Update until the beginning of the 2024 short session. An archive of previous updates be found here.

Bills That Passed on the Final Day

HB 1001: State budget
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

• The final state budget includes higher education operating funding recommendations for a 4% increase in FY24 and 6% increase in FY25 (equaling $130 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, 1% of the funding is run through the legacy outcomes-based funding model, 2% of the funding is run through the new prospective outcomes-based funding model and the other 3% is a base support increase.

• Higher education line-item funding was held flat in the final budget, except for increasing dual credit funding back to $50 per credit hour from $45 in the previous biennium (which equals a $1.1 million increase for Indiana University over the biennium).

• The final budget 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. IU Indianapolis also received $60 million for the expansion and renovation of the School of Sciences building and lab space.

• The final 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.

• In FY24, the final budget provides $10 million each for both IU Indianapolis and Purdue Indianapolis in start-up funding.

• The Indiana State Budget Agency was funded $89 million for an amateur sports facility, which ultimately will become a new fieldhouse arena on the southeast portion of the IU Indianapolis campus. This project will fulfill the goals of many community stakeholders, including the NCAA, Indiana SportsCorp and others, providing a venue to host smaller-sized events, competitions and tournaments.

HB 1002: Education and workforce development 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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 high school graduation requirements. The bill also requires college students receiving state financial aid (21^st Century Scholarship, Higher Education Award, Adult Student Grant or Workforce Ready Grant) to meet with anintermediary, an employer, or a labor organization approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education during their first and third academic years.

HB 1511: Higher education scholarships, grants, and cost exemptions 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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.

Bills Still Awaiting the Governor's Signature

HB 1201: Rare disease advisory council 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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 both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

The bill allows the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indiana Department of Education to identify eligible students for automatic enrollment in the 21^st Century Scholars program with an opt-out provision.

HB 1528: Next generation Hoosier educators scholarship program 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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 both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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 50-0 and House concurred in Senate amendments 86-4

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.

SB 35: Financial literacy 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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 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 and gives the Indiana State Board of Education the ability to allow the course to satisfy one or more diploma course requirements.

SB 486: Education matters 
Passed both chambers and ready for Governor signature or veto

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.