This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills the IU State Relations team is tracking and that moved during the fifth week of session. Lawmakers raced to meet the deadline to move bills out of committee and to the floor before Monday’s deadline. By the end of next week, we will know all the bills that passed out of their originating chamber and are still eligible to become law.
House Bills
HB 1004: Various education matters
Passed House Education 12-1
The bill removes and repeals various education provisions and expired education provisions in Indiana Title 20: Education. This is the second deregulation bill in a multi-year process to “cut red tape in education by eliminating unnecessary rules and regulations, freeing up resources and giving K-12 schools more flexibility to focus on educating our kids.”
HB 1268: Indiana defense task force funding
Passed House Ways and Means 23-0
The bill provides that certain amounts appropriated for state fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 must be used exclusively to support priorities identified by the Indiana Defense Task Force (task force) established by IC 4-3-21.5. Provides that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation shall consult with, and receive approval from, the task force prior to obligating or expending the funds. The bill requires the task force to make a report detailing the use of the funds and their correspondence to task force priorities to the State Budget Committee and the Legislative Council.
Senate Bills
SB 76: Immigration matters
Engrossed on 2nd Reading
The bill, among other provisions, provides that if a law enforcement officer, governmental body, or postsecondary educational institution is made a party to a civil suit and the attorney general determines that the suit has arisen out of certain immigration matters, the attorney general may defend the law enforcement officer, the governmental body, or the postsecondary educational institution if representation is requested.
SB 88: Various education matters
Passed Senate Education and Career Development 7-3
The bill requires a state educational institution (SEI) to accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) examination to the same extent the SEI accepts the ACT or SAT examination with respect to admission criteria.
SB 161: Education matters
Passed Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy 9-1 and engrossed on 2nd Reading
The bill, among other provisions, requires the Indiana Commission for Higher education to adopt rules that prohibit certain funding from being allocated or expended, directly or indirectly, to low earning outcome degree programs. It provides that the Indiana Department of Workforce Development must maintain alignment with federal rules governing workforce Pell grants.
SB 182: Gender issues
Passed Senate Health and Provider Services 9-3
This bill requires students in public schools, including state educational institutions, to use bathrooms and changing rooms that match their sex assigned at birth. It prohibits public schools, including state educational institutions, from requiring a student to share sleeping quarters with a member of the opposite sex, unless the individual who is a member of the opposite sex is a family member.
SB 204: Various education matters
Passed Senate Appropriations 10-1
This bill, among other provisions, repeals reporting requirements related to duplicative or outdated reports in Title 21: Higher Education and changes certain amounts concerning construction, land purchases, and repair and rehabilitation by an institution to $3,000,000, adjusted for inflation. It provides that a state educational institution that has been denied approval to continue a degree program may: (1) permit students to enroll in the degree program until June 1 of the year following the denial; and (2) provide students enrolled in the degree program with the opportunity to finish their degree prior to the degree program's closure.