This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills the IU State Relations team is tracking and that moved during the sixth week of session, which consisted of the committee report deadline for both chambers and the third reading deadline for the Senate on Thursday. Due to the winter storm, the House cancelled session and committees on Monday, Jan. 26 and moved their third reading deadline to Monday, Feb. 2. Bills must pass on third reading out of their originating chamber to still be eligible to become law in the second half of session.
House Bills
HB 1004: Various education matters
Passed House 67-26
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 1099: Foreign adversaries
Engrossed on 2nd Reading
This bill requires a contract between a state agency and a contractor for the provision of certain technological products or services to include a provision requiring the contractor to confirm under penalties of perjury that the contractor and the contractor’s subcontractors are not prohibited persons. This bill prohibits an approved postsecondary educational institution from admitting or enrolling students who are agents of a foreign adversary in a qualifying program offered by the approved postsecondary educational institution without a “foreign influence and research security review.” The bill prohibits certain individuals and business entities from acquiring real property located in Indiana. The bill repeals existing statutes regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land.
HB 1268: Indiana defense task force funding
Engrossed on 2nd Reading
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
Passed Senate 37-7
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 39-9
The bill, among other provisions, 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 42-2
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 37-8
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 199: Various education matters
Passed Senate 46-2
This bill requires the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, not later than December 1, 2026, to evaluate accrediting agencies of state educational institutions and to report the commission's findings and recommendations to the general assembly.
SB 204: Various education matters
Passed Senate 33-12
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.