Charter schools, DEI, transgender athletes. These bills are still moving through the legislature
As Indiana's General Assembly reaches the halfway point in the 2025 legislative session, many bills dealing with education topics have received approval from one chamber, but others have not been as lucky.
Here is a look at some of the education bills IndyStar is tracking that are still moving through the legislative process.
Lead author: Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton
What it does:This bill funds Indiana's government, health care programs like Medicaid, public K-12 schools and colleges for the next two years. Republican proponents say it's a "vanilla" budget that helps the state live within its fiscal means while funding key priorities such as removing the income cap for private school vouchers and a new workforce tax credit for employers. But Democratic opponents say the bill funds the wealthy at the expense of the poor, for example, by defunding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program and failing to expand preschool.
Status: The bill passed the House by a 66-28 vote on Feb. 20 and now heads to the Senate.
More on the Dolly Parton library: Gov. Braun enlists first lady to save Dolly Parton Imagination Library after funding cut
Lead author: Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger
What it does: The bill would require all traditional public school districts, including Indianapolis Public Schools, to share property tax revenue with charter schools in their attendance boundaries, if 100 or more kids leave the traditional district for charter schools, starting in 2028.
Status: The bill passed out of the Senate by a 28-21 vote on Feb. 20 and now heads to the House.
More on this bill: Bill forcing schools to share property taxes with charters passes. But 40% of senators voted no
Lead author: Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland
What it does: This is virtually the same bill lawmakers passed in 2022, which banned transgender girls from participating in girls' K-12 sports. This year's bill extends that ban to collegiate athletics.
Status: The bill passed the House on Feb. 18 by a vote of 71-25. It now heads to the Senate.
Lead author: Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport
What it does: The bill would allow public schools to hire or bring in on a volunteer basis religious chaplains, with an eye toward alleviating the burden on school counselors.
Status: Passed the Senate on Feb. 11 by a 32-16 vote.
More on SB 523: Indiana lawmakers revive bill to allow public schools to hire chaplains as councilors
Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis
What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements.
Status: Passed the House by a 75-16 vote on Feb. 3. It now heads to the Senate.
Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville
What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — from training to diverse hiring initiatives — at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards.
Status: The contents of this bill were amended into a different bill, Senate Bill 289, on the Senate floor on Feb. 4. That bill then passed the Senate on Feb. 6 by a 34-13 vote.
More on this bill: This anti-DEI bill is not law yet. State-funded colleges are ending programs already anyway
Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne
What it does:The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest.
Status: Passed the Senate by a 44-5 vote on Jan. 27. It now heads to the House.
Indiana SB 143: Should DCS, schools be able to keep information from parents? Indiana Senate bill says no
Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis
What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a student's absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism.
Status: Passed the House unanimously on Jan 30. A bill that similarly addresses absenteeism, Senate Bill 482, passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 4.
Lead Author: Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville
What it does: The bill would require candidates running in school board elections to start including party identifications next to their names on the ballots.
Status: It passed out of the Senate on Feb. 17 by a 26-20 vote. It has now been referred to the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment.
Indiana Senate Bill 287: HSE, Carmel school board races were already political. This bill would add party affiliation
Contact IndyStar K-12 education reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter (X): @CarolineB_Indy.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: DEI, charter schools. These bills are still alive at the Statehouse
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