18-03-2025
Indiana Statehouse: Education issues take center stage this week
As we creep closer to the final month of action, it's another busy week at the Indiana Statehouse.
The big picture: At this point in the legislative session, lawmakers are working on the bills their colleagues sent from the other chamber.
The House is considering bills that started in the Senate, and vice versa.
Why it matters: They have one month left to get the bills out of committee and onto the floor in a manner that'll pass the full body.
In some cases, that will result in major changes to legislation that's already passed in one chamber.
Yes, but: That's a problem for conference committees, the last-minute process during which lawmakers hammer out a compromise after chambers pass different versions of a bill.
Here's what we're watching this week:
🟢 Support for pregnancy care centers
The Senate will vote to affirm its support for pregnancy care centers as early as today.
The big picture: Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) authored a resolution honoring the controversial centers' "comprehensive care" and "compassionate services."
Why it matters: Studies have found that some centers do not always provide complete and accurate information.
These unregulated, nonmedical centers may not always adhere to confidentiality expectations and often have ties to anti-abortion groups.
Zoom in: Raatz's resolution also encourages the federal and state governments to "grant pregnancy care centers assistance for medical equipment and abstinence education."
Indiana already provides money — $4 million this year — to pass-through entity Real Alternatives, which works alongside such centers.
🟢 Cancer clinical trials program moving
House Bill 1065 is set to hit the Senate floor for amendments as early as today.
Driving the news: The bill, authored by Rep. Robin Shackleford (D-Indianapolis), proposes the creation of the Cancer Clinical Trial Participation Program, allowing independent third parties — such as patient groups, corporations or government entities — to cover ancillary costs for patients taking part in clinical trials.
🚧 Partisan school board bill gets rewritten
The House and Senate agree they want school board candidates to choose a party — but they don't agree on the method.
State of play: Making Indiana's school board races partisan has been on the agenda for some Statehouse Republicans for several years but has never gotten across the finish line.
The general idea seems to have more momentum this year, getting further in the legislative process than previous attempts, but there is still disagreement on the finer points.
The latest: The full House will consider Senate Bill 287 as early as today.
It was overhauled last week when a committee replaced the Senate's version with the House's proposal, which skips the primary process and allows candidates to simply put their party affiliation (Republican, Democrat, independent or nonpartisan) on the general election ballot.
💰 K-12 school funding hearing
This afternoon, the Senate School Funding Subcommittee will take testimony on school funding issues.
Lawmakers will consider overall K-12 spending and drill down on funding for the gifted and talented program and summer school.
The hearing will start after the Senate session adjourns. The session starts at 1:30pm.
