Statehouse Express: S5, E5
Welcome to the Statehouse Express! I’m John Elcesser, Executive Director here at INPEA. We’re glad you could join us for our 5th stop on the 2024 version of the Statehouse Express. We are entering the last two weeks of this legislative session and there is still lots more work to do. Both Education Committees technically held their final committee meetings for this session last week, although the House education met on Tuesday to finish up on a bill that needed some amendment work. House Committees must submit their final committee reports by Tuesday, February 27th and the Senate Committees by Thursday February 29th.
Last week, House Ed heard 6 bills, the most controversial was SB202 which deals with higher ed matters. SB 8 focuses on high schools offering the Indiana College Core. I testified to the challenges this would pose to small schools and schools with more specialized, unique educational programs. The bill passed out of committee 9-0 but we anticipate further amendments on the House floor. SB 282 which is truancy and chronic absenteeism bill was amended and passed out of committee on Tuesday. The bill does require schools to create a truancy plan. On Tuesday, non-pubs were amended out of the bill. We’ll see where the bill goes as it moves forward on second and third readings.
Senate Ed heard seven bills. The one that garnered the most attention was HB 1002 which dealt with anti-Semitism. It passed out of committee 12-0.
HB 1243 was significantly amended by inserting language from two other bills into it. That included HB 141 which deals with the work allocation of guidance counselors. It passed out of committee 13-0. HB 1304 had some significant amendments as well. One in particular removed all of the language about a committee to review state reporting. HB 1380 which is a various education matters bill, among many other things it included the change in birthdate elgibility for SGO and ESA to October 1 to align with the voucher program.
A few other bills of interest. HB 1233 which expanded the definition of eligible schools for robotics grants now includes non-pubs accredited by state board approved third party accreditors. It passed out of the Senate 49-0 and now heads to the Governor for his signature.
SB1 (Reading Bill) was heard on second reading on Monday. There were a number of attempts by Democrats to amend the retention requirement or to extend the implementation date. All of those amendments failed. Now the bill goes to third reading today. If passed, it will probably go to conference committee to resolve any differences between the House and Senate versions.
SB 8 (College Core) was also heard on second reading on Monday. It is scheduled for thirds on Tuesday.,
We’ll be watching all second reading amendments closely. This is a time when bills can be changed dramatically by inserting damaging amendments.
Going into these last few weeks, SB1 poses some of the greatest red flags where the State proposes some invasive regulations on non-pubs.
Stay tuned… and we’ll see you back here next week for the next and stop on the Statehouse express!
Until next time, Stay safe and God Bless!