Bills to Be Read in Senate and House Today, 2/23/17

 The following bill is scheduled for 2d reading (possible amendment) in the House today, Thursday, February 23:

HB 1024 Prayer in schools. Provides that a school corporation or charter school shall not discriminate against a student or a student's parent on the basis of a religious viewpoint or religious expression. Provides that students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Provides that public school students may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious activities or expression. Provides that students in public schools may wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display religious messages or religious symbols in the same manner and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display messages or symbols are permitted. Requires a school corporation or charter school to adopt a policy that must include the establishment of a limited public forum for student speakers who wish to include religious content at all school events at which a student is to publicly speak. Provides that the policy shall include requirements that require a school corporation or charter school to state, in writing, orally, or both, that the student's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the school corporation or charter school. Provides that the policy must include measures to make reasonable accommodations for individuals who wish to be excused from a student's speech that includes religious content because of the individual's own religious belief or lack of religious belief. Requires the department of education, in collaboration with organizations with expertise in religious civil liberties, to establish a model policy. Provides that each school corporation shall include as an elective in the school corporation's high school curriculum a course surveying religions of the world.

The following bills are scheduled for 3d reading (vote) in the House today, Thursday, February 23:

HB 1383 Elementary school teachers. Requires the state board of education to adopt rules to require an elementary school teacher who initially receives a license under this chapter after June 30, 2021, to specialize in a specific content area. Provides that the department of education may not issue a general education elementary school teaching license to an individual who initially applies for a license after June 30, 2021. 

HB 1384 Various education matters. Provides that in the case of a high school student who has not attended the same school within the school corporation for at least 90% of a school year, the department shall assign the student to the high school at which the student was enrolled for the greatest proportion of school days during the school year for purposes of calculating a school's graduation rate. Provides that before July 1, 2018, the state board of education (state board) shall establish a definition of a high mobility school for schools with a high concentration of mobile students. Provides that, after June 30, 2018, the state board shall, in addition to placing a school in a category or designation of school improvement, assign a school grade for a high mobility school. Provides that the grade calculated is for informational purposes only and may not be used to calculate a school's category or designation of school improvement. Provides that $50,000 is the maximum grant a school corporation or charter school may receive under the dual language immersion pilot program. Provides that appropriations to the department of education to provide grants to school corporations for high ability students must be for expenditures beyond those for regular educational programs. Provides that the state board may accredit a nonpublic school that enters into a contract with the state board to become a freeway school at the time the nonpublic school enters the contract. Provides that a choice scholarship school may submit a request to the state board to waive or delay certain consequences if it is placed in the two lowest categories or designations of school improvement for a particular school year. Provides that the state board may grant a request to an eligible school that requests a delay or waiver if the choice scholarship school demonstrates that a majority of students in the eligible school demonstrated academic improvement during the preceding school year. Requires a school corporation to issue, upon request of a parent, a posthumous diploma to a student who: (1) dies while enrolled in grade 12 of a school in the school corporation; and (2) was academically eligible or on track to meet the requirements for the diploma at the time of death. Makes changes to the composition of the board of trustees for Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. Makes technical corrections.

HB 1449  Teacher induction pilot program. Makes changes to who may submit a plan to participate in the career pathways and mentorship program. Establishes the Indiana new educator induction program (program) to give new teachers, principals, and administrators mentoring support. Provides that grants for the program may be made from the system for teacher and student advancement grant fund. Provides that, not later than July 1, 2018, and each July thereafter, the state board of education shall submit a report to the governor and the general assembly regarding the status of the program. Provides that the program expires July 1, 2027. Urges the legislative council to assign to an appropriate study committee for study during the 2017 legislative interim the topic of whether it is appropriate to require teachers to participate in a new educator induction program before being eligible to receive a practitioner license.

The following bill is scheduled for 2d reading (possible amendment) in the Senate today, Thursday, February 23:

SB 61 School resource officers. Requires a school resource officer to report all incidents of seclusion and restraint involving the school resource officer. Requires the commission on seclusion and restraint in schools (commission) to adopt rules concerning reporting requirements for the use of seclusion and restraint by school resource officers. Voids a rule adopted by the commission that excludes school resource officers from the reporting requirements.  (Amended version of bill is at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/61#document-f0919e56 .) 

The following bills are scheduled for 3d reading (vote) in the Senate today, Thursday, February 23: 

​SB 62 School substance abuse prevention pilot program and fund. Provides the department of education (department), in collaboration with organizations that have expertise in school based substance abuse prevention, shall develop: (1) materials to assist schools to develop a formal substance abuse prevention policy; and (2) a model school based substance abuse prevention policy. Establishes the school substance abuse prevention pilot program (program). Provides the department shall administer the program. Establishes the school substance abuse prevention pilot program fund to: (1) provide grants to schools to use for evidence based substance abuse prevention programming; (2) provide grants to schools to embed mental health personnel in schools; and (3) hire a research partner to conduct a cross agency cost benefit analysis of Indiana's current school based prevention program expenditures to provide information for future funding decisions for school based prevention. Establishes requirements regarding the program. Requires the department to annually submit a report concerning the program to the governor, legislative council, and the budget committee. Requires each school corporation and charter school to develop a formal school substance abuse prevention policy. Makes an appropriation.   (Amended version of bill is at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/62#document-6565691f .)

SB 88 School calendar. Prohibits public schools and accredited nonpublic schools from beginning student instructional days for the school year before the fourth Monday in August, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Makes the change effective for collective bargaining agreements and contracts negotiated after June 30, 2017.  (Amended version of bill is athttps://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/88#document-6fa5556c .)

SB 367 Revocation of teaching licenses. Prohibits a school from hiring persons who have been convicted of certain crimes. Adds human trafficking to the list of offenses requiring license revocation. Permits the department of education to reinstate the license of a person convicted of certain crimes if the conviction is vacated on appeal. Requires the division of state court administration to weekly transmit a list of persons convicted of specified crimes to the department of education, and requires the department of education to: (1) compare this list with the department's list of licensed employees; and (2) institute revocation proceedings if it appears that a licensed employee has been convicted of a specified offense. Provides that a pre-sentence investigation includes gathering information with respect to whether the convicted defendant holds a teaching license or is a teacher.  (Amended version of bill is athttps://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/367#document-b8cbd261 .)

SB 435 Mental health education and screenings. Requires a school corporation's health education curriculum to include mental health wellness education. Provides that the governing body of a school corporation may provide mental health screenings to students. Provides that the department of education shall provide a school corporation with resources regarding mental health wellness upon request by the school corporation.  (Amended version of bill is at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/435#document-b4a56293 .)

SB 475 Developmental delay. Requires the state board of education to amend its rule establishing developmental delay as a disability category to provide that, beginning July 1, 2018, developmental delay is a disability category solely for students who are at least three years of age and less than nine years of age. (Currently, developmental delay is a disability category solely for students who are at least three years of age and not more than five years of age.) Adds developmental delay as a category for mild and moderate disabilities for purposes of determining special education grant amounts.  (Amended version of bill is at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/475#document-de3f0e0f .)

SB 506 Suicide prevention programming. Requires the division of mental health and addiction to: (1) develop a statewide program for suicide prevention; and (2) employ a coordinator of the statewide program for suicide prevention. Requires the coordinator to study and determine: (1) the professions that should be required to receive training on suicide assessment, treatment, and management; and (2) the manner in which to fund the training. Requires the coordinator to report the determinations to the legislative council not later than December 31, 2017. Requires emergency medical services providers to complete an evidence based training program concerning suicide assessment, treatment, and management. Requires a school corporation to adopt a policy addressing measures intended to increase child suicide awareness and sets forth requirements of policy. Requires approved postsecondary educational institutions to adopt a policy concerning suicide information and resources.  (Amended version of bill is at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/506#document-1a2347ad .)

Full schedule and link to bills can be found here: Senate and House.