Check Out The Education Laws That Go Into Effect July 1
Lawmakers passed 25 school-related bills during the 2015 “education session.” (Photo Credit: Jimmy Emerson/Flickr)
The Indiana General Assembly passed 259 laws this year, most of which go into effect July 1 to correspond to the fiscal year.
Legislators took a special interest in school-related issues during what they dubbed the “education session” – 25 of the measures they passed dealt with the way districts operate.
Some of these laws are new. Others, such as State Board of Education reorganization, have been discussed in the past but never acted upon, and some laws, like failing school interventions, are updates to existing laws.
Explained in detail below are 10 of those laws we think are important. Don’t worry – we listed the others below. Did we miss any? If so, let us know in the comments section.
1. State Board of Education governance (SB 1)
Perhaps the most talked-about education item on lawmakers’ docket this session, Senate Bill 1 was the only one of countless bills introduced concerning reorganization of the State Board of Education to make it through to Gov. Mike Pence‘s desk.
Elements of several similar measures – most notably House Bill 1609, Senate Bill 452 and Senate Bill 453 – made it into the final version of this one, overarching bill.
Only one element of the law – one of the most crucial and controversial parts – will not go into effect next week: the ability for the board to elect its own chairperson annually. After much back and forth, lawmakers decided to hold off on enacting this part of the law until January 2017, at the end of state superintendent Glenda Ritz‘s current term. The state superintendent has historically served as board chair.
Reappointed board member Sarah O’Brien and new board member Byron Ernest at the June State Board of Education meeting. (Photo Credit: Rachel Morello/StateImpact Indiana)
The state board meets for its next meeting the day this law takes effect, July 1. The first items of new business on the agenda: electing a vice chair and secretary. According to a report from Chalkbeat Indiana, many board members have already voiced support for appointing Sarah O’Brien to the former slot:
[Board member Cari] Whicker said she believes a majority of the board will support O’Brien for vice chairwoman, based on conversations with others on the board. O’Brien’s father is state Rep. Bill Fine, R-Munster, who backed the bill to create the position of vice chairwoman.
“Certainly more than most are supportive of her,” Whicker said. “And so it would be nice to feel like that’s a consensus when we go into that meeting and not have any contention there in selecting somebody.”
2. School funding formula (HB 1001)
The state’s new biennial budget includes numerous education-related pieces, most notably a major overhaul to the school funding formula.
We’ve already reported on several of the new items in the upcoming budget: check out our stories on specific student population benefits and charter school building funds.
3. Standardized testing study (SB 62)
Lawmakers will decide whether or not to keep the state\’s current ISTEP+ testing system. (Photo Credit: James Martin/Flickr)
The measure allows a summer study committee to discuss the possibility of replacing Indiana’s statewide ISTEP+ standardized testing program with an alternative assessment.
By federal mandate, every state needs a standardized test to match its academic standards. Hoosier lawmakers have generated multiple versions of ISTEP+ to pair with the new Indiana Academic Standards since Gov. Pence pulled out of the Common Core in 2014.
Advocates of replacing ISTEP+ say using a national assessment would save money and eliminate all the run-around involved in creating another new state-specific test.
4. No more Common Core (SB 566)
This bill complements SB 62 – and sets limits on it – by prohibiting state lawmakers from adopting any standardized test or academic standards produced solely by the U.S. government or a consortium of states to go along with the Common Core State Standards. This eliminates the worry some lawmakers had about SB 62 setting Indiana back on a path it previously took.
5. State intervention in failing schools (HB 1638)
Although this bill does not take effect until June 30, 2016, we thought it was important enough to include in the list. The measure changes the timeline for state intervention for schools placed in the lowest category of school improvement; Currently, state officials must design a plan for any school receiving failing school accountability grades (D’s or F’s) for six consecutive years; this bill brings that number up to four.
This bill also approves the transformation zone – a method endorsed by multiple members of the State Board of Education, the body charged with coordinating school interventions – as the preferred method of school turnaround.
6. Charter school matters (HB 1636)
The proliferation of charter schools are a hot-button issue in Indiana as well as nationally, and this bill deals with a number of elements of running those schools. They include:
- Who can organize a charter school
- How the State Board of Education evaluates charter school outcomes
- How charter schools can handle admissions and enrollment
This bill does not address various funding matters regarding charter schools – those appear in the budget bill.
7. School reporting requirements (SB 500)
Among the “various education matters” this bill addresses is the numerous data reporting requirements imposed on Indiana school districts, including state and federal reports about test scores, enrollment, graduations and much more. SB 500 provides for a summer study committee to review all of those requirements and their impact on schools.
8. High school diplomas (HB 1194)
(Photo Credit: juriyrus/Flickr)
Indiana is currently in the process of rethinking what type of high school diplomas it offers students. In addition to outlining the schedule and legislative processes for making those decisions, this law also makes provisions for helping students with special needs design their diploma programs.
9. Student loan information reports (HB 1042)
One bill passed this year attempts to address student debt, requiring all state colleges and universities that enroll students who receive state financial aid to provide those students with all necessary information regarding their loans. Several state institutions, including IU-Bloomington, already do so.
10. Remediation (HB 1637)
Another of several bills designated to address “various education matters,” HB 1637 includes a provision requiring the State Board of Education to develop guidelines to help high schools identify those students who might need remedial work in college.
Recent statistics say one in four Indiana high school students needs remediation when they reach college.
Other education measures taking effect July 1:
- Innovation Network schools (HB 1009)
- Student transfers (HB 1056)
- Identification of students with dyslexia (HB 1108)
- Student teaching (HB 1188)
- Financial aid for higher education (HB 1333 & SB 434)
- School safety drills (HB 1414)
- Funding for adult high schools (HB 1438)
- Various education issues, including licensing for school psychologists, limitations on school activities that do not correspond with approved curriculum, and requiring the IDOE to allow the use of digital technology to complete assessments (HB 1483)
- Various education issues dealing with school property & taxation matters (HB 1635)
- Speed limits in school zones (SB 35)
- Rules for locations and naming for medical education centers (SB 123)
- Dual language immersion pilot program (SB 267)
- School capital projects fund tax rate (SB 476)
- Higher education scholarships and grants (SB 509)