2013 IN Youth Legislation

Several bills that MCCOY has been advocating for have successfully crossed over and we are thankful to all of our friends and colleagues who have been helping to advocate with us.  Right now, we are seeing tremendous momentum on children's issues and we are increasingly optimistic that this session will yield some great victories for children!

Below is a list of bills that MCCOY is following as they move forward.

MCCOY’s High Priority Bills

Senate Bill 1: School resource officers (Pete Miller, Arnold, Charbonneau, Nugent, Wyss, Hume, Pat Miller, Landske, Randolph)

Creates a two-year grant program for schools to hire school resource officers. Passed the Senate 43-7. House sponsors: Torr, Steurwald, Lawson, Behning

Senate Bill 125: Committee on child services oversight (Holdman, Broden, Lanane, Zakas, Steele, Head, Glick, Eckerty, Randolph, Hume, Pat Miller, Charbonneau, Stoops, Tomes)

Establishes the commission on improving the status of children in Indiana to: (1) study issues concerning vulnerable youth; (2) review legislation; (3) cooperate with other entities; and (4) take other actions relating to children.  Establishes the subcommittee on child services oversight to: (1) review data reports from the department of child services (DCS); (2) review annual reports from the DCS ombudsman; (3)make recommendations to the commission to improve the delivery of child protection services; and (4) submit an annual report to the commission. Passed the Senate 50-0.  House sponsors: Mahan, Kubacki

Senate Bill 305: Child care regulation (Holdman, Taylor, Kruse)

Specifies requirements that must be met by a child care provider as a condition of eligibility to receive a federal Child Care and Development Fund voucher payment. Sets forth a disciplinary process for suspension or revocation of eligibility.  Passed the Senate 50-0. House sponsors: Mahan, Kubacki

Senate Bill 338: Chronic school absenteeism (Kruse, Yoder)

Requires the department of education to provide resources and guidance to school corporations concerning evidence-based practices and effective strategies to reduce absenteeism. Makes changes to the definition of: (1) chronic absenteeism; and (2) habitual truant. Requires school corporations and schools to identify contributing factors to absenteeism and to develop chronic absence reduction plans. Provides that a school corporation must include the number of students who are habitually truant in the school corporation's annual performance report. Provides that a school corporation's strategic and continuous school improvement plan must include objectives relating to the educational needs of students who are chronically absent or habitually truant from school. Requests the legislative council to establish a study committee to examine issues related to absenteeism. Passed the Senate 50-0.  House sponsors: Behning, Porter, Rhoads, V. Smith

Senate Bill 352: School policies on gang activities (Hershman, Buck, Rogers, Randolph, Merritt, Kruse)

Allows the Indiana safe schools fund to be used to provide educational outreach and training to school personnel concerning the identification and prevention of, and intervention in, criminal gang activity. Requires the Indiana department of education (department) to develop model educational materials and a model policy concerning criminal gang activity. Requires the department, in collaboration with certain other agencies and organizations with expertise in criminal gang education, prevention, and intervention, to identify or develop model education materials and develop a model policy to address criminal gangs and criminal gang activity in schools. Requires the governing body of each school corporation to develop and maintain a criminal gang policy. Requires each school corporation to develop: (1) an educational criminal gang awareness program for students, school employees, and parents; and (2) a school employee development program to provide training to school employees in the implementation of the school corporation's criminal gang policy. Requires a school employee to report any incidence of suspected criminal gang activity, criminal gang intimidation, or criminal gang recruitment to the principal and the school safety specialist. Requires the state police department to conduct an assessment to map gang activity and identify existing services and programs and to report the results to the department by July 1, 2014. Passed the Senate 50-0.  House sponsor: Truitt

House Bill 1004: Early education pilot program (Behning, Crouch, VanDenburgh, Bosma)

Establishes the early education scholarship pilot program to provide supplemental funding for eligible children receiving eligible services from certain early education providers. Establishes the early learning advisory committee. Provides that a child who receives an early education scholarship and meets certain other criteria is eligible for purposes of the school scholarship program. Passed the House 93-6.  Senate sponsor: Pete Miller

House Bill 1015: School safety (Koch, Burton, Errington)

Urges the legislative council to establish an interim study committee to examine issues related to student discipline and safety. Passed the House 95-0.  Senate sponsor: Kruse

House Bill 1123: Child fatality reviews and commission on children (Mahan, Kubacki, Riecken, Summers)

Establishes the commission on improving the status of children in Indiana (commission). Requires the commission to: (1) study and evaluate services, programs, and laws for certain youth; (2) establish the department of child services oversight subcommittee (subcommittee); (3) review and make recommendations concerning pending legislation; (4) promote information concerning vulnerable youth; (5) promote best practices, policies and programs; (6) cooperate with commissions, the executive branch of government, the judicial branch of government, stakeholders and members of the community; and (7) submit an annual report regarding the commission's work. Requires the subcommittee to (1) review reports from the department of child services; (2) review reports from the department of child services ombudsman; and (3) make recommendations to the commission to improve the delivery of child protection services. Establishes a local child fatality review team in each county. Establishes the statewide child fatality review committee and requires the committee to: (1) compile and analyze data recorded by local child fatality review teams; (2) review child mortality records; (3) assist local child fatality review teams; (4) assist in or conduct a review of the death of a child in certain circumstances; and (5) create strategies and make recommendations for the safety of children and prevention of serious injuries or deaths of children. Requires the state department of health to employ a state child fatality review coordinator.  Passed the House 98-0.  Senate sponsors: Holdman, Yoder, Lanane

House Bill 1423: Anti-bullying (Porter, Behning, Battles, Burton)

Requires the department of education, in consultation with school safety specialists and school counselors, to develop guidelines to assist school corporations and safe school committees in establishing bullying prevention programs, investigation and reporting procedures, and discipline rules. Requires each school corporation to include the number and nature of bullying incidents that occur within the school corporation on the school corporation's annual performance report. Requires each school corporation to provide training to school employees and volunteers concerning the school corporation's bullying prevention program, and to provide annual bullying prevention education to students. Modifies the definition of "bullying". Requires each school corporation to include detailed procedures for investigation and reporting of bullying behaviors in the school corporation's discipline rules. Requires each school corporation to include detailed procedures outlining the use of follow-up services for support services for the victim and bullying education for the bully in the school corporation's discipline rules. Sets out a bullying reporting requirement for each school corporation. Requires that if a board of trustees of a state educational institution elects to govern, by regulation or another means, the conduct of students, faculty, employees, and others on the property owned, used, or occupied by the state educational institution, the regulation must include a policy prohibiting bullying.  Passed the House 77-17.  Senate Sponsors: Wyss, Kruse, Rogers, Kenley

For questions about MCCOY's Advocacy efforts, please contact Mindi Goodpaster, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy at 317-921-1286 or mindi.goodpaster@mccoyouth.org.