State Legislation Update

Today marks the final day for legislation to be introduced. MCCOY will post frequent updates on the legislation relevant to youth issues that we are following, so please check back often or click to subscribe to ensure that you get the latest info!

Senate Bills
SB 4 Suicide Prevention Training for School Personnel (Miller, Lawson, Landske) - Requires school personnel be trained on how to recognize signs of child suicide for the purpose of prevention. 1/12 - Committee report; amend do pass, adopted

SB 56 Child Care Regulation (Holdman) - Ensures consistency among child care providers in certain health and safety requirements.

SB 85 Study of Schools with Low Graduation Rates (Leising, Mrvan) - Creates a high school graduation study committee to study the causes of low graduation rates in certain schools and how the graduation rates can be improved. 1/12 - Committee report

SB 143 Corporal Punishment by Parents (Randolph) - Clarifies the use of corporal punishment by parents on their children.

SB 317 Kindergarten (Head) - Adjusts the age that a student is required to start school from 7 to 6. Also adjusts age cut-0ffs for enrollment.

SB 408 Education Concerning Child Abuse (Rogers) - Requires the department of education, in collaboration with organizations that have expertise in child sexual abuse, to identify or develop model child sexual abuse education materials, response policies, and reporting policies.

SB 420 Weighted Student School Funding Formula (Kruse) - Amendment to code regarding teacher performance and accountability; annual evaluation of school principal performance.

SB 425 Prohibit Alcohol on School Property (Skinner) - Makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or intentionally possess an alcoholic beverage on school property or on a school bus.

SB 428 Lottery Proceeds for Reggio Emilia Schools (Head) - Establishes the Reggio Emilia grant fund which requires $50000 of lottery revenue to go to the DOE for a grant program to assist the expansion and implementation of Reggio Emilia programs. Also allows for other early childhood and preschool programs to apply for grants.

SB 446 Use of Public School Property by Charter Schools (Schneider, Yoder) - Allows charter schools to use or have access to unused, closed, or unoccupied school buildings that are maintained by school corporations and are not being used for educational purposes.

SB 454 Programs Serving Vulnerable Individuals (Breaux) - Requires board for coordination of programs to develop 5-year plans to coordinate services to improve service delivery for children; in-home and out-of-home placements for youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems; mechanisms to ensure flexible funding for youth services from multiple agencies.

House Bills
HB 1019 Training for Child Suicide Prevention (C. Brown) - Same as SB 4.

HB 1042 Dissemination of Sexual Material (L. Lawson and Foley) - Provides that schools may offer programs regarding the risks and consequences of "sexting" or sharing sexually suggestive materials via cell phones, social media or other digital media. Also includes a provision that schools must prohibit cyberbullying in their discipline codes.

HB 1101 Reporting Student Absence from School (Yarde) - Requires parents to notify the school when their child is absent.

HB 1107 - Preventative Programs for At-Risk Children (Richardson) - A juvenile court may create a preventative program for at-risk children and appoint program staff, a GAL or CASA to implement, coordinate and carry out the purposes of the program.

HB 1189 Bullying Prevention Task Force (Tyler) - Creates a school bullying prevention task force for students with disabilities.

HB 1226 Child Care Regulation (Lehman) - Same as SB 56.

HB 1279 Coordination of Programs for Youth (Crawford) Same as SB 454.

HB 1307 Parent Service at Schools (L. Lawson, Hinkle) - Requires that each school corporation's discipline rules require a parent to provide at least 3 hours of service each semester at the student's school.

HB 1316 Parental Reimbursement for Juvenile Services (Dermody) - Allows juvenile court to order a parent or guardian of a child committed to the Department of Correction to pay or reimburse the DOC for costs incurred.

HB 1322 Child Welfare Study (Riecken, Bacon) - Requires the IN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to study various matters regarding child welfare and to submit a report of the results of the study to the legislative council.

HB 1323 Study of Child Welfare Issues (Riecken, Bacon) - Requires the IN Child Custody and Support Advisory Committee to study and make recommendations regarding various child welfare matters.

HB 1331 School Counselors (Porter) - Establishes specific target counselor/student ratios to be used for the hiring of school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. Requires DOE to develop a uniform job description for school counselors.

HB 1337 Teacher Contracts (Behning, Frizzell) - Various provisions regarding teacher contracts and collective bargaining agreements.

MCCOY is also following other legislation regarding restricting the start and end dates of the school year, moving school board elections to the general rather than primary elections, bicycle helmet safety, school corporation dress codes and changes to the definitions of school property with regard to residences of parolees and offenders against children.