The 2013 legislative session
ended sine die at 1:30 a.m. on April 27. This session was incredibly
successful for children and MCCOY is proud to have been part of the lobbying
and advocacy efforts on several key bills. The bills that MCCOY was directly
involved in drafting are highlighted in green. MCCOY’s legislative priorities reflect an
emphasis on prevention and sound policies that benefit all youth. Our legislative
priorities for 2013 included:
·
Peer
Aggression Prevention – ensuring that schools utilize evidence-based
prevention programs and implement consistent policies state-wide
·
Early
Childhood Safety & Education – improving the quality and
accessibility of child care and early education programs
·
Early
Intervention and Prevention – ensuring that prevention and
early intervention services are available and accessible to individuals and
families before they are in crisis
·
Student
Success – ensuring that all youth have access to quality
education options
Selected Enacted Legislation
CHILD SAFETY
HB1015 School
safety Urges the legislative council
to establish an interim study committee to examine issues related to student
discipline and safety.
MCCOY Position:
Support
HB1423
Anti-bullying Requires the department of education to develop
guidelines to assist school corporations and safe school committees in
establishing bullying prevention programs, investigation and reporting
procedures, and discipline rules.
School corporations are
required to:
·
Include the number
and categories of bullying incidents that occur in their annual performance
report.
·
Provide training
to school employees and volunteers concerning its bullying prevention and
reporting policy, and to provide annual bullying prevention education to
students.
·
Include detailed
procedures for investigation and required reporting of bullying behaviors in
its discipline rules.
·
Include detailed
procedures outlining the use of follow-up services for support services for the
victim and bullying education for the bully in its discipline rules.
Modifies the definition of
"bullying":
·
Overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures,
including verbal or written communications or images transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any other behaviors,
that are committed by a student or group of students against another student
with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the
targeted student and create for the
targeted student an objectively hostile school environment that:
o
Places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm
to the targeted student’s person or property;
o
Has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted
student’s physical or mental health;
o
Has the effect of substantially interfering with the
targeted student’s academic performance; or
o
Has the effect of substantially interfering with the
targeted student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities,
and privileges provided by the school.
Discipline rules may be
applied regardless of physical location of incident(s) when the individuals
involved are students attending a school within a school corporation and
disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid a substantial disruption
in school or to prevent an unreasonable threat to a safe and peaceful learning
environment.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB1 School
resource officers and school safety Specifies
how a school resource officer program may be established and sets forth duties
and responsibilities for school resource officers.
·
School resource officers must successfully complete the
training requirements for law enforcement officers and receive 40 hours of
certified school resource officer training.
·
Creates the Indiana secured school fund under the
administration of the department of homeland security to provide matching
grants for school corporations and charter schools to:
o Employ school resource
officers;
o Conduct threat
assessments of school buildings; or
o Purchase safety
equipment and technology.
·
Creates the secured school safety board to approve or
disapprove applications for matching grants from the fund and to develop best
practices for school resource officers.
·
Requires a law enforcement agency to notify a school if a
student is apprehended because a law enforcement officer had reasonable grounds
to believe the student has a mental illness, is dangerous, and is in need of
hospitalization and treatment.
Provides
that the statute regarding possession of a
firearm on school property does not apply to a person who may legally possess a
firearm and who has been authorized by a school board or body that administers
a charter school to carry a firearm in or on school property.
·
Establishes the
school safety interim study committee to:
o
Study how to
improve the safety of schools in Indiana;
o
Develop best
practices for a school resource officer to employ in order to successfully
carry out the officer's responsibilities; and
o
Study additional
topics that the legislative council assigns.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB53 Child seduction Defines "professional relationship" and provides that a
person commits child seduction if they: (1) have a professional relationship
with a child; (2) may exert undue influence on the child because of the
professional relationship; and (3) use the person's professional relationship
to engage in sexual conduct with a child at least 16 years of age but less than
18 years of age.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB345 Use of restraints and seclusion in schools Establishes a commission on seclusion and restraint in
schools to adopt rules concerning the use of restraint and seclusion in schools
and develop a model restraint and seclusion plan. Requires a school corporation
and accredited nonpublic school to have in place a restraint and seclusion plan
for the 2014-2015 school year.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB352 School
policies on gang activities 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 to:
o
Develop model
educational materials and a model policy concerning criminal gang activity.
o
Identify or
develop model education materials and develop a model policy to address
criminal gangs and criminal gang activity in schools in collaboration with
certain other agencies and
organizations with expertise in criminal gang education, prevention, and
intervention.
o
Submit an annual
report to the governor and the general assembly regarding criminal gang
activities in schools beginning in 2017.
·
Requires each
school corporation to:
o
Develop and
maintain a criminal gang policy.
o
Develop an
educational criminal gang awareness program for students, school employees, and
parents and a school employee development program to provide training to school
employees in the implementation of the school corporation's criminal gang
policy.
o
Submit an annual
report to the department outlining the activities undertaken by the school
corporation to address criminal gang activity beginning in 2017.
·
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.
MCCOY Position:
Support
CHILD SERVICES
SB125 Child
fatality reviews and commission on children
·
Establishes the
commission on improving the status of children (the commission) in Indiana to
study issues concerning vulnerable youth, review legislation, cooperate with
other entities and take other actions relating to children.
·
Establishes a
child services oversight committee to review data reports from the department
of child services (DCS), review annual reports from the DCS ombudsman, make
recommendations to the commission to improve the delivery of child protection
services, and submit an annual report to the commission.
MCCOY Position:
Support
CRIMINAL/JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
HB1006 Various changes to the criminal code
·
Child
abuse/neglect reporting – a judge must first use the child abuse reporting
hotline to report suspected abuse/neglect and may contact the local office of
the department directly if they either do not response from the hotline or the
hotline’s response is not satisfactory to serve best interests of child.
·
Hazing – defines
hazing as forcing or requiring another person with or without their consent and
as a condition of association with a group or organization to perform an act
that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury.
MCCOY Position:
Monitor
SB142 Statutes of limitations involving child sex abuse Increases the statute of limitations for a civil
action based on child sexual abuse to the later of: (1) seven years after the
cause of action accrues; or (2) four years after the person ceases to be a dependent
of the person alleged to have performed the sexual abuse. Increases the statute
of limitations for the criminal prosecution of certain sex offenses involving
children from five years to the later of: (1) 10 years after the commission of
the offense; or (2) four years after the person ceases to be a dependent of the
person alleged to have committed the offense.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB361 Intimidation Provides that for the crime of intimidation, "communicates"
includes posting a message electronically, including on a social networking web
site.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB509 Human trafficking Makes it promotion of human trafficking of a minor to
knowingly or intentionally recruit, harbor, or transport a child less than 18
years of age with the intent of: (1) engaging the child in forced labor or
involuntary servitude; or (2) inducing or causing the child to engage in
prostitution or an unlawful performance that includes sexual conduct. Makes it
sexual trafficking of a minor to knowingly or intentionally sell or transfer
custody of a child less than 18 years of age for sexual purposes.
MCCOY Position:
Support
EARLY CHILDHOOD
HB1004 Early education evaluation program Establishes the early education evaluation program to
gather data concerning the school readiness of low income
children who have received
early education services through providers with programs of demonstrated
quality that require parental involvement in the children's education.
·
Establish Paths to QUALITY program – voluntary child care
facility quality rating and improvement system implemented by the Family and
Social Services Administration. Establishes a steering council to make
recommendations on program issues and resources.
·
Create the Early Learning Advisory Committee, appointed
by the governor, to assess needs concerning quality and availability of early
education programs in Indiana; identify opportunities and barriers in
collaboration and coordination of programs related to early childhood issues;
assess capacity and effectiveness of higher education institutions in Indiana
in preparing early childhood professionals; and present recommendations to
governor annually.
MCCOY Position:
Support
HB1494 National criminal history background checks
for child care Requires employees and volunteers of certain child care
providers and applicants applying for a license to operate a child care home,
including the applicant's spouse and certain household members, to undergo
national criminal history background checks. Requires the state police
department to release the result of a national criminal history background
check to the division of family resources. Amends the list of felony
convictions and certain other offenses related to the application, denial, and
revocation of a child care license or registration and eligibility for child
care voucher payments.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB305 Child care and development fund eligibility Clarifies definition of “provider” to include a person
who provides childcare and receives Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) voucher,
a licensed child care center and a licensed child care home. 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 (CCDF) voucher
payment. Delineates new safety provisions for all providers including:
·
Meeting sanitation
standards for bathrooms and hand washing
·
Following safe
sleeping practices
·
Maintaining a written child discipline policy
o
Ensure all
employees and volunteers follow policy
o
Provide policy to
each parent or legal guardian
o
Maintain a signed
copy of policy in child’s file
·
Allowing
unscheduled visits of child care facility by a parent or legal guardian
·
An employee or
volunteer under 18 years of age may act as a caregiver if they are at least 14
years of age and is directly supervised at all times by a caregiver of at least
18 years of age.
·
Training for all
employees and volunteers in child abuse detection and prevention
·
Ensuring medications
are inaccessible to children
·
Obtaining written
permission to transport child
·
Requires the
committee on child care to study due process for child care providers and make
recommendations during the 2013 interim.
MCCOY Position:
Support
EDUCATION
HB1003 Nonpublic school scholarships
·
School scholarship tax credit may be carried forward for
a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2013.
·
Scholarship eligibility changes – must meet one of the
following conditions:
o Be
a child with a disability requiring special education and has an individualized
education program or service plan and has a household annual income of not more
than 200% of free or reduced lunch program eligibility;
o Attends
a public school that has received an “F” performance grade and has a household
annual income of not more than 150% of free or reduced lunch program
eligibility (though student is not required to attend the school prior to
receiving a scholarship nor required to return to the school if the school’s
rating improves);
o Be
a member of a household with annual income of not more than 150% of free or
reduced lunch program eligibility and was enrolled in a K-12 public school for
previous two semesters; or
o Is
a sibling of another student receiving a choice scholarship or other
scholarship in preceding school year and is a member of a household with annual
income of not more than 150% of free or reduced lunch program eligibility.
o If
household income substantially increases, student remains eligible for a choice
scholarship as long as annual income does not exceed 200% of free or reduced
lunch program eligibility.
·
Scholarship amount
changes – the least of the following:
o
Sum of tuition,
transfer tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance of eligible
school;
o
90% of state
tuition support if annual household income is not more than that to qualify for
free or reduced lunch program and 50% of state tuition support if annual
household income is not more than 150% than that to qualify for free or reduced
lunch program (or 200% if meets criteria mentioned above); or
o
Maximum
scholarship amount for students in grades 1-8 is $4700 in FY2014 and $4800 in FY2015.
·
Commission on Education will study the following topics
in the 2013 session interim:
o Academic performance
of choice scholarship schools in comparison to public schools
o
Graduation rates
for choice scholarship schools as compared to public schools
o
Student growth and
achievement for students enrolled in choice scholarship schools over time
o
Various student
demographics, including income, race, and special needs, for choice scholarship
students as compared to students enrolled in public schools
o
Why parents choose
to enroll a child in a choice scholarship school
MCCOY Position:
Monitor
HB1427 Various education matters Halts the
implementation of common core standards after May 15, 2013 until a
comprehensive evaluation is conducted.
·
Before July 1,
2013, the department shall provide a written evaluation of the common core
standards to the state board and the chairperson of the legislative study
committee established to study the common core standards and other standards
·
The comprehensive
evaluation must include:
o
An analysis from
the office of management and budget concerning the fiscal impact to the state
and school corporations if the state board fully implements the common core
standards or discontinues the implementation of the common core standards.
o
The state board to
hold at least three public meetings.
·
Not later than
November 15, 2013, the state board shall establish new categories or
designations of school performance which must be based on a measurement of
individual student academic performance and growth to proficiency and may not
be based on a measurement of student performance or growth compared with peers.
MCCOY Position:
Monitor
SB338 Absenteeism;
school improvement plans Addresses the issue of absenteeism from school.
·
The commission on
education study committee will examine the following issues:
o
Defining excused
and unexcused absences
o
Effectiveness of
voluntary agreements between school corporations and juvenile courts in
providing court supervised educational, alternative or diversion programs for
students who are habitually truant, suspended or expelled from school
including:
§ Number and types of agreements and programs in Indiana
§ Effects of programs on families and students
§ Success of programs in reintegrating students into the
classroom
o
Evidence based
practices and model programs for reducing absenteeism and supporting student
engagement and achievement
o
Feasibility of
modifying Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program eligibility to
include school attendance requirements for students
o
Any other issue
related to student absenteeism
·
Sets forth new definitions:
o “Chronic absenteeism”
means a student has been absent from school for 10% or more of a school year
for any reason
o “Habitual truancy”
means a student has been 10 days or more from school within a school year
without being excused or without being absent under a parental request that has
been filed with the school
·
Department of education will provide resources and
guidance to school corporations concerning evidence-based practices and
effective strategies to reduce absenteeism.
·
School corporations
and schools must identify contributing factors to absenteeism and to develop
chronic absence reduction plans.
o
Must include the
number of students who are habitually truant in the school corporation's annual
performance report.
MCCOY Position:
Support
SB422 Family friendly school designation Establishes the Indiana family friendly school
designation program.
·
Department of
education will develop the program and make available to schools best practices
in developing family engagement and parental involvement.
·
A school may
voluntarily request an assessment by the department of parental involvement in
the school.
·
Department may
designate a school as a family friendly school if the department determines
that the school has established parental engagement practices that increase
parental involvement and foster high student achievement.
MCCOY Position:
Support
OTHER
HB1001 Biennial budget The budget
included the following provisions:
·
Select Education Funding
o Indiana
Safe Schools General Fund: $1,095,340 (annual)
o Indiana
Safe Schools Fund: $400,053 (annual)
o Secured
School Safety Grants: $20,000,000 (bi-annual)
o Dropout
Prevention: $6,000,000 (annual)
o Early
Education Matching Grant Program: $2,000,000 (annual)
o Full-Day
Kindergarten: $196,968,528 (2014), $202,686,696 (2015)
·
School Corporation Performance Awards:
o ISTEP
and end-of-course assessment tests – schools with a passing rate between 72.5%
& 90% or 5% increase in passing rate receive $23.50 per passing test.
Schools with passing rate of at least 90% or increase of 5% receive $47 per
passing test.
o Nonwaiver
graduation rate – schools with nonwaiver graduation rate between 75% & 90%
receive $88 for each nonwaiver graduate. Schools with a nonwaiver graduation
rate over 90% or with over 5% increase from previous would receive $176 for
each nonwaiver graduate.
·
Education Reform
o Excel
Centers: charter schools that serve students who are at least 20 years of age
and who have dropped out of high school before receiving a diploma are removed
from funding through the school formula and are a separate line item at $6,600
per student. Grants for new charters for
these schools are prohibited. Indianapolis may grant a charter to a maximum of three
Christel House Academies which must be granted by July 1, 2013 and these
charter schools are not entitled to receive state funding.
o Choice
Scholarships: increase in maximum Choice Scholarship for grades 1-8 students
from $4500 to $4700 in FY2014 and to $4800 in FY2015.
o Requires
state board of education to develop alternative benchmarks, performance
indicators, and accountability standards to assess schools focusing exclusively
on providing academic programs to students with developmental, intellectual, or
behavioral challenges.
o Requires
state board of education to develop an alternative accountability system to
assess performance of charter schools that are dropout recovery schools or
accelerated learning centers.
o Financial
literacy program for K-12 students focusing on developing personal financial
responsibility; managing personal finances; using credit and incurring debt;
and saving and investing.
·
Department of Child Services (DCS)
o Requires
DCS to investigate all reports of child abuse or neglect received from a judge
or prosecutor and requires to forward all reports of child abuse or neglect
received from medical personnel, school personnel, a social worker, law
enforcement officials or personnel, judiciary personnel, or prosecutor
personnel to the appropriate local office.
MCCOY Position:
Monitor
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