Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1246
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 20-19-12.
Synopsis: Comprehensive student support program. Establishes the
comprehensive student support program (program) for the purposes of:
(1) funding the formation and staffing of school based and district level
comprehensive student support teams; (2) improving staffing ratios for
student support personnel; (3) supporting the creation, expansion, and
work of multidisciplinary school teams to address the school
environment, school safety, school improvement, and crisis
intervention and emergency preparedness; and (4) professional
development for student support personnel. Establishes the
comprehensive student support program state board (board). Provides
that the board administers the program. Establishes the comprehensive
student support program fund for the purpose of funding the program,
and annually appropriates to the fund $1,000,000 from cigarette tax
revenue, registration fees, fines, and penalties deposited in the state
general fund.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Shackleford
January 9, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
2025 IN 1246—LS 6980/DI 147 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
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HOUSE BILL No. 1246
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education and to make an appropriation.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 20-19-12 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
2 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2025]:
4 Chapter 12. Comprehensive Student Support Program
5 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "board" refers to the
6 comprehensive student support program state board established by
7 section 5 of this chapter.
8 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the
9 comprehensive student support program fund established by
10 section 7 of this chapter.
11 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "program" refers to the
12 comprehensive student support program established by section 4
13 of this chapter.
14 Sec. 4. (a) The comprehensive student support program is
15 established for the following purposes:
16 (1) Funding annual grants for school corporations and
17 charter schools to support the formation and staffing of
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1 school based and district level comprehensive student support
2 teams in order to:
3 (A) increase the role of student support personnel in
4 providing appropriate professional development to
5 advance equity, social justice, and positive school discipline
6 and related competencies among teachers, administrators,
7 and support staff; and
8 (B) support the adoption of a comprehensive, school wide
9 approach to fostering a school environment that facilitates
10 interdisciplinary collaboration, builds on a multi-tiered
11 system of supports, and improves equitable access to
12 school based mental health supports for all students.
13 (2) Improving staffing ratios for student support personnel in
14 order to:
15 (A) allow for a full range of services accessible by all
16 students;
17 (B) employ effective partnerships and collaborations
18 between schools and communities; and
19 (C) reduce out of school suspensions, address
20 disproportionality in discipline, and limit arrests and
21 referrals to law enforcement to situations necessary to
22 protect the health and safety of students, families, and
23 school employees.
24 (3) Supporting the creation, expansion, and work of
25 multidisciplinary teams within schools that collaborate with
26 school leadership teams, families, and community partners in
27 addressing the school environment, school safety, school
28 improvement, and crisis intervention and emergency
29 preparedness, in order to achieve an integrated approach that
30 advances a culturally responsive approach to positive school
31 discipline and trauma informed practices.
32 (4) Equipping student support personnel with professional
33 development that supports best practices for working with
34 students and families.
35 (b) The board shall administer the program.
36 (c) The program must:
37 (1) provide annual grants to school corporations to assist in
38 improving student support staff ratios and establishing
39 comprehensive student support teams to improve the school
40 environment, school safety, and equitable student academic
41 success and outcomes; and
42 (2) provide information and make recommendations
2025 IN 1246—LS 6980/DI 147 3
1 concerning best practices and available resources from fields
2 related to student, family, and educator support.
3 Sec. 5. (a) The comprehensive student support program state
4 board is established as a continuing board under the executive
5 branch.
6 (b) The department shall staff the board.
7 (c) The department, in consultation with educational and
8 student services professional associations, shall appoint the
9 members of the board as follows:
10 (1) One (1) school administrator, principal, or dean of
11 discipline.
12 (2) Two (2) teachers:
13 (A) one (1) of whom must teach in kindergarten through
14 grade 8; and
15 (B) one (1) of whom must teach in grades 9 through 12.
16 (3) One (1) school counselor.
17 (4) One (1) school psychologist.
18 (5) One (1) school social worker.
19 (6) One (1) school nurse.
20 (7) One (1) school resource officer.
21 (8) One (1) special education administrator or special
22 education teacher.
23 (9) One (1) expert on trauma informed practices.
24 (10) One (1) expert on:
25 (A) positive behavior interventions and supports; or
26 (B) restorative justice.
27 (11) One (1) expert on culturally responsive practices.
28 (12) One (1) mental health practitioner.
29 (13) One (1) community stakeholder.
30 (14) One (1) student in kindergarten through grade 12.
31 (15) One (1) parent or guardian of a student in kindergarten
32 through grade 12.
33 The membership of the board must be culturally diverse.
34 (d) The members of the board shall annually appoint a
35 chairperson from among the board's members.
36 (e) The board shall meet at the call of the chairperson. The
37 department shall coordinate meetings of the board.
38 (f) A member serves at the will of the appointing authority. The
39 term of a member ends on June 30 of the next odd-numbered year
40 following the member's appointment. However, the member may
41 be reappointed to subsequent terms.
42 (g) If a vacancy exists on the board, the appointing authority
2025 IN 1246—LS 6980/DI 147 4
1 who appointed the former member whose position is vacant shall
2 appoint an individual to fill the vacancy. An individual appointed
3 to fill a vacancy serves for the remainder of the term of the former
4 member.
5 (h) All members appointed to the board are voting members.
6 Nine (9) members of the board constitute a quorum. The
7 affirmative votes of a majority of the members are required to take
8 official action.
9 (i) A member of the board who is not a state employee is not
10 entitled to the minimum salary per diem provided by
11 IC 4-10-11-2.1(b). The member is, however, entitled to
12 reimbursement for mileage and traveling expenses as provided
13 under IC 4-13-1-4 and other expenses actually incurred in
14 connection with the member's duties as provided in the state
15 policies and procedures established by the Indiana department of
16 administration and approved by the budget agency.
17 (j) Each member of the board who is a state employee, but who
18 is not a member of the general assembly, is entitled to
19 reimbursement for mileage and traveling expenses as provided
20 under IC 4-13-1-4 and other expenses actually incurred in
21 connection with the member's duties as provided in the state
22 policies and procedures established by the Indiana department of
23 administration and approved by the budget agency.
24 (k) The board shall perform the following duties:
25 (1) Advise and recommend evidence informed practices for
26 the program.
27 (2) Conduct a review of 511 IAC 4-1.5 to determine whether
28 511 IAC 4-1.5 requires amendment to conform with this
29 chapter.
30 (3) Approve or disapprove applications for matching grants
31 from the fund.
32 (4) Set standards to assist schools in effectively and accurately
33 assessing the schools' staffing levels of student services
34 personnel.
35 (5) Recommend standards for district level policies to
36 promote equitable and effective school discipline and positive
37 behavior.
38 (6) Make recommendations for intra-agency and interagency
39 collaboration to strengthen the ability of schools to provide
40 coordinated services to address inequities and barriers to
41 learning, mental health, and school safety.
42 (7) Develop a comprehensive plan for student support
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1 workforce development, in consultation with educational
2 professional associations and university programs.
3 (8) Advise the department regarding training curricula and
4 standards for student support personnel.
5 (9) Advise the department regarding training standards based
6 on principles of equity and social justice.
7 Sec. 6. (a) The department shall:
8 (1) administer the matching grant program and other
9 activities of the board;
10 (2) conduct annual training sessions for student support
11 personnel in consultation with educational and student
12 support professional associations; and
13 (3) develop appropriate guidelines, curricula, and standards
14 for student support personnel.
15 (b) Curricula developed under subsection (a)(3) must include
16 training in:
17 (1) culturally responsive practices, equity, and social justice;
18 (2) implicit bias;
19 (3) trauma informed practices; and
20 (4) positive school discipline practices.
21 Sec. 7. (a) The comprehensive student support program fund is
22 established to provide matching grants for school corporations and
23 charter schools for the purposes of:
24 (1) improving ratios of student to student service staff; and
25 (2) furthering the creation of multidisciplinary student
26 services personnel teams to help improve the school
27 environment and school safety, increase access to services for
28 all students, and foster academic success and positive student
29 outcomes for all students.
30 (b) The department shall administer the fund.
31 (c) The fund consists of:
32 (1) money appropriated to the fund under subsection (d);
33 (2) money appropriated to the fund by the general assembly
34 in addition to money appropriated to the fund under
35 subsection (d); and
36 (3) donations, gifts, and money received from any other
37 source, including transfers from other funds or accounts.
38 Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert
39 to the state general fund.
40 (d) There is annually appropriated to the fund one million
41 dollars ($1,000,000) from money deposited in the state general fund
42 under IC 6-7-1-28.1(1).
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1 (e) The board shall annually award matching grants from the
2 fund to school corporations for the following purposes:
3 (1) Building multidisciplinary teams in schools that are
4 comprised of school counselors, school psychologists, school
5 social workers, and school nurses, and paying related
6 expenses to support these teams.
7 (2) Employing appropriately licensed school psychologists,
8 school counselors, school social workers, and school nurses at
9 both the district and school level to improve student support
10 staff ratios to help meet national best practice standards.
11 (3) Providing professional development and training for
12 school staff or community partners to address competencies
13 essential to creating positive learning environments, including
14 those related to school environment and safety, positive
15 discipline, culturally responsive practices, equity and social
16 justice issues, implicit bias, trauma informed practices, and
17 crisis prevention, preparedness, and response.
18 (4) Providing technology or equipment needs for staff hired
19 under the program.
20 (f) To qualify for funding a position pursuant to a grant, the
21 intended personnel must have appropriate credentials and training
22 to provide student support expertise and professional development
23 for staff and the school community to help improve school climate,
24 safety, equitable practices, academic success, and positive student
25 outcomes.
26 (g) To apply for a grant under this section, a school corporation
27 shall:
28 (1) agree to match ten percent (10%) of the amount of the
29 grant;
30 (2) submit to the board a comprehensive student support
31 plan; and
32 (3) agree that each school in the school corporation shall:
33 (A) collect and regularly review disaggregated data on
34 school suspensions and expulsions, school level arrests, and
35 referrals to outside agencies; and
36 (B) collect data on perceptions of school environment, and
37 the number and type of programs and activities engaged in
38 by student support personnel whose positions are funded
39 by the grant.
40 (h) A student support plan submitted under subsection (g) must
41 demonstrate that:
42 (1) the school corporation has a long term commitment to
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1 improving student support staff ratios in order to effectively
2 operate multidisciplinary teams at the district level and in all
3 schools in the school corporation;
4 (2) the multidisciplinary teams will work collaboratively with
5 school leadership teams, families, and community partners
6 and help provide the expertise to achieve comprehensive
7 integration of social, emotional, and behavioral health
8 services at the district and school levels and to implement
9 strategies for using high quality interventions that are
10 accessible by all students;
11 (3) the plan is based on clear district policy priorities and a
12 documented need at the district and school level to direct
13 funding to programs and practices that will effectively
14 address school environment and safety concerns and improve
15 equitable academic success and school outcomes;
16 (4) coordination with existing school programs and teams will
17 help inform the district and school level annual planning
18 process, including crisis preparation, school safety, positive
19 school discipline, and school achievement and improvement
20 plans;
21 (5) the plan targets services that are most needed,
22 appropriate, and culturally responsive to a school's unique
23 student population and learning community; and
24 (6) multidisciplinary teams will help develop and support
25 current and future planning to achieve an interconnected
26 framework of systems linking:
27 (A) multi-tiered systems of support that encompass
28 prevention, wellness promotion, interventions, and
29 evidence based approaches to address the complex needs
30 of children and youth experiencing, or at risk for,
31 academic, emotional, behavioral, or mental health
32 challenges;
33 (B) professional training of all staff on, and
34 implementation of, activities and programs advancing
35 equity and social justice, student and family engagement,
36 social emotional learning, culturally responsive practices,
37 restorative practices, positive behavioral supports, trauma
38 responsive practices, nonexclusionary discipline practices,
39 and regular use of disaggregated data in evaluating school
40 practices;
41 (C) the development of evidence based standards for
42 district and school level policies to promote effective school
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1 discipline and positive behavior;
2 (D) communication strategies among the multidisciplinary
3 team and district and school leadership personnel to
4 advance school safety and the school environment in a
5 positive and equitable learning environment; and
6 (E) district and school teams to collaboratively address
7 school safety efforts, including crisis response and
8 emergency preparedness activities, within a positive
9 learning environment.
10 (i) A school corporation's second and subsequent applications
11 for a grant under this section must:
12 (1) present data collected under subsection (g)(3) for purposes
13 of assessing the extent of improvement in outcomes regarding
14 positive school environment, school safety, and equitable
15 academic and behavioral student outcomes; and
16 (2) include a data statement that analyzes root causes related
17 to underlying reasons for disproportionate outcomes.
18 (j) A grant awarded under this section may not exceed the
19 following:
20 (1) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per year, in the
21 case of:
22 (A) a school corporation or charter school that has an
23 ADM of at least one thousand (1,000); or
24 (B) a cooperative of school corporations whose ADM
25 collectively totals at least one thousand (1,000).
26 (2) Sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) per year, in the case of:
27 (A) a school corporation or charter school that has an
28 ADM of less than one thousand (1,000); or
29 (B) a cooperative of school corporations whose ADM
30 collectively totals less than one thousand (1,000).
31 (k) Grant funds awarded under this section may not be used to
32 fund unlicensed staffing positions or school security positions.
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