Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1498
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 20-31-8.
Synopsis: School accountability. Repeals certain provisions regarding
statewide assessment scores and the establishment of categories or
designations of school performance. Requires the state board of
education to establish a new methodology for designating school
performance.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Behning
January 21, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
2025 IN 1498—LS 7495/DI 152 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
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Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1498
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 20-31-8-1 IS REPEALED [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
2 2025]. Sec. 1. (a) The performance of a school's students on the
3 statewide assessment program test and other criterion referenced
4 benchmark assessments recommended by the department and approved
5 by the state board are the primary and majority means of assessing a
6 school's improvement. The state board may, and is encouraged to,
7 incorporate social studies and science as indicators for assessing school
8 improvement.
9 (b) The department shall examine and make recommendations to the
10 state board concerning:
11 (1) performance indicators to be used as a secondary means of
12 determining school progress;
13 (2) expected progress levels, continuous improvement measures,
14 distributional performance levels, and absolute performance
15 levels for schools; and
16 (3) an orderly transition from the performance based accreditation
17 system to the assessment system set forth in this article.
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1 (c) The department shall consider methods of measuring
2 improvement and progress used in other states in developing
3 recommendations under this section.
4 (d) The department may consider:
5 (1) the likelihood that a student may fail to meet a postsecondary
6 readiness competency established by the state board under
7 IC 20-32-4-1.5(c) and require a waiver under IC 20-32-4-4.1 or
8 IC 20-32-4-5; and
9 (2) remedial needs of students who are likely to require remedial
10 work while the students attend a postsecondary educational
11 institution or workforce training program;
12 when making recommendations under this section.
13 SECTION 2. IC 20-31-8-2 IS REPEALED [EFFECTIVE JULY 1,
14 2025]. Sec. 2. (a) In addition to scores on the statewide assessment
15 program test and other assessments, the department shall use the
16 performance indicators developed by the state board and the
17 benchmarks and indicators of performance in each school corporation's
18 annual performance report as a secondary means of assessing the
19 performance of each school and school corporation.
20 (b) The department shall assess school performance in the following
21 manner:
22 (1) Compare the academic performance and growth of the
23 individual students in each school and each school corporation
24 with the prior academic performance and growth of the individual
25 students in the school or school corporation and not to the
26 performance of other schools or school corporations.
27 (2) Compare the results for a school by comparing each student's
28 results for each grade with the student's prior year results, with an
29 adjustment for student mobility rate.
30 (3) Compare the results for a school with the state average and the
31 ninety-fifth percentile level for all assessments and performance
32 indicators.
33 SECTION 3. IC 20-31-8-4, AS AMENDED BY P.L.287-2019,
34 SECTION 8, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
35 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 4. (a) The state board shall place each school in
36 a category or designation of school performance once annually based
37 on the department's findings from the assessment of performance and
38 academic growth methodology developed under section 2 11 of this
39 chapter.
40 (b) The state board may place a school in a category or designation
41 of school performance only if:
42 (1) the department has provided each school the opportunity to
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1 review, add to, or supplement the data, and to correct any errors
2 in the data; and
3 (2) the state board's staff has had an opportunity to review and
4 analyze the school corporation, school, and student level data.
5 (c) Based on procedures adopted by the state board, a school
6 corporation or school that focuses primarily on providing an academic
7 program for students with developmental, intellectual, or behavioral
8 challenges may petition the state board for review of the school
9 corporation's or school's category or designation of school performance
10 placement based on objective factors that the school corporation or
11 school considers relevant because the annual assessment data does not
12 accurately reflect, as applicable, school performance, growth, or
13 multiple measures. Objective factors include:
14 (1) significant demographic changes in the student population;
15 (2) errors in data; or
16 (3) other significant issues.
17 After considering the petition for review, the state board may direct the
18 department to revise the category or designation assigned to the school
19 corporation or school, including assigning a "null" or "no letter grade"
20 category or designation to the school corporation or school. The state
21 board may grant the "null" designation for multiple years.
22 (d) The state board may obtain assistance from another entity or,
23 with the approval of the legislative council, the legislative services
24 agency, to ensure the validity and reliability of the performance
25 category or designation placements calculated by the department using
26 the methodology developed under section 2 11 of this chapter. The
27 department shall provide all the data necessary to complete those
28 calculations to the legislative services agency or to an entity designated
29 by the state board.
30 SECTION 4. IC 20-31-8-5.4 IS REPEALED [EFFECTIVE JULY
31 1, 2025]. Sec. 5.4. (a) Not later than November 15, 2013, the state
32 board shall establish new categories or designations of school
33 performance under the requirements of this chapter to replace 511
34 IAC 6.2-6. The new standards of assessing school performance:
35 (1) must be based on a measurement of individual student
36 academic performance and growth to proficiency; and
37 (2) may not be based on a measurement of student performance
38 or growth compared with peers.
39 511 IAC 6.2-6 is void on the effective date of the rules adopted under
40 this section.
41 (b) After July 1, 2013, the state board shall adopt rules under
42 IC 4-22-2 to implement this chapter.
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1 (c) Before beginning the rulemaking process to establish new
2 categories or designations of school improvement, the state board shall
3 report to the general assembly the proposed new categories or
4 designations in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
5 SECTION 5. IC 20-31-8-10, AS ADDED BY P.L.269-2019,
6 SECTION 7, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
7 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 10. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this
8 section, if requested by a school, the department may place the school
9 in a "null" or "no letter grade" category for purposes of this chapter for
10 the first three (3) consecutive years of operation of the school.
11 (b) Subject to subsection (c), an innovation network school that
12 reconfigures an existing school must apply to the state board, in a
13 manner prescribed by the state board, to request to receive a "null" or
14 "no letter grade" for the reconfigured school during the school's first
15 three (3) consecutive years of operation by an innovation network team.
16 (c) In order to qualify for a "null" or "no letter grade" under
17 subsection (b), an innovation network school must clearly demonstrate:
18 (1) a significant change in educational philosophy from the
19 existing school and that the reconfiguration of the school is not
20 being made to avoid accountability; or
21 (2) any other item that the state board finds appropriate.
22 The state board shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to establish criteria
23 that the state board may consider in determining whether to grant an
24 innovation network school's request under subsection (b) and this
25 subsection.
26 (d) Subject to subsection (e), if the department used student growth
27 as the state board's exclusive means to determine an:
28 (1) innovation network school's category or designation of school
29 improvement under IC 20-25.7-4-5(d)(3) for the 2018-2019
30 school year; or
31 (2) innovation network charter school's category or designation of
32 school improvement under IC 20-25.7-5-2(d)(3) for the
33 2018-2019 school year;
34 the department shall, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and
35 unless an innovation network school or innovation network charter
36 school requests otherwise, place the innovation network school or the
37 innovation network charter school, whichever is applicable, in a "null"
38 or "no letter grade" category for purposes of this chapter for not more
39 than the number of school years determined for the innovation network
40 school or innovation network charter school under subsection (e)
41 consecutively. This subsection expires July 1, 2023.
42 (e) Each innovation network school described in subsection (d)(1)
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1 and each innovation network charter school described in subsection
2 (d)(2) may not be placed in a "null" or "no letter grade" category under
3 subsection (d) for more than the number of years that equal the result
4 of:
5 (1) three (3) school years; minus
6 (2) the number of school years that student growth was used as
7 the state board's exclusive means to determine the category or
8 designation of school improvement for the innovation network
9 school or innovation network charter school.
10 This subsection expires July 1, 2023.
11 (f) (d) The department shall post the proficiency and growth scores
12 of an innovation network school, an innovation network charter school,
13 or a school described in subsection (a) on the department's Internet web
14 site website for each year the innovation network school, innovation
15 network charter school, or school receives a "null" or "no letter grade"
16 under this section.
17 SECTION 6. IC 20-31-8-11 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
18 AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
19 1, 2025]: Sec. 11. (a) Not later than December 31, 2025, the state
20 board shall establish a new methodology for designating school
21 performance under section 3 of this chapter. The methodology
22 developed under this section must do the following:
23 (1) Be based on data available in the department's Internet
24 dashboard established under section 5.5 of this chapter.
25 (2) Include proficiency rates from the determinant evaluation
26 of reading skills approved by the state board for schools that
27 contain grade 3.
28 (3) Include proficiency rates from the statewide summative
29 assessment.
30 (4) Prioritize the attainment of a diploma seal described in
31 511 IAC 6-7.2-8.
32 (5) Include a high school graduation on track indicator for
33 high schools.
34 (6) Consider other factors the state board considers relevant.
35 (b) The state board shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
36 implement this chapter.
37 (c) 511 IAC 6.2-10 shall become void on the date the rules
38 concerning subsection (a) are adopted by the state board. At that
39 time, the publisher of the Indiana Administrative Code and the
40 Indiana Register shall remove this provision from the Indiana
41 Administrative Code.
42 SECTION 7. IC 20-31-8-11.1 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
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1 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
2 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 11.1. (a) Not later than December
3 31, 2026, the state board shall place each school in a category,
4 using an "A" through "F" scale, to designate school performance
5 as described in section 3 of this chapter using the methodology
6 developed under section 11 of this chapter.
7 (b) This section expires July 1, 2027.
8 SECTION 8. [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025] (a) The definitions in
9 IC 20 apply throughout this SECTION.
10 (b) Notwithstanding IC 20-31-8, as amended by this act, and 511
11 IAC 6.2-10, the state board shall assign to a school or school
12 corporation a "null" or "no letter grade" for the 2024-2025 school
13 year.
14 (c) Notwithstanding IC 20-31-8, as amended by this act, and 511
15 IAC 6.3-1, the state board shall assign an adult high school a "null"
16 or "no letter grade" category for the 2024-2025 school year.
17 (d) This SECTION expires January 1, 2026.
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