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Indiana House Bill HB1501

Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana House Bill HB1501 Compare Versions

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22 Introduced Version
33 HOUSE BILL No. 1501
44 _____
55 DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
66 Citations Affected: IC 20-20.
77 Synopsis: Facilities and transportation pilot programs. Establishes a
88 three school year: (1) centralized school facilities pilot program; and
99 (2) student transportation pilot program. Requires school corporations
1010 that meet certain criteria to participate in the centralized school
1111 facilities pilot program and student transportation pilot program, as
1212 applicable. Allows: (1) not more than three school corporations, as
1313 selected by the department of education (department), to voluntarily
1414 participate in the centralized school facilities pilot program; and (2) not
1515 more than three school corporations, as selected by the department, to
1616 voluntarily participate in the student transportation pilot program.
1717 Establishes a: (1) local centralized school facilities board; and (2) local
1818 student transportation board; for each participating school corporation
1919 and grants the local boards certain powers and duties. Provides that,
2020 after the three year pilot program period, each local centralized school
2121 facilities board and local student transportation board maintain the
2222 powers and duties of the board and may impose property tax levies.
2323 Requires the department of local government finance, in consultation
2424 with the department, to prepare recommendations regarding legislation
2525 and procedures to ensure the permanent transition of powers and duties
2626 to the centralized school facilities boards and local student
2727 transportation boards, as applicable.
2828 Effective: July 1, 2025.
2929 Behning
3030 January 21, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
3131 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 Introduced
3232 First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
3333 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
3434 Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
3535 additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
3636 Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
3737 provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
3838 word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
3939 a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
4040 Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
4141 between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
4242 HOUSE BILL No. 1501
4343 A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
4444 education.
4545 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
4646 1 SECTION 1. IC 20-20-51 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
4747 2 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
4848 3 JULY 1, 2025]:
4949 4 Chapter 51. Centralized School Facilities Pilot Program and
5050 5 Local Boards
5151 6 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "local board" refers to a local
5252 7 centralized school facilities board established under section 5 of
5353 8 this chapter.
5454 9 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "pilot program" means the
5555 10 centralized school facilities pilot program established by section 3
5656 11 of this chapter.
5757 12 Sec. 3. (a) The centralized school facilities pilot program is
5858 13 established to provide innovative approaches concerning the use,
5959 14 operation, and management of school facilities to promote:
6060 15 (1) enhanced learning environments;
6161 16 (2) unique learning opportunities; and
6262 17 (3) improved student academic and health outcomes;
6363 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 2
6464 1 in accordance with the plan submitted to the general assembly by
6565 2 the secretary of education under IC 20-19-3-32.
6666 3 (b) A school corporation in which more than fifty percent (50%)
6767 4 of the students who have legal settlement in the school corporation
6868 5 were, on the 2024 fall ADM count date under IC 20-43-4-3,
6969 6 enrolled in:
7070 7 (1) a school that is not operated by the school corporation; or
7171 8 (2) an innovation network school established under
7272 9 IC 20-25.7-4;
7373 10 shall participate in the pilot program.
7474 11 (c) The pilot program is established for a three (3) year period
7575 12 consisting of the 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 school
7676 13 years.
7777 14 Sec. 4. (a) In addition to a school corporation that is required to
7878 15 participate in the pilot program under section 3 of this chapter, a
7979 16 school corporation may apply to the department to participate in
8080 17 the pilot program.
8181 18 (b) The department:
8282 19 (1) may approve not more than a total of three (3) school
8383 20 corporations under this section to participate in the pilot
8484 21 program; and
8585 22 (2) shall establish the application process and criteria to
8686 23 participate in the pilot program under this section.
8787 24 Sec. 5. (a) Subject to subsection (b), not later than October 31,
8888 25 2025, a local centralized school facilities board is established for
8989 26 each participating school corporation.
9090 27 (b) Each local board must:
9191 28 (1) be independent from the school corporation and any
9292 29 school; and
9393 30 (2) consist of the following members:
9494 31 (A) Two (2) members appointed by the:
9595 32 (i) executive of a city; or
9696 33 (ii) mayor of the town;
9797 34 that represents the largest population of students within
9898 35 the geographic boundaries of the participating school
9999 36 corporation.
100100 37 (B) One (1) member appointed by the legislative body (as
101101 38 defined in IC 36-1-2-9) of a consolidated city or the
102102 39 municipality that represents the largest population of
103103 40 students within the geographic boundaries of the
104104 41 participating school corporation.
105105 42 (C) One (1) member appointed by the speaker of the house
106106 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 3
107107 1 of representatives.
108108 2 (D) One (1) member appointed by the president pro
109109 3 tempore of the senate.
110110 4 (c) An employee or member of the governing body of a
111111 5 participating school corporation may not be appointed to a local
112112 6 board under subsection (a).
113113 7 (d) Each local board must include members who collectively
114114 8 have expertise in the following:
115115 9 (1) Facility management, construction, or real estate.
116116 10 (2) Public finance or public debt issuance.
117117 11 (3) Demographic analysis and urban planning.
118118 12 (4) Organizational effectiveness, operations management, and
119119 13 implementing best practices.
120120 14 (5) Government contracts.
121121 15 (6) Budget development and oversight.
122122 16 Sec. 6. Notwithstanding any other state law or rule, each local
123123 17 board shall provide oversight and management of school facilities
124124 18 with a focus on best use and upkeep of assets funded by taxpayers.
125125 19 Sec. 7. Each local board shall create a pilot program
126126 20 implementation plan that includes measures to:
127127 21 (1) determine term lengths and member replacement
128128 22 processes for the local board;
129129 23 (2) conduct school facility assessments for all applicable
130130 24 school facilities;
131131 25 (3) implement a process to approve or deny any levy requests
132132 26 related to capital expenditures;
133133 27 (4) implement a process to receive and distribute tax revenue,
134134 28 as needed;
135135 29 (5) improve the health and safety of students and teachers;
136136 30 (6) allow for additional flexibility and creativity in terms of
137137 31 what is considered a school facility, including considerations
138138 32 surrounding colocation with other schools, governmental
139139 33 entities, or community organizations;
140140 34 (7) enter into revenue sharing agreements and asset use
141141 35 agreements for all school facilities within the geographic
142142 36 boundaries of the applicable school corporation for the three
143143 37 (3) year period of the pilot program;
144144 38 (8) address any existing excess capacity in school facilities;
145145 39 (9) inspire opportunities for partnership with other
146146 40 governmental entities or local nonprofit organizations to
147147 41 transform school facilities into broader community assets for
148148 42 residents;
149149 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 4
150150 1 (10) implement best practices in facilities management and
151151 2 operations;
152152 3 (11) track qualitative and quantitative data to gauge the
153153 4 success of the pilot program;
154154 5 (12) collect and report data in a manner prescribed by the
155155 6 department regarding school facilities included in the pilot
156156 7 program;
157157 8 (13) manage any school facility related debt for the duration
158158 9 of the pilot program;
159159 10 (14) implement a maintenance plan and contract with
160160 11 vendors, as needed, for the duration of the three (3) year pilot
161161 12 program;
162162 13 (15) permanently transfer ownership of assets to the local
163163 14 board at the conclusion of the three (3) year period of the pilot
164164 15 program; and
165165 16 (16) develop and implement a long term asset management
166166 17 and sustainability plan that includes establishing the local
167167 18 board as a taxing unit.
168168 19 Sec. 8. Notwithstanding any other state law or rule, beginning
169169 20 with the 2026-2027 school year, each local board established under
170170 21 section 5 of this chapter:
171171 22 (1) shall exercise the full powers and duties provided under
172172 23 this chapter; and
173173 24 (2) has the authority to approve or deny any property tax levy
174174 25 approved by the governing body of the applicable school
175175 26 corporation.
176176 27 Sec. 9. Each local board may contract with outside entities to
177177 28 provide capacity to create, implement, or create and implement the
178178 29 implementation plan created under section 7 of this chapter.
179179 30 Sec. 10. (a) Notwithstanding any other state law or rule,
180180 31 beginning with the 2029-2030 school year, the following occur:
181181 32 (1) A local board maintains all the duties and powers under
182182 33 this chapter.
183183 34 (2) Participating school corporations must transfer all assets
184184 35 and related funding regarding school facilities to the
185185 36 applicable local board.
186186 37 (3) A local board may impose property tax levies.
187187 38 (b) Not later than July 1, 2028, the department of local
188188 39 government finance, in consultation with the department, shall do
189189 40 the following:
190190 41 (1) Prepare a report that includes recommendations
191191 42 regarding legislation and procedures to transfer the duties
192192 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 5
193193 1 and powers of the school corporation to the applicable local
194194 2 board as provided under this chapter.
195195 3 (2) Submit the report to the legislative council in an electronic
196196 4 format under IC 5-14-6.
197197 5 Sec. 11. Not later than July 1, 2029, the department shall do the
198198 6 following:
199199 7 (1) Prepare a plan to adopt best practices from the pilot
200200 8 program statewide.
201201 9 (2) Submit the plan to the legislative council in an electronic
202202 10 format under IC 5-14-6.
203203 11 Sec. 12. This chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the
204204 12 purposes of this chapter.
205205 13 Sec. 13. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, to the
206206 14 extent the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the
207207 15 provisions of any other general, special, or local law, the provisions
208208 16 of this chapter are controlling, and compliance with this chapter
209209 17 shall be treated as compliance with the conflicting law.
210210 18 SECTION 2. IC 20-20-52 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
211211 19 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
212212 20 JULY 1, 2025]:
213213 21 Chapter 52. Student Transportation Pilot Program
214214 22 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "local board" refers to a local
215215 23 student transportation board established under section 5 of this
216216 24 chapter.
217217 25 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "pilot program" refers to the
218218 26 student transportation pilot program established by section 3 of
219219 27 this chapter.
220220 28 Sec. 3. (a) The student transportation pilot program is
221221 29 established to provide transportation to all students attending:
222222 30 (1) public schools, including charter schools; and
223223 31 (2) nonpublic schools with at least one (1) employee;
224224 32 within the geographic boundaries of the school corporation.
225225 33 (b) A school corporation in which more than fifty percent (50%)
226226 34 of the students who have legal settlement in the school corporation
227227 35 were, on the 2024 fall ADM count date under IC 20-43-4-3,
228228 36 enrolled in:
229229 37 (1) a school that is not operated by the school corporation; or
230230 38 (2) an innovation network school established under
231231 39 IC 20-25.7-4;
232232 40 shall participate in the pilot program.
233233 41 (c) The pilot program is established for a three (3) year period
234234 42 consisting of the 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 school
235235 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 6
236236 1 years.
237237 2 Sec. 4. (a) In addition to a school corporation that is required to
238238 3 participate in the pilot program under section 3 of this chapter, a
239239 4 school corporation may apply to the department to participate in
240240 5 the pilot program.
241241 6 (b) The department:
242242 7 (1) may approve not more than a total of three (3) school
243243 8 corporations under this section to participate in the pilot
244244 9 program; and
245245 10 (2) shall establish the application process and criteria to
246246 11 participate in the pilot program under this section.
247247 12 Sec. 5. (a) Subject to subsection (b), not later than October 31,
248248 13 2025, a local student transportation board is established for each
249249 14 participating school corporation.
250250 15 (b) Each local board must:
251251 16 (1) be independent from the school corporation and any
252252 17 school; and
253253 18 (2) consist of the following members:
254254 19 (A) Two (2) members appointed by the:
255255 20 (i) executive of a city; or
256256 21 (ii) mayor of the town;
257257 22 that represents the largest population of students within
258258 23 the geographic boundaries of the participating school
259259 24 corporation.
260260 25 (B) One (1) member appointed by the legislative body (as
261261 26 defined in IC 36-1-2-9) of a consolidated city or the
262262 27 municipality that represents the largest population of
263263 28 students within the geographic boundaries of the
264264 29 participating school corporation.
265265 30 (C) One (1) member appointed by the speaker of the house
266266 31 of representatives.
267267 32 (D) One (1) member appointed by the president pro
268268 33 tempore of the senate.
269269 34 (c) An employee or member of the governing body of a
270270 35 participating school corporation may not be appointed to a local
271271 36 board under subsection (a).
272272 37 (d) Each local board must include members who collectively
273273 38 have expertise in the following:
274274 39 (1) Transportation logistics, particularly involving movement
275275 40 of passengers.
276276 41 (2) Finance and business.
277277 42 (3) Organizational effectiveness, operations management, and
278278 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 7
279279 1 implementing best practices.
280280 2 (4) Government contracts.
281281 3 (5) Budget development and oversight.
282282 4 Sec. 6. Notwithstanding any other state law or rule, each local
283283 5 board shall be responsible for the oversight and management of the
284284 6 transportation of students described in section 3 of this chapter in
285285 7 a safe and efficient manner in accordance with the plan submitted
286286 8 to the general assembly by the secretary of education under
287287 9 IC 20-19-3-33.
288288 10 Sec. 7. Each local board shall create a pilot program
289289 11 implementation plan that includes measures to:
290290 12 (1) determine term lengths and member replacement
291291 13 processes for the local board;
292292 14 (2) allow for additional flexibility and creativity to
293293 15 accommodate student needs throughout the school day,
294294 16 including transportation:
295295 17 (A) to and from school;
296296 18 (B) for before and after school opportunities;
297297 19 (C) for work based learning experiences;
298298 20 (D) for extracurricular activities; and
299299 21 (E) for specialized educational opportunities;
300300 22 (3) improve safety and efficiency for students;
301301 23 (4) increase collaboration between schools, governmental
302302 24 entities, and community organizations;
303303 25 (5) track qualitative and quantitative data to gauge the
304304 26 success of the pilot program;
305305 27 (6) collect and report data in a manner prescribed by the
306306 28 department regarding the pilot program;
307307 29 (7) provide uninterrupted transportation services for
308308 30 homeless students or students in foster care as provided by
309309 31 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance
310310 32 Improvements Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.);
311311 33 (8) inspire opportunities for public-private partnerships or
312312 34 partnerships with other governmental entities or local
313313 35 nonprofit organizations;
314314 36 (9) enter into revenue sharing agreements and asset use
315315 37 agreements with participating schools for the duration of the
316316 38 three (3) year period of the pilot program;
317317 39 (10) manage any transportation related debt for the three (3)
318318 40 year period of the pilot program;
319319 41 (11) implement purchasing and maintenance plans and
320320 42 contracts with vendors, as needed, for the three (3) year
321321 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 8
322322 1 period of the pilot program;
323323 2 (12) permanently transfer ownership of assets to the local
324324 3 board at the conclusion of the pilot program; and
325325 4 (13) develop and implement a long term asset management
326326 5 and sustainability plan which includes establishing the local
327327 6 board as a taxing unit.
328328 7 Sec. 8. Notwithstanding any other state law or rule, beginning
329329 8 with the 2026-2027 school year, each local board established under
330330 9 section 5 of this chapter:
331331 10 (1) shall exercise the full powers and duties provided under
332332 11 this chapter, including providing transportation services to
333333 12 students described in section 3 of this chapter; and
334334 13 (2) has the authority to approve or deny any property tax levy
335335 14 approved by the governing body of the applicable school
336336 15 corporation.
337337 16 Sec. 9. Each local board may contract with outside entities to
338338 17 provide capacity to create, implement, or create and implement the
339339 18 implementation plan created under section 7 of this chapter.
340340 19 Sec. 10. (a) Notwithstanding any other state law or rule,
341341 20 beginning with the 2029-2030 school year, the following occur:
342342 21 (1) A local board maintains all the duties and powers under
343343 22 this chapter.
344344 23 (2) Participating school corporations must transfer all assets
345345 24 and related funding regarding school transportation to the
346346 25 applicable local board.
347347 26 (3) A local board may impose property tax levies.
348348 27 (b) Not later than July 1, 2028, the department of local
349349 28 government finance, in consultation with the department, shall do
350350 29 the following:
351351 30 (1) Prepare a report that includes recommendations
352352 31 regarding legislation and procedures to transfer the duties
353353 32 and powers of the school corporation to the applicable local
354354 33 board as provided under this chapter.
355355 34 (2) Submit the report to the legislative council in an electronic
356356 35 format under IC 5-14-6.
357357 36 Sec. 11. Not later than July 1, 2029, the department shall do the
358358 37 following:
359359 38 (1) Prepare a plan to adopt best practices from the pilot
360360 39 program statewide.
361361 40 (2) Submit the plan to the legislative council in an electronic
362362 41 format under IC 5-14-6.
363363 42 Sec. 12. The department shall waive any state law or rule
364364 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110 9
365365 1 requirement necessary to exempt participating school corporations
366366 2 from requirements for purposes of participation in the pilot
367367 3 program under this chapter.
368368 4 Sec. 13. This chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the
369369 5 purposes of this chapter.
370370 6 Sec. 14. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, to the
371371 7 extent the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the
372372 8 provisions of any other general, special, or local law, the provisions
373373 9 of this chapter are controlling, and compliance with this chapter
374374 10 shall be treated as compliance with the conflicting law.
375375 2025 IN 1501—LS 7659/DI 110