LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 7513 NOTE PREPARED: Feb 3, 2025
BILL NUMBER: HB 1515 BILL AMENDED: Jan 30, 2025
SUBJECT: Education and Higher Education Matters.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Behning BILL STATUS: 2
nd
Reading - 1
st
House
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED: X GENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: This bill provides that accredited nonpublic schools are eligible to participate in
the following:
(1) The establishment of police departments.
(2) The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Teacher Recruitment Grants.
(3) The Principal Institute.
The bill also provides that charter schools are eligible to receive STEM Teacher Recruitment Grants.
The bill allows a parent of a Choice Scholarship student or an eligible Choice Scholarship school on behalf
of a parent to petition the Department of Education (DOE) to reconsider the eligibility of a Choice
Scholarship student enrolled in the school if the parent has reason to believe that the student was determined
ineligible due to enrollment data inaccuracies reported by a school.
This bill provides that a student must be withdrawn from enrollment in a school corporation's virtual
education program if the student accumulates 10 consecutive or 18 cumulative unexcused absences (instead
of the number of unexcused absences sufficient to result in the student's classification as a habitual truant).
The bill amends eligibility requirements for the High Value Workforce Ready Credit-bearing Grant.
The bill also restricts a county, city, or town (unit) in using the unit's planning and zoning authority to
regulate a school corporation's or charter school's use of school property. It also provides the following
regarding a charter school: (1) A charter school is a permitted use in all zoning districts. (2) A charter
school's land use application must be processed by a unit on a first priority basis.
Effective Date: July 1, 2025.
Explanation of State Expenditures: STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund: The bill expands eligibility for
STEM Teacher Recruitment Grants to organizations serving nonpublic and charter schools. The Commission
for Higher Education administers this grant and may need to adjust policies and application forms. It is
HB 1515 1 anticipated this can be accomplished with existing resources and may have only a minor impact on future
grantees. The STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund received a $10 M appropriation during the FY 2024 to FY
2025 biennium, and awarded grants to 19 programs or organizations. Any impact to future grant awards will
depend on legislative and administrative actions.
High Value Workforce Ready Credit-bearing Grant: The bill expands eligibility of the pool of candidates
for the High Value Workforce Ready Credit-bearing Grant and could increase applications for this grant. The
Commission for Higher Education administers this grant program under the Adult Student Grant Fund. Any
impact to workload should be able to be accommodated with existing staffing and resources. IC21-12-8-9
provides that priority for applicants are to be determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) if demand exceeds the available appropriations. Appropriations for FY 2024 and FY 2025 were
$12.1 M to the High Value Workforce Ready Credit-bearing Grant. During FY 2023 and FY 2024, the CHE
awarded $6.6 M to $6.9 M annually in total grant expenditures to approximately 3,100 students in each year.
Average Daily Membership (ADM): The bill requires that school corporations must withdraw students from
enrollment in the school corporation’s virtual education program if the student has 10 consecutive or 18
cumulative unexcused absences. Current law requires those students to be withdrawn from enrollment if they
are habitually truant, which is defined in code as missing 10 days without being excused or without being
absent under a parental request filed with the school. The change could impact the number of students that
are withdrawn from enrollment in virtual programs, which could then impact state tuition support
expenditures. Any impact would be small.
Tuition Support Distributions: If a student attending a school that participates in the Choice Scholarship
Program was mistakenly marked as ineligible is able to receive a full Choice Scholarship under the bill, state
expenditures would increase. Any impact is expected to be minimal.
Department of Education (DOE): The bill impacts workload at the DOE to reconsider the eligibility of a
Choice Scholarship to a student at the request of a parent or eligible Choice Scholarship school. The DOE
would also need to adjust enrollment counts and tuition support distributions as applicable. It is anticipated
this can be accomplished with existing resources.
The Principal Leadership Institute: The bill expands eligibility for participants of the Indiana State
University Principal Institute to include accredited nonpublic school principals. The Principal Institute
Advisory Board may need to revise processes or procedures. It is anticipated this can be accomplished with
existing resources. The Principal Leadership Academy received a $1.2 M appropriation during the FY 2024
to FY 2025 biennium.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
Explanation of Local Revenues: ADM: Any impact to school corporations’ state tuition support revenue
from the bill’s provision regarding withdrawing virtual education program students who have a specified
number of unexcused absences would be small. [See Explanation of State Expenditures.]
State Agencies Affected: Department of Education; Commission for Higher Education; Indiana State
University, Principal Institute.
HB 1515 2 Local Agencies Affected: School corporations with virtual education programs.
Information Sources: Commission for Higher Education:
https://www.in.gov/che/academic-affairs/teacher-recruitment-programs/
Indiana State University, Principal Leadership Institute: https://indianapli.org/
Fiscal Analyst: Alexander Raggio, 317-234-9485; Allison Leeuw, 317-234-9465.
HB 1515 3