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, additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type. 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 ENROLLED ACT No. 1634 AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana: SECTION 1. IC 20-28-3-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.150-2024, SECTION 21, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 1. (a) As used in this section, "teacher candidate" means an individual recommended for an initial teaching license from a teacher preparation program located in Indiana. (b) As used in this section, "teacher preparation program" includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) A teacher education school or department. (2) A transition to teaching program under IC 20-28-4. (3) Any other entity approved by the department to offer a course of study leading to an initial teaching license. (c) The department shall: (1) arrange a statewide system of professional instruction for teacher education; (2) accredit and review teacher preparation programs that comply with the rules of the department; (3) approve content area licensure programs for particular kinds of teachers in accredited teacher preparation programs; and (4) specify the types of licenses for individuals who complete programs of approved courses. (d) The department shall work with teacher preparation programs to develop a system of teacher education that ensures individuals who HEA 1634 — Concur 2 complete teacher preparation programs are able to meet the highest professional standards. (e) Before July 1, 2015, the department shall establish standards for the continuous improvement of program processes and the performance of individuals who complete teacher preparation programs. The state board shall adopt rules containing the standards not later than two hundred seventy (270) days after the department finishes the standards. (f) The standards established under subsection (e) must include benchmarks for performance, including test score data for each teacher preparation entity on content area licensure tests and test score data for each teacher preparation entity on pedagogy licensure tests. (g) Each teacher preparation program shall annually report the program's performance on the standards and benchmarks established under this section to the department. The department shall make the information reported under this subsection available to the public on the department's website. Each teacher preparation program shall make the information reported under this subsection available to the public on the teacher preparation program's website. In addition to reporting performance, each teacher preparation program must report to the department the following: (1) The attrition, retention, and completion rates of teacher candidates for the previous three (3) calendar years. The teacher preparation program must also provide underlying data, as determined by the department, used as part of calculating the teacher preparation program's retention rates. (2) The number of teacher candidates in each content area who complete the teacher preparation program during the year, disaggregated by ranges of cumulative grade point averages. (3) The number of teacher candidates in each content area who, during the year: (A) do not pass a content area licensure examination; and (B) do not retake the content area licensure examination. (h) In making information available to the public on the department's website, the department shall include in the report under subsection (g), in addition to the matrix ratings described in subsection (i), the following information: (1) Average scaled or standard scores of teacher candidates who complete teacher preparation programs on basic skills, content area, and pedagogy licensure examinations. (2) The average number of times teacher candidates who complete a teacher preparation program take each licensing test before receiving a passing score and the percentage of teacher HEA 1634 — Concur 3 candidates who receive a passing score on each licensing test on the teacher candidates' first attempts. (i) Not later than July 30, 2016, the department and the commission for higher education, in conjunction with the state board, the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc., and teacher preparation programs, shall establish a matrix rating system for teacher preparation programs based on the performance of the programs as demonstrated by the data collected under subsections (g) and (h). The matrix rating system may not rank or compare teacher preparation programs. The matrix rating system must be based on data collected for teachers who initially receive their teaching license during the previous three (3) years. The department shall make the matrix ratings available to the public on the department's website. (j) Each teacher preparation program shall report to the department, in a manner prescribed by the department, the teacher preparation program's admission practices, in accordance with: (1) the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation standards, for teacher preparation programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation; (2) rigorous academic entry requirements for admission into a teacher preparatory program that are equivalent to the minimum academic requirements determined by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, for teacher preparation programs that are not accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation; or (3) the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation standards, for teacher preparation programs accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. The department shall include information reported to the department on the department's website. (k) Not later than July 30, 2016, the department and the commission for higher education, in conjunction with the state board, the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc., and teacher preparation programs, shall establish a minimum rating under the matrix rating system established under subsection (i) that teacher preparation programs must achieve to avoid referral under subsection (l). (l) Not later than July 1 of each year, the department shall submit a list of teacher preparation programs that do not meet the minimum rating established under subsection (k) or the requirements of section 3.1 or 3.2 of this chapter to the commission for higher education and the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. for one (1) of the following HEA 1634 — Concur 4 actions: (1) In the case of a state educational institution, the commission for higher education shall place the teacher preparation program on an improvement plan with clear performance goals and a designated period in which the performance goals must be achieved. (2) In the case of a proprietary postsecondary educational institution, the commission for higher education shall recommend to the teacher preparation program an improvement plan with clear performance goals and a designated period in which the performance goals should be achieved. (3) In the case of a nonprofit college or university, the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc., shall coordinate a peer review process to make recommendations to the peer institution in achieving the department's performance metrics. (m) The department shall approve at least two (2) accreditors that: (1) accredit teacher preparation programs; and (2) are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; to accredit teacher preparation programs for use in Indiana. (n) Not later than December 31, 2024, the department and the commission for higher education, in conjunction with the state board, shall partner with teacher preparation programs to receive an outside evaluation by a nationally recognized nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leverages evidence based approaches on the science of reading to evaluate teacher preparation reading instruction programs. SECTION 2. IC 20-28-3-3.2, AS ADDED BY P.L.150-2024, SECTION 22, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3.2. (a) As used in this section, "teacher candidate" has the meaning set forth in section 3.1(a) of this chapter. (b) As used in this section, "teacher preparation program" includes the following: (1) A teacher education school or department. (2) A transition to teaching program under IC 20-28-4. (3) Any other entity approved by the department to offer a course of study leading to an initial teaching license. (c) The department shall develop guidelines for accredited teacher preparation programs regarding the use of curriculum or content that prepares elementary school teacher candidates to: (1) effectively teach foundational math skills explicitly and systematically; aligned with evidence based instructional strategies to promote: HEA 1634 — Concur 5 (A) conceptual understanding; (B) procedural fluency; and (C) real world problem solving; (2) implement math instruction using high quality instructional material; and (3) understand and use student data to make instructional decisions. (d) The department shall conduct a review of accredited teacher preparation programs for alignment with the requirements of subsection (c) on a schedule determined by the department. (e) Upon review by the department under subsection (d), an accredited teacher preparation program that is not in alignment with the requirements of subsection (c) shall be submitted for a referral under section 1(l) of this chapter. (f) If an accredited teacher preparation program: (1) has been submitted for a referral under subsection (e); and (2) fails to meet the criteria of the improvement plan developed under section 1(l) of this chapter; the department shall revoke the teacher preparation program's right to use the word "accredited". SECTION 3. IC 20-30-18 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Chapter 18. Middle School Advanced Math Course Requirements Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "charter middle school" means a charter school that is a middle school. Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "middle school" means any school of a school corporation or charter school that provides instruction to students in any combination of grades 6, 7, or 8. Sec. 3. (a) Each school corporation and charter middle school shall automatically enroll in a middle school advanced math course a student who: (1) scores "above proficient" on the ILEARN assessment for math in grade 5, 6, or 7; and (2) earns a "C" or higher in the student's math course work. (b) A parent of a student described in subsection (a) may opt the student out of automatic enrollment under subsection (a). (c) If a student is automatically enrolled in a middle school advanced math course under this section, the school corporation or charter school in which the student is enrolled shall provide notice to a parent of the student that the: HEA 1634 — Concur 6 (1) student has been automatically enrolled; and (2) parent may provide notice to the school to opt the student out of the automatic enrollment. Sec. 4. Not later than July 1, 2026, and not later than July 1 each year thereafter, the department shall do the following: (1) Prepare a report that includes the following information: (A) The percentage of students, disaggregated by grade and school, who: (i) scored "above proficient" on the ILEARN assessment for math in grades 5, 6, and 7; and (ii) were enrolled in an advanced math course in the subsequent school year. (B) The percentage of students, disaggregated by grade and school, who: (i) scored "above proficient" on the ILEARN assessment for math in grades 5, 6, and 7; and (ii) were not enrolled in an advanced math course in the subsequent school year. (2) Submit the report to the legislative council in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6. SECTION 4. IC 20-32-6.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Chapter 6.5. Mathematics Screening, Evaluations, and Interventions Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "school" means any of the following: (1) A public school, including a charter school. (2) A state accredited nonpublic school. (3) An eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7). Sec. 2. (a) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each school shall administer to all students of the school in kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 screeners approved by the department to identify students at risk of not meeting grade level proficiency. (b) The screeners must: (1) align to Indiana academic standards for mathematics; (2) measure foundational numeracy and computation skills; (3) receive a convincing or partially convincing rating for accuracy, reliability, and validity by: (A) the National Center on Intensive Intervention; or (B) another third party approved by the department; (4) provide parents and schools with data analysis guides for HEA 1634 — Concur 7 interpreting results and comprehensive support for schools to guide classroom instruction and the implementation of mathematics interventions; and (5) provide the department with an annual analysis of statewide data trends to support identification of deficiencies in mathematics and guide targeted intervention efforts. Sec. 3. (a) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, if a school determines that a student in kindergarten through grade 8 is at risk of not achieving grade level proficiency in mathematics as determined by an analysis of the student's data from: (1) a grade level screener approved by the department; or (2) a through-year statewide assessment; the school must provide intervention that meets the requirements under subsection (b). (b) A school shall provide intervention to a student described in subsection (a) that meets the following conditions: (1) The intervention includes a multitiered system of support that progresses from less to more intensive support based on the student's individual needs. (2) The intervention is aligned to daily Tier I instruction and standard level learning progressions. (3) The intervention is: (A) targeted; (B) differentiated; and (C) supplemental to Tier I instruction. (4) The intervention: (A) is aligned with evidence based instructional strategies to promote conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and real world problem solving; and (B) allows a student opportunities to interact, show progress, and demonstrate understanding through rigorous grade level content. (5) The intervention includes continual assessment and in depth analysis of each student's data to inform the flexible movement in and out of Tiers II and III. (c) The department shall provide guidance on the multitiered system that a school is required to provide under subsection (b). HEA 1634 — Concur Speaker of the House of Representatives President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Governor of the State of Indiana Date: Time: HEA 1634 — Concur