First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
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between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 249
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 20-28-9-1.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.170-2023,
SECTION 17, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 1.5. (a) This subsection governs salary increases
for a teacher employed by a school corporation. Compensation
attributable to additional degrees or graduate credits earned before the
effective date of a local compensation plan created under this chapter
before July 1, 2015, shall continue for school years beginning after
June 30, 2015. Compensation attributable to additional degrees for
which a teacher has started course work before July 1, 2011, and
completed course work before September 2, 2014, shall also continue
for school years beginning after June 30, 2015. For school years
beginning after June 30, 2022, a school corporation may provide a
supplemental payment to a teacher in excess of the salary specified in
the school corporation's compensation plan when doing so is in the
best interest of students. A supplement provided under this subsection
is not subject to collective bargaining and, under IC 20-29-6-3(d), a
school corporation may exclude, for this purpose, a portion of the
revenue available for bargaining from education fund revenues
included in IC 20-29-2-6. Such a supplement is in addition to any
increase permitted under subsection (b).
(b) Subject to subsection (e), increases or increments in a local
salary range must be based upon a combination of the following
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factors:
(1) A combination of the following factors taken together may
account for not more than fifty percent (50%) of the calculation
used to determine a teacher's increase or increment:
(A) The number of years of a teacher's experience.
(B) The possession of either:
(i) additional content area degrees beyond the requirements
for employment; or
(ii) additional content area degrees and credit hours beyond
the requirements for employment, if required under an
agreement bargained under IC 20-29.
(2) The results of an evaluation conducted under IC 20-28-11.5.
(3) The assignment of instructional leadership roles, including the
responsibility for conducting evaluations under IC 20-28-11.5.
(4) The academic needs of students in the school corporation,
including employment in a high need area such as those
identified under IC 20-29-3-15(b)(27). This factor may not
account for less than ten percent (10%) of the calculation used
to determine a teacher's increase or increment.
(c) To provide greater flexibility and options, a school corporation
may further differentiate the amount of salary increases or increments
determined for teachers. A school corporation shall base a
differentiated amount under this subsection on reasons the school
corporation determines are appropriate, which may include the:
(1) subject or subjects taught by a given teacher;
(2) importance of retaining a given teacher at the school
corporation;
(3) need to attract an individual with specific qualifications to fill
a teaching vacancy; and
(4) offering of a new program or class.
(d) A school corporation may provide differentiated increases or
increments under subsection (b), and in excess of the percentage
specified in subsection (b)(1), in order to:
(1) reduce the gap between the school corporation's minimum
teacher salary and the average of the school corporation's
minimum and maximum teacher salaries; or
(2) allow teachers currently employed by the school corporation
to receive a salary adjusted in comparison to starting base salaries
of new teachers.
(e) A school corporation shall differentiate the amount of salary
increases or increments for teachers who possess a required literacy
endorsement under IC 20-28-5-19.7.
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(f) Except as provided in subsection (g), a teacher rated ineffective
or improvement necessary under IC 20-28-11.5 may not receive any
raise or increment for the following year if the teacher's employment
contract is continued. The amount that would otherwise have been
allocated for the salary increase of teachers rated ineffective or
improvement necessary shall be allocated for compensation of all
teachers rated effective and highly effective based on the criteria in
subsection (b).
(g) Subsection (f) does not apply to a teacher in the first two (2) full
school years that the teacher provides instruction to students in
elementary school or high school. If a teacher provides instruction to
students in elementary school or high school in another state, any full
school year, or its equivalent in the other state, that the teacher provides
instruction counts toward the two (2) full school years under this
subsection.
(h) A teacher who does not receive a raise or increment under
subsection (f) may file a request with the superintendent or
superintendent's designee not later than five (5) days after receiving
notice that the teacher received a rating of ineffective. The teacher is
entitled to a private conference with the superintendent or
superintendent's designee.
(i) The Indiana education employment relations board established
in IC 20-29-3-1 shall publish a model compensation plan with a model
salary range that a school corporation may adopt.
(j) Each school corporation shall submit its local compensation plan
to the Indiana education employment relations board. For a school year
beginning after June 30, 2015, a local compensation plan must specify
the range for teacher salaries. The Indiana education employment
relations board shall publish the local compensation plans on the
Indiana education employment relations board's website.
(k) The Indiana education employment relations board shall review
a compensation plan for compliance with this section as part of its
review under IC 20-29-6-6.1. The Indiana education employment
relations board has jurisdiction to determine compliance of a
compensation plan submitted under this section.
(l) This chapter may not be construed to require or allow a school
corporation to decrease the salary of any teacher below the salary the
teacher was earning on or before July 1, 2015, if that decrease would
be made solely to conform to the new compensation plan.
(m) After June 30, 2011, all rights, duties, or obligations established
under IC 20-28-9-1 before its repeal are considered rights, duties, or
obligations under this section.
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(n) An employment agreement described in IC 20-28-6-7.3 between
an adjunct teacher and a school corporation is not subject to this
section.
SECTION 2. IC 20-29-2-6, AS AMENDED BY P.L.189-2023,
SECTION 26, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 6. "Deficit financing" for a budget year:
(1) means, except as provided in subdivision (2), actual
expenditures exceeding the employer's current year actual
education fund revenue and, for a school employer for which the
voters have passed an operating referendum tax levy under
IC 20-46-1 or a school safety referendum tax levy under
IC 20-46-9, the amount of revenue certified by the department of
local government finance, excluding money distributed to a
charter school under IC 20-46-1-21 or IC 20-46-9-22; or
(2) means, in the case of any distressed school corporation, the
Gary Community School Corporation, or the Muncie Community
school corporation, actual expenditures plus additional payments
against any outstanding debt obligations exceeding the employer's
current year actual education fund revenue, and, for a school
employer for which the voters have passed an operating
referendum tax levy under IC 20-46-1 or a school safety
referendum tax levy under IC 20-46-9, excluding money
distributed to a charter school under IC 20-46-1-21 or
IC 20-46-9-22, the amount of revenue certified by the department
of local government finance.
Except as provided in IC 20-29-6-3(c), revenue does not include money
estimated to be or actually transferred from the school corporation's
operations fund to its education fund. Revenue does not include
money allocated for supplemental payments in a resolution passed
under IC 20-29-6-3(d).
SECTION 3. IC 20-29-6-3, AS AMENDED BY P.L.254-2019,
SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3. (a) It is unlawful for a school employer to enter
into any agreement that would place the employer in a position of
deficit financing due to a reduction in the employer's actual general
fund (before January 1, 2019) or education fund (after December 31,
2018) revenue or an increase in the employer's expenditures when the
expenditures exceed the employer's current year actual general fund
(before January 1, 2019) or education fund (after December 31, 2018)
revenue. Except as provided in subsection (c), revenue does not include
money estimated to be or actually transferred from the school
corporation's operations fund to its education fund. Revenue does not
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include money allocated for supplemental payments in a resolution
passed under subsection (d).
(b) A contract that provides for deficit financing is void to that
extent, and an individual teacher's contract executed under the contract
is void to that extent.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), before September 15 of any
year, a governing body may pass a one (1) year resolution indicating
that a portion or percentage of money transferred from the operations
fund to the education fund may be considered education fund revenue
for purposes of funding a contract under this chapter and to determine
whether an agreement would place the employer in a position of deficit
financing. The resolution shall expire within one (1) year of the
resolution's adoption by the governing body.
(d) Before September 15 of any year, a governing body may pass
a one (1) or two (2) year resolution indicating that a portion or
percentage of education fund revenue allocated for supplemental
fund payments under IC 20-28-9-1.5(a) is not considered education
fund revenue for the purposes of subsection (a). The resolution
shall not extend beyond the end of the corresponding state budget
biennium.
SEA 249 — Concur President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
SEA 249 — Concur