IN
Indiana Senate Bill SB0255

Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SB0255 Compare Versions

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1-*ES0255.3*
2-April 9, 2025
1+*ES0255.2*
2+April 1, 2025
33 ENGROSSED
44 SENATE BILL No. 255
55 _____
6-DIGEST OF SB 255 (Updated April 9, 2025 11:42 am - DI 152)
6+DIGEST OF SB 255 (Updated March 26, 2025 11:14 am - DI 152)
77 Citations Affected: IC 20-28; IC 20-33.
88 Synopsis: Education matters. Requires the department of education
99 (department) to grant an initial practitioner license to an individual
1010 who: (1) holds a bachelor's degree with a major in any combination of
1111 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; (2) successfully
1212 completes a total of at least nine academic credits regarding certain
1313 instruction in teaching; and (3) meets other specified requirements.
1414 Provides that the department may grant a license to teach a high school
1515 level course to an individual who completes a licensure pathway
16+established by the department. Requires a principal to allow a student
17+who is enrolled in a public secondary school to receive religious
18+instruction for a period or periods that do not exceed the amount of
1619 (Continued next page)
1720 Effective: July 1, 2025.
1821 Deery, Rogers, Johnson T, Ford J.D.,
1922 Yoder
2023 (HOUSE SPONSORS — DAVIS, CULP)
2124 January 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education and Career
2225 Development.
2326 January 23, 2025, reported favorably — Do Pass.
2427 January 27, 2025, read second time, ordered engrossed. Engrossed.
2528 January 28, 2025, read third time, passed. Yeas 49, nays 0.
2629 HOUSE ACTION
2730 March 3, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
2831 March 27, 2025, amended, reported — Do Pass.
2932 April 1, 2025, referred to Committee on Education pursuant to Rule 126.2.
30-April 9, 2025, amended, reported — Do Pass.
3133 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 Digest Continued
32-established by the department. Changes certain requirements regarding
33-the reporting of a bullying "incident" to the reporting of a bullying
34-"investigation". Requires discipline rules to include: (1) provisions to
35-make a reasonable attempt to notify the parents of the involved students
36-that the school is investigating a possible incident of bullying or similar
37-misconduct before the end of the next school day after the school
38-becomes aware of the possible incident; and (2) timetables for
39-reporting the conclusion of a bullying investigation to the parents of
40-both the targeted student and the alleged perpetrator in an expedited
41-manner that is before the end of the following school day after the
42-conclusion of the investigation.
43-ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 April 9, 2025
34+time that is equivalent to attending one elective course at the public
35+secondary school during the week. (Current law provides for a period
36+or periods of not more than 120 minutes in total in any week.) Changes
37+certain requirements regarding the reporting of a bullying "incident" to
38+the reporting of a bullying "investigation". Requires discipline rules to
39+include a provision to make a reasonable attempt to notify both the
40+parent of a targeted student and the parent of an alleged perpetrator that
41+the school is investigating a possible incident of bullying or similar
42+misconduct before the start of the next school day after the school
43+becomes aware of the possible incident.
44+ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 April 1, 2025
4445 First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
4546 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
4647 Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
4748 additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
4849 Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
4950 provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
5051 word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
5152 a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
5253 Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
5354 between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
5455 ENGROSSED
5556 SENATE BILL No. 255
5657 A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
5758 education.
5859 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
5960 1 SECTION 1. IC 20-28-5-12, AS AMENDED BY P.L.243-2023,
6061 2 SECTION 10, AND BY P.L.245-2023, SECTION 9, IS AMENDED
6162 3 TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 12. (a)
6263 4 Subsection (b) does not apply to an individual who:
6364 5 (1) held an Indiana limited, reciprocal, or standard teaching
6465 6 license on June 30, 1985; or
6566 7 (2) is granted a license under section 12.5, 16.5, or 18 of this
6667 8 chapter.
6768 9 (b) Except as provided in section sections 12.5 and 16.5 of this
6869 10 chapter, the department may not grant an initial practitioner license to
6970 11 an individual unless the individual has demonstrated proficiency in the
7071 12 following areas on a written examination or through other procedures
7172 13 prescribed by the department:
7273 14 (1) Pedagogy.
7374 15 (2) Knowledge of the areas in which the individual is required to
7475 16 have a license to teach.
7576 17 (3) If the individual is seeking to be licensed as an elementary
7677 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 2
7778 1 school teacher, comprehensive scientifically based reading
7879 2 instruction skills aligned to the science of reading.
7980 3 (c) An individual's license examination score may not be disclosed
8081 4 by the department without the individual's consent unless specifically
8182 5 required by state or federal statute or court order.
8283 6 (d) Subject to section 22 of this chapter, the state board shall adopt
8384 7 rules under IC 4-22-2 to do the following:
8485 8 (1) Adopt, validate, and implement the examination or other
8586 9 procedures required by subsection (b).
8687 10 (2) Establish examination scores indicating proficiency.
8788 11 (3) Otherwise carry out the purposes of this section.
8889 12 (e) Subject to section 18 of this chapter, the state board shall adopt
8990 13 rules under IC 4-22-2 establishing the conditions under which the
9091 14 requirements of this section may be waived for an individual holding
9192 15 a valid teacher's license issued by another state.
9293 16 SECTION 2. IC 20-28-5-16.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
9394 17 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
9495 18 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 16.5. (a) The department shall
9596 19 grant an initial practitioner license to an individual who meets the
9697 20 following requirements:
9798 21 (1) The individual holds a bachelor's degree with a grade
9899 22 point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale from an accredited
99100 23 postsecondary educational institution with a major in any
100101 24 combination of the following:
101102 25 (A) Science.
102103 26 (B) Technology.
103104 27 (C) Engineering.
104105 28 (D) Mathematics.
105106 29 (2) The individual successfully completes a total of at least
106107 30 nine (9) academic credits in courses that include instruction
107108 31 on the following:
108109 32 (A) High impact practices in:
109110 33 (i) lesson planning;
110111 34 (ii) instructional design;
111112 35 (iii) instructional activities;
112113 36 (iv) integrating learning modalities; and
113114 37 (v) developing laboratory experiments.
114115 38 (B) The use of:
115116 39 (i) digital media;
116117 40 (ii) learning management software; and
117118 41 (iii) technology to maximize learning.
118119 42 (C) Teaching:
119120 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 3
120121 1 (i) inductive and deductive reasoning;
121122 2 (ii) metacognition;
122123 3 (iii) problem framing;
123124 4 (iv) interpreting results; and
124125 5 (v) data based decision making.
125126 6 (D) Best practices to evaluate student learning through:
126127 7 (i) diagnostic assessment;
127128 8 (ii) direct and indirect assessment; and
128129 9 (iii) formative and summative assessment.
129130 10 (E) Creating feedback loops.
130131 11 (F) Fostering engagement and using peer to peer learning
131132 12 and other small group strategies.
132133 13 (G) Providing constructive feedback and preventing
133134 14 disruptive behavior.
134135 15 (H) Early intervention strategies and professional
135136 16 standards.
136137 17 (I) Teaching students with disabilities.
137138 18 (3) The individual demonstrates proficiency through a written
138139 19 examination in the knowledge of the areas in which the
139140 20 individual is required to have a license to teach, as described
140141 21 in section 12(b)(2) of this chapter.
141142 22 (4) The individual holds a valid cardiopulmonary
142143 23 resuscitation certification from a provider approved by the
143144 24 department.
144145 25 (5) The individual has attended youth suicide awareness and
145146 26 prevention training.
146147 27 (6) The individual participates in one (1) or more of the
147148 28 following, as determined by the department:
148149 29 (A) Job shadowing.
149150 30 (B) Field experiences.
150151 31 (C) Teaching cooperatives.
151152 32 (D) Full-term student teaching.
152153 33 (b) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license
153154 34 under this section:
154155 35 (1) may only teach in any combination of grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
155156 36 10, 11, or 12, as determined by the department;
156157 37 (2) shall be treated in the same manner as an individual who
157158 38 receives an initial practitioner license after completing a
158159 39 traditional teacher preparation program; and
159160 40 (3) must be treated in the same manner as a traditional
160161 41 teacher preparation program graduate during the transition
161162 42 from an initial practitioner license to a practitioner license.
162163 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 4
163164 1 (c) The state board may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
164165 2 administer this section.
165166 3 SECTION 3. IC 20-28-5-29 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
166167 4 AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
167168 5 1, 2025]: Sec. 29. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the
168169 6 department may grant a license to teach a high school level course
169170 7 to an individual who completes a licensure pathway established by
170171 8 the department.
171172 9 (b) A licensure pathway established by the department under
172173 10 subsection (a) must be aligned to a course content area that is part
173174 11 of student diploma requirements established by the state board
174175 12 under IC 20-19-2-21.
175-13 SECTION 4. IC 20-33-8-13.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.238-2023,
176+13 SECTION 4. IC 20-33-2-19, AS AMENDED BY P.L.138-2024,
176177 14 SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
177-15 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 13.5. (a) Discipline rules adopted by the
178-16 governing body of a school corporation under section 12 of this chapter
179-17 must:
180-18 (1) prohibit bullying; and
181-19 (2) include:
182-20 (A) provisions concerning education, parental involvement,
183-21 and intervention;
184-22 (B) a detailed procedure for the expedited investigation of
185-23 incidents of bullying that includes:
186-24 (i) appropriate responses to bullying behaviors, wherever the
187-25 behaviors occur;
188-26 (ii) provisions for anonymous and personal reporting of
189-27 bullying to a teacher or other school staff;
190-28 (iii) provisions that require a school to prioritize the safety
191-29 of the victim;
192-30 (iv) timetables for reporting the conclusion of a bullying
193-31 incidents investigation to the parents of both the targeted
194-32 student and the alleged perpetrator in an expedited manner
195-33 that is not later than five (5) business days before the end
196-34 of the next school day after the incident is reported;
197-35 conclusion of the investigation;
198-36 (v) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to school
199-37 counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, or law
200-38 enforcement, if it is determined that reporting the bullying
201-39 incident to law enforcement is necessary;
202-40 (vi) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school
203-41 administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an
204-42 investigation of a bullying incident; and
178+15 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 19. (a) When the parent of a student who is
179+16 enrolled in a public school provides written notice, the principal shall
180+17 allow the student to attend a school for religious instruction that is
181+18 conducted by a church, an association of churches, or an association
182+19 that is organized for religious instruction and incorporated under
183+20 Indiana law.
184+21 (b) After receiving notice under subsection (a) and subject to
185+22 subsection (c), the principal shall work in a collaborative manner with
186+23 the parent or entity offering religious instruction to provide assistance
187+24 in determining a period or periods not to exceed one hundred twenty
188+25 (120) minutes in total in any week, for the student to receive religious
189+26 instruction. An entity offering religious instruction to a student as
190+27 described in this subsection shall, as applicable, work in a collaborative
191+28 manner with the principal to ensure the period or periods in which the
192+29 student receives religious instruction are the least disruptive to the
193+30 instructional time (as defined in IC 20-30-2-1) of the student. The
194+31 notice is valid only for the school year in which it is provided.
195+32 (c) The period or periods that a student receives religious
196+33 instruction under this section may not exceed the following:
197+34 (1) For students in elementary school, one hundred twenty
198+35 (120) minutes in total in any week.
199+36 (2) For students in public secondary school, the amount of
200+37 time that is equivalent to attending one (1) elective course at
201+38 the public secondary school during the week.
202+39 (c) (d) An entity providing religious instruction that receives
203+40 students under this section:
204+41 (1) shall maintain attendance records and allow inspection of
205+42 these records by attendance officers; and
205206 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 5
206-1 (vii) discipline provisions for false reporting of bullying; and
207-2 (viii) provisions to make a reasonable attempt to notify
208-3 the parents of the involved students that the school is
209-4 investigating a possible incident of bullying or similar
210-5 misconduct before the end of the next school day after
211-6 the school becomes aware of the possible incident; and
212-7 (C) a detailed procedure outlining the use of follow-up
213-8 services that includes:
214-9 (i) support services for the victim; and
215-10 (ii) bullying education for the alleged perpetrator.
216-11 (b) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may be applied
217-12 regardless of the physical location in which the bullying behavior
218-13 occurred, whenever:
219-14 (1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the
220-15 intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a
221-16 school within a school corporation; and
222-17 (2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid substantial
223-18 interference with school discipline or prevent an unreasonable
224-19 threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning
225-20 environment.
226-21 (c) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must prohibit
227-22 bullying through the use of data or computer software that is accessed
228-23 through a:
229-24 (1) computer;
230-25 (2) computer system;
231-26 (3) computer network; or
232-27 (4) cellular telephone or other wireless or cellular
233-28 communications device.
234-29 (d) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must include
235-30 policies to allow a parent of a child in the school corporation to review
236-31 any materials used in any bullying prevention or suicide prevention
237-32 program.
238-33 (e) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may include
239-34 provisions to determine:
240-35 (1) the severity of an incident of bullying; and
241-36 (2) whether an incident of bullying may warrant the transfer of the
242-37 victim or the alleged perpetrator to another school in the school
243-38 corporation.
244-39 (f) This section may not be construed to give rise to a cause of
245-40 action against a person or school corporation based on an allegation of
246-41 noncompliance with this section. Noncompliance with this section may
247-42 not be used as evidence against a school corporation in a cause of
207+1 (2) may not be supported, in whole or in part, by public funds.
208+2 (d) (e) A student who attends a school for religious instruction under
209+3 this section shall receive the same attendance credit that the student
210+4 would receive for attendance in the public schools for the same length
211+5 of time.
212+6 (e) (f) A public secondary school may award academic credit to a
213+7 student who attends religious instruction under this section if the
214+8 governing body of the school corporation adopts a policy that allows
215+9 the awarding of credit. A policy adopted under this subsection must
216+10 provide the following:
217+11 (1) Classes in religious instruction are evaluated on the basis of
218+12 purely secular criteria in substantially the same manner as similar
219+13 classes taken by a student at a nonpublic secondary school who
220+14 transfers to a public secondary school are evaluated to determine
221+15 whether the student receives transfer credit for the classes.
222+16 Secular criteria may include the following in addition to other
223+17 secular criteria established by the governing body:
224+18 (A) The number of hours of classroom instructional time.
225+19 (B) A review of the course syllabus that reflects the course
226+20 requirements and materials.
227+21 (C) Methods of assessment used in the course.
228+22 (D) Whether the course is taught by a licensed teacher.
229+23 (2) The decision of whether to award academic credit is neutral
230+24 as to, and does not involve any test for, religious content or
231+25 denominational affiliation.
232+26 (3) A provision that a student who attends religious instruction
233+27 under this section shall first seek to use a time period during a
234+28 student instructional day (as defined in IC 20-30-2-2) that is not
235+29 devoted to student instructional time to attend religious
236+30 instruction. If a student is not able to attend religious instruction
237+31 at a time other than during student instructional time, the student
238+32 may not be released to attend religious instruction for an amount
239+33 of time per week that exceeds the amount established in
240+34 subsection (b). (c).
241+35 A student may be awarded a total of not more than two (2) elective
242+36 academic credits under this subsection.
243+37 SECTION 5. IC 20-33-8-13.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.238-2023,
244+38 SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
245+39 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 13.5. (a) Discipline rules adopted by the
246+40 governing body of a school corporation under section 12 of this chapter
247+41 must:
248+42 (1) prohibit bullying; and
248249 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 6
249-1 action.
250-2 (g) A record made of an investigation, a disciplinary action, or a
251-3 follow-up action performed under rules adopted under this section is
252-4 not a public record under IC 5-14-3.
253-5 (h) The department shall periodically review each policy adopted
254-6 under this section to ensure the policy's compliance with this section.
250+1 (2) include:
251+2 (A) provisions concerning education, parental involvement,
252+3 and intervention;
253+4 (B) a detailed procedure for the expedited investigation of
254+5 incidents of bullying that includes:
255+6 (i) appropriate responses to bullying behaviors, wherever the
256+7 behaviors occur;
257+8 (ii) provisions for anonymous and personal reporting of
258+9 bullying to a teacher or other school staff;
259+10 (iii) provisions that require a school to prioritize the safety
260+11 of the victim;
261+12 (iv) timetables for reporting the conclusion of a bullying
262+13 incidents investigation to the parents of both the targeted
263+14 student and the alleged perpetrator in an expedited manner
264+15 that is not later than five (5) business days after the incident
265+16 is reported; conclusion of the investigation;
266+17 (v) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to school
267+18 counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, or law
268+19 enforcement, if it is determined that reporting the bullying
269+20 incident to law enforcement is necessary;
270+21 (vi) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school
271+22 administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an
272+23 investigation of a bullying incident; and
273+24 (vii) discipline provisions for false reporting of bullying; and
274+25 (viii) provisions to make a reasonable attempt to notify
275+26 both the parent of a targeted student and the parent of
276+27 an alleged perpetrator that the school is investigating a
277+28 possible incident of bullying or similar misconduct
278+29 before the start of the next school day after the school
279+30 becomes aware of the possible incident; and
280+31 (C) a detailed procedure outlining the use of follow-up
281+32 services that includes:
282+33 (i) support services for the victim; and
283+34 (ii) bullying education for the alleged perpetrator.
284+35 (b) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may be applied
285+36 regardless of the physical location in which the bullying behavior
286+37 occurred, whenever:
287+38 (1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the
288+39 intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a
289+40 school within a school corporation; and
290+41 (2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid substantial
291+42 interference with school discipline or prevent an unreasonable
255292 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 7
293+1 threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning
294+2 environment.
295+3 (c) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must prohibit
296+4 bullying through the use of data or computer software that is accessed
297+5 through a:
298+6 (1) computer;
299+7 (2) computer system;
300+8 (3) computer network; or
301+9 (4) cellular telephone or other wireless or cellular
302+10 communications device.
303+11 (d) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must include
304+12 policies to allow a parent of a child in the school corporation to review
305+13 any materials used in any bullying prevention or suicide prevention
306+14 program.
307+15 (e) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may include
308+16 provisions to determine:
309+17 (1) the severity of an incident of bullying; and
310+18 (2) whether an incident of bullying may warrant the transfer of the
311+19 victim or the alleged perpetrator to another school in the school
312+20 corporation.
313+21 (f) This section may not be construed to give rise to a cause of
314+22 action against a person or school corporation based on an allegation of
315+23 noncompliance with this section. Noncompliance with this section may
316+24 not be used as evidence against a school corporation in a cause of
317+25 action.
318+26 (g) A record made of an investigation, a disciplinary action, or a
319+27 follow-up action performed under rules adopted under this section is
320+28 not a public record under IC 5-14-3.
321+29 (h) The department shall periodically review each policy adopted
322+30 under this section to ensure the policy's compliance with this section.
323+ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 8
256324 COMMITTEE REPORT
257325 Mr. President: The Senate Committee on Education and Career
258326 Development, to which was referred Senate Bill No. 255, has had the
259327 same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to the
260328 Senate with the recommendation that said bill DO PASS.
261329 (Reference is to SB 255 as introduced.)
262330
263331 RAATZ, Chairperson
264332 Committee Vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0
265333 _____
266334 COMMITTEE REPORT
267335 Mr. Speaker: Your Committee on Education, to which was referred
268336 Senate Bill 255, has had the same under consideration and begs leave
269337 to report the same back to the House with the recommendation that said
270338 bill be amended as follows:
271339 Page 3, line 20, delete "." and insert ", as described in section
272340 12(b)(2) of this chapter.".
273341 Page 3, line 34, after "grades" insert "5,".
274342 Page 4, between lines 1 and 2, begin a new paragraph and insert:
275343 "SECTION 3. IC 20-28-5-29 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
276344 AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
277345 1, 2025]: Sec. 29. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the
278346 department may grant a license to teach a high school level course
279347 to an individual who completes a licensure pathway established by
280348 the department.
281349 (b) A licensure pathway established by the department under
282350 subsection (a) must be aligned to a course content area that is part
283351 of student diploma requirements established by the state board
284352 under IC 20-19-2-21.".
285353 Page 6, line 17, delete "before the end of the" and insert "or similar
286354 misconduct before the start of the next school day after the school
287355 becomes aware of the possible incident; and".
288356 Page 6, delete lines 18 through 19.
289357 Renumber all SECTIONS consecutively.
290358 and when so amended that said bill do pass.
291-ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 8
359+ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110 9
292360 (Reference is to SB 255 as printed January 24, 2025.)
293361 BEHNING
294362 Committee Vote: yeas 9, nays 0.
295-_____
296-COMMITTEE REPORT
297-Mr. Speaker: Your Committee on Education, to which was referred
298-Engrossed Senate Bill 255, has had the same under consideration and
299-begs leave to report the same back to the House with the
300-recommendation that said bill be amended as follows:
301-Page 4, delete lines 13 through 42.
302-Page 5, delete lines 1 through 36.
303-Page 6, line 15, strike "not later than five (5) business days" and
304-insert "before the end of the next school day".
305-Page 6, line 25, after "notify" insert "the parents of the involved
306-students that the school is investigating a".
307- Page 6, delete lines 26 through 27.
308-Page 6, line 29, delete "start" and insert "end".
309-Renumber all SECTIONS consecutively.
310-and when so amended that said bill do pass.
311-(Reference is to ESB 255 as printed April 1, 2025.)
312-BEHNING
313-Committee Vote: yeas 10, nays 0.
314363 ES 255—LS 6741/DI 110