Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SB0481 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	SENATE BILL No. 481
4	4	_____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
6	6	Citations Affected: IC 20-20.
7	7	Synopsis: Real world and finance curriculum grant funds. Establishes
8	8	the real world readiness grant program (program) to provide grants to
9	9	eligible schools to better prepare students for life after graduation with
10	10	or without the assistance of a partnering organization. Establishes the
11	11	real world readiness fund (fund). Provides a procedure for eligible
12	12	schools to apply to the department of education (department) to receive
13	13	a grant from the fund. Requires the department to approve
14	14	organizations that may partner with an eligible school to facilitate the
15	15	program. Establishes the personal financial responsibility curriculum
16	16	grant program to provide grants to eligible schools to develop or adopt
17	17	personal financial responsibility curriculum. Establishes the personal
18	18	financial responsibility curriculum fund (financial responsibility fund).
19	19	Requires the department to establish guidelines: (1) an external
20	20	organization must meet to be eligible to partner with an eligible
21	21	applicant; and (2) to award grants to eligible applicants. Requires
22	22	applicants that receive a grant from the financial responsibility fund to
23	23	report student outcomes to the department, as developed by the
24	24	department.
25	25	Effective: July 1, 2025.
26	26	Donato, Rogers
27	27	January 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Education and Career
28	28	Development.
29	29	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152 Introduced
30	30	First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
31	31	PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
32	32	Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
33	33	additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
34	34	Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
35	35	provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
36	36	word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
37	37	a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
38	38	Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
39	39	between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
40	40	SENATE BILL No. 481
41	41	A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
42	42	education.
43	43	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
44	44	1 SECTION 1. IC 20-20-50 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
45	45	2 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
46	46	3 JULY 1, 2025]:
47	47	4 Chapter 50. Real World Readiness Grant Program and Fund
48	48	5 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "eligible school" means a:
49	49	6 (1) public high school, including a charter school (as defined
50	50	7 in IC 20-24-1-4); or
51	51	8 (2) state accredited nonpublic high school.
52	52	9 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the real world
53	53	10 readiness fund established by section 7 of this chapter.
54	54	11 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "partnering organization" means
55	55	12 an external organization that has been approved by the
56	56	13 department under section 9 of this chapter.
57	57	14 Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "program" refers to the real
58	58	15 world readiness grant program established by section 5 of this
59	59	16 chapter.
60	60	17 Sec. 5. The real world readiness grant program is established to
61	61	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152 2
62	62	1 provide grants to eligible schools to better prepare students for life
63	63	2 after graduation by developing and implementing learning
64	64	3 opportunities, independently or in partnership with a partnering
65	65	4 organization, that do the following:
66	66	5 (1) Integrate real world business challenges into curriculum.
67	67	6 (2) Create experiential learning techniques intended to make
68	68	7 education more engaging and motivating for students.
69	69	8 (3) Develop critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration,
70	70	9 and communication skills for the modern workforce.
71	71	10 (4) Provide access to high quality education and resources to
72	72	11 students from diverse backgrounds.
73	73	12 (5) Provide opportunities for career exploration and the
74	74	13 creation of clear pathways to achieve professional goals.
75	75	14 Sec. 6. Subject to appropriation by the general assembly, the
76	76	15 department shall administer the program.
77	77	16 Sec. 7. The real world readiness fund is established. The
78	78	17 department shall use money in the fund to provide grants to
79	79	18 eligible schools to develop and implement, or partner with a
80	80	19 partnering organization to provide, learning opportunities for
81	81	20 students to better prepare students for life after graduation.
82	82	21 Sec. 8. (a) The fund consists of the following:
83	83	22 (1) Appropriations from the general assembly.
84	84	23 (2) Gifts to the fund.
85	85	24 (3) Grants, including grants from private entities.
86	86	25 (4) Other state funds that are transferred to the fund.
87	87	26 (b) The expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from
88	88	27 money in the fund.
89	89	28 (c) The treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not
90	90	29 currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same
91	91	30 manner as other public money may be invested. Interest that
92	92	31 accrues from these investments shall be deposited into the fund.
93	93	32 (d) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not
94	94	33 revert to the state general fund.
95	95	34 Sec. 9. (a) The department shall develop guidelines to award
96	96	35 grants to eligible schools. The guidelines developed by the
97	97	36 department must consider the following:
98	98	37 (1) The ability of an eligible school, independently or in
99	99	38 partnership with a partnering organization, to provide:
100	100	39 (A) integrative real world business challenges into
101	101	40 curriculum;
102	102	41 (B) experiential learning techniques intended to make
103	103	42 education more engaging and motivating for students;
104	104	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152 3
105	105	1 (C) for the development of critical thinking, problem
106	106	2 solving, collaboration, and communication skills for the
107	107	3 modern workforce;
108	108	4 (D) access to high quality education and resources to
109	109	5 students from diverse backgrounds; and
110	110	6 (E) opportunities for career exploration and the creation
111	111	7 of clear pathways to achieve professional goals.
112	112	8 (2) Any other criteria the department considers relevant.
113	113	9 (b) If an eligible school requests to partner with an organization
114	114	10 to facilitate the purposes of the program, the department must
115	115	11 approve the organization before awarding a grant under this
116	116	12 chapter. In determining whether an organization may be approved
117	117	13 as a partnering organization, the department must consider the
118	118	14 organization's ability to do the following:
119	119	15 (1) Secure industry or employer partnerships in local
120	120	16 communities.
121	121	17 (2) Develop replicable project based challenges.
122	122	18 (3) Provide career mentorship to students.
123	123	19 (4) Connect students directly to career exposure and real
124	124	20 world opportunities.
125	125	21 (5) Provide on the ground curriculum and case project
126	126	22 implementation support to teachers and eligible schools.
127	127	23 (6) Provide an established track record of:
128	128	24 (A) decreasing student absenteeism;
129	129	25 (B) increasing student graduation rates; and
130	130	26 (C) increasing career readiness or postsecondary success.
131	131	27 (7) Meet any other criteria the department considers relevant.
132	132	28 Sec. 10. An eligible school may apply to the department to
133	133	29 receive a grant from the fund on a form provided by the
134	134	30 department. The application must require the following
135	135	31 information:
136	136	32 (1) The number of students who will be served by the grant
137	137	33 and an estimated cost per student served.
138	138	34 (2) How the eligible schools will measure and report student
139	139	35 success in the program.
140	140	36 (3) Evidence supporting an eligible school's ability to meet the
141	141	37 guidelines described in section 9(a) of this chapter.
142	142	38 (4) Evidence supporting a partnering organization's ability to
143	143	39 meet the criteria described in section 9(b) of this chapter, if
144	144	40 the eligible school intends to partner with an organization.
145	145	41 (5) Any other information the department considers relevant.
146	146	42 Sec. 11. The department may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 as
147	147	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152 4
148	148	1 necessary to carry out the duties imposed by this chapter.
149	149	2 SECTION 2. IC 20-20-51 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
150	150	3 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
151	151	4 JULY 1, 2025]:
152	152	5 Chapter 51. Personal Financial Responsibility Curriculum
153	153	6 Grant Program and Fund
154	154	7 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "eligible applicant" means a:
155	155	8 (1) public school, including a charter school (as defined in
156	156	9 IC 20-24-1-4); or
157	157	10 (2) state accredited nonpublic school;
158	158	11 with students enrolled in grade 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12.
159	159	12 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the personal
160	160	13 financial responsibility curriculum fund established by section 6 of
161	161	14 this chapter.
162	162	15 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "personal financial responsibility
163	163	16 curriculum" refers to the personal financial responsibility
164	164	17 instruction described in IC 20-30-5-19.
165	165	18 Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "program" refers to the personal
166	166	19 financial responsibility curriculum grant program established by
167	167	20 section 5 of this chapter.
168	168	21 Sec. 5. The personal financial responsibility curriculum grant
169	169	22 program is established to provide grants to eligible applicants to:
170	170	23 (1) independently develop; or
171	171	24 (2) partner with an external organization to adopt;
172	172	25 personal financial responsibility curriculum.
173	173	26 Sec. 6. (a) The personal financial responsibility curriculum fund
174	174	27 is established. The department shall use money from the fund to
175	175	28 provide grants to eligible applicants to develop or adopt personal
176	176	29 financial responsibility curriculum.
177	177	30 (b) The fund consists of the following:
178	178	31 (1) Appropriations to the fund from the general assembly.
179	179	32 (2) Gifts to the fund.
180	180	33 (3) Grants, including grants from private entities.
181	181	34 (4) Other state funds that are transferred to the fund.
182	182	35 (c) The expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from
183	183	36 money in the fund.
184	184	37 (d) The treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not
185	185	38 currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same
186	186	39 manner as other public money may be invested. Interest that
187	187	40 accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the fund.
188	188	41 (e) Money in the fund at the end of the state fiscal year does not
189	189	42 revert to the state general fund.
190	190	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152 5
191	191	1 Sec. 7. Subject to appropriation by the general assembly, the
192	192	2 department shall administer the program and fund.
193	193	3 Sec. 8. An eligible applicant may apply to the department to
194	194	4 receive a grant from the fund on a form provided by the
195	195	5 department. The application provided by the department must
196	196	6 require the following:
197	197	7 (1) The name of the external organization the eligible
198	198	8 applicant is requesting to partner with, if applicable.
199	199	9 (2) The number of students the grant would serve, if awarded.
200	200	10 (3) Any other information the department considers relevant.
201	201	11 Sec. 9. The department shall develop guidelines an external
202	202	12 organization must meet to be eligible to partner with an eligible
203	203	13 applicant. The guidelines developed by the department must
204	204	14 consider the following:
205	205	15 (1) The external organization's ability to meet the personal
206	206	16 financial responsibility instruction content requirements as
207	207	17 described in IC 20-30-5-19(b).
208	208	18 (2) The level of experiential student engagement offered by
209	209	19 the external organization.
210	210	20 (3) The external organization's experience in providing
211	211	21 financial literacy education.
212	212	22 (4) The external organization's ability to demonstrate
213	213	23 successful partnerships with schools in Indiana.
214	214	24 (5) Any other criteria the department considers relevant.
215	215	25 Sec. 10. The department shall develop guidelines to award
216	216	26 grants to eligible applicants.
217	217	27 Sec. 11. (a) The department shall develop student success
218	218	28 metrics for eligible applicants that receive a grant under this
219	219	29 chapter.
220	220	30 (b) Eligible applicants that receive a grant under this chapter
221	221	31 shall submit to the department, on forms developed by the
222	222	32 department, student outcomes using the metrics described under
223	223	33 subsection (a).
224	224	34 Sec. 12. The department may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
225	225	35 implement this chapter.
226	226	2025 IN 481—LS 7290/DI 152