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Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)
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,
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provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
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a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
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between statutes enacted by the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1389
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning family law and
juvenile law.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 31-9-2-5.2 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2026]: Sec. 5.2. "Adoption or foster care service", for purposes
of IC 31-10-3.5, refers to any one (1) or more of the following:
(1) Promoting foster parenting.
(2) Coordinating placement of a child in a home or facility
licensed under IC 31-27.
(3) Recruiting a foster parent or an adoptive parent.
(4) Licensing or certifying a foster family home.
(5) Promoting adoption.
(6) Assisting with an adoption or supporting an adoptive
parent.
(7) Performing or assisting with a home study.
(8) Assisting with a kinship guardianship or a kinship
caregiver.
(9) Providing any family preservation service.
(10) Providing any family support service or temporary
family reunification service.
SECTION 2. IC 31-9-2-40.9 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2026]: Sec. 40.9. "Discriminate", for purposes of IC 31-10-3.5,
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includes any one (1) or more of the following acts when done
wholly or partially based on a person's sincerely held religious
belief:
(1) Denying or otherwise making unavailable any funding to
the person, including:
(A) a state grant;
(B) a loan;
(C) a scholarship;
(D) a guarantee; or
(E) an entitlement or a state benefit.
(2) Terminating, altering the terms of, or refusing to enter
into a contract with the person, including a subcontract or
cooperative agreement.
(3) Refusing to recognize or taking any adverse action against
a person's:
(A) license;
(B) certificate;
(C) custody award or agreement; or
(D) any other similar status.
(4) Refusing to place a child with the person, except for the
reasons set forth in IC 31-10-3.5-1.
(5) Altering in any way the person's tax treatment, including:
(A) imposing a tax penalty;
(B) denying or otherwise making unavailable an exemption
from taxation; or
(C) disallowing or otherwise making unavailable a
deduction for state tax purposes of any charitable donation
made by or to the person.
(6) Imposing on the person any of the following:
(A) A monetary fine.
(B) A fee.
(C) A penalty.
(D) A damages award.
(E) An injunction.
(7) Taking any of the following actions:
(A) Refusing to hire or promote the person.
(B) Forcing the person to resign.
(C) Firing, demoting, or disciplining the person.
(D) Altering the terms or conditions of the person's
employment.
(E) Retaliating against the person.
(F) Taking any other adverse employment action against
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the person.
SECTION 3. IC 31-9-2-89, AS AMENDED BY P.L.3-2016,
SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 89. (a) "Person", for purposes of IC 31-19-19,
IC 31-19-25, and the juvenile law, means:
(1) a human being;
(2) a corporation;
(3) a limited liability company;
(4) a partnership;
(5) an unincorporated association; or
(6) a governmental entity.
(b) "Person", for purposes of section 44.5 of this chapter, means an
adult or a minor.
(c) "Person", for purposes of IC 31-27, means an individual who is
at least twenty-one (21) years of age, a corporation, a partnership, a
voluntary association, or other entity.
(d) "Person", for purposes of the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction Act under IC 31-21, has the meaning set forth in
IC 31-21-2-13.
(e) "Person", for purposes of the Uniform Interstate Family Support
Act under IC 31-18.5, has the meaning set forth in IC 31-18.5-1-2.
(f) "Person", for purposes of IC 31-10-3.5, means:
(1) an individual; or
(2) a legal entity, including a religious organization.
SECTION 4. IC 31-9-2-107.2 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 107.2. "Religious organization",
for purposes of section 89 of this chapter, refers to any of the
following:
(1) A house of worship, including a church, synagogue, shrine,
mosque, or temple.
(2) A religious:
(A) group;
(B) corporation;
(C) association;
(D) school or educational institution;
(E) ministry;
(F) order;
(G) society; or
(H) entity, regardless of whether the entity is integrated or
affiliated with a house of worship.
(3) Any officer, owner, employee, manager, religious leader,
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clergy, or minister of an entity described in this section.
SECTION 5. IC 31-9-2-119.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 119.5. "State benefit", for
purposes of section 40.9 of this chapter, means any program
administered, controlled, or funded by the state that provides any
one (1) or more of the following:
(1) Cash.
(2) Payments.
(3) Grants.
(4) Contracts.
(5) Loans.
(6) In-kind assistance.
SECTION 6. IC 31-10-3.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2026]:
Chapter 3.5. Antidiscrimination in Adoption and Foster
Proceedings
Sec. 1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a governmental
entity may not discriminate against any of the following:
(1) A person that provides, or declines to provide, an adoption
or foster care service in a manner consistent with the person's
sincerely held religious belief.
(2) An adoptive parent (as defined in IC 31-9-2-6) who raises,
or intends to raise, a child in a manner consistent with the
adoptive parent's sincerely held religious belief.
(3) A foster parent (as defined in IC 31-9-2-47) who raises, or
intends to raise, a child in a manner consistent with the foster
parent's sincerely held religious belief.
(4) A person that in a matter concerning adoption or foster
care service:
(A) maintains any policy and procedure; or
(B) otherwise acts;
consistent with the person's sincerely held religious belief.
(b) A governmental entity may consider whether a person
described in subsection (a) shares the same religion or faith
tradition as:
(1) a child when considering placement of the child to
prioritize the child's placement with a person of the same
religion or faith tradition; or
(2) the child's parent or parents when considering placement
of the child to prioritize the child's placement with a person
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who shares the same religion or faith tradition of the parent
or parents of the child.
(c) A governmental entity may not discriminate against a person
described in subsection (a) unless the discriminatory act:
(1) as applied to the person described in subsection (a), is
required to advance a compelling governmental interest; and
(2) is the least restrictive means of advancing the
governmental interest.
Sec. 2. (a) Notwithstanding IC 34-13-3-3 and subject to
subsection (b), a person may:
(1) bring a cause of action against a governmental entity for
a violation of section 1 of this chapter; or
(2) assert the violation of section 1 of this chapter as a claim
or defense in a judicial proceeding.
(b) A person may not bring a cause of action against any court
under this section.
(c) A person does not need to exhaust any administrative
remedy before commencing an action under this section.
Sec. 3. Relief against the governmental entity may include any
of the following:
(1) Declaratory relief.
(2) Injunctive relief.
(3) Compensatory damages.
(4) Reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Sec. 4. This chapter does not:
(1) prohibit the department from taking an action authorized
by state law to prevent child abuse or neglect as defined in
IC 31-9-2-14(c); or
(2) limit the department from enforcing licensing
requirements under IC 31-27 that are consistent with this
chapter.
SECTION 7. IC 34-11-2-17.1 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 17.1. An action against a
governmental entity for discrimination under IC 31-10-3.5-2 must
be commenced not more than two (2) years after the date of the act
complained of.
HEA 1389 — Concur
Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
HEA 1389 — ConcurEvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.