Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Indiana General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
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. 255
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 20-28-5-12, AS AMENDED BY P.L.243-2023,
SECTION 10, AND BY P.L.245-2023, SECTION 9, IS AMENDED
TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 12. (a)
Subsection (b) does not apply to an individual who:
(1) held an Indiana limited, reciprocal, or standard teaching
license on June 30, 1985; or
(2) is granted a license under section 12.5, 16.5, or 18 of this
chapter.
(b) Except as provided in section sections 12.5 and 16.5 of this
chapter, the department may not grant an initial practitioner license to
an individual unless the individual has:
(1) met the requirements of section 12.3 of this chapter; and
(2) demonstrated proficiency in the following areas on a written
examination or through other procedures prescribed by the
department:
(1) (A) Pedagogy.
(2) (B) Knowledge of the areas in which the individual is
required to have a license to teach.
(3) (C) If the individual is seeking to be licensed as an
elementary school teacher, comprehensive scientifically based
reading instruction skills aligned to the science of reading.
(c) An individual's license examination score may not be disclosed
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by the department without the individual's consent unless specifically
required by state or federal statute or court order.
(d) Subject to section 22 of this chapter, the state board shall adopt
rules under IC 4-22-2 to do the following:
(1) Adopt, validate, and implement the examination or other
procedures required by subsection (b).
(2) Establish examination scores indicating proficiency.
(3) Otherwise carry out the purposes of this section.
(e) Subject to section 18 of this chapter, the state board shall adopt
rules under IC 4-22-2 establishing the conditions under which the
requirements of this section may be waived for an individual holding
a valid teacher's license issued by another state.
SECTION 2. IC 20-28-5-16.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 16.5. (a) The department shall
grant an initial practitioner license to an individual who meets the
following requirements:
(1) The individual holds a bachelor's degree with a grade
point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale from an accredited
postsecondary educational institution with a major in any
combination of the following:
(A) Science.
(B) Technology.
(C) Engineering.
(D) Mathematics.
(2) The individual successfully completes a total of at least
nine (9) academic credits in courses that include instruction
on the following:
(A) High impact practices in:
(i) lesson planning;
(ii) instructional design;
(iii) instructional activities;
(iv) integrating learning modalities; and
(v) developing laboratory experiments.
(B) The use of:
(i) digital media;
(ii) learning management software; and
(iii) technology to maximize learning.
(C) Teaching:
(i) inductive and deductive reasoning;
(ii) metacognition;
(iii) problem framing;
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(iv) interpreting results; and
(v) data based decision making.
(D) Best practices to evaluate student learning through:
(i) diagnostic assessment;
(ii) direct and indirect assessment; and
(iii) formative and summative assessment.
(E) Creating feedback loops.
(F) Fostering engagement and using peer to peer learning
and other small group strategies.
(G) Providing constructive feedback and preventing
disruptive behavior.
(H) Early intervention strategies and professional
standards.
(I) Teaching students with disabilities.
(3) The individual demonstrates proficiency through a written
examination in the knowledge of the areas in which the
individual is required to have a license to teach, as described
in section 12(b)(2) of this chapter.
(4) The individual has completed the training described in
section 12.3 of this chapter.
(5) The individual participates in one (1) or more of the
following, as determined by the department:
(A) Job shadowing.
(B) Field experiences.
(C) Teaching cooperatives.
(D) Full-term student teaching.
(b) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license
under this section:
(1) may only teach in any combination of grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, or 12, as determined by the department;
(2) shall be treated in the same manner as an individual who
receives an initial practitioner license after completing a
traditional teacher preparation program; and
(3) must be treated in the same manner as a traditional
teacher preparation program graduate during the transition
from an initial practitioner license to a practitioner license.
(c) The state board may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
administer this section.
SECTION 3. IC 20-28-5-29 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
1, 2025]: Sec. 29. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the
department may grant a license to teach:
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(1) a high school level course; or
(2) in grades 5 through 9;
to an individual who completes a licensure pathway established by
the department.
(b) A licensure pathway established by the department under
subsection (a)(1) must be aligned to a course content area that is
part of student diploma requirements established by the state
board under IC 20-19-2-21.
SECTION 4. IC 20-33-2-19, AS AMENDED BY P.L.138-2024,
SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 19. (a) When the parent of a student who is
enrolled in a public school provides written notice, the principal shall
allow the student to attend a school for religious instruction that is
conducted by a church, an association of churches, or an association
that is organized for religious instruction and incorporated under
Indiana law.
(b) After receiving notice under subsection (a) and subject to
subsection (c), the principal shall work in a collaborative manner with
the parent or entity offering religious instruction to provide assistance
in determining a period or periods not to exceed one hundred twenty
(120) minutes in total in any week, for the student to receive religious
instruction. An entity offering religious instruction to a student as
described in this subsection shall, as applicable, work in a collaborative
manner with the principal to ensure the period or periods in which the
student receives religious instruction are the least disruptive to the
instructional time (as defined in IC 20-30-2-1) of the student. The
notice is valid only for the school year in which it is provided.
(c) The period or periods that a student receives religious
instruction under this section may not exceed the following:
(1) For students in elementary school, one hundred twenty
(120) minutes in total in any week.
(2) For students in public secondary school, the amount of
time that is equivalent to attending one (1) elective course at
the public secondary school during the week.
(c) (d) An entity providing religious instruction that receives
students under this section:
(1) shall maintain attendance records and allow inspection of
these records by attendance officers; and
(2) may not be supported, in whole or in part, by public funds.
(d) (e) A student who attends a school for religious instruction under
this section shall receive the same attendance credit that the student
would receive for attendance in the public schools for the same length
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of time.
(e) (f) A public secondary school may award academic credit to a
student who attends religious instruction under this section if the
following conditions are met:
(1) The entity that provides religious instruction to a student
of a school corporation under this section agrees to do the
following:
(A) Conduct an expanded criminal history check and
expanded child protection index check regarding each
employee or contractor of the entity who is likely to have
direct, ongoing contact with students of the school
corporation who are children within the scope of the
individual's employment or contract services.
(B) Hold liability insurance coverage for services or
transportation provided outside school property (as
defined in IC 20-33-8-5).
(2) The governing body of the school corporation adopts a policy
that allows the awarding of credit. A policy adopted under this
subsection must provide the following:
(1) (A) Classes in religious instruction are evaluated on the
basis of purely secular criteria in substantially the same
manner as similar classes taken by a student at a nonpublic
secondary school who transfers to a public secondary school
are evaluated to determine whether the student receives
transfer credit for the classes. Secular criteria may include the
following in addition to other secular criteria established by
the governing body:
(A) (i) The number of hours of classroom instructional time.
(B) (ii) A review of the course syllabus that reflects the
course requirements and materials.
(C) (iii) Methods of assessment used in the course.
(D) (iv) Whether the course is taught by a licensed teacher.
(2) (B) The decision of whether to award academic credit is
neutral as to, and does not involve any test for, religious
content or denominational affiliation.
(3) (C) A provision that a student who attends religious
instruction under this section shall first seek to use a time
period during a student instructional day (as defined in
IC 20-30-2-2) that is not devoted to student instructional time
to attend religious instruction. If a student is not able to attend
religious instruction at a time other than during student
instructional time, the student may not be released to attend
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religious instruction for an amount of time per week that
exceeds the amount established in subsection (b). (c).
A student may be awarded a total of not more than two (2) elective
academic credits under this subsection.
SECTION 5. IC 20-33-8-13.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.238-2023,
SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 13.5. (a) Discipline rules adopted by the
governing body of a school corporation under section 12 of this chapter
must:
(1) prohibit bullying; and
(2) include:
(A) provisions concerning education, parental involvement,
and intervention;
(B) a detailed procedure for the expedited investigation of
incidents of bullying that includes:
(i) appropriate responses to bullying behaviors, wherever the
behaviors occur;
(ii) provisions for anonymous and personal reporting of
bullying to a teacher or other school staff;
(iii) provisions that require a school to prioritize the safety
of the victim;
(iv) timetables for reporting the conclusion of a bullying
incidents investigation to the parents of both the targeted
student and the alleged perpetrator in an expedited manner
that is not later than five (5) business days before the end
of the next school day after the incident is reported;
conclusion of the investigation;
(v) timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to school
counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, or law
enforcement, if it is determined that reporting the bullying
incident to law enforcement is necessary;
(vi) discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school
administrators who fail to initiate or conduct an
investigation of a bullying incident; and
(vii) discipline provisions for false reporting of bullying; and
(viii) provisions to make a reasonable attempt to notify
both the parent of a targeted student and the parent of
an alleged perpetrator that the school is investigating a
possible incident of bullying or similar misconduct
before the end of the next school day after the school
becomes aware of the possible incident; and
(C) a detailed procedure outlining the use of follow-up
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services that includes:
(i) support services for the victim; and
(ii) bullying education for the alleged perpetrator.
(b) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may be applied
regardless of the physical location in which the bullying behavior
occurred, whenever:
(1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the
intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a
school within a school corporation; and
(2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid substantial
interference with school discipline or prevent an unreasonable
threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning
environment.
(c) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must prohibit
bullying through the use of data or computer software that is accessed
through a:
(1) computer;
(2) computer system;
(3) computer network; or
(4) cellular telephone or other wireless or cellular
communications device.
(d) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) must include
policies to allow a parent of a child in the school corporation to review
any materials used in any bullying prevention or suicide prevention
program.
(e) The discipline rules described in subsection (a) may include
provisions to determine:
(1) the severity of an incident of bullying; and
(2) whether an incident of bullying may warrant the transfer of the
victim or the alleged perpetrator to another school in the school
corporation.
(f) This section may not be construed to give rise to a cause of
action against a person or school corporation based on an allegation of
noncompliance with this section. Noncompliance with this section may
not be used as evidence against a school corporation in a cause of
action.
(g) A record made of an investigation, a disciplinary action, or a
follow-up action performed under rules adopted under this section is
not a public record under IC 5-14-3.
(h) The department shall periodically review each policy adopted
under this section to ensure the policy's compliance with this section.
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President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
SEA 255 — CC 1Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.