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)
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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Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
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between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 373
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 20-19-2-16, AS ADDED BY P.L.1-2005,
SECTION 3, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 16. (a) The state accepts the provisions and
benefits of laws enacted by the Congress of the United States that
provide for aid to children with disabilities.
(b) The state board department is designated as the proper
authority and may accept any federal funds appropriated to aid in the
education of children with disabilities. The state board department
shall comply with all the requirements of:
(1) federal law concerning any federal funds relating to special
educational activities; and
(2) any amendments to those laws or rules and regulations issued
under and in conformity with those laws and not inconsistent with
this chapter.
SECTION 2. IC 20-27-3-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.43-2021,
SECTION 82, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 2. (a) The following nonvoting members shall
advise the voting members of the committee:
(1) A member of the Indiana Association of School Bus
Distributors selected by the executive committee of that
association.
(2) A member of the state police department selected by the state
police superintendent.
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(3) A member of the Indiana Transportation Association selected
by the executive committee of that association.
(4) (3) A member of the Indiana Township Association selected
by the executive committee of that association.
(5) (4) A school business official appointed by the secretary of
education upon the recommendation of the Indiana Association
of School Business Officials.
(b) An individual is not qualified to serve as a nonvoting member
of the committee until proper credentials of the individual's
appointment have been filed with the chairperson of the committee.
Each nonvoting member shall be notified of all committee meetings
and may attend each meeting and offer advice to the voting members
of the committee.
SECTION 3. IC 20-28-5-12.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.243-2023,
SECTION 11, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 12.5. (a) The department shall grant an initial
practitioner license to an individual who:
(1) possesses a bachelor's degree from an accredited
postsecondary four (4) year institution;
(2) successfully completes an alternative teacher certification
program that includes:
(A) the required content training in the area in which the
individual seeks to be licensed;
(B) pedagogy training and an examination that is in
substantive alignment with nationally recognized pedagogical
standards and teaches effective:
(i) instructional delivery;
(ii) classroom management and organization;
(iii) assessment;
(iv) instructional design; and
(v) professional learning and leadership;
(C) successful demonstration of content area proficiency in an
examination that includes content area material in substantive
alignment with nationally recognized content area standards in
the areas that the individual is required to have a license to
teach;
(D) verification from a third party that regularly reviews
educational and professional examinations that the alternative
certification examination is equal to or greater in rigor than the
written examination under section 12 of this chapter;
(E) content within the curriculum that prepares teacher
candidates to use evidence based trauma informed classroom
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instruction, including instruction in evidence based social
emotional learning classroom practices that are conducive to
supporting students who have experienced trauma that may
interfere with a student's academic functioning; and
(F) content within the curriculum that:
(i) beginning July 1, 2024, is aligned to the science of
reading; and
(ii) beginning July 1, 2024, prepares teacher candidates or
program participants who seek to obtain an elementary
generalist license that is valid for teaching in kindergarten
through grade 5 or an early childhood license that is valid
for teaching prekindergarten through grade 3 to obtain the
literacy endorsement required under section 19.7 of this
chapter;
(3) successfully completes a Praxis Subject Assessment; an
applicable teacher licensing exam as approved by the state
board;
(4) holds a valid cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification from
a provider approved by the department; and
(5) has attended youth suicide awareness and prevention training.
(b) The individual must complete a one (1) year practical experience
program during the individual's first year in the classroom when the
individual is employed as a full-time teacher. The provider must:
(1) provide the practical experience program at no cost to the state
or to the school corporation, charter school, or state accredited
nonpublic school; and
(2) as part of the practical instruction program, provide
instruction in:
(A) instructional design and planning;
(B) effective instructional delivery;
(C) classroom management and organization;
(D) effective use of assessment data;
(E) content in federal and Indiana special education laws; and
(F) required awareness, preparation, and understanding of:
(i) individualized education programs;
(ii) service plans developed under 511 IAC 7-34;
(iii) choice special education plans developed under 511
IAC 7-49; and
(iv) plans developed under Section 504 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794.
(c) An in-state alternative teacher certification program under
subsection (a)(2) must operate in accordance with the procedures and
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program approval standards and requirements set by the department
and the state board for teacher education programs for the licensure of
teachers.
(d) An out-of-state alternative teacher certification program under
subsection (a)(2) must:
(1) currently operate in at least five (5) states; and
(2) have operated an alternative teacher certification program for
at least ten (10) years.
(e) An individual who receives an alternative teacher certification
under subsection (a)(2) is authorized to teach the subject and
educational level that the individual has successfully completed.
(f) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license under
this section shall be treated in the same manner as an individual who
receives an initial practitioner license after completing a traditional
teacher preparation program.
(g) An individual who graduates from an alternative teacher
certification program 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.
(h) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license under
this section may not teach a special education course for a special
education student for the period the individual maintains a license
under this section unless the individual is at least twenty-six (26) years
of age and employed in a school setting or with another community
organization, including a for-profit or nonprofit organization, to
provide care or instruction for a student with a physical, intellectual, or
developmental disability. However, an individual who receives an
initial practitioner license under this section may not be a teacher of
record for a special education student for the period the individual
maintains the initial practitioner license.
(i) A school corporation, charter school, or state accredited
nonpublic school shall submit a plan to the department if the school
corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school hires
one (1) or more individuals who have received an initial practitioner
license under this section. The plan must be submitted in a manner
prescribed by the department and must include a description of how the
school corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school
will, excluding the practical experience program described in
subsection (b), provide an individual who receives an initial
practitioner license under this section opportunities to obtain exposure
to classroom management and instructional techniques, including
meaningful exposure to special education. The plan is a public record.
SEA 373 — CC 1
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(j) Not later than July 1, 2024, the department shall prepare a report
that shall be submitted to the general assembly in an electronic format
under IC 5-14-6. The report must contain the following information:
(1) Data showing how many teachers obtained an initial
practitioner license under this section.
(2) A description of the number of teachers who received an
initial practitioner license under this section who are currently
employed as a teacher by each:
(A) school corporation;
(B) charter school; or
(C) state accredited nonpublic school.
The description must include a breakdown of the subjects taught
by teachers who receive an initial practitioner license under this
section.
(3) A comparison of the Praxis Subject Assessment pass rates for
individuals who receive an initial practitioner license under this
section in comparison with the Praxis Subject Assessment pass
rates for teachers who obtained an initial practitioner license
using a different pathway to licensure.
(4) A description of how many teachers who received an initial
practitioner license under this section are rated as effective or
highly effective.
SECTION 4. IC 20-30-7-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.5-2024,
SECTION 7, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c), the
state board may prescribe a program of summer school education for
public schools. Subject to subsection (b), the state board shall adopt
rules under IC 4-22-2 to provide for:
(1) summer school programs; and
(2) the state distribution formula for any money appropriated by
the general assembly for summer school education to allow for
the reimbursement funding for approved summer school
programs on a per student basis, which may include
differentiated funding based on the course the student is
enrolled in and the length of time of the summer school
program.
(A) instructional costs; and
(B) costs of tuition for an applicable online summer school
course.
(b) The state board shall give priority reimbursement which must be
exempt from the distribution formula adopted by the state board under
subsection (a), for all eligible costs for summer school courses that
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include curriculum aligned with the science of reading designated by
the department to support students in:
(1) grade 2 who are at risk of not being reading proficient; and
(2) grade 3 who are not reading proficient;
as indicated on the determinant evaluation of reading skills approved
by the state board under IC 20-32-8.5-2.
(c) A state accredited nonpublic school and an eligible school (as
defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) shall be eligible for summer school funding
for courses that include curriculum aligned with the science of reading
designated by the department to support students in:
(1) grade 2 who are at risk of not being reading proficient; and
(2) grade 3 who are not reading proficient;
as indicated on the determinant evaluation of reading skills approved
by the state board under IC 20-32-8.5-2.
SECTION 5. IC 20-35-2-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.162-2024,
SECTION 22, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 1. (a) There is established under the state board
department a division of special education. The division shall exercise
all the power and duties set out in this chapter, IC 20-35-3 through
IC 20-35-6, and IC 20-35-8.
(b) The governor secretary of education shall appoint upon the
recommendation of the secretary of education, a director of special
education who serves at the pleasure of the governor. secretary of
education. The amount of compensation of the director shall be
determined by the budget agency with the approval of the governor.
The director has the following duties:
(1) To shall do the following:
(A) (1) Have general supervision of special education
programs and services, including those conducted by school
corporations, charter schools, the Indiana School for the Blind
and Visually Impaired, the Indiana School for the Deaf, the
department of correction, and the division of mental health and
addiction to ensure compliance with federal and state special
education laws and rules.
(B) (2) Take appropriate action to ensure school corporations,
charter schools, and the department remain eligible for federal
special education funds.
(C) (3) Oversee the training of hearing officers and establish
guidelines as described in IC 20-35-14-5.
(2) With the consent of the secretary of education and the budget
agency, to appoint and determine salaries for any assistants and
other personnel needed to enable the director to accomplish the
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duties of the director's office.
SECTION 6. IC 20-51-3-8, AS ADDED BY P.L.182-2009(ss),
SECTION 364, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 8. The department may, in a
proceeding under IC 4-21.5, suspend or terminate the certification of
an organization as a scholarship granting organization if the department
establishes that the scholarship granting organization:
(1) has intentionally and substantially failed to comply with the
requirements of this article or an agreement entered into under
this article; or
(2) has not granted a school scholarship, as defined in
IC 20-51-1-8, for either three (3) consecutive years or within
the first two (2) years of operation as a certified scholarship
granting organization.
SEA 373 — CC 1
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
SEA 373 — CC 1Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.