Provides that a school corporation shall accept a transferring student who does not have legal settlement in the school corporation if the school corporation has the capacity to accept the student and the student's parent is a current employee of the transferee school corporation with an annual salary of at least: (1) $8,000; or (2) $3,000 earned due to being included as an employee in the extracurricular portion of the transferee school corporation's current collective bargaining agreement. Provides that for purposes of accepting the transfer of a student who is a child of a school employee when the school corporation has a policy of not accepting transfer students, the school corporation may not enroll and may not report for purposes of state tuition support a student whose parent does not meet certain requirements. Provides that a school corporation, charter school, or nonpublic school with at least one employee may provide a presentation or instruction to students explaining aspects of autism, including behaviors that students with autism may exhibit as well as student interaction with students with autism. Provides that each public school and private school with at least one employee shall provide, upon request of another school in which the student currently attends, the requesting school a copy of a particular student's disciplinary records that are relevant to the safety of students who currently attend the requesting school. Provides that a school corporation may use a special purpose bus or certain other appropriate vehicles to transport students to and from a career or technical education program. Requires the department of education (department) to publish the following information from the previous school year or collective bargaining period on the department's Internet web site: (1) The total number of full-time teachers retained from the previous year. (2) Teacher workforce growth. (3) The number of emergency permits granted by each school corporation, categorized by content area. Requires the department to include in its annual report, and publish on the department's Internet web site, the number of vacant teaching positions in each school corporation by: (1) grade; (2) subject; and (3) required credential; with critical shortage areas, as determined by unfilled vacancies, highlighted for each school corporation. Makes changes to the determination of which pupils may be included in a school corporation's average daily membership (ADM). Provides that a student who: (1) qualifies for free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program; or (2) attended a turnaround academy under IC 20-31-9.5 or attends a school that is located in the same school building as the participating innovation network charter school, may receive preference for admission to a participating innovation network charter school if the preference is specifically provided for in the charter and is approved by the authorizer. Provides that staff performance evaluation plans for the Indianapolis Public Schools must be developed and implemented in accordance with statewide teacher evaluation plan requirements. Provides that a teacher who: (1) is employed in a school corporation; (2) loses his or her job in the school corporation because of a reorganization; and (3) has received a rating of effective or highly effective on his or her most recent performance evaluation; shall receive an employment preference over other candidates for the same vacant teaching position, for a period of not more than one year after the teacher loses his or her job. Provides that a teacher who: (1) is employed in a school corporation; (2) loses his or her job in a school corporation because of a reorganization; and (3) is subsequently employed by a community school corporation created by a reorganization; retains certain rights and privileges that the teacher held at the time the teacher lost his or her job in the original school corporation. Provides that, after June 30, 2021, a governing body may not enter into a contract with a superintendent on or after the date of the election for one or more members of the governing body until January 1 of the year immediately following the year of the election. Requires that the majority of the benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessments approved by the state board of education (state board) must indicate the degree to which students are on track for grade level proficiency and college and career readiness. Requires that a principal or a principal's designee ensure that a suspended student receives credit, in the same manner as a student who is not suspended would receive, for any assignments or school work assigned during the period of the student's suspension that the student completes. Provides that charter schools that enroll certain students for the purposes of the students receiving services from accredited nonpublic alternative high schools are entitled to receive a certain amount of state tuition support for the students. Amends the definition of "governmental entity" under the criminal code to include a charter school and the organizer for purposes of the criminal provisions that apply to offenses against public administration. Requires the department to: (1) prepare a report that includes information from the 2019-2020 school year for each school corporation, charter school, and eligible school regarding the number of students counted in average daily membership (ADM) who were not reported through the student testing number application center as having completed a course; (2) submit, not later than December 1, 2020, the report to the legislative council; (3) post the report to the department's Internet web site; and (4) provide a link to the report to each school corporation, charter school, and eligible school. Provides that each school corporation and charter school may place a durable poster or framed picture representing: (1) the national motto of the United States, "In God We Trust"; (2) an accurate representation of the United States flag; and (3) an accurate representation of the Indiana state flag; in each school library and classroom within the school corporation or charter school. Provides that the representation of the United States flag and the Indiana state flag must comply with any applicable federal or state laws concerning the design, dimensions, or presentation of each respective flag. Provides that the provisions of SEA 2-2020 apply to an adult high school. Urges: (1) the state board to approve, for purposes of career and technical education graduation pathways, a career and technical education cluster that allows students to acquire knowledge and skills related to employment in the electric, natural gas, communications, water, and wastewater utility industries; (2) the governor's workforce cabinet (cabinet), in consultation with the state board, department of education, and department of workforce development: (A) to create course sequences for the career and technical education cluster; and (B) in creating the course sequences: (i) to consider the impact of course sequences on long term outcomes of students; and (ii) to prioritize course sequences that lead to high wage, high demand jobs; and (3) the cabinet to: (A) collect data regarding approved career clusters and course sequences to inform decision making around approving, creating, and amending current and future career clusters and course sequence requirements; and (B) report to the general assembly regarding the collected data.
Rep. Jeff Thompson
Sponsored bills
Provides that the state board of education (state board) shall determine the timing, frequency, and method of certain teacher training requirements, including whether the training should be required for purposes of obtaining or renewing a license or as part of the completion requirements for a teacher preparation program. Provides that the following apply to nonpublic schools accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the state board: (1) Indiana secured school fund provisions. (2) Certain sale of school building provisions. (3) Certain textbook assistance provisions. Changes a provision concerning waivers from postsecondary readiness competency requirements that references "nonaccredited nonpublic school" to "nonaccredited nonpublic school that has less than one employee". Provides that the state board and the governing body of a school corporation or nonpublic school may not enter into, renew, or otherwise extend a contract to establish a freeway school after June 30, 2020. Provides that provisions relating to the establishment and administration of freeway schools expire July 1, 2025. Establishes new requirements to accredit a public or private school in Indiana. Provides that the state board may grant an application by a school or group of schools that requests to waive compliance with certain statutes or rules. Requires the state board to annually prepare a report that includes certain information regarding compliance waiver requests and provide the report to the general assembly. Provides that a school corporation may publish in a local newspaper a summary of the annual performance report with a description of how to find and view the full annual performance report on the Internet in lieu of publishing the whole annual performance report. Provides that a school corporation may publish in a local newspaper a summary of the annual financial report with a description of how to find and view the full annual financial report on the Internet in lieu of publishing the whole annual financial report. Repeals a provision that requires the state board to implement a system of recognizing certain education programs of nonpublic schools. Repeals: (1) a provision relating to performance based school accreditation; (2) a provision pertaining to school improvement plans; and (3) a provision pertaining to the recognition of educational programs of nonpublic schools. Makes conforming amendments and technical corrections.
Allows the Honor and Remember flag to be displayed at each state office building, the Indiana veterans' cemetery, and each veterans cemetery managed by the Indiana department of veterans' affairs. Provides that the Honor and Remember flag may be annually displayed during the month of May. Allows the Honor and Remember flag to be displayed at any time by certain entities.
Amends the definition of a "controlled project" to exclude projects exclusively for engineering, land and right-of-way acquisition, construction, resurfacing, maintenance, restoration, and rehabilitation of: (1) local road and street systems; (2) arterial road and street systems; and (3) any combination of local and arterial road and street systems; including bridges that are designated as being in a road and street system. Provides that the restrictions on supporting a position on a controlled project apply to any political subdivision that has assessed value within the same taxing district as the political subdivision proposing the project. Provides that nothing shall prevent another political subdivision that has assessed value within the same taxing district as the political subdivision from adopting a resolution or taking a position on a local public question.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing dyslexia in Hoosier youth.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing teachers and the work they do.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging Congress to display the portrait of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony on U.S. currency recognizing women's fight for suffrage and honoring the 100th anniversary.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing Katie Pourcho, 2020 Indiana Teacher of the Year.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing the Indiana Rangers, Company D of the 151st Infantry Regiment of the Indiana National Guard.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the creation of a Medal of Honor Memorial Highway in Indiana.