Sen. J.D. Ford

Adds to the department of child services (department) report concerning child fatalities. Specifies that the department must also include information on the number of child fatalities that had prior department history and whether a child's death occurred while the child: (1) was placed in residential care; (2) had an open child in need of services case; (3) was under an in-home child in need of services order; or (4) was on a trial home visit.

Provides that an elderly voter or a voter with disabilities may apply for permanent absentee voter status. Provides that absentee ballots would be sent automatically to voters who have permanent absentee voter status.

Permits an individual who seeks to adopt a child less than 18 years of age to file a petition for adoption in any county in Indiana if either of the following is filed with the petition: (1) A written consent to the adoption from each individual whose consent to the adoption is required under Indiana law; (2) A certified copy of a court order terminating the parental rights of each parent whose consent to the adoption is required under Indiana law. Requires notice of an adoption petition to be delivered to imprisoned or detained individuals. Specifies certain requirements when delivering notice of a petition for adoption to an individual whose address is unknown. Provides that certain notice requirements concerning petitions for adoption are met even when the recipient of the notice refuses to accept the offer or tender of the notice. Requires that the notice of an adoption must be given to the local office of the department of child services, if the child is the subject of an open or pending child in need of services proceeding. Mandates that the notice of an adoption must be given to the entity, facility, or individual of which the child is a ward if the child is a subject of an open or pending juvenile delinquency proceeding. Specifies certain other requirements concerning notice for petitions for adoption. Requires the setting aside of an adoption decree if notice is not properly effectuated and the adoption decree is challenged within 45 days of when it was entered. Allows the court to set aside a dismissal of a motion to contest under certain circumstances. Allows the court to consider, in the context of a motion to contest, (1) the parent's substance abuse; (2) the parent's voluntary unemployment; or (3) instability in the parent's household, if the parent has made substantial and continuing progress and it appears reasonably likely that progress will continue. Makes conforming amendments..

Establishes the interim study committee on child services (committee). Provides that the committee: (1) shall review the annual reports submitted by local child fatality review teams and by the statewide child fatality review committee and shall report to the legislative council regarding the committee's review of the reports; and (2) may make recommendations regarding changes in policy or statutes to improve child safety; in addition to reporting to the legislative council regarding any other issue assigned to the committee by the legislative council. Provides that a local child fatality committee may meet at the call of members of the local child fatality committee other than the county prosecutor for purposes of the first meeting of the local child fatality committee. Requires the summary information included in the department's annual report regarding child fatalities to indicate, with regard to a child fatality that was the result of abuse or neglect, whether the child was a ward of the department at the time of the event that led to the child's death. Requires the department to provide the annual report to the committee. Urges the legislative council to assign the following topics to the committee, or to another appropriate study committee, for study during the 2021 legislative interim: (1) Amending the Indiana Code to provide for a structured, limited, confidential process by which members of the general assembly may, in the regular course of legislative duties, individually request and view reports and other materials regarding cases of child abuse or neglect and child fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, while protecting personally identifying information and confidentiality. (2) The child fatality review process, including recommendations from the department and the state department of health with regard to improving reporting and data collection. Requires a local child fatality review committee that has not held its first meeting as of the effective date of the bill to hold its first meeting not later than December 31, 2021.

Replaces statutory references to "dangerous communicable disease" with "serious communicable disease". Replaces statutory references to "carrier" with "individual with a communicable disease". Makes conforming amendments.

Amends the definition of "health payer" to except some policies of accident and sickness insurance. Establishes requirements for the development and administration of the all payer claims data base. Establishes the all payer claims data base advisory board (advisory board) and sets forth membership requirements. Specifies the duties of: (1) the advisory board; and (2) the executive director who oversees the operation of the data base. Requires the establishment of a fee formula for data licensing and claims data collection and release.

Specifies that it is the policy of the state to recognize the parenting rights of a parent regardless of whether the parent has a disability. Provides that the right of a person with a disability to parent the person's child may not be denied or restricted solely because the person has a disability. Provides that: (1) a court, in: (A) considering the appointment of a person as a guardian; (B) hearing an action to modify custody or an action to determine or modify parenting time; or (C) determining whether to grant a petition for adoption; and (2) the department of child services, in determining whether to grant a person a license to operate a foster family home; may not discriminate against, and shall take into consideration the provision of reasonable accommodations to, a person with a disability.

Establishes the Indiana crime guns task force (task force) to address violent crime in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan, Johnson, and Shelby counties by delivering, in cooperation with state and federal officials, a uniform strategy to trace firearms used to commit crimes. Establishes an executive board to direct and oversee the task force. Requires the Indiana criminal justice institute to establish and administer the task force fund. Makes conforming amendments.

Provides that a qualifying farmer may apply to a designating body to have an area designated as an urban agricultural zone. Provides that the term "urban agricultural zone" does not include rooftop gardening or farming practices that occur on the top of a building or residential home. Provides that a designating body, before designating an area as an urban agricultural zone, must hold a public hearing and allow for public comment. Provides that a designating body may exempt lands located partially or wholly within an urban agricultural zone from property taxation. Specifies that a designating body may not impose a special benefit tax for public services provided to an urban agricultural zone, unless the designating body imposed the special benefit tax before it designated the area as an urban agricultural zone.

Requires the state board of education (state board) to: (1) establish a compilation of longitudinal data indicating school performance success in various selected and enumerated program areas; and (2) present the data for each school in a manner that is commonly known as an Internet dashboard. Requires each school to post on a web page maintained on the school's Internet web site the exact same data and in a similar format as the data presented for the school on the state board's Internet web site. Allows a school to include custom indicators on the school's web page. Provides that the performance of a school's students on the statewide assessment program test and other criterion referenced benchmark assessments recommended by the department of education (department) and approved by the state board are the primary and majority means of assessing a school's improvement. (Current law provides that the performance of a school's students on the statewide assessment program test and other assessments recommended by the department and approved by the state board are the primary and majority means of assessing a school's improvement.) Provides that the state board may assign each domain, indicator, or measure used to assess school performance a separate and distinct category or designation. Provides that the state board shall assign to a school or school corporation (including adult high schools) a "null" or "no letter grade" for the 2020-2021 school year. Requires each governing body of a school corporation and the equivalent for each charter school to submit to the department a report that includes certain information regarding instruction during the 2020-2021 school year and the 2021-2022 school year. Requires the department to do the following: (1) Conduct, in collaboration with the state board, a learning loss study regarding students in kindergarten through grade 10. (2) Prepare a report regarding the 2020-2021 school year and a report regarding the 2021-2022 school year that includes the submitted information and the study by the department. (3) Not later than December 1, 2021, and not later than December 1, 2022, submit the applicable reports to the governor, state board, and legislative council. Urges the legislative council to assign to an appropriate study committee for the 2022 interim and the 2023 interim the task of studying the information in the reports. Amends requirements that a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment must meet for approval by the state board. Provides that before the state board may approve a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment, the assessment vendor must enter into a data share agreement with the department. Repeals provisions that: (1) provide consequences for failing schools; (2) provide consequences for failing charter schools or choice scholarship schools; and (3) authorize the establishment of turnaround academies.