Sen. Gary Byrne

Provides that, beginning with the cohort of students who are expected to graduate from a public school, a charter school, or a state accredited nonpublic school in 2028, an individual must successfully complete a personal financial responsibility course (course) before the individual may graduate. Creates requirements for content that must be covered in a course. Provides that a public school, a charter school, or a state accredited nonpublic school must offer instruction on a course as a separate subject. Provides that the state board may allow a course to satisfy one or more diploma course requirements.

Authorizes funds from the: (1) Indiana secured school fund; and (2) school corporation and charter school safety advance program; to be used for the purpose of providing specialized firearms instruction to certain teachers, school staff, and school employees, and for providing counseling services to students, teachers, school staff, and school employees in the event of a school shooting. Creates a specialized firearms safety, education, and training curriculum (curriculum) for teachers, school staff, and school employees. Specifies curriculum requirements. Requires a charter school, accredited nonpublic school, or school corporation to ensure that a teacher, school staff member, or school employee who receives training funded by a grant from the Indiana secured school fund complies with certain requirements. Provides that the identity of any person who: (1) enrolls in; (2) participates in; or (3) completes; the curriculum is confidential. Requires the department of education, in collaboration with the state police department, to identify a set of best practices and develop a set of educational materials concerning the safe possession and storage of a firearm in a home with a child. Provides that the department of education shall provide the best practices and educational materials to certain schools for annual distribution to parents of students. Provides that a public school or a state accredited nonpublic school may not conduct a training or drill for an employee of the school that includes, as any part of the training or drill, the expelling of any type of projectile at the employee unless: (1) the school informs the employee of the use of projectiles in the training or drill; and (2) the employee provides written consent. Provides that certain schools may not conduct or approve a training or drill for a student of the school that includes, as any part of the training or drill, the expelling of any type of projectile at a student. Provides that the prohibition on the possession of a firearm in or on school property or on a school bus does not apply to certain qualified law enforcement officers and qualified retired law enforcement officers. Makes conforming and technical amendments.

Repeals teacher training requirements regarding: (1) criminal gang organizations awareness; (2) certain information concerning homeless students; and (3) recognizing the signs and symptoms of seizures and the appropriate steps to be taken to respond to the symptoms; and requires that information concerning these subjects be included within the curriculum of teacher preparation programs. Provides that the department of education (department) may establish or license for use an online platform to provide information and training concerning these and other subjects. Removes certain requirements regarding annual performance evaluation plans for certificated employees, including: (1) certain content requirements; and (2) certain requirements that a plan be discussed. Amends requirements to be considered a probationary teacher and professional teacher. Provides that, after a school corporation has assigned an evaluator to perform a certificated employee's evaluation, the certificated employee may request the school corporation to assign another evaluator. Urges the legislative council to assign to an appropriate interim study committee the task of studying current school assessments in an effort to reduce and streamline assessments for Indiana students. Removes a provision that requires a school employer to discuss certain items with the exclusive representative of certificated employees and provides that a school employer may discuss: (1) with a certificated employee or group of certificated employees; or (2) at one or more meetings that are open to all certificated employees; any topic that significantly impacts a certificated employee's working conditions or impacts the educational quality of the school employer's students. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) requirements regarding the adoption of model evaluation plans and an approval process for the plans; (2) the obligation to discuss certain items not requiring either party to enter into a contract, agree to a proposal, or make a concession; and (3) the definition of "discuss" for purposes of the collective bargaining provisions.

Amends the definition of "onsite residential sewage discharging disposal system" to provide that the term includes a system that employs advanced treatment components to reduce the concentration of the pathogenic constituents of the effluent to an acceptable level before the effluent is discharged. Amends the law that prohibits the point source (i.e., above ground) discharge of treated sewage from a dwelling, which includes an exception to the prohibition for one particular county that has a onsite waste management district, to make the exception applicable to any onsite waste management district. Authorizes the adoption of rules or guidelines to provide guidance to a local health department that has jurisdiction in a county onsite waste management district and that is authorized to issue operating permits for onsite residential sewage discharging disposal systems that discharge effluent above ground. Provides that, if amending the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit issued by the department of environmental management (department) for the purposes of the county onsite waste management district law is necessary or advisable to enable new county onsite waste management districts to function properly and effectively, the department shall amend the general permit as soon as reasonably possible after June 30, 2023. Provides that septage that originates from a residential or commercial source may be held in one or more holding tanks of not more than 10,000 gallons until removed and transported from the site. Establishes requirements for septage holding tanks. Requires a permit from the local health department for the operation of a septage holding tank. Requires a septage tank owner to: (1) enter into a written contract with a septage management vehicle operator for regular removal of septage from the tank; (2) provide a copy of the contract to the local health department; and (3) provide proof to the local health department that the tank owner is regularly paying for the removal of septage from the holding tank. Requires a local health department to report to the department concerning the septage tanks in its jurisdiction, and authorizes the adoption of rules or guidelines concerning the reports.

Provides that a school, an employee or staff member of a school, or a third party vendor used by a school to provide instruction may not provide any instruction to a student in prekindergarten through grade 3 on human sexuality. Provides that a school employee or a school staff member is not prohibited from responding to a question from a student regarding certain topics. Requires a school to notify in writing at least one parent of a student, if the student is an unemancipated minor, of a request made by the student to change the student's name or pronoun, title, or word to identify the student.

Amends the definition of "athletic trainer" to include an individual employed by an occupational facility to practice athletic training. Amends the definition of "athletic training" to include the diagnosis and rehabilitation of athletic injuries under the direction and supervision of a licensed physician, osteopath, podiatrist, or chiropractor, including the use of manual therapies related to the reconditioning of athletes, but not including joint manipulation of the spinal column. Defines "manual therapies" and "supervision". Changes the education standard for licensing by the board as an athletic trainer from the satisfactory completion of an academic program including certain accredited courses to: (1) obtaining a professional athletic training degree from a postsecondary educational institution that meets the academic standards established by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE); and (2) the successful completion of a Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC) examination. Provides that an individual may be exempted by the board from the examination requirement if the individual is certified by the BOC (instead of by the National Athletic Trainers Association) and authorizes the board to issue a temporary permit to practice as an athletic trainer to an individual who is practicing in a state that does not license or certify athletic trainers but is certified by the BOC (instead of by the National Athletic Trainers Association). Eliminates the requirement that the board contract with the National Athletic Trainers Association to conduct and score the qualifying examination for athletic trainers.

Defines "aggregate". Provides that a penalty for transporting a load in excess of the registered limit of the load for the transporting vehicle does not apply to a vehicle or combination of vehicles that transports aggregate if the weight of the vehicle with load does not exceed the gross weight limit and the axle weight limit by more than 10%. Provides for when the department of state revenue (department) may assess a civil penalty for a vehicle or load that is in excess of the legal weight or dimensional limits. Provides for the penalties the department may charge for a violation. Urges the legislative council to assign to the appropriate interim study committee the task of studying civil penalty assessments and the enforcement of overweight loads as it pertains to the impact on state infrastructure.

Voids an administrative rule concerning eligibility of projects for which funding is available from the airport development grant fund (grant fund) and relocates (with stylistic changes) the contents of the voided administrative rule. Requires the Indiana department of transportation, in determining the match for a state grant for which federal grants are not available, to: (1) consider the airport classification and the type of project; and (2) require matching funds of at least 25%.

Provides that a committee, board, commission, or task force (committee) created by the general assembly after June 30, 2023, expires if the committee does not meet within two years after the effective date of the statute creating the committee. Provides that the statutes creating the following compacts expire July 1, 2025: (1) The Interstate Jobs Protection Compact. (2) The Interstate High Speed Intercity Rail Passenger Network Compact. (3) The Interstate Compact on Community Corrections Transfers. Requires the governor to give notice to each state, if any, that is a party to each compact that the state of Indiana is withdrawing from the compact. Requires the governor to certify before January 1, 2024, with respect to each compact, that notice either: (1) has been given regarding Indiana's withdrawal from the compact; or (2) was not required to be given because there are no other party states to which to give notice.

Amends the statute prohibiting the use of public funds to purchase equipment or services produced or provided by certain prohibited persons determined to be a national security threat to communications networks or supply chains to also prohibit the use of public funds to purchase communications equipment or service that is: (1) determined under specified federal regulations to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons; and (2) included on the covered list published, maintained, and updated by the federal Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau on the website of the Federal Communications Commission. Provides that the governor may, at any time, and in consultation with the executive director of the department of homeland security, designate a country as a threat to certain critical infrastructure located in Indiana. Provides that after June 30, 2023, a specified qualified entity may not enter into an agreement relating to critical infrastructure with a company if: (1) under the agreement, the company would be able to directly or remotely access or control of a critical infrastructure or a cybersecurity system of a critical infrastructure; and (2) the company is: (A) owned or controlled by citizens of (or a company or entity owned or controlled by citizens or the government of) China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or a country designated as a threat to critical infrastructure by the governor; or (B) headquartered in China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or a country designated as a threat to critical infrastructure by the governor. Provides that after June 30, 2023, a prohibited person may not purchase, lease, or acquire a parcel of real property that is directly adjacent to a military installation. Provides that the attorney general may investigate the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property upon receipt of a complaint. Provides that the attorney general shall enforce a violation by commencing a receivership proceeding and selling the property through the receivership.