Signed by Governor Eric Holcomb

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

A vote to pass a bill that amends graduation standards.

Highlights:

• Defines “committee” as the education interim study committee established by IC 2-5-1.3-4(5) (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the legislative council to assign to the committee the subject of studying issues relating to career counseling in elementary and high schools during the 2018 through 2020 interims, including (Sec. 2):

• The adequacy of current state and local funding for a school corporation’s career counseling of students;

• The current workload of a school corporation’s career counselors;

• Multiple graduation pathways and the impact it would have on a school corporation’s career counselors; and

• The fiscal impact of multiple graduation pathways on a school corporation’s ability to give adequate career counseling to students.

• Specifies that sections 1 and 2 expire January 1, 2021 (Sec. 3).

• Defines “graduation examination” as the test designated by the board under the ILEARN program, and specifies that this section expires July 1, 2022 (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes the state board to establish one standard Indiana diploma for the graduation of high school, where each standard Indian diploma includes one of the following designations if the individual completes the necessary requirements established by the state board for the designation (Sec. 21):

• General designation;

• Core 40 designation;

• Core 40 with academic honors designation; and

• Core 40 with technical honors designation.

• Specifies that charter schools have until the end of the calendar year to seek renewal of a charter, and that the authorizer has until April 1 to make a final ruling on the charter (Sec. 7).

• Expands the categories for preferred admission to charter schools to include students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program preference if the preference is specifically provided for in the charter school’s charter and is approved by the authorizer (Sec. 18).

• Requires annual reports under this chapter to include, but not be limited to (Sec. 82):

• Results of statewide assessment program measures;

• Graduation rates when appropriate, including the number of students with Indiana diplomas with a Core 40 designation and Indiana diplomas with Core 40 with academic honors designations for each authorized school; and

• Student enrollment data for each authorized school.

• Defines “graduation” as the successful completion by a student of the sufficient number of academic credits, or the equivalent of academic credits, and the graduation examination, a postsecondary readiness competency established by the state board under IC 20-32-4-1.5(c), or the waiver process required under IC 20-32-3 through IC 20-32-5.1, resulting in the awarding of an Indiana diploma (Sec. 16).

• Expands the definition of “eligible student” to include a student in grade 11 or 12 who has failed the graduation exam (before July 1, 2022) or is not on track to complete a postsecondary readiness competency (Sec. 22).

• Expands the eligibility requirements for students participating in a school flex program to include pursuing course and credit requirements for an Indiana diploma with a general designation (Sec. 22).

• Requires school counselors, if their student is not progressing toward fulfillment of their graduation plan, to meet with the teacher assigned to the student for remediation for the particular competency area, the parents of the student, and the student (Sec. 22).

• Requires the state board to consider math course requirements other than Algebra II and at the level of difficulty that aligns with postsecondary preparation in adopting Core 40 curriculum models (Sec. 18).

• Requires the state board, when an apprenticeship is established as a graduation pathway requirement, to establish apprenticeships registered under the federal National Apprenticeship Act or other federal apprenticeship program administered by the United States Department of Labor (Sec. 34).

• Authorizes the state board, in consultation with the department of workforce development and the commission for higher education, to approve college and career pathways connected to career and technical education (Sec. 34).

• Establishes conditions under which a student can receive a waiver from the postsecondary readiness competency requirements under section 1.5(c) of this chapter (Sec. 28).

• Authorizes parents to request an exemption for their child from completing an Indiana diploma with a Core 40 designation, as long as their child completes the general curriculum for an Indiana diploma with a general designation (Sec. 30).

• Authorizes the state board to create an alternate diploma for students with significant cognitive disabilities that is standards-based and aligned with the state’s requirements for an Indiana diploma (Sec. 35).

• Requires each student in a grade 10 cohort, before July 1, 2020, to take a graduation examination (Sec. 37).

• Requires the administering of a nationally recognized college entrance exam for specified high school subjects each school year starting June 30, 2021 (Sec. 37).

• Specifies that “academic honors student” refers to a student who (Sec. 52):

• Graduated from high school with an Indiana diploma with Core 40 with academic honors designation or technical honors designation for their first academic year; or

• Maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale or its equivalent as established by the eligible institution for a student’s most recently completed academic year after their first academic year.

Full Bill Text