The 2023 legislative session has wrapped up with several bills that address education, school boards, and the well-being of our children. The result is a mixed bag of legislation that will be seen as a step forward, a neutral response, and contentious issues.
On the step forward we have SB 35 and HB 1483.
SB 35 has to do with financial literacy. This bill requires that every student who is expected to graduate in 2028 and every year after must pass a financial literacy course to be able to graduate high school. The curriculum for this course will include topics on money management, spending and saving, types of bank accounts, debt management, credit and credit scores, etc. This addition to the curriculum is long overdue and can have a positive impact on the future of our children as much as anything else they learn in school.
HB 1483 deals with the issue of bullying in school. The current law has been amended to include stronger requirements. First, it prioritizes the safety of the victim. Second, the parents of both the alleged perpetrator and the targeted student have to be notified of the bullying incident within five business days. Third, discipline rules must be modified to allow the parents to review any materials used in any bullying prevention. And last, every school whether public or charter has to document acts of bullying against the victim and the verified perpetrator.
SB 72 is a bill that merely requires elementary schools to provide information to the Department of Education by Oct. 1, 2023, whether the schools provide cursive writing instruction to their students and the grade level of the students. Then the Department of Education is required to provide a report to the legislative council with the information received no later than Dec. 1, 2023. This section of the Indiana Code on education expires on the first day of 2024. The entirety of the law is only two pages, so I can only speculate if legislators may be seeking to determine if we need to bring back cursive writing in the elementary curriculum.
SB 480 is the bill that prohibits gender transition procedures for minors. This was a hotly debated bill as it went through the House and Senate chambers and is likely to continue to be passionately debated. The bill prohibits a physician or other practitioner from performing any gender transition procedures or giving treatments using puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to any minor under 18 years of age. Additionally, a parent/guardian of a minor can’t consent to gender transition treatments on their child’s behalf.
There are consequences for physicians and practitioners who act against this legislation. They include 1) any physician that aids or abets in any gender transition procedure of a minor will be subject to disciplinary action by the board regulating the physician, 2) any individual, parent, or guardian can assert violations of this section in the law as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and may seek to obtain compensatory damages.
SB 480 clarifies that this legislation does not interfere with a person’s right, once they have reached 18 years of age, to make their own decision as to the treatment they wish to pursue. The bill does not prohibit mental-health counseling for children dealing with gender dysphoria. Also, it would not restrict any treatment needed for physical sex disorders.
Final versions of these bills can be found by going to iga.in.gov.