Reflecting on the legislative session while looking ahead to the next one

At the beginning of March, I wrote about certain bills that were going forward at the Legislature. They were a reading skills bill, a reading proficiency bill, and a bill on wireless communication devices. The legislature is now out of session, and those bills have been signed by the governor and have been assigned public law numbers.

Since the writing of that column, there have been additional bills signed into law that affect the education system.

First is SB 17, now P.L.98. This is a bill that requires the operator of an adult-oriented website that contains material harmful to minors to use an age verification method to prevent a minor from accessing an adult-oriented website. The law further allows for a parent or guardian to seek damages if a child has been harmed by the violation of the age verification requirement as well as requiring that the age verification information be kept confidential.

The second bill was SB 202, now P.L.113. This bill is significant because it redefines “diversity” as “cultural and intellectual diversity.” Aimed at diversity committees, the bill requires a disciplinary policy to punish disruption of expressive activity, a review at least every five years based on certain criteria and restricts the granting of tenure or promotions if a person is found to be limiting or restricting free inquiry, free expression, or intellectual diversity.

A bill dealing with instruction of human sexuality, SB 128, passed the Senate but never got a hearing in the House, so that bill is dead. SB 128 required that any instruction on human sexuality would first have to be approved by the governing body, the school board, and that information on the subject be published on the school website. Passage of such a law would mean that parents and taxpayers could hold school board officers responsible for their decision on human sexuality curriculum. Unfortunately, that opportunity was taken away from us.

The bill on internet safety curricula, SB 287, met the same fate as SB 128. The bill on cursive writing, SB 287, has been introduced in the Senate for several years now by Senator Jean Leising. There have been numerous studies conducted on how cursive writing helps students with comprehension and retention. Cursive writing is also beneficial for students with mobility disabilities as it does not necessitate lifting the pencil to write every letter. Although it has passed with majority support in the Senate, the House Committee on Education has failed to give it a reading every year.

The last bill I will discuss is HB 1072, Student Immunizations. The legislation was specifically intended for those students who were looking to enter a health profession education program. Not only would the bill obstruct the requirement to receive a vaccination to participate in clinical training, but it would also further allow a student to bring civil action against an entity that violated the law. Regrettably, the bill did not receive a hearing in the House or the Senate. Reports are surfacing about the misleading numbers and disastrous effects of the vaccine mandates and the forced shutdowns, including a multi-year analysis by Attorney General Todd Rokita. HB 1072 could have been a starting point for the medical autonomy of our students which would hopefully have been extended to include K-12 students. Especially when the report showed a “strong correlation between e-learning programs and lower literacy rates.”

Soon we will start hearing from our state legislators about their accomplishments for this legislative season. We can take the opportunity to talk to them about the issues we would like them to take up for 2025.

Lastly, bills can vary from two to 12 pages, or more, depending on the issue. It is impossible with limited space to go into any of the legislation in detail. You can read the full legislation by going to the Indiana General Assembly website, iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills.

Melba Kiser is an outspoken advocate for financial responsibility and transparency in government at all levels. Her column appears at least once each month in The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.