Lawmakers consider bills targeting transgender athletes, partisan school boards
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
State lawmakers have two weeks to get their bills out of committee this legislative session.
Why it matters: They'll take action on dozens of issues this week, including priorities such as teacher pay increases and property tax reform.
Here are the bills we're watching:
🏫 Partisan school boards
The Senate Elections Committee on Monday will consider Senate Bill 287, which would make Indiana's school board elections partisan.
Catch up quick: Partisan school boards have been a recurring issue at the Statehouse since 2022, when lawmakers filed a host of bills modeled after a national conservative education agenda being pushed in the wake of mask mandates, pandemic-era school closures, and largely unfounded concerns about "critical race theory" infiltrating K-12 schools.
- The Indiana School Boards Association, which represents all 1,700 public school board members statewide, has opposed the effort to mandate partisan elections.
- School board members who have opposed similar bills in previous years have done so over concerns about injecting politics into education policy and deterring would-be board members from running if they have to do so with a party affiliation.
The other side: Supporters have argued the measure would give voters more information about candidates and increase turnout for those races.
✋ Closed primaries
The Senate Elections Committee on Monday will also consider Senate Bill 201, which would move Indiana to a closed primary.
- Several bills have been filed to close the state's primaries, seemingly in reaction to an effort last year to encourage "crossover" voting by Democrats in the GOP primary.
🤑 Property tax relief
Senate Bill 1, the top priority for Gov. Mike Braun and Senate Republicans, will get its first hearing at 9am Tuesday.
Driving the news: Braun said rising property taxes was the top issue for voters he talked to while campaigning last year.
- SB 1 would, among other things, cap property tax growth for homeowners.
🏊 Transgender athletes in college sports
House Bill 1041 would bar transgender girls and women from participating on women's teams in college sports.
- It's being heard by the House Education Committee at 8:30am Wednesday.
Flashback: Similar legislation, authored by the same lawmaker, Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, was passed in 2022 barring transgender girls from playing on K-12 girls teams.
🟢 Teacher pay increases measure heads to floor
It's looking likely that Indiana will raise the starting pay for teachers to $45,000.
- Braun has called for the increase; Senate Bill 146, which would do just that, has passed two Senate committees.
- It could be called for floor amendments as soon as Monday.
🟢 Chronic absenteeism bills keep moving
House Bill 1201, which seeks to identify common reasons behind absenteeism and provide support for students and schools, passed the House last week and has been sent to the Senate.
Senate Bill 482 includes some of the same language and passed the Senate Education Committee. It could be called for floor amendments as early as Monday.
Between the lines: Lawmakers have been discussing chronic absenteeism for the last several years after a report showed that nearly one-quarter of Hoosier kids were chronically absent from school.
⏳ ICE partnership on hold
House Bill 1158 would require county sheriffs to participate in U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement's 287(g) program, which trains officers and then allows them to perform certain functions of immigration enforcement within their jails.
Yes, but: The program has existed for three decades, and Indiana counties have always had the option to participate.
- Hamilton County became the first to opt in this year.
The latest: The House Local Government Committee did not vote on HB 1158 last week as lawmakers wait for state fiscal analysts to provide a better understanding what it might cost.