3rd grade retention and cell phone bans: How new education laws will impact students

This year's legislative session saw many new laws signed that could directly impact Hoosier students.

While much of this year's legislative debate centered on topics like the IndyGo Blue Line debate and whether to bring back happy hour, several bills concerning education matters also passed, chief among them Senate Enrolled Act 1, which makes it more difficult for third graders to move to fourth grade if they're not proficient readers.

Here's a look at what changes this legislative session brought for Hoosier students:

More students may repeat third grade

Beginning next school year, third graders who don’t receive a passing score on the state’s IREAD exam and don’t meet certain exemptions will have to repeat the year.

Third graders can move up if they pass a retake of IREAD in the summer or if they meet one of five exemptions:

• If they have been retained for one school year.

• If they have an intellectual disability or if their IEP specifies that retention isn’t appropriate and their conference committee determines promotion is appropriate.

• If they are an English language learner who has received ELL services for fewer than two years and if a panel of people who know the ELL student determines that promotion is appropriate.

• If they score a passing grade on the math portion of the ILEARN exam in third grade.

• If they have received intensive reading intervention for more than two years and were retained more than once from kindergarten through second grade.

Students who qualify for an exemption must be provided with additional reading instruction until they earn a passing IREAD score.

Students who don’t pass the IREAD exam in the third grade will have retest every year until they receive a passing score or enter seventh grade.

IREAD testing and prep will start earlier

Starting next school year, all second graders will be required to take the IREAD exam.

All Indiana schools will offer summer school to students in second grade who are at risk of not being reading proficient and third graders who are not reading proficient.

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These summer school courses must be taught by teachers trained in the science of reading practices. Students who do not attend at least 90% of summer school must have a reading plan for the following school year.

Cellphone bans in classrooms

Lawmakers passed legislation that could lead to stricter crackdowns on cell phones during class time.

Senate Enrolled Act 185 bill bans “any portable wireless device” from use during class time. School districts can decide how to implement the ban. The law does allow exceptions including if a teacher allows a cell phone for educational purposes, healthcare needs, emergency use, or if a student’s IEP includes the use of a phone.

Most school districts already have a cell phone usage policy in place but lawmakers argued having a law will enable consistency in policy across schools.

Truants may face stricter consequences

Legislation passed this session will require that students who are reported to be habitually truant, and or have 10 days or more of unexcused absences within a school year, be reported to the prosecutor’s office. This could involve taking legal action against the student’s parents.

Senate Enrolled Act 282 also requires schools to meet with parents of chronically absent students, or students who miss five days of school within a 10-week period without a qualifying excuse, in grades K-6 and establish a plan to improve the student’s attendance.

All high schools must offer College Core diplomas

Starting next school year all Indiana high schools will have to offer the College Core certificate which is received when students earn 30 credit hours of college-level work that is guaranteed to transfer to any Indiana public college or university.

Helping siblings of students with disabilities

Siblings of students who have Education Scholarship Accounts, a grant given to families to help pay for education costs for children with disabilities, can now also qualify for their own ESA.

House Enrolled Act 1001 also allows students to use funds from their Career Scholarship Accounts to obtain a driver’s license if they meet certain requirements.

Religious instruction exemption

Students will now be allowed to leave school for up to two hours per week, with parental notice, for religious instruction. Before House Enrolled Act 1137 passed, schools had the option to allow this but now they will be required to excuse the student.

Controlling active shooter simulations

House Enrolled Act 1104 requires schools to provide accommodations for students during active shooter drills, such as prohibiting the use of simulation gunfire, prop firearms, simulation of gunshot wounds or requiring student participation.

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The bill also says schools should provide onsite mental health services after the drill and provide prior notice to parents about when the drill will happen.

Computer science course now mandatory

An omnibus education bill passed this year includes a new requirement for high school graduation: a computer science class.

The class of 2029 will be the first that has to complete this requirement.

According to the new law, the computer science class must include instruction in algorithms and programming, computing systems, data and analysis, impacts of computing and networks and the internet.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder. To learn more about how you can support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How new Indiana education laws will impact Hoosier students