HB 1002 / Chamber Supports
Relieving school districts from some unnecessary and contradictory regulations is the goal of a House Republican priority bill heard last week in the House Education Committee. House Bill 1002, authored by committee chair Rep. Robert Behning (R-Indianapolis), is the first step in a multi-year effort to streamline the state’s school regulatory code.
Indiana Code Title 20 encompasses a mass of regulations for state and local school operations, including additions over the years of outdated and expired provisions, programs and bodies created without necessary funding, duplicative and contradictory regulations. The burden for local schools to navigate and comply is often costly in time and dollars better spent in the classroom.
The Chamber testified in support of HB 1002, along with a host of public school organizations, as an important first step in a multi-year initiative to seriously study and restructure the state’s bloated school regulatory code. As Rep. Behning has explained, this year’s first bill is arguably the “low-hanging fruit,” but an important first step.
Jeff Brantley is the Indiana Chamber’s senior vice president of political affairs.
