HB 1002 / Chamber Supports
House Bill 1002, authored by Rep. Chuck Goodrich (R-Noblesville), emerged from the Senate Education and Career Development Committee in a significantly different form on an 8-5 vote, with one Republican member joining the Democrats on the committee in opposition.
House Bill 1002 is the primary legislative vehicle for making good on House Speaker Todd Huston’s (R-Fishers) priority to “reinvent high school” with a more relevant secondary education that better prepares Hoosier students for the realities and opportunities of today’s workforce.
As introduced, the bill’s centerpiece was the creation of “Career Scholarship Accounts,” a state-supported fund that would enable high school students to “shop” for a variety of work-based learning experiences, technical coursework and postsecondary credentials based on their career interests and aspirations. The bill also envisioned a role for “intermediary” organizations that would help coordinate and support the implementation of these activities in partnership with area educators and employers.
An amendment sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chair Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) made major changes to the bill, eliminating some provisions and adding others. Noteworthy changes include: 1) further defining the role of regional intermediaries, 2) eliminating a controversial requirement that every high school senior meet with a career advisor for 30 minutes and 3) stripping out language that would have tapped into funds from existing state financial aid programs, including Frank O’Bannon Grants and the 21st Century Scholars program. As amended, the bill also creates a new “career advising grant program” fund for state-approved intermediary organizations and other providers to offer additional career coaching and advising services to area high school students. It remains to be seen how many state dollars will be investing in either the career advising grants or career scholarship accounts, an issue that likely won’t be settled definitively until the budget bill, House Bill 1001, is adopted at the end of session.
The Chamber worked closely with Sen. Raatz and others to help shape these changes to HB 1002 in a coordinated effort that has produced a significantly better bill from our perspective. While HB 1002 will surely continue to evolve in the remaining weeks of the session, the bill appears to be on a more productive path as it heads now to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
