An Act to Modernize Indiana’s Public School Funding Formula and Strengthen Teacher Recruitment - State Bills

Summary

This bill would change Indiana’s school funding formula to give extra aid for low-income students, English learners, homeless students, and high-need districts, while requiring the money to go toward classroom supports and student services. It also creates grants to help underserved districts recruit and keep teachers and requires annual public reporting on funding, staffing, and student outcomes.

Full text

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana that, beginning with the next fiscal year, the state public school funding formula shall be revised to provide additional weighted per-pupil aid for students from low-income households, English learners, students experiencing homelessness, and districts with demonstrated concentrations of academic need, with funds required to be used for evidence-based classroom support, tutoring, student services, and instructional materials; the Act further establishes a targeted teacher recruitment and retention grant program for underserved school districts to support signing incentives, teacher residency partnerships, mentoring, and hard-to-fill subject area staffing, and directs the Department of Education to publish annual reports on fund distribution, staffing outcomes, and student performance indicators.