Rep. Jordan: Giving our schools more control

Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM

By Kathy Bottorff

State Representative Jack Jordan (R-Bremen) co-authored House Bill 1002 to give Hoosier K-12 schools more flexibility on education decisions. He said, “The goal of this legislation is to remove outdated and duplicate text in Indiana's education statutes to provide schools more local control.”

Rep. Jordan said, “This is an opportunity to streamline Indiana's K-12 education by repealing unnecessary, outdated or redundant statutes. Doing so prevents schools from having to spend valuable time, money, and resources to ensure they're in compliance with Indiana Code.”

Some of the proposed changes to Indiana's education statutes include removing "may" provisions on actions schools can already do without state permission, dozens of unused funding programs, specific mandates enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and duplicate code, resulting in a nearly 10% decrease in the state's education regulations. This legislation would no longer order teacher training that isn't federally required so local school boards can make those decisions.

Representative Jordan closed by saying, “Removing burdensome regulations could encourage schools to be even more responsive to the unique needs of their communities, parents, and students.”

Visit iga.in.gov to learn more about this and other proposed legislation and watch sessions and committee meetings.