Indiana lawmakers wrapped up the 2025 legislative session early Friday with a final vote on a two-year state budget that provides a 2% annual increase in funding for schools and establishes a universal school voucher program to begin next year.
They also passed several education bills that are poised to transform teaching and learning in Indiana. Among them was a 116-page deregulation bill with provisions that end requirements for high schools to offer at least one semester of an elective racial or ethnic studies course per school year.
This 11th-hour change apparently came at the request of the Indiana Department of Education after correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education regarding state code, Republican Sen. Jeff Raatz said late Thursday in floor discussions about House Bill 1002…