Exceptions to the state’s new third grade retention law and tweaks to high school career fair requirements were baked into the final draft of a bill that’s now en route to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 1499, a follow-up to last year’s literacy overhaul law that requires reading-deficient third graders to be held back a year in school, earned unanimous approval from the House chamber on Tuesday.
Current statute requires that — if after three attempts — a third grade student is unable to pass the IREAD assessment, they must be held back a year in school.
This year’s bill, once signed into law, will give students at least two chances to retake the exam over the summer to avoid retention. In 2024, roughly 10,500 Hoosier third graders were still unable to pass the IREAD after retaking the exam once over the summer, according to a legislative fiscal analysis.
It also allows schools whose third grade student population is comprised of at least 50% English language learners to register those students with the Indiana Department of Education for an exemption from the retention requirement until until the beginning of the 2027-2028 academic year if they are unable to pass the IREAD.
The exemption would apply to an estimated 797 third grade English language learner students annually across 38 Indiana public schools.
The proposal, authored by Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, additionally permits career fairs to be held off of school property — as long as the school provides transportation. Current state law requires high schools to hold an annual career fair for 11th and 12th grade students.
Another piece of the bill reduces minimum work requirements for Indiana’s work-study program from 12 to 10 hours per week.
The state currently matches 50% of the hourly wage for high school and college students who participate in Employment Aid Readiness Network (EARN) Indiana. A fiscal analysis expects the change to increase the number of participating employers and students.
Although earlier versions of the legislation sought to add new literacy endorsement mandates for school administrators, those provisions were ultimately deleted. A state law passed last year still requires Hoosier teachers to complete the 80-hour training.