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Committee approves bill allowing high‑school pathway to LPN education; supporters cite workforce pipeline gains
Summary
Senate Bill 176 would allow conditioned admission and coursework for students to begin LPN education while finishing high school. Ivy Tech, long‑term care operators and training providers testified in support; the committee approved the bill 11–0.
Senator Yoder presented Senate Bill 176, a measure to enable qualified high‑school students to begin practical‑nursing (LPN) coursework before submitting a final high‑school diploma. She said the bill followed meetings with long‑term care providers and education providers who see an opportunity to expand the nursing pipeline.
Yvonne Tanner, vice president of government affairs for Brickyard Healthcare, described persistent nurse shortages in long‑term care, the company’s recruiting and retention efforts and the potential for a high‑school LPN pathway to provide local hires who could earn $32–$34 an hour as LPNs. Dr. Kimberly Wiegand of Ivy Tech Community College told the committee Ivy Tech operates practical‑nursing programs on 19 campuses with more than 700 seats in 2024–25, has high first‑time NCLEX‑PN pass rates and presented a conditional admission pilot to the State Board of Nursing; four campuses plan to start the pathway in fall 2025.
Amanda Loeffler and a private academy representative described a pilot in which a student began the LPN track during junior and senior years and completed an accredited accelerated LPN program. Several senators praised the collaboration between providers and higher education. The committee adopted an amendment to clarify that state accrediting programs are responsible for verifying a high‑school diploma on licensure and passed the bill 11–0 to the floor.
