Committee trims counselor duties and narrows accreditation language in Senate Bill 358; bill passes as amended

The Senate Education and Career Development Committee moved multiple amendments on Senate Bill 358, eliminating certain counselor-duty provisions and debating language that would limit accreditation to regional and national organizations outside the state.

Senator (chair) described Amendment 1 as removing previously agreed language related to counselors’ duties; the committee approved that amendment. The body then considered Amendment 2, offered by a senator who said the change would restore control of accreditation to within Indiana and raise concerns about out‑of‑state accrediting organizations receiving Hoosier taxpayer dollars. The committee debated that amendment and ultimately rejected it on a roll call vote of 8–5.

A third amendment was offered to add evaluation of reading skills and other assessment clarifications; the committee took that amendment by consent. After the amendment process concluded, the committee voted to pass Senate Bill 358 as amended and recommit to Appropriations. The chair called the roll and the committee announced the bill passed; an earlier tally on amendment one recorded a 9–4 result on that item.

Votes recorded during the committee included a roll call on Amendment 1 (passed 9–4) and on final passage (recorded as 9–4 in committee voting records reported at the hearing). Senators voting no on amendments included JD Ford, Fadi Kadura, Shelley Yoder, and Andrea Hunley on the Amendment 1 roll call; Senators Brian Buchanan, Stacy Donato, Tyler Johnson, Spencer Deary, Gary Burn, Linda Rogers, Darryl Schmidt, Greg Goode and Rotz were among those recorded as voting aye in various counts recorded on the transcript.

Ending: Sponsors said they would continue to finalize amendment language and move the bill to appropriations for fiscal review.