STATEHOUSE (May 7, 2025) – The governor recently signed into law legislation authored by State Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) to overhaul Indiana's K-12 education regulations.
Behning said House Enrolled Act 1002, a House Republican priority bill, removes outdated, unnecessary and duplicate text in Indiana's education statutes to help schools with compliance and give them more control over local decisions.
"Teachers and school administrators need to be able to focus on providing the best education possible for their students," said Behning, chair of the House Education Committee. "Schools should have the freedom to set their own requirements and be as responsive as they can to their community needs."
Title 20 in Indiana Code deals with education and is nearly equal to the length of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. According to Behning, House Enrolled Act 1002 reduces Indiana's education code by nearly 10 percent. This includes eliminating "may" provisions on actions schools can already do without state permission, unused funding programs and inactive commissions, specific mandates enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic and duplicate code. Behning said the law also empowers schools to control certain training and professional development for their teachers and staff.
"This legislation is the result of numerous leaders coming together to identify outdated requirements and provide some much-needed clarity to our education laws," Behning said. "I appreciate every stakeholder who contributed to this work and hope these efforts reduce some of the bureaucracy for our schools."
To learn more about House Enrolled Act 1002 and other new laws, visit in.gov/gov/newsroom/2025-bill-watch.
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State Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) represents House District 91,
which includes a portion of Marion County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
PHOTO CAPTION: State Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) holds up a copy of "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien to give an example of how long Indiana's education statutes are during the legislative session on Feb. 3, 2025, at the Indiana Statehouse. A new law authored by Behning removes outdated, unnecessary and duplicate text in Indiana's education statutes, reducing it by nearly 10 percent.
