Bill > HB1501

This bill establishes two separate three-year pilot programs for school facilities and student transportation in Indiana, targeting school corporations where over 50% of students were enrolled in non-traditional school settings in fall 2024. For the centralized school facilities pilot program, up to three school corporations will create independent local boards responsible for managing school facilities, with members appointed by city executives, mayors, legislative leaders, and required to have expertise in areas like facility management, finance, and urban planning. The boards will have broad powers to assess facilities, approve capital expenditures, enter revenue-sharing agreements, and transform school facilities into community assets. Similarly, the student transportation pilot program will create local boards to manage student transportation services for public and nonpublic schools, with a focus on flexible, efficient transportation options including before/after school, extracurricular, and specialized educational transportation. Both pilot programs are designed to run from the 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 school years, with the ultimate goal of potentially establishing permanent independent boards that can impose property tax levies and take over school facility and transportation assets. By 2029, the Department of Education is required to prepare plans for potentially adopting these pilot program best practices statewide.