IAACE Advocacy

The Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education (“IAACE”) has achieved several key advocacy accomplishments over the past five years. In 2020, IAACE developed and successfully lobbied for the passage of Indiana’s High School Equivalency (“HSE”) pilot program. The pilot program allows students in certain school districts who have completed less than fifty percent of the required number of credits necessary to graduate upon entering their fourth year of high school to earn a high school equivalency. Thus, the pilot program gives these students who otherwise would not have graduated from high school an alternative path for educational and career attainment. Further, in 2024, IAACE successfully advocated for the passage of HEA 1105, which permits an individual less than 18 years of age to participate in the Indiana HSE Testing Program if the individual receives a recommendation from a principal, in the case of a student attending a nonpublic school, or a parent or guardian, in the case of student attending a homeschool. Existing law required the recommendation to come from a superintendent or principal and did not contemplate school settings where a superintendent or principal role did not exist. Thus, HEA 1105 removed the requirement for a private school or homeschool student to receive a superintendent or principal recommendation and provided the needed flexibility to allow these students to receive a recommendation from other specified individuals in order to attend the HSE Testing Program.

Regarding the budget, in 2023, IAACE successfully advocated for the increase in the Adult Education Distribution biennial appropriation from $12,985,041 for Fiscal Years 2021-2023, to $16,985,041 and $20,985,041 for Fiscal Years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, respectively. Further, in 2025, IAACE successfully advocated to increase the appropriation to $20,985,041 for Fiscal Years 2025-2027 in both the Governor’s introduced budget, as well as the House and Senate passed versions of the budget. Due to a $2.4 billion revenue shortfall that was identified in the final weeks of the session, the appropriation was maintained at $16,985,041 for Fiscal Years 2025-2027 in the final version of the budget. However, IAACE’s strong advocacy efforts throughout the 2025 legislative session helped maintain the appropriation at $16,985,041 when many other programs in the state budget were significantly reduced or cut altogether.