Even More Wins From the 2025 Legislative Session!

We aren’t exaggerating when we say that Indiana’s 2025 Legislative Session was IFI’s most successful session to date. Last week, we emailed you about five pro-family bills that passed through both chambers and will be signed into law. Here are five more:

Senate Bill 255 – “Religious Release Time Instruction”

Part of this bill would allow high school students who enroll in a one-credit-hour elective to receive religious instruction for that course with their parents’ permission. This would enable Christian ministries like LifeWise Academy to teach the Bible to high school students off-site and without taxpayer dollars if the student wants to participate and their parents agree. In other words, we can actually help public school students learn the Bible and deepen their relationship with God during the school day. What a blessing!

House Bill 1041 – “Women’s College Sports”

In 2022, IFI led the charge to protect girls’ sports in K-12 education. That bill was successfully passed into law, but unfortunately, it did not include protections for female college athletes. This year, we finally passed HB 1041 to protect female athletes at the collegiate level by requiring colleges and universities to set clear standards for male sports, female sports, and co-educational sports based on biologically accurate definitions for male and female.

Senate Bill 373 – “Age Appropriate Content”

This bill mandates that when the State Department of Education reviews materials for recommendation to local school boards, it must include the age appropriateness of the material in the recommendation. This will help prevent children from being exposed to content not suitable for their age, which has become an issue in recent years.

House Bill 1390 – “Marijuana Advertising”

This law prohibits anyone from advertising products containing marijuana or other controlled Schedule I drugs. This common-sense measure brings Indiana’s advertising laws in line with our drug policies. Weed is still illegal in Indiana – our families shouldn’t be exposed to advertisements promoting its use. 

Senate Bill 287 – “Transparency in School Board Elections”

This measure removes the requirement that school board elections be nonpartisan, allowing candidates to declare their party affiliation or run as independent or nonpartisan.

In addition to passing these important bills, we also helped shut down the creation of a new casino in New Haven, which residents were opposed to for a number of reasons. 

If you want to learn more about the issues IFI was involved in this session, click here to overview our Legislative Agenda. Thank you for engaging with us this session! Keep an eye out for more ways to get involved throughout the rest of the year. 

As always, your financial contributions allow us to accomplish our short and long-term goals. We rely on friends like you to keep our organization running.

  Back

Wins From the 2025 Legislative Session!

Last week, Indiana’s 2025 Legislative Session came to an end when the Senate adjourned at 1:40 a.m. Friday morning following a marathon session to wrap up this year’s business. We previously emailed you about two important bills we successfully passed through the Indiana House and Senate that will help protect our key values of faith, family, and freedom. Those bills only scratched the surface of what IFI was able to accomplish during the session. Below are five bills that were at the top of our legislative priority list that passed through both the House and Senate and are now either awaiting Governor Mike Braun’s signature or have already been signed into law.

House Bill 1412 – “Reporting of Child Abuse or Neglect”

This deeply important bill would define abuse and neglect more narrowly so parents cannot be accused of abuse for calling their children by biologically accurate pronouns rather than by the child’s preferred “gender identity.” This bill would prevent the injustice that the Cox family experienced when their son was permanently removed from their custody because they wouldn’t acknowledge his new “identity” as a girl. We hope other families are protected from that grave injustice with the provisions established in HB 1412.

 Senate Bill 442  – “Instruction Concerning Human Sexuality”

This measure would require school boards to approve any teaching on human sexuality before it is included in the curriculum and the material must be posted online “in a conspicuous place” so parents can access it. This common-sense bill would help strengthen parental rights and ensure schools are transparent about what is being taught to students.

Senate Bill 289 – “Limitations On Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion”

This bill would prohibit K-12 schools from teaching or promoting to students the idea that “one race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior to another.” It would also restrict state educational institutions and other agencies from running DEI programs, and bar state funding from institutions that require or advocate for DEI training. 

The following bills have already been signed into law by the governor:

House Bill 1348 – “Fairness for Homeschool Graduates”

This law prohibits state employers, colleges, and universities from requiring prospective employees or students to take extra skill tests if they were homeschooled. The bill establishes that a high school diploma or credential issued by a nonaccredited nonpublic school is legally sufficient to demonstrate that the recipient has met the requirements to complete high school. This is a win for educational freedom in Indiana!

House Bill 1102 – “Faith-Based Preschool Programs”

This statute removes language restricting school corporations from entering into a contract with a religiously affiliated nonprofit preschool program. This is great news for Christian families in our state who want their children’s early education to reflect the biblical values they learn at home.

Once again, thank you for your prayers, financial support, and activism throughout the session. We are incredibly encouraged by the numerous pro-family bills that passed. Please consider partnering with us financially so we can continue to fight for your values throughout the rest of the year. The session is over, but there is much more work to be done.

  Back

Our Most Successful Legislative Session

As Indiana’s 2025 Legislative Session wraps up over the next few weeks, we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the major accomplishments of the session. Our legislative team was at the Statehouse daily tracking bills, testifying in committees, pushing legislation, organizing meetings, and more. We’re proud to share that this has been one of our most successful sessions to date. We passed more bills this session than ever before – by quite a lot. Below are two bills that were at the top of our legislative priority list that passed through both the House and Senate and are now awaiting the governor’s signature.

Senate Bill 143 – “Parental Rights”

This bill enshrines in state law that parents have a fundamental right to: raise their children, pass along and live out their faith to their children, educate their children, and direct the healthcare of their children. Click here to view IFI’s policy brief on the bill for a more detailed explanation.

Over 1,000 of you took action by emailing your elected officials in support of this bill! We have no doubt your activism played a major part in the passage of this bill. After many years of pursuing a parental rights bill such as this one, 2025 is finally the year we will see it signed into law. Praise God! We are incredibly thankful for this major victory that will protect parents and children in Indiana for decades to come.

House Bill 1041 – “Women’s College Sports”

In 2022, IFI led the charge to protect girls’ sports in K-12 education. That bill was successfully passed into law, but unfortunately, it did not include protections for female college athletes. This year, we finally passed a bill to protect female athletes at the collegiate level by requiring public colleges and universities to set clear standards for male sports, female sports, and co-educational sports. 

Again, thank you for your prayers and activism over the past several months! Please consider making a contribution today so we can continue defending the rights and values of all Hoosiers. Your support strengthens Indiana!

  Back