HB 1660 amends Indiana’s school attendance laws to create a new excused-absence category for students who participate in certain agricultural youth activities. Specifically, it requires school corporations and nonpublic school systems to excuse a student’s absence for a scheduled competition, exhibition, or event sponsored by the National FFA Organization, the Indiana FFA Association, or a 4-H club, so long as the parent provides written evidence and the principal approves the absence in writing. These absences cannot be counted against the student and cannot be used to penalize the student in any manner.
The bill also preserves existing excused-absence rules for school pages and General Assembly honorees, and it clarifies that local attendance policies must include the grounds for excused absences required by law. The new FFA/4-H absence provision is limited to six instructional days per school year and only applies if the student is in good academic standing, as determined by the school. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB 1660 directly amends Indiana Code 20-33-2-14 and adds a new section, IC 20-33-2-17.8, expanding the list of legally required excused absences for public and nonpublic schools. It imposes a statewide mandate on school governing bodies and nonpublic school administrators to excuse qualifying FFA and 4-H-related absences, while allowing schools to enforce a six-day annual cap and an academic-standing requirement. The bill affects students, parents, school corporations, nonpublic schools, and administrators responsible for attendance and extracurricular participation policies.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House 90-0 and the Senate 45-2, suggesting strong agreement that participation in FFA and 4-H educational events should be accommodated by schools. The voting history indicates the measure was generally well received as a student-support and agriculture-education bill.
Contention
The main policy tension is between supporting student participation in agricultural education activities and preserving school attendance requirements. The bill addresses that balance by limiting excused absences to six instructional days per year and requiring good academic standing, which likely reflects concern about excessive missed instructional time. Any remaining disagreement would center on whether the state should mandate these excused absences for all schools and whether the cap and academic-standing conditions are sufficient safeguards.