Weekly Statehouse Update: Child care regulations, Medicaid policy, cellphones in classrooms

The House approves a bill loosening some child care regulations. A Medicaid policy bill fails to advance. And the Senate passes a measure to prohibit cellphones in school classrooms.

Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.

HB 1102: Child care

Under House-approved legislation, unlicensed child care providers in Indiana would be able to serve more children for more hours each week. And it allows those providers to accept child care vouchers.

HB 1102 also eliminates a requirement for some licensed providers that the person running it has a high school diploma and any training or experience in child care.

HB 1386: Medicaid matters

A bill to update state Medicaid policy, HB 1386, wasn’t called down on the House floor on a deadline day to advance it. That’s after Democrats filed amendments that would pause proposed cuts to attendant care.

Republican leaders say the attendant care issue doesn’t require legislation this session and will be resolved through the Family and Social Services Administration’s normal rulemaking process.
 

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SB 185: Student use of wireless communication device

And the Senate approved legislation, SB 185, that would restrict students from using cellphones, tablets, laptops, and gaming devices during instructional time unless approved by a teacher for educational purposes.

There are exceptions, like in the event of an emergency or if a student requires a device to manage their health care.

Find all the bills our statewide team is covering in our bill tracker at ipbs.org/2024billtracker/.
 

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.