After holding this bill back, likely due to the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus’ Unity Rally that occurred in the Statehouse at the same time as Governor Braun’s State of the State address, on February 4th, SB 235 was rolled into SB 289 via Amendment 7, issued by the bill author of SB 235. As we anticipated, this happened on the Senate floor. 

SB 289 is now the BIG anti-DEI bill of the 2025 session. It is eligible for a Third Reading vote on Thursday, February 6th. 

This anti-DEI bill compliments an executive order signed by Gov. Mike Braun that effectively banned DEI initiatives in state government. 

SB 289 would do the following and more. 

1. Prohibit schools from teaching concepts related to racism, sexism, and privilege, which whitewashes history.
   
2. Punish educators with penalties for teaching historical topics, creating a climate of fear in schools.
3. Marginalize LGBTQ+ students and staff further by banning discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation.
4. Require school corporations and charter schools to publicly post certain training and curricula materials regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex and bias on their websites.

ICPE believes that all children learn best in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. We support historically and scientifically accurate and inclusive curricula, as well as local control over educational materials. This bill is a threat to this endeavor and could cast a chill over teaching and learning for all children—not just those who have been historically marginalized. ICPE member, Dr. Sheron Fraser-Burgess, represented us beautifully in the Senate Judicial committee on January 22 when she said,

“Our nation’s motto is ‘e pluribus unum’ out of many, one people. How can we talk about our nation’s history without talking diversity? Villainizing these words, placing them under scrutiny, hampers our capacity to talk about who we are as a nation. We want to ensure that students learn that, despite our differences, viewpoints, race, and ethnicities, and even backgrounds, we can come together around these differences to create a pluralism that is our strength.” 

https://vimeo.com/1053006284 

Tell senators to vote NO on SB 289. 

This message should go to the entire Senate. You can copy & paste the list at the bottom of this page in an email, but also, please flood the phone lines with calls to senators on Thursday, February 6th before noon and insist that they vote against this harmful bill: (317) 232-9400 

 

1	Dan	Dernulc	s1@iga.in.gov
2	Lonnie	Randolph	s2@iga.in.gov
3	Mark	Spencer	s3@iga.in.gov
4	Rodney	Pol	s4@iga.in.gov
5	Ed	Charbonneau	s5@iga.in.gov
6	Rick	Niemeyer	s6@iga.in.gov
7	Brian	Buchanan	s7@iga.in.gov
8	Mike	Bohacek	s8@iga.in.gov
9	Ryan	Mishler	s9@iga.in.gov
10	David	Niezgodski	s10@iga.in.gov
11	Linda	Rogers	s11@iga.in.gov
12	Blake	Doriot	s12@iga.in.gov
13	Susan	Glick	s13@iga.in.gov
14	Tyler	Johnson	s14@iga.in.gov
15	Liz	Brown	s15@iga.in.gov
16	Justin	Busch	s16@iga.in.gov
17	Andy	Zay	s17@iga.in.gov
18	Stacey	Donato	s18@iga.in.gov
19	Travis	Holdman	s19@iga.in.gov
20	Scott	Baldwin	s20@iga.in.gov
21	Jim	Buck	s21@iga.in.gov
22	Ron	Alting	s22@iga.in.gov
23	Spencer	Deery	s23@iga.in.gov
24	Brett	Clark	s24@iga.in.gov
25	Mike	Gaskill	s25@iga.in.gov
26	Scott	Alexander	s26@iga.in.gov
27	Jeff	Raatz	s27@iga.in.gov
28	Michael	Crider	s28@iga.in.gov
29	J.D.	Ford	s29@iga.in.gov
30	Fady	Qaddoura	s30@iga.in.gov
31	Kyle	Walker	s31@iga.in.gov
32	Aaron	Freeman	s32@iga.in.gov
33	Greg	Taylor	s33@iga.in.gov
34	La Keisha	Jackson	s34@iga.in.gov
35	R. Michael	Young	s35@iga.in.gov
36	Cyndi	Carrasco	s36@iga.in.gov
37	Rodric	Bray	s37@iga.in.gov
38	Greg	Goode	s38@iga.in.gov
39	Eric	Bassler	s39@iga.in.gov
40	Shelli	Yoder	s40@iga.in.gov
41	Greg	Walker	s41@iga.in.gov
42	Jean	Leising	s42@iga.in.gov
43	Randy	Maxwell	s43@iga.in.gov
44	Eric	Koch	s44@iga.in.gov
45	Chris	Garten	s45@iga.in.gov
46	Andrea	Hunley	s46@iga.in.gov
47	Gary	Byrne	s47@iga.in.gov
48	Daryl	Schmitt	s48@iga.in.gov
49	Jim	Tomes	s49@iga.in.gov
50	Vaneta	Becker	s50@iga.in.gov

 

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