Indiana 2025 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate 9 R cosponsors

SB 523 — School chaplains.

Last action — First reading: referred to Committee on Education

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Allows a principal or superintendent of a public school, including a charter school, to employ, or approve as a volunteer, a school chaplain if certain requirements are met. Allows a school chaplain to provide: (1) secular advice, guidance, and support services; and (2) nonsecular advice, guidance, and support services if certain conditions are met. Provides that, with exceptions, communications made by a student to a school chaplain are privileged and confidential.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read SB 523 on the official Indiana source →

Action History

  1. First reading: referred to Committee on Education

  2. Referred to the House

  3. Cosponsors: Representatives McGuire, Davis, Teshka

  4. House sponsor: Representative Miller D

  5. Third reading: passed; Roll Call 113: yeas 32, nays 16

  6. Second reading: ordered engrossed

  7. Committee report: do pass, adopted

  8. Senators Byrne, Rogers, Schmitt added as coauthors

  9. First reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career Development

  10. Authored by Senators Donato and Raatz

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 141 not signed on · 15 voted No

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (141)

141 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 141 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SB 523 - Donato - 3rd Reading

Passed 32 Yea · 16 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 32601
Democrat 0901
Unaffiliated 0100
Total 321602
% of votes cast 64%32%0%4%
How each member voted (50)
Member Party Vote
Zay — Nay
Andrea Hunley Democrat Nay
David Niezgodski Democrat Nay
Fady Qaddoura Democrat Nay
Greg Taylor Democrat Not Voting
J.D. Ford Democrat Nay
La Keisha Jackson Democrat Nay
Lonnie Randolph Democrat Nay
Mark Spencer Democrat Nay
Rodney Pol Democrat Nay
Shelli Yoder Democrat Nay
Aaron Freeman Republican Yea
Blake Doriot Republican Yea
Brett Clark Republican Yea
Brian Buchanan Republican Yea
Chris Garten Republican Yea
Cyndi Carrasco Republican Yea
Dan Dernulc Republican Nay
Daryl Schmitt Republican Yea
Ed Charbonneau Republican Yea
Eric Bassler Republican Nay
Eric Koch Republican Yea
Gary Byrne Republican Yea
Greg Goode Republican Yea
Greg Walker Republican Yea
James Buck Republican Yea
James Tomes Republican Yea
Jean Leising Republican Yea
Jeff Raatz Republican Yea
Justin Busch Republican Yea
Kyle Walker Republican Nay
Linda Rogers Republican Yea
Liz Brown Republican Yea
Michael Crider Republican Yea
Michael Young Republican Yea
Mike Bohacek Republican Nay
Mike Gaskill Republican Yea
Randy Maxwell Republican Yea
Rick Niemeyer Republican Yea
Rodric Bray Republican Yea
Ron Alting Republican Nay
Ryan Mishler Republican Yea
Scott Alexander Republican Yea
Scott Baldwin Republican Yea
Spencer Deery Republican Yea
Stacey Donato Republican Yea
Susan Glick Republican Nay
Travis Holdman Republican Yea
Tyler Johnson Republican Yea
Vaneta Becker Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 523 do?
Allows a principal or superintendent of a public school, including a charter school, to employ, or approve as a volunteer, a school chaplain if certain requirements are met. Allows a school chaplain to provide: (1) secular advice, guidance, and support services; and (2) nonsecular advice, guidance, and support services if certain conditions are met. Provides that, with exceptions, communications made by a student to a school chaplain are privileged and confidential.
Who sponsors SB 523?
SB 523 is sponsored by Jake Teshka (Republican), Michelle Davis (Republican), Julie McGuire (Republican), Doug Miller (Republican), Daryl Schmitt (Republican), Linda Rogers (Republican), Gary Byrne (Republican), Jeff Raatz (Republican), and Stacey Donato (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 523?
This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 523?
Track SB 523 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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