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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Senate Bill 77 sets a one-year window for school corporations in smaller counties to sell closed school buildings to local governments
Last action · December 8, 2025: First reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career DevelopmentSponsor: Greg Goode
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What This Bill Proposed
School corporations in counties with populations under 150,000 have one year from the date they vote to close a school building to sell it to county or municipal government before offering it to charter schools or state educational institutions. The bill also adjusts the timeline for school corporations in those counties to notify the state education department about closed buildings.
Local municipal and county governments in smaller counties gain a priority window to acquire surplus school properties for public use, while charter schools and state educational institutions must wait for that one-year period to elapse before making claims on the buildings.
- Indiana law governs how school corporations must handle disposition or lease of closed school buildings, prioritizing charter schools and state educational institutions under specific statutory frameworks. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
School corporations
School corporations in smaller counties must offer closed school buildings to local municipal or county governments for one year and adhere to revised notification timelines.
County and municipal governments
County and local governments gain a one-year right of first refusal to purchase closed school buildings in counties under 150,000 residents.
Charter schools
Charter schools must wait until the expiration of the one-year local government purchase window before they can access closed school buildings under state availability rules.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do smaller counties have to buy a closed school building?
What happens if the local government does not purchase the closed school building within one year?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Dec 8, 2025SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career Development
- Dec 8, 2025SenateAuthored by Senator Goode
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Prioritization of Local Government Acquisition
The bill introduces a statutory priority period for county and municipal governments to buy closed school buildings before charter schools can make claims, specifically targeting counties under 150,000 population.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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