Sec. 4. (a) Not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the money appropriated by the general assembly for adult education and the work Indiana program shall be used as provided in subsections (b) and (c).

(b) Money described in subsection (a) may be used to reimburse an eligible provider for adult education that is provided to individuals who:

(1) need the education to master a skill that leads to:

(A) the completion of grade 8; or

(B) an Indiana high school equivalency diploma under IC 22-4.1-18;

(2) need the education to receive high school credit to obtain a high school diploma; or

(3) have graduated from high school (or received a high school equivalency certificate, a general educational development (GED) diploma, or an Indiana high school equivalency diploma), but who demonstrate basic skill deficiencies in mathematics or English/language arts.

(c) The department shall use the money described in subsection (a) for adult education grants to employers. A grant to an employer under this subsection is equal to the amount established under subsection (d) plus, subject to the availability of funds, the amount determined under subsection (e).

(d) An employer is eligible for an adult education grant for each eligible employee who obtains a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma through a program organized or funded by the employer. The amount of the grant is the lesser of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or the out-of-pocket expenditure by the employer for the costs described in subsection (h).

(e) Subject to subsection (i), if, on June 15, the total amount of funds allocated under subsection (a) exceeds the total amount of funds used for reimbursements and grants under subsections (a) and (b), the department shall use the remaining funds to reimburse each employer that received a grant under subsection (d) for instructor salary costs that the employer incurred and that exceeded the amount of funds the employer received under subsection (d). If the amount of the remaining funds is not sufficient to reimburse each employer for the employer's instructor salary costs, each employer shall receive funds under this subsection in an amount equal to the lesser of:

(1) the total instructor salary costs that the employer incurred and that exceeded the amount of funds the employer received under subsection (d); or

(2) the result of STEP FOUR of the following STEPS:

STEP ONE: Determine the total number of eligible employees for which the employer received a grant under subsection (d).

STEP TWO: Determine the total number of eligible employees for which all employers received a grant under subsection (d).

STEP THREE: Determine the result of:

(A) the STEP ONE amount; divided by

(B) the STEP TWO amount.

STEP FOUR: Determine the result of:

(A) the STEP THREE result; multiplied by

(B) the amount of the remaining funds.

(f) To qualify as an eligible employee, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

(1) The individual must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and not enrolled in a school corporation's kindergarten through grade 12 educational program.

(2) The individual must be a resident of Indiana for at least thirty (30) days before enrolling in a program of adult education.

(3) The individual must be employed on a part-time or full-time basis in Indiana.

(4) When initially employed by the employer, the individual:

(A) did not have sufficient high school credits to earn a high school diploma; or

(B) had not passed the examination to earn a high school equivalency diploma or a general educational development (GED) diploma.

(g) For purposes of reimbursement under this section, the eligible provider may not count an individual who is also enrolled in a school corporation's kindergarten through grade 12 educational program. An individual described in subsection (b)(3) may be counted for reimbursement by the eligible provider only for classes taken in mathematics and English/language arts.

(h) Subject to subsection (i), the department shall provide for reimbursement to an eligible provider or employer under this section for instructor salaries and administrative and support costs. The department may not allocate more than fifteen percent (15%) of the total appropriation under subsection (a) to the department for administrative and support costs incurred by eligible providers or employers under this subsection.

(i) The costs incurred by an employer for an instructor's salary are not eligible to be included as out-of-pocket expenditures by the employer under subsection (d) or as instructor salary costs incurred by the employer under subsection (e) unless the following conditions apply:

(1) The instruction by the instructor was provided in a program that allows the eligible employees of the employer that participate in the program to obtain a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma.

(2) The costs for the instructor's salary could not be provided by an eligible provider without expenditures by the employer.

(3) An eligible provider or the instructor signs an affidavit attesting that the costs for the instructor's salary meet the requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2).

As added by P.L.7-2011, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.121-2014, SEC.21; P.L.152-2018, SEC.32; P.L.174-2018, SEC.39; P.L.10-2019, SEC.98; P.L.143-2019, SEC.34.