Indiana Bill Would Use Federal Earnings Test to End Programs

"Starting this summer, most college programs will have to show that their students earn more than someone with only a high school diploma to avoid being cut off from federal funding, as part of a new accountability measure. Congress created the earnings test known as Do No Harm when it passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. The Education Department is still working to finalize the regulations that outline how it will work."

"While the federal law will cut off students attending failing programs from receiving federal student loans, Indiana's Senate Bill 199 would end such programs entirely at public universities and Ivy Tech Community College. In Indiana, the average salary for a high school graduate is just over $35,000, and a dozen public institution programs would fail based on recent federal data-though the state Commission for Higher Education, a group of gubernatorial appointees, could grant exemptions."

A new federal earnings test requires most college programs to show graduates earn more than high school graduates to retain federal funding. Congress established the Do No Harm earnings test in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Education Department is finalizing regulations that will define the test's operation. Indiana's Senate Bill 199 would adopt the federal test in state law and go further by ending failing programs at public universities and Ivy Tech Community College. State data show about a dozen programs would fail under the test, though the state Commission for Higher Education could grant exemptions. The bill passed both chambers in differing versions and a conference committee will reconcile differences, while some public debate centers on unrelated social media restrictions for minors.

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