Vouchers could soon supercharge Indiana’s growing microschool community
Lawmakers could revive a plan to let all parents use Education Scholarship Accounts on classes, tutoring, extracurricular activities and more.
Aleksandra Appleton, Chalkbeat Indiana
Articles
Pike Township among 3 Indiana districts asking voters for funding in May primary
For the first time, Pike Township is asking voters to help fund operations. The ballot measure would fund three key areas: continuing programs and staffing added since the pandemic, attracting and retaining teachers, and school safety and security.
Indiana schools must ban cell phones from class time under new law
Lawmakers and advocates hope the ban improves student engagement, behavior, and mental health, all of which they say have declined since cell phones became a common sight in students’ hands.
Here are the education bills approved by the 2024 Indiana legislature
Stricter rules on school attendance, reading proficiency, and cellphone use in the classroom will affect Indiana students and schools beginning next year under legislation passed in the General Assembly’s 2024 session.
Indiana’s absenteeism bill could bar students from extracurriculars, ban parents from campus
A revised bill targeting absenteeism would require schools to prohibit habitually truant students from extracurricular activities, and would also impose a penalty on parents who make unproven allegations against teachers.
Indiana’s bills on civics education get major changes in final weeks of session
One bill has been stripped of language on civics education to instead focus on allowing chaplains in public schools.
Indiana lawmakers struggle to find fix for absenteeism
Members of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development advanced a heavily amended bill on Wednesday that in its original form would have referred more students to juvenile court.
Indiana lawmakers advance bill to hold back more third graders who don’t pass reading test
Senate Bill 1 would reinforce the state’s policy of holding back students who fail the state’s reading test, while also requiring schools to identify and give remediation to those who are at risk of not passing the exam.
Few students signed up for career scholarships, as lawmakers look to expand the law
Just over 200 Indiana students received state funding for job training in the first year of the state’s Career Scholarship Accounts program.
Education priorities for Indiana lawmakers to include absenteeism, cell phone ban, sex ed
Legislative leaders say to expect a quieter session after several years of major curriculum changes affecting things like literacy, as well as divisive and high-profile bills about critical race theory and book bans.
Indiana private school enrollment hits record as voucher use climbs
The state education department approved more than 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program this school year.
Thousands of Indiana students advance to 4th grade without reading skills, despite state policy
About 96% of students who did not pass the state reading test moved to fourth grade over the last decade, according to a presentation at the State Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
Indiana school voucher usage continues to rise on broadened eligibility
An all-time high number of Indiana students are using Indiana’s near-universal voucher program to attend private schools this year.
Perry schools to offer pay raises to attract, retain bus drivers, support staff
Perry Township Schools is raising wages as the district continues to face staffing strains.
Eleven Indiana school districts seeking tax increases in November elections
Among those in Indiana seeking property tax increases are three districts in Hamilton County.
Indiana education officials: Poor attendance hurting academics
While chronic absenteeism in Indiana has improved this year after worsening during COVID, the rate remains 8 percentage points higher than before the pandemic.
Indiana students’ reading scores have barely changed in three years, new IREAD results show
More than four out of five third graders—just under 82%—passed the Indiana reading exam, the IREAD, in 2023. That’s several percentage points below the passing rate from 2019, when 87.3% of all students passed the test.
Five things to watch as Indiana’s school year begins
Recovering from the pandemic’s effects on student performance remains a top priority for schools, as state testing scores indicate that learning has stagnated.
After slow start, some Indiana schools begin to hire adjunct teachers
Indiana lawmakers cleared the way last year for school districts to issue their own permits and hire adjunct teachers for hard-to-fill teaching positions.
Indiana families no longer face textbook fees. Here’s how it will work.
Beginning this school year, after a law passed in the 2023 legislative session, all Indiana schools will be required to stop charging families for curricular materials, including textbooks, iPads, and Chromebooks.