At three Indianapolis high schools, leaders say that the challenges of the pandemic contributed to double-digit drops in graduation rates, as students struggled to complete school remotely or left school to get jobs.
The mother, who has two children who attend virtual schools in Indiana, argued that a rule to fully fund students who attend remotely because of the pandemic violates several laws and is unfair to children who were already enrolled in virtual schools.
The increase in graduation rates may not reflect how much students learned because the state relaxed requirements after schools were forced to finish the year remotely.
Wednesday’s board decision means high schools’ 2020 graduation rates will not decline as steeply as previously expected.
Charter schools miss out on about $3,300 per student in local funding because they don’t get the property tax money that traditional districts use to pay for buildings, transportation, and technology.
The secondary group is expansive, including such people as firefighters, police, and retail workers, according to a preliminary state plan.
The vigorous campaign pitted well-financed supporters of the current IPS administration against opponents who are critical of the district’s collaboration with charter schools.
With four seats on the seven-member board up for election, the outcome could easily shift the balance of power in the district.
A candidate for the Indianapolis Public Schools board resigned from his position as president of the Indiana Young Democrats this spring amid a controversy over his unauthorized withdrawal of $3,800 from the group’s account.
Deep-pocketed political action committees have thrown their support into four races for Indianapolis Public Schools board seats, helping candidates who back partnerships with charter schools to far outraise their competitors.
The plan is based on improved coronavirus data in Marion County. The city’s average positivity rate—the percentage of people who test positive for the coronavirus—has hovered near 5% for several weeks, according to state data.
School leaders say the plan responds to demand fueled by the pandemic for virtual schooling that they anticipate could continue even if the health crisis recedes or a vaccine proves effective.
Indianapolis Public Schools decided Thursday to take on more than $5 million in debt to help pay for tech devices for e-learning during the pandemic.
Six weeks after Washington Township became the first Indianapolis school district to decide to reopen entirely online, the board on Wednesday approved a coronavirus threshold for when students will be able to return to classrooms.
