The lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General’s Office in July accused the two online schools of padding their student enrollments and inappropriately paying money to a web of related businesses before they were shut down in 2019.
The school district announced earlier this month that it would recommend ending a contract with Ignite Achievement Academy to operate Elder W. Diggs School 42.
The plan, according to the Bloomberg Philanthropies website, is designed to create 150,000 new seats for students in charter schools in 20 metropolitan areas around the country.
Responding to urging from families and other advocates, Indianapolis Public Schools is proposing to share $5 million per year from a recent tax measure with its charter school partners.
The lawsuit announced Monday by the Indiana attorney general’s office comes nearly two years after Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy shut down amid a state investigation.
An academy infused with Latino culture and a school focused on closing learning gaps plan to open in Indianapolis in 2022, joining the city’s expansive roster of charter schools.
The Indiana State Board of Education will consider Wednesday whether to accredit the schools, which would pave the way for them to participate in the state’s expanding voucher program.
A Chalkbeat investigation found that the rosy charter pitch for Stemnasium Science Math Engineering Middle School painted over troubling details—lawsuits, financial troubles, questionable academic credentials—that escaped notice by city charter officials and The Mind Trust.
The Indianapolis-based GEO Foundation will make one building the new home of its Next Generation High School and lease the other to elementary charter school Indy STEAM.
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.
Indianapolis Public Schools swore in two new board members and two incumbents Monday night. All four have the backing of pro-school choice political action committees.
The gap is driven by charter schools, according to the report, since they serve a greater percentage of students of color than does the average Indiana district and do not receive local property tax revenues.
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.
Christel House, which operates K-12 charter schools in high-poverty areas, did not provide a reason for Peterson’s departure. He took the job in October 2018, succeeding founder Christel DeHaan.
Indiana Charter School Board Executive Director James Betley said Enroll Indy gives the city’s most disadvantaged families access to school choices through a transparent lottery system.
State lawmakers say it’s not too late to enact legislative “guardrails” that could help prevent virtual schools from spending tax dollars in the future without accountability.
Paramount Schools of Excellence bought the 55,000-square-foot building in the Cottage Home neighborhood for about $3.2 million.
Nearly eight years after Indiana seized three struggling campuses from Indianapolis Public Schools, the State Board of Education voted Wednesday to hand the schools back, bringing to a close a turnaround experiment that sparked enduring change in the state’s largest district.
A month after its bid for charters was rejected by a state authorizer, a not-for-profit with ties to Charter Schools USA appears to be looking for another backer—raising concerns that Indiana law makes it too easy to shop around for a friendly overseer.
The downfall of Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy placed Daleville Community Schools under a microscope.
