The switch to state voucher funding for the district’s prekindergarten program is one of several changes that IPS and other school districts will have to make as federal pandemic relief funds expire.
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The most glaring contrast between the Senate and House proposals is the way in which they intend to expand funding to charter schools.
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Democrats denounced the budget for taking funding away from traditional public schools. Under the new proposal, families making up to 400% of the federal poverty level, roughly $220,000, qualify for vouchers.
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The Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is defending a private high school in northern Indiana after a top Republican lawmaker admonished the school for “disgusting” behavior.
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As Indiana’s private school voucher system continues to grow, a new report suggests other states are taking notice and boosting public dollars for private education, too.
Last year, in 178 of the 349 private schools in the state that accept vouchers, more than 90% of students enrolled used a voucher to pay for tuition.
Participation in Indiana’s Education Scholarship Accounts and Career Scholarship Accounts has grown dramatically after lawmakers expanded student eligibility and allowed uses for funding.
Indiana spent roughly $439 million on its voucher program for the 2023-24 school year as enrollment in private schools hit a record high.
A top GOP state senator wants to completely overhaul Indiana’s private school vouchers with a grant program that would allow all Hoosier families—regardless of income—to choose where their students get educated.
The state education department approved more than 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program this school year.
An all-time high number of Indiana students are using Indiana’s near-universal voucher program to attend private schools this year.
Voucher participation and spending are expected to jump even more this fall after state lawmakers expanded the program to be nearly universal and open to almost all Hoosier families.
Indiana House Republicans will seek to expand the state’s “school choice” program despite a top GOP senator’s call for more voucher school reforms.
A top Republican lawmaker threatened to hold up new state spending for Indiana’s voucher school program after he claimed to have witnessed “disgusting” behavior at a private Catholic school in Indiana.
The 6-3 outcome could fuel a renewed push for school choice programs in some of the 18 states that have so far not directed taxpayer money to private, religious education.
Indiana lawmakers are almost certain to approve a significant expansion of what is already a broad private school voucher program, setting one of the highest family income ceilings in the nation.
The budget proposal, presented Thursday to the Senate Appropriations Committee, would increase state funding for K-12 education by $408 million over the next two years.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray of Martinsville said Republican senators have discussed the potential cost of the voucher expansion but remain firm with the GOP line that “money follows the child” and that the state is funding students, not schools.
At least 65 public school boards have passed formal resolutions against the proposed legislation through a campaign organized by the Indiana School Boards Association.
Republicans tout their proposal as giving parents more choices over how to educate their children, while Democrats and other opponents argue that it further drains funding from traditional school districts.
Indiana politicians are seizing on the upheaval caused by the pandemic to push forward a vast expansion of taxpayer funding for private education.
The program has been growing since its inception in 2011, when it was limited to 7,500 students. Last year, 36,290 students around the state utilized vouchers to attend private schools.
The proposal would prohibit private school voucher money from going to schools that discriminate over factors including sexual orientation, disability, race, gender or religion.
The incident involving a Noblesville school raises questions over who’s responsible for ensuring private schools that receive vouchers comply with state laws.
