Public school transfers are Indiana’s biggest choice program

The term school choice usually refers to charter schools and private-school vouchers. In Indiana, the biggest choice program remains “public school choice,” students attending a public school in a district other than the one in which they live.

More than 88,000 Hoosier students crossed district lines to attend a public school in fall 2023, according to the Indiana Department of Education public corporation transfer report. That compares with nearly 69,000 who received state-funded private school vouchers and 47,000 who attended charter schools.

Most school corporations have accepted cross-district transfers since 2009, when Indiana shifted most school funding from local property taxes to the state budget. Districts benefit from admitting more students because they get more state funding, assuming they have room for additional students.

Source: Indiana Department of Education public corporation transfer report

The system is popular, but it’s not for everyone. Families that transfer must provide transportation, so it favors those with resources and flexibility. Students are more likely to transfer from high-poverty to low-poverty districts than vice versa. Districts that lose the most students to transfers tend to be compact urban districts hemmed in by suburban or rural districts: e.g., Kokomo, Anderson, Muncie and Marion.

Voucher expansion helps those already in private schools

The expansion of Indiana’s voucher program is primarily benefiting families that already sent their children to private schools. That’s the obvious conclusion from data released by the Indiana Department of Education.

The department reported in November that the number of students receiving vouchers to pay private school tuition increased by over 30% last fall. Yet enrollment in Indiana private schools grew by only 5.3%, according to figures released last week.

To put it another way, the number of students receiving vouchers increased by 16,657 this school year. But enrollment in Indiana private schools rose by just 4,641. It’s reasonable to assume that about 12,000 of those new voucher recipients were already attending private schools, without state funding.

Report: Indiana short-changes rural schools

Public schools are the heart and soul of rural and small-town life in Indiana. They are centers for community activity, sources of local pride and more. But the state hasn’t been doing a good job of supporting its rural schools, according to a recent report.

Indiana ranks near the bottom of the states for policies that strengthen rural education and for support for the learning and development of rural students, according to “Why Rural Matters 2023,” a report by the National Rural Education Association. And that’s important, not only for rural schools and students but for the state, said Chris Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association.

“We have the eighth-largest rural student population in the nation, over a quarter of a million students,” he said. And rural schools and their graduates “feed the jobs machine” of urban areas.

The report ranks states according to how urgently their rural schools need attention, with a low number signaling improvement should be a high priority. “You don’t want to be in the top 10,” Lagoni said.

But we almost are; Indiana ranks No. 11 for urgency. It’s about average in ratings of rural diversity, educational outcomes for rural students, and the percentage of schools and districts that are rural. But it’s third worst at providing support and services for rural students. And it’s No. 1 – at the bottom – in the “educational policy context” for rural schools.

Indiana vouchers grew less than expected

Indiana’s private school voucher program grew by a third this fall, according to data from the state Department of Education. Some 69,271 students were awarded state-funded vouchers to pay for private school tuition. That’s up from 52,614 in fall 2022.

It’s less of an increase than was expected when the Indiana General Assembly dramatically expanded eligibility for the program. Families now qualify if their income is no more than four times the threshold for reduced-price school meals. That’s $220,000 for a family of four.

An estimated 97% of Hoosier students should qualify. When the voucher expansion passed as part of the state budget, the state Legislative Services Agency projected the program and its cost would grow by over 70%, to over a half billion dollars in 2023-24.

Session wrap-up: How bad was it for schools and students?

Expanding the voucher program and banning gender-affirming care for minors were the most egregious education-related actions that the Indiana General Assembly took in the session that just concluded. But they are far from the only damage lawmakers did.

Book banning. Legislators teased the idea of banning books and criminalizing librarians all session, then finally put the language in a House-Senate conference committee report and passed it on the last day. House Bill 1447 requires schools to publish lists of all the books and materials in their libraries and create a procedure to challenge books as obscene or harmful to minors. Making obscene or harmful materials available to minors is a felony, and the bill repeals a provision that lets school librarians defend themselves by arguing the books are educational or they’re acting in the capacity of their employment. It was approved 69-28 by the House and 39-10 by the Senate on the last day of the session.

Indiana Statehouse dome

Outing trans kids. HB 1608 requires schools to notify a parent within five days if their child asks to be called by a different name or gender. Critics said the requirement could harm children whose parents aren’t supportive of their gender identity. The bill also bans instruction in “human sexuality” for students in preschool through grade 3. The provisions apply to public and charter schools but not to private schools, including those that receive state-funded vouchers. The House voted 63-29 to approve the bill, and the Senate voted 37-12 to concur with changes made by the House.

Union busting. Senate Bill 486, promoted as a “deregulation” measure, repeals a requirement that school boards and administrators discuss certain issues, such as curriculum, discipline and class size, with local teachers’ unions. It’s one more step in a long-running campaign by the Republican supermajority to sideline unions, which tend to support Democrats. The bill also eliminates some teacher training requirements and school regulations. The House approved it, 63-36. After several delays, the Senate narrowly signed off on changes made by the House, 27-23.

Voucher expansion aids the rich

The voucher expansion that Indiana legislators approved last week constitutes a massive handout to religious institutions and a transfer of wealth from everyday Hoosiers to benefit Indiana’s elite.

Lawmakers voted early Friday to raise the income limit for families receiving private-school tuition vouchers from 300% to 400% of the level for receiving reduced-price school meals. For a family of four, that’s $220,000.

The expansion raises the cost to the state of the voucher program to $1.1 billion over the next two years. That’s up from an estimated $300 million that Indiana is spending this year on vouchers.

Issues abound in session’s final week

The 2023 session of the Indiana General Assembly is coming down to the wire. The deadline for lawmakers to finish their work is Saturday. Several questions affecting schools are still unanswered.

Indiana Statehouse

What will school funding look like? A state revenue forecast suggested legislators have an extra $1.5 billion to work with, so they could decide to be more generous. Will they dedicate more funding to education (and other state needs like mental health), or will they shift their attention to cutting taxes? If they provide more for schools, how will they divide it among public, charter and private schools?

Will they expand private school vouchers? The House budget bill expanded program eligibility to 400% of the cutoff for reduced-price school meals; that is, to $220,000 for a four-person household. The proposal would have soaked up over one-third of the House’s K-12 funding increase. The Senate kept voucher eligibility where it is. The revenue forecast could add pressure to expand the program.

What about charter schools? The House and Senate budgets would both change funding for charter schools, but they take a different approach. The House would increase state funding for charters while also taking steps to equalize local property taxes for school districts. The Senate would give charter schools a share of future increases in local property taxes for schools.

Senate pares back voucher expansion

Hoosiers learn to be grateful for small favors when the legislature is in session. Take, for example, the budget the Indiana Senate is about to approve. When it comes to education, it could be worse.

Indiana Senate chamber

For one thing, the Senate would dial back the expansion of Indiana’s private school voucher program that was part of the House version of the budget. The House would raise eligibility for the program to 400% of the income cutoff for reduced-price school meals. That’s over seven times the federal poverty level, or about $220,000 for a four-person household next year.

The Senate budget leaves the income cap where it is: 300% of the reduced-price meal level, or about $166,000 for four people. That’s still two and a half times the state’s median household income.

House Republicans boasted that their budget would provide record funding increases for K-12 education, but over one-third of the increase would go to private schools via vouchers. The Senate would leave the voucher program alone, but the already generous program is still likely to grow even larger.  According to a Legislative Services Agency fiscal analysis, nearly 15% of the increase in state funding for K-12 schools – more than $116 million over two years – would go to private schools, which enroll about 7% of Indiana students.

Vouchers would get outsized share of funding increase

Indiana House Republicans are bragging that their proposed state budget will make record investments in education, including an 8.5% increase in K-12 funding next year. That’s not false, but it’s misleading.

A huge chunk of that increase would go to private schools under a vastly expanded voucher program, not to the public schools that most Hoosier students attend.

Indiana Statehouse

The budget would boost state funding for K-12 schools by $697 million next year, an 8.5% increase from what the state is spending this year. But it’s estimated that about $260 million of next year’s increase would go to growing the voucher program, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

In other words, 37% of the new money for education would go to vouchers that pay tuition for private schools, which enroll just over 7% of Indiana K-12 students. That’s hardly equitable.

The budget appropriation for base school funding, which accounts for 80% of state funding for public schools, would increase by only 4% next year and 0.7% the following year, House Republicans admit. That’s nowhere close to the current or expected rate of inflation.

Senate panel to consider ‘universal voucher’ bill

An Indiana Senate committee will consider a proposal this week for a universal private school voucher program that would be open to any elementary or secondary-age student in the state.

The legislation, Senate Bill 305, would accomplish the goal by expanding Indiana’s education scholarship program. The program was created 2021 with little fanfare and was initially limited to students who qualify for special education. SB 305, which would extend it to all students, is on the agenda for a Senate Education and Career Development committee meeting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Under ESA programs – more commonly called education savings accounts – the state sets up an account for each qualifying student and provides it with funding for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Under SB 305, each student’s account would receive the same per-pupil funding that the state provides to local public schools. On average, that’s about $7,500.