Chalkbeat

Indiana school district referendum guide 2026: What to know about your district’s requested tax increase

2026-08-17T11:00:00+00:00

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This article was co-reported with WFYI.

A record number of school districts are asking voters to approve higher property tax rates this fall as recent tax reforms compound with the state’s existing property tax caps to bring financial stress to districts across Indiana.

Nearly all of the 38 school districts seeking referendums are doing so to cover operating expenses, such as transportation and teacher salaries. But the impact on taxpayers can vary based on a community’s assessed property values and whether the district already has a referendum in place.

Many districts attribute the need for a ballot question to Senate Enrolled Act 1 from 2025, which will bring property tax relief to homeowners by phasing in new property tax deductions and creating new property tax credits — changes that at one point were estimated to cost districts a collective $744 million.

But districts also face a multitude of other challenges, including rising operational costs, declining enrollment, and a competitive school choice landscape that, for the first time this year, will include private school vouchers for every family regardless of income. Districts are also now restricted in how often they can ask voters for a referendum to the November general election, which are held every even year.

Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI have compiled a referendum guide to help you understand your district’s ballot question.

What to know about referendums at the polls

If voters in your school district have recently passed a referendum, the new ballot question is likely asking them to replace it with a higher tax rate — not charge the new rate on top of the existing one — to offset revenue the district expects to lose under property tax reform.

Yet some school districts are warning voters that the ballot question does not clearly explain that distinction.

State law requires ballot language to describe a referendum’s cost as if a district currently has none. In Westfield, for example, the ballot question lists an $873 annual increase for a $450,000 home, based on a maximum rate of $0.3941 per $100 of assessed value. But Westfield Washington Schools already collects a rate of $0.17 per $100 under a referendum voters approved in 2023.

If voters approve the measure in November, the new tax rate would replace the existing $0.17 rate rather than be added on top of it. As a result, the owner of a $450,000 home would pay closer to $494 more a year, not $873, according to the district.

Five districts are seeking a property tax increase for the first time: the Metropolitan School District of Shakamak, Mississinewa Community School Corporation, Shelbyville Central Schools, Tipton Community School Corporation, and Tri-Central Community Schools.

State law previously required that districts in four counties — Lake, Marion, Vanderburgh, and St. Joseph — share their operating referendum proceeds with charter schools enrolling students living within their boundaries. But beginning in 2028, all districts statewide must share with charter schools that enroll students within their borders.

This year, only districts in Marion and Lake counties have stated that they will share their potential revenue with charters, which is estimated at over $49 million for about 60 charter schools, according to documents districts submitted to the Department of Local Government Finance. Spending plans and amounts for charter schools were submitted by districts, although these plans may not include all of the charters eligible to receive money.

Statewide, the requested tax rates range from an extra $0.9912 per $100 of assessed value for the River Forest Community School Corporation to an additional $0.09 for the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation.

Search for details on your district’s ballot question below. Figures in district spending plans and charter school amounts are estimations.

The general election is on Nov. 3, and voters can register to vote, check their sample ballot, and check voting locations at https://indianavoters.in.gov/. Early voting starts on Oct. 6.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Eric Weddle is WFYI’s education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.

Record-high number of Indiana school districts ask voters for property tax increases

2026-07-17T17:26:38+00:00

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A record number of Indiana school districts are asking voters to increase property taxes for various expenses this fall as reforms passed by state lawmakers last year take effect.

At least 38 districts are requesting to place a referendum question on the ballot in November for one of three reasons allowed by state law: to pay for operating expenses, capital needs, or security projects. The majority of districts are requesting an operating referendum, which covers everyday expenses such as transportation and curriculum.

The surge in ballot questions seeking property tax increases reflects the rising financial pressure on school districts due to recent changes in state law. Last year, lawmakers changed state law so that districts may only place referendum questions on the ballot during general elections, which fall in November of even-numbered years, instead of every year. Plus, lawmakers passed a sweeping property tax relief bill that by one estimate would cost school districts millions of dollars in lost revenue.

A final list of all ballot questions won’t be available until at least Aug. 1. But the number of districts listed on the department’s website just a few weeks before the Department of Local Government Finance finalizes the questions already represents a record for districts seeking tax increases in a single election and calendar year.

Half of the 38 districts are requesting to renew their operating referendums, even though their existing voter-approved tax increases do not expire this year. Five others are seeking an operating referendum for the first time, according to an analysis of historical referendums from the Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Policy. Many districts cite the recent property tax reform legislation as a major factor in asking voters for more funding.

Several expenses covered by operating dollars, including transportation and utilities, are growing far faster than the rate of inflation, said Indiana School Board Association Executive Director Terry Spradlin.

The 2025 changes, combined with the state’s 2008 property tax reforms — which capped property taxes for homeowners at 1% of gross assessed value —will end up costing school districts across the state about $5 billion in tax revenue over roughly two decades, he said.

“For the 38 districts pursuing the referendum, it’s not really for program expansions — new programs, new expenses,” said Spradlin, who expects about a dozen more districts to file ballot questions ahead of the deadline. “It’s really to maintain status quo.”

So far, just one district is requesting a capital referendum, and one is requesting a safety referendum.

Most Indiana districts have never sought a referendum

Although the number of ballot questions has reached a record high, it is not extraordinary given that two years’ worth of ballot questions are now being squeezed into one, experts say.

Historically, school districts that have successfully passed a referendum have a greater chance of winning another one, said Larry DeBoer, a professor emeritus at Purdue University who has extensively studied tax referendums.

And districts that have tried but failed to pass a ballot question still have a higher success rate on subsequent attempts than districts asking voters for the first time, he said. Of the 38 listed so far on the department’s website, seven have previously floated a referendum that voters have rejected.

“Even if you’ve lost before, your chances of winning this time are better,” DeBoer said. “And I suppose that’s experience.”

Some districts may be asking voters to renew a referendum years before an existing one expires so they have multiple opportunities to try and pass a ballot question, Spradlin said.

Others are seeking a referendum early because their current operating referendum no longer generates enough revenue due to property tax reforms, he said.

The property tax caps first implemented in 2008 — known as “circuit breakers” — have collectively cost school districts statewide over $4 billion in lost revenue since their inception, according to historical figures from the Legislative Services Agency. The latest tax reforms will cost school districts statewide roughly $744 million from 2026 through 2028, according to a state analysis last year.

Still, 88 of the 144 school corporations that have floated a referendum have succeeded in passing one, according to Spradlin.

“It might be (that) the publicity will cause voters to say, ‘I guess this is a normal thing now,’” DeBoer said. “But it’s still the case that more than half the school districts have never tried a referendum. On the whole, it’s not that common.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Corrections and clarifications: This story has been updated to reflect the number of school districts that have passed a referendum, per Terry Spradlin.

IPS seeks applicants to fill vacant District 4 school board seat

2026-06-16T19:33:38+00:00

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Applications are open to fill a vacancy on the Indianapolis Public Schools Board, with the board selecting an appointee next week.

The school board’s District 4 seat, which represents the southwest part of the school district, is vacant after Commissioner Allissa Impink’s resignation took effect June 15. Impink won the Democratic primary election for Indiana State Senate District 46 in May. She resigned before the general election so the school board seat would be on November’s ballot, reducing the time an appointed member will be on the board.

The appointee will serve on the board until January when the newly elected member is sworn in. That person will serve the remainder of Impink’s term through the end of 2028.

The November election is a critical one for the IPS board, with five of seven seats on the ballot. It also comes as the district faces financial challenges and after the board lost some authority to the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. Established by state lawmakers earlier this year, IPEC now holds key powers over district and charter schools, including school accountability, buildings, transportation, and some financial matters.

To qualify for appointment to the IPS board, applicants must live in District 4 and have lived within the IPS school district for at least a year. They also must not have a felony conviction unless it was pardoned, reversed, vacated, or set aside.

Applications and resumes are due by 5 p.m. on June 23, and the school board will meet in executive session that day to select three finalists.

Finalists will have public interviews at 6 p.m. on June 24 at the district central office, 120 E. Walnut St. The board will vote on an appointment during its action session at 6 p.m. on June 25, and the appointee will be sworn in that evening.

It’s possible that whoever is appointed could also run for election in November. Potential school board candidates have until noon on June 18 to file. As of Tuesday afternoon, no candidate has filed to run in District 4, according to the Marion County Election Board’s candidate list.

Due to resignations, school board seats representing District 2 — which is now represented by Hasaan Rashid, who was appointed by the board in March — and District 4 are on the November ballot. Also on the ballot are three IPS board seats slated for election: District 3, currently represented by Hope Duke Star, District 5, represented by Nicole Carey, and an at-large seat held by Angelia Moore.

See the application for IPS District 4 commissioner here.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

From 19 to 55 cents: IPEC hears options for a possible tax increase

2026-05-29T01:58:47+00:00

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Changes are coming to Indianapolis schools, but how many and which ones depend on a potential tax increase and if it passes, speakers told the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation on Thursday.

The mayor-appointed IPEC board was created by state lawmakers earlier this year to oversee key aspects of district and charter schools in the city, including transportation, buildings, school accountability, and some finances. It lessened the powers of city school boards, including the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board.

One of the first things that IPEC will decide is whether or not to put a tax increase, or referendum, on the ballot in November, something previously decided by the IPS school board.

Tuesday’s meeting, IPEC’s second, largely centered on the possibility of the ballot measure and also included electing officers and updates about the corporation’s accountability framework for schools.

IPEC members listened to a presentation from IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and Andy Seibert, CEO of TogetherEd, and one from Susan Preble, the Indy Chamber’s vice president of state government affairs.

A vote on the tax measure is expected at the corporation’s June 22 meeting ahead of a July 22 deadline for the ballot question to be sent to the state Department of Local Government Finance.

Speakers during public comment expressed support for IPEC and the need for equitable transportation, as well as the need for the referendum to focus on students, equity in schools, and voter transparency.

Referendum possibilities for Indianapolis schools

School districts, and in this case IPEC, can ask voters to approve tax increases for specific needs such as operating costs, construction, or safety measures. These dollars are in addition to the local property tax dollars that schools receive along with state and federal funding.

IPS last passed an operating referendum in 2018. Charter schools that are part of the IPS Innovation Network currently receive some referendum funding, but independent charters do not.

Since then, state lawmakers made a change that also allows charter schools that enroll students living within the borders of the IPS district to opt into receiving money from the tax measure. This year is a key one for the future of IPS, as the current operating referendum is expiring and the district faces a budget deficit.

Presenters to IPEC laid out options from no referendum to tax measures at the current rate of 19 cents per $100 of assessed value up to 55 cents. Estimated impact on homeowners could range from $169 annually if the current rate is renewed to $475 at 55 cents.

Johnson said the lower amounts could lead to a state takeover of the district as well as more widespread changes for students such as school closures, ending Innovation Network agreements, and cuts to programs, transportation, or staff. She stressed that the vote outcome will determine the level of stability or disruption for students and families.

While the current referendum was for the typical eight years, Johnson and Seibert said they support four years for the next one.

They said that is long enough for long-term planning and resource stability as things change with the addition of IPEC. Funding would help with services for students with disabilities and English language learners as well as teacher and staff retention and student opportunities around work-based learning and postsecondary pathways.

Preble said the popularity of referendums across the state reflects that “we are not funding public education in an adequate way.” She said she believes state leaders know this, especially when it comes to students with disabilities and ELL students, and could address it in the upcoming legislative session, but that wouldn’t start until after the referendum vote.

IPEC members asked presenters for additional data around costs, referendum funds and enrollment. They also asked questions about funding for Pre-K while acknowledging there wasn’t enough time to include it in this referendum.

IPEC approves posting for executive director, discusses accountability

IPEC also made several personnel decisions: It staggered terms for board members, and corporation officers and approved a job posting for an executive director. The job will be posted Friday on the IPEC website and the Indianapolis City-County Council’s job board. The salary range is $235,000 to $325,000 annually.

Deandra Thompson was elected as the vice chairperson, and Patricia Castañeda as the secretary in unanimous votes. Board terms were also announced, per state law:

Hope Duke Star, Dexter Taylor, and Eddie Rangel each have a two-year term.
Ashley Thomas, Janet McNeal, and John R. Hammond III each have a three-year term.
Thompson, chair David Harris, and Castañeda each have a four-year term.

IPEC members also heard updates around the accountability framework. Priorities are to gather more feedback from the community and IPEC members, O’Connor said. A progress report is due to state lawmakers on Aug. 1.

Presentations from Tuesday’s meeting will be posted on the IPEC website. The corporation’s next meeting is 5 p.m. June 22 in room 221 of the Indianapolis City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St. IPEC’s July meeting was changed to July 22.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Allissa Impink to resign from IPS board, leaving 5 of 7 board seats up for election on November ballots

2026-05-19T23:00:00+00:00

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Allissa Impink will resign as an Indianapolis Public Schools commissioner in June, teeing up a November election where a significant majority of the IPS school board seats are on the ballot.

Impink, who won the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 46 earlier this month, announced on Tuesday that she plans to resign from the school board effective June 15. Tuesday is also the first day that candidates can file to run for school board this November.

With Impink leaving her seat early, five of the seven seats on the IPS school board will be up for election on Nov. 3. It is shaping up to be a key election for the board as the district faces financial challenges and a loss in power due to the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation or IPEC.

Impink called serving on the school board “one of the greatest honors of my life,” and said resigning before the November election allows her to ensure “the community retains its voice” in who replaces her on the school board. It’s highly likely that Impink will be unopposed for state senate.

Impink, a former IPS teacher, was elected to the school board in 2024 to represent IPS school board District 4, the southwest part of the district. The IPS board has seven members who serve staggered four-year terms.

If a board member resigns, the board must appoint someone by majority vote within 30 days to fill the position until the next school board election. Voters will then select someone to finish the term if needed.

By resigning ahead of the election, Impink ensures her seat will be on the ballot in November, shortening the time for an appointed board member to a few months and an elected replacement would serve until 2028. If she waited to resign until after the November election, the appointed member would serve until 2028, the next school board election year and when Impink’s term was slated to end.

“As a strong supporter of the democratic process, I am encouraging qualified, passionate community members to file to run for school board so that IPS families have a direct say in who leads them through the remainder of the term ending in 2028,” Impink said.

Impink is the second IPS board commissioner to resign this year. Gayle Cosby, who represented District 2 and was also elected in 2024, announced her resignation in March, citing ongoing health challenges. The board appointed Hasaan Rashid to fill the vacancy until this year’s election.

This means both District 2 and 4 will be on the ballot in November along with the three IPS board seats already slated for election in 2026: District 3 currently represented by Hope Duke Star, District 5 represented by Nicole Carey, and an at-large seat represented by Angelia Moore.

Guide: How to run for school board

The election comes at a time when the IPS board is navigating a substantial loss in power under a new law that created IPEC, which has key powers for district and charter schools including school accountability, buildings, and transportation as well as some finances. Three members of the IPS school board are also members of IPEC, per state law. Those are Star, Ashley Thomas, and Deandra Thompson.

This year is also the first year that school board candidates can add their party affiliation to the ballot if they choose to do so. Potential school board candidates have until noon June 18 to file.

Impink won the primary election for state senate handily with 68.46% of the vote in a three-candidate race, per election results. No Republican candidates ran in the primary election. However it is still possible for a challenger to file to run in the general election.

District 46 includes downtown, the near eastside, and southern parts of Indianapolis and is currently represented by Andrea Hunley, a former IPS principal, who is running for Indianapolis mayor in 2027.

Impink said she looks forward to using her “strong and passionate voice for IPS and public education throughout Indiana at the state level.”

“I will use every tool available to me to protect and strengthen public schools across Indianapolis and the state of Indiana,” she said.

Voter registration for the November election is open through Oct. 5. You can register or check your status here.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana State Senate District 46 primary election: IPS board member Impink wins

2026-05-06T03:22:43+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools board member Allissa Impink is the unofficial winner of the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 46, which could likely tee up a vacancy on the school board.

Unofficial election results with 100% of vote centers reporting showed that Impink had 68.46% of the vote, Sam Glynn had 12.02%, and Clif Marsiglio had 19.52% in the Democratic primary. Results are unofficial until May 15, after provisional and military ballots are counted. The Marion County Election Board will certify the results on May 18.

In a victory statement, Impink promised to focus on community voices, including “parents who are juggling their jobs, childcare, and paying their bills.”

“As I’ve said from the very beginning, the challenges we face are not separate issues. They are deeply connected,” she said. “And for far too long, families have been left to navigate systems that don’t work together.”

No Republican candidates ran in the primary election for the seat that includes downtown, the near eastside, and southern parts of Indianapolis. But it is still possible for a challenger to run against Impink in the November general election. If she wins that race, it would create an opening on the IPS school board. Impink’s current school board term ends in 2028. Board members would appoint a new member to finish her term, and the seat would be up for election in 2028.

Board members recently did the same process to fill the District 2 seat after Gayle Cosby announced her resignation in March. The board appointed Hasaan Rashid to fill the vacancy.

Impink, also a former IPS teacher, was elected to the school board in 2024 to represent District 4, the southwest part of the district. She previously told Chalkbeat that if elected in November, she “will be still carrying that baton of valuing public education.”

On her campaign website, Impink said she supports a moratorium on new charter schools and fully funding public schools, as well as supporting educators and making sure “every student has the opportunity to succeed.” She added that she wants to make sure that IPS is “fully reimbursed for transportation, facilities, and special education services provided to innovation schools.”

Transportation and facilities for district and charter schools are within the purview of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. The new body appointed by the mayor will provide state lawmakers with an update on plans for both in November before fully taking over management of transportation and buildings in the 2028-29 school year.

State Senate District 46 is currently represented by Andrea Hunley, a former IPS principal, who is running for Indianapolis mayor in 2027.

Four seats on the IPS school board are up for election in November: Hope Duke Star’s District 3 seat, Nicole Carey’s District 5 seat, Angelia Moore’s at-large seat, and the special election for District 2 represented by Rashid.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Education Corporation announces date and location for first meeting

2026-04-10T20:54:35+00:00

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A new governing body for Indianapolis schools will meet for the first time on April 14.

The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, will govern key aspects of public schools in the city. It will oversee buildings and transportation for charter schools and Indianapolis Public Schools. The corporation will also have power to ask voters for funding for schools through a referendum, and will create an accountability system that could be used to decide which schools close.

IPEC will meet at 4 p.m. April 14 in Room 221 of the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington Street, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office announced. An agenda was not available on Friday.

The nine members of the board, appointed by Hogsett, were announced by him late last month and include three IPS board members, three representatives of charter schools, and three experts in areas relevant to the corporation’s work as required by state law.

One of the appointed experts is also a charter school leader. Additionally, David Harris is the board chair. Harris was the charter schools director under former mayor Bart Peterson, and the duo co-founded the Mind Trust, an influential nonprofit that helps launch charter schools.

IPEC’s creation by state lawmakers means less power for school boards in the city, including the elected IPS board. However, school boards will still have power over day-to-day tasks including setting budgets, curriculums, and hiring and firing the superintendent or school leaders for charter schools.

IPEC was formed following the December 2025 recommendations of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which was a state-created task force. The corporation’s powers will phase in with key powers over finances and referendums starting this year and powers over buildings and transportation in 2028.

The April 14 meeting will also be livestreamed on Channel 16.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Why there are no education elections on your primary ballot

2026-04-07T18:50:17+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Early voting is underway for the Indiana primary elections, but there are no education-specific items on the ballot.

In previous years, referendums — where school districts ask voters for extra funding through property taxes — could appear on primary ballots. But lawmakers changed that last year. Lawmakers also changed school board elections from nonpartisan to partisan but didn’t add primary elections for those positions.

Here’s what’s different at the ballot box and what to expect:

Partisan school board elections don’t include primary races

After years of attempts to make school board elections partisan, lawmakers approved the change that allows candidates to have a party affiliation but didn’t include primary races.

Instead, school board candidates will choose if they want to select a political party, identify as an independent, or be nonpartisan in the general election. School board elections are not included in straight party voting, and multiple candidates could have the same affiliation.

The change faced opposition from people who said partisan politics would be a distraction from the school board’s duties. Supporters countered by saying politics already influence schools.

While there aren’t any primaries, a candidate’s affiliation can be challenged and removed from the ballot if the candidate didn’t vote in the last two primary elections or get written certification from the county party chairman that the candidate is a party member. Candidates across the state can file to run from May 19 to noon on June 18.

This November will be the first for partisan school board elections. School boards statewide, including in Marion County, will have seats on the ballot. Each school board determines the number of seats and if the seats represent areas within the school district’s borders or are at-large. For Indianapolis Public Schools, four seats are up for election, including one special election to fill a seat after a board member resigned.

Fewer opportunities for schools to ask voters for tax increases

School districts can ask voters to approve tax increases for specific needs such as operating costs, construction, or safety measures through referendums. These dollars supplement the local property tax dollars that schools receive along with state and federal funding.

In the past, school districts could ask voters to approve increases during the primary or general election of any year. In 2025, lawmakers changed the rule to be only the general election of a statewide election year after the November 2025 election.

There could be more referendums on the ballot this November given the limits on timing as well as funding constraints on districts, including property tax reform and sharing those funds with charter schools.

Whether or not to put a referendum on the ballot is determined by school districts, except in Indianapolis where the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation will decide. IPS’s current operating referendum expires this year, and without that funding, the district could be out of money by next year, per IPS documents.

School boards must send their ballot questions no later than July 22 to the state Department of Local Government Finance. The department then has until noon Aug. 1 to decide if it’s approved.

What to know about voting in 2026 Indiana election

Early voting for the primary elections started on April 7 and ends at noon on May 4. Primary election day is May 5, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

For the general election, voter registration opens on May 19 and ends Oct. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 6. On election day, Nov. 3, polls are open from 6 a.m .to 6 p.m. local time.

You can check your voter status and register to vote as well as look up polling places and sample ballots at indianavoters.in.gov.

This article was updated to include deadlines for putting referendums on the November ballot.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library now available to children in all 92 Indiana counties

2026-04-02T15:35:34+00:00

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Children in all 92 counties across the state can now get free books in the mail through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Indiana.

The announcement from the state on Wednesday comes nearly a year after state lawmakers approved the 2026-2027 budget that cut funding for the program. Gov. Mike Braun tasked First Lady Maureen Braun with fundraising to keep the program alive.

In a Thursday news release, the state touted the expansion of the program to all counties in the state as a “a major milestone for early childhood literacy across Indiana.”

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides books for children from birth to age 5 in the United States and four other countries. The organization mails the “high-quality, age-appropriate books” at no cost to families each month.

To provide the books, the library partners with local organizations that help secure funding for the books. Before the budget cut, the state of Indiana and local partners split the costs of books. The program received $2 million in the 2023-24 state budget and $4 million in 2024-25.

Griffin Reid, press secretary for Gov. Braun, said via email that there were no lapses in book delivery since the cuts.

As of August 2024, children in 85 counties had access to the program, and in Marion County, only two ZIP codes had access to the program. Now, all ZIP codes in the state are covered.

The Imagination Library in Indiana is a partnership between the state, the Dollywood Foundation, the Hoosier HOPE Foundation, and local partners, per the news release. The release did not say how much money was raised. In March, Maureen Braun announced she was at 90% of a two-year fundraising goal for the program, but didn’t specify amounts.

To sign up for the Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com

Update: This story was updated to include further details including no lapses in service since funding cuts, all ZIP codes are covered, and fundraising goal progress.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

As lawmakers push to unify operations for Indianapolis schools, charters could get an edge

2026-02-24T18:49:47+00:00

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An attempt to unify operations for traditional public and charter schools in Indianapolis is proving to be a complex task that could ultimately favor charters over district schools in critical ways.

At the heart of the matter: ownership and control of school buildings, some of which are privately owned or leased by charter schools and some of which are publicly owned by Indianapolis Public Schools. The future landscape for the roughly 42,000 students in IPS and charter schools could be shaped by how easily schools can access or control these buildings.

The move to centralize control over buildings comes as Indianapolis has grappled with a fractured education system of two different school sectors— traditional and charter — operating with different access to buildings and different transportation systems using different funds.

That divide is what a state-established task force known as the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, or ILEA, sought to bridge through recommendations in December that have formed the basis for legislation advancing in the Indiana Statehouse.

But in the broader attempt at efficiency, at least some charter schools appear to be gaining what could be key advantages. Whether charters maintain that edge will depend heavily on the actions of a mayor-appointed board over the next two years.

Lawmakers last month made key changes to legislation that would create the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, to manage transportation and facilities for district schools as well as charters within IPS boundaries. The revision would allow charters to opt into or out of the bill’s mandate that schools turn over control of their buildings to the proposed corporation.

Another addition to the legislation directs the corporation to create a process to close “inefficient” school buildings based on underutilized capacity.

The opt-out provision could favor the nearly two-dozen charters that already own their buildings by making it easier for them to maintain control of those facilities even after IPEC launches. In addition, due to enrollment trends, the process focused on shuttering underutilized schools could ultimately create a net benefit for charters by closing several IPS-run school buildings that the corporation could give to charters.

The legislation is based on recommendations from the ILEA. The debate over the bill mirrors recent and at times bitter political disputes between IPS and charters. IPS supporters have argued that the new corporation will not solve problems facing the city’s schools. Charter advocates, meanwhile, say charters should not be forced to give control of privately owned buildings to a public entity such as IPEC.

Republican Rep. Bob Behning, the bill author, said his goal is to create a facilities plan that every school would want to participate in so that school leaders can focus on academics.

IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said other parts of the bill could streamline operations across both district and charter schools. But it depends on how the bill is actually implemented.

The bill gives the corporation until 2028 — the same year charters will start receiving property taxes — to enact a transportation and facilities plan across all school types.

“[The] devil’s in the details in terms of how the execution works, in terms of how there’s collaboration across different entities, in terms of how we all think about the trade-offs that might be necessary to actually make this work,” Johnson told Chalkbeat. “And that we don’t know yet.”

Charters schools want to keep control over buildings

Behning has said his intent is for the corporation to own all school buildings. But his legislation, HB 1423, only says that IPEC would “control” buildings through the facilities plan.

Schools that opt out of that plan would not receive property tax dollars reserved for building needs. But the nearly two-dozen charters that already own their buildings might prefer to opt out and prioritize maintaining control over their facilities over gaining access to that revenue starting in 2028. Their need for that revenue to acquire or lease buildings could be minimal or non-existent.

Meanwhile, charter schools operating in IPS buildings and charter applicants aiming to start a school could benefit by allowing IPEC to control their buildings, because they could still gain access to new or different buildings for their schools.

The legislation includes the same opt-out provision for IPS. But that flexibility is “almost symbolic,” Behning admitted. That’s because if the district opted out, it would lose the very property tax funding it currently relies on to pay for buildings.

In addition, forcing charters to relinquish control of their buildings — which might be a privately held asset — to a public entity could create legal problems, some charter advocates say.

As of 2024-25, over 20 charter schools owned their buildings, while another 19 leased space and 12 operated in IPS buildings as part of the school’s Innovation Network, according to a report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

At Circle City Prep, owning its school building on the Far Eastside allows the charter to pursue quick improvements and modifications, executive director Megan Murphy said in an email. The school would want to preserve that flexibility and autonomy, she said.

“It is in the best interest of our scholars and the community we serve to be able to be adaptive to the needs of our school and student population,” Murphy said.

Meanwhile, closing underutilized buildings would likely hit IPS particularly hard and also could affect charter schools struggling with enrollment.

At least eight schools run by IPS, which recently experienced its biggest drop in enrollment since the pandemic, are operating at a building capacity of 50% or lower, according state enrollment data for this year and a previous IPS study. Previously, lawmakers have used that 50% threshold to determine when certain traditional school districts would have to offer underenrolled buildings to charter schools for $1.

Building usage across charter schools is less clear. But at least four charter schools were operating at below 50% of their stated capacity in 2024-25 — a figure based on the number or students the school intends to serve rather than on the dimensions of a physical building, according to a mayor’s office report.

IPS supporters fear what lawmakers are planning

Lawmakers have stressed the district’s impending financial cliff as reasons for the drastic changes in HB 1423. The district anticipates ending the school year with a $40 million cash flow deficit.

While charters will gain access to property tax revenue in two years, IPS is projected to lose significant funding from property taxes due to various changes at the state level. In addition, IPS funding from a property tax hike that voters approved several years ago expires in 2026.

But the district’s supporters say traditional IPS schools need adequate education funding from the state, not the looming overhaul to key aspects of how the district works. They worry that recent events like the evolution of Behning’s bill point to the gradual demolition of IPS in favor of charters.

“Let me be clear what compromise looks like when you’re negotiating with people who want to dismantle you,” IPS parent Courtney Hawk, part of the Fully Funded, Fully Public campaign that wants an elected school board to maintain control of IPS assets, said at a district board meeting last month. “It looks like surrender in slow motion.”

The bill doesn’t match the charter sector’s priorities in some respects, however. Some charter advocates have pushed back on a requirement that all schools offer transportation, for example. Charters have struggled to offer transportation without property tax funding.

Behning’s legislation says all traditional public and charter schools inside district boundaries must provide for transportation for all students, a service that IPEC would manage. The requirement reflects a recommendation from the ILEA, and supports an argument from some school choice advocates and many parents that true choice is not possible without a way to get to school.

But Scott Bess of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, a charter advocacy group, pointed out that state law doesn’t require school districts to offer transportation, and it should therefore not be required for any schools within IPS boundaries.

There’s some truth to the different concerns from both IPS and charters, said Barato Britt, who served on the ILEA. But if lawmakers follow the task force’s intent as closely as possible, he said, “we will have made progress to transform an already evolved educational landscape in a more connected fashion.”

“We can’t act like our trajectory without it was promising, whether it was the traditional space or the charter space,” said Britt, who serves on the board of the KIPP Indy Public Schools charter network. “Something had to be done.”

Ultimately, the pressure will be on IPEC’s board to address the big challenges lawmakers are poised to ask it to solve.

Indiana’s legislative session is due to end Friday.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Power over Indianapolis school closures and buildings would shift in revised bill

2026-01-29T22:48:37+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation would not have the direct authority to close public schools, and charters could keep control of their school buildings, according to a bill amendment lawmakers approved Thursday.

Under the amendment to House Bill 1423, charter authorizers and Indianapolis Public Schools — not the proposed Indianapolis Public Education Corporation — would maintain the power to close schools. But if they fail to do so, the corporation could appeal to the state board of education to close the school. The state board would ultimately have to approve the school closure.

In addition, the amendment — introduced by Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican chair of the House Education Committee — would allow charters within IPS boundaries to opt into or out of a facility management plan overseen by the new corporation.

The proposed changes to how school closures work and who controls buildings is part of a broader plan to change key aspects of how public schools work in the city and shift some resources from IPS to charter schools.

The amended bill clarifies that both charter authorizers and IPS must agree on a universal performance framework that could be used to determine which schools must close. IPS has closed several school buildings in recent years, while a large share of charters have shut down over the last few decades.

The revised bill says IPS would still be required to cede authority over their school buildings to the corporation, and also give up power over transportation and the ability to collect and levy property taxes, to the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC. But Behning said during House discussions Thursday that he would commit to allowing IPS to opt out of the mandate to give up control over its buildings.

Such a move could further reduce the proposed corporation’s ability to unify oversight of key aspects of how the city’s public schools work.

Shortly after that comment from Behning, IPS released a statement blasting how the revised bill created a carve-out for charters. The district said it created “a glaring double standard” because it would grant “charter schools the power to opt out of management and control of school property by the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation Board while denying that very same flexibility to IPS.”

Before the House discussions, Behning said his amendment came in response to concern from charter schools that paid for their buildings with private dollars. Since charters have not historically had access to property tax funding for such expenses, they have relied on other funding resources to acquire facilities.

But there would be significant consequences for charter schools that choose not to participate in facilities management, like losing capital referendum and debt service funding, and the charter school facility grant once charter schools have access to more resources, Behning said during discussions with other House lawmakers.

“If I’m a charter … I would have to figure out how I’m going to do all my operations, pay for everything out of those operating dollars, which they have never had to do,” Behning said. “I don’t really think any of them are going to do it.”

Within district borders, over 20 charter schools owned their buildings in the 2024-25 school year, while another 19 leased space and 12 operated in IPS buildings as part of the school’s Innovation Network, according to a report from the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

The amendment allows charters that lease or own their buildings to decide whether to give control of the facility to IPEC. But if charters do opt out, they would not receive property tax dollars for capital needs.

During Thursday’s House discussion of the bill, Behning said his amendment didn’t outline how charter schools with privately owned buildings, or even IPS with outstanding bonds, would participate in facilities management. That’s a task for IPEC to determine in its feasibility study before assuming control of buildings in 2028-29, he said. The bill directs the new corporation to complete that study to examine building management by Nov. 30, 2027.

“If I was a charter that had privately built a building with private dollars, not with public dollars, if I want to be part of this, that’s going to be something they’re going to have to figure out,” Behning said. “My guess is, you can’t just come in and take away a private asset.”

Charters that own their buildings but are then forced to close could dispose of the building as they see fit if they don’t opt in to the corporation’s facility management plan, according to Behning. The corporation would not assume control of the building.

In theory, the new corporation would ultimately own all district buildings, Behning said. But there could be legal challenges to transferring ownership of buildings with remaining debt attached to them.

HB 1423 is eligible for a final reading in the House on Monday. If passed, it would move on to the Senate.

This story has been updated to include additional comments from Rep. Bob Behning and IPS, as well as the outcome of votes on Behning’s amendment.

Reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this story.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How this school chef is building healthy habits one vegetable at a time

2026-01-26T12:00:00+00:00

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The students at Circle City Prep aren’t big fans of squash – no matter which type their school chef makes. But they do like brussels sprouts.

Tracey Couillard, lead chef at the school, leans on her days working in Indianapolis restaurants to come up with ways to cook with vegetables and fruits that might be new to the students.

It’s all about “making sure we are intentional about what we are offering, and not just throwing spaghetti at a wall to make it stick,” said Couillard, who started her job a year ago.

The school’s kitchen is a Next Course Cafeteria through A Longer Table, a nonprofit formerly known as the Patachou Foundation which aims to make sure all students have access to good food. The organization partners with schools to have cafeterias that serve fresh and scratch-made foods. At Circle City Prep, Couillard leads a kitchen team of six other people to prepare scratch-made food for breakfast and lunch for more than 430 students that include fresh vegetables and fruits as well as daily salads.

What students are eating is also getting attention at the statehouse where house lawmakers advanced a bill to ban foods with certain food dyes and additives from public schools that participate in a “federally funded or assisted meal program.” The bill also requires schools to post a menu and ingredients online.

At Circle City Prep, Couillard said the fresh foods help students build healthy habits both inside and outside of school. And it’s led her to build relationships with students too.

“Sometimes kids will be in a sad spot and ask if I can have lunch with them, so then I sit with them and let them talk and let them share their feelings because there are a lot of big feelings between kindergarten and eighth grade,” she said.

Chalkbeat talked to Couillard about her daily routine, what makes her cafeteria special, and the biggest thing she’s learned on the job.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What led you to become the lead chef at Circle City Prep?

I was in the Army National Guard for 20 years, and after I retired from the guard, I started working in restaurants around Indianapolis and did that for about 12 years.

This opportunity popped up at a time when I needed a change, and I honestly didn’t know if it was going to be for me. Working in restaurants with adults is very different than working in a school kitchen with kids from kindergarten to eighth grade as your primary customers

But the kids are the best part. I’ve got kids that come into my office when they are having a bad day, and they build Legos while I’m working on something. I’ve got a couple of kids who come in after school and do extra practice on their reading.

I get a lot of joy and feel like I’m actually doing something helpful and making a positive difference in kids’ days.

Tell me about the meals you make at the school.

It’s mostly all from scratch and we do a lot of our own sauces. We’re very mindful of sodium, fat, and sugar to make sure we are serving good healthy foods for the kids to eat. Students have fresh vegetables and fruit. Every day they have a different salad option.

I started a program at the beginning of the school year to introduce them to new fresh fruits and new fresh vegetables, just trying to broaden their horizons.

At first, they were apprehensive because it’s something new but now, the kids get really excited about it, they are really invested in it.

How has the food made an impact on students?

They eat more vegetables now when they are coming through lunch, and that’s just good fuel for their bodies and their minds. They’re more willing to try something new too. It’s shocking to me how many kids I see with salads compared to last year because it’s just different exposure.

When they ask their people at home to cook something we had at school and it doesn’t taste the same, they’ll ask if I can share a recipe with their parents on how we do it so it tastes like it does here, which is really cool.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My day starts between 6:30 and 7 a.m. I check out the breakfast stations and make sure they are set, and oftentimes I’ll be walking the halls while the kids are coming in, touching base with them and making sure they are getting their breakfast.

I sit in on late breakfast. There are kids that come in late almost every day so they are already a little behind the curve. I sit down with them, make sure they have a good breakfast and their mind is set to jump in and go to class. I’m trying to be a positive touchpoint for them when they are starting their day.

In between breakfast and lunch, we are prepping. And at lunch, I’m helping kids move through the line, making sure that they have all the items they need on their tray to have a good meal.

What do you want people to know about what it’s like to have a cafeteria that emphasizes fresh foods?

They have to look at the kids as they are an investment. We are able to run a fully staffed kitchen and feed breakfast and lunch to more than 430 kids a day, and we are operating a scratch-based kitchen in the black.

You can run a successful school kitchen without using all of the processed foods, it takes practice, and it takes a certain amount of skill that maybe you wouldn’t expect from a school cafeteria.

But it’s an investment in the future. You are building healthy food habits and eating habits and trying to develop healthy relationships for kids with food. I’m teaching kids that good food can taste good.

What do you want to do next?

I would love to have a hydroponic garden in the cafeteria space. I would love to have a little green space where we can grow veggies and fruits and things like that. Because we serve salads every day, so how cool would it be to have lettuce growing in our cafeteria? The kids could see this is what is actually nourishing our bodies and this is how it grows to develop more of that connection of where does the food come from and how does it get to our plate.

What have you learned doing this job?

You don’t understand how much of an impact you can have on somebody else’s day. And you don’t always see that impact with adults, but it’s really easy to see that with kids. You can see their whole day shift with just a “Hey, how are ya? You good?”

You give them two minutes and those little time investments make a difference. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned because it’s not hard to make somebody smile and share a little joy.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS school board member Allissa Impink announces run for Senate District 46

2026-01-16T23:01:47+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools board member Allissa Impink announced Friday that she would run for Indiana Senate District 46, which encompasses downtown, the near eastside, and southern parts of Indianapolis.

If Impink, who is running as a Democrat, wins what could be a crowded race for the seat in the November election, it would create a vacancy that IPS board members would have to fill.

Her announcement on Friday came after Democratic Sen. Andrea Hunley announced that she would not seek reelection to the seat. Hunley, a former principal in IPS, is considered to be among a handful of Democrats who could run for mayor in 2027, although she has not officially said she’s running.

Impink, a former IPS teacher, said in an interview Friday that she’s thought a lot about the impact of potentially leaving her IPS board seat early. Impink currently represents District 4, the southwest part of IPS and was elected in 2024.

“I typically have the value of finishing what I start,” she said. “But I also feel like, being able to transition into the senate seat, I will be still carrying that baton of valuing public education.”

Impink was a supporter of the district’s traditional public schools during the heated legislative session last year that pitted charters against the district in a fight for funding. She also voiced objections to the recommendation from a state-mandated task force to strip the school board of its power over transportation, buildings, and property taxes — a proposal lawmakers are now considering.

State law says the remaining school board members must appoint someone who lives in IPS boundaries to fill a vacant board seat. Three other seats on the school board are also up for election this year.

Clif Marsiglio, a Near Eastside community leader, also announced on Friday that he would seek election to Hunley’s seat as a Democrat.

Corrections and clarifications: This story has ben updated to accurately reflect Impink’s thoughts on leaving her board seat early.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Legislative proposal would create a new mayor-appointed board over Indianapolis schools and charter schools

2026-01-08T18:36:04+00:00

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A much-anticipated proposal that would give the Indianapolis mayor more power over schools while reducing the power of the existing elected school board has been filed in the statehouse. The bill marks the next step toward a fundamental shift in how Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools operate, and could go into effect in just a few months.

HB 1423 largely falls in line with the recommendations of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance and would create an Indianapolis Public Education Corporation made of nine board members appointed by the mayor. The new body would have the authority to control and manage school property, as well as to establish and oversee a transportation plan to transport all students within Indianapolis Public Schools boundaries — the two primary goals lawmakers had for the work of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.

The Indianapolis mayor would need to appoint members to the corporation body by June 1, 2026.

The bill would require all schools within district boundaries — district and charter — to offer transportation. Currently, fewer than half of independent charter schools offer bus services, while roughly half of charters in the IPS Innovation Network use IPS bus services, according to a report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

In a significant shift of power, the district would lose its authority to levy and collect property taxes or issue debt, powers that would instead go to the new corporation. The legislation tasks the corporation with developing a formula by which to distribute property tax funds to schools.

The bill does not, however, mention the need for additional special education funding — a recommendation from the ILEA that does not appear to have been adopted.

The legislation comes after months of heated public meetings during which parents, students, school leaders, and community members debated the future of schools in Indianapolis. Supporters of IPS decried efforts to take power from the elected school board, voicing concern over publicly funded, privately run charter schools. Charter school supporters, meanwhile, pushed back against any attempts to limit charter school growth and advocated for more student transportation options.

The bill will be heard on Monday at 9:30 a.m. in the House Education Committee, according to committee chair and bill author Rep. Bob Behning of Indianapolis. If it passes the committee, it will head to a vote in the full House, then the Senate.

Bill limits charter authorizers, requires closure of low-performing schools

The legislation would also limit charter authorizing within IPS boundaries to the mayor’s office, the Indiana Charter School Board, and the IPS school board, which has expressed interest in becoming an authorizer. Schools overseen by other authorizers would be able to remain with those authorizers until the end of their charter term.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance backs plan to create new education authority to oversee IPS, charter schools

The corporation board would be composed of three charter school leaders, three IPS commissioners, and three other members who have expertise in capital planning, facilities, transportation, or logistics or experience working with vulnerable student populations, as recommended by the ILEA. Each member’s term would be four years, though they would be eligible for reappointment.

Under the proposal, the new body would establish and manage a unified enrollment system, as well as a single school performance framework.

The school rating system must be based on academic performance and assessments, student discipline, enrollment, condition of school property, and the health of the school’s finances, organization, and governance. The framework must also close chronically low-performing schools.

School boards would still be responsible for running day-to-day operations of district and charter schools, retaining the power to hire and fire employees or create their own school budgets.

Bill sets deadlines for transfer of financial responsibilities

The bill would ultimately shift financial responsibility of taxes and bonds from the IPS school board to the corporation.

The corporation would assume the power to seek voter-approved tax increases for operating or capital expenses in April. That’s when the corporation would also become liable for all the outstanding debt of the district — typically used for larger expenses such as building maintenance or construction projects — which would no longer be able to issue bonds for debt.

How a fractured Indianapolis school system reached the verge of a huge power shakeup

However, the existing operating and capital referendum funds, approved by voters in IPS in 2018 and 2023, respectively, would still go to IPS to cover costs that voters specifically approved at the ballot.

The bill also exempts IPS from a state law requiring school districts to give unused or underutilized school buildings to charter schools for the sale or lease price of $1.

The bill could still see significant amendments during the 2026 session. Behning previously expressed skepticism about giving the Indianapolis mayor authority to appoint all nine members of the body. He did not immediately respond to a question from Chalkbeat Thursday.

Following the bill’s filing on Thursday, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office declined to comment beyond a previously published op-ed by the mayor in the Indianapolis Star. In it, Hogsett, who chaired the ILEA, expressed support for the groups’ recommendations and asked for “our local voices to remain at the forefront” of the conversation at the statehouse.

Scott Bess of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, which advocates for charters around the state and in Indianapolis, said the group is generally supportive of the bill, but raised concerns about limiting charter authorizers and requiring schools to offer transportation.

IPS said in a statement that the district was still analyzing the bill language.

This story was updated to include more background information and responses from Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office, the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, and Indianapolis Public Schools.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers react favorably to most ILEA recommendations and discuss replicating them

2025-12-18T20:05:44+00:00

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There could be rare bipartisan agreement among lawmakers in favor of a task force’s recommendation that an independent agency oversee Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools. But they could tweak the proposal to give the mayor less power.

And state leaders are already thinking about how they could replicate the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s proposal in other parts of the state — particularly in rural districts where there is population decline and a need to consolidate buses and facilities.

Speaking at an annual legislative conference, Republican Rep. Bob Behning, the chair of the House Education Committee, said Thursday the General Assembly could use the group’s recommendations as a guide for legislation. But he expressed skepticism about the group’s proposal for the Indianapolis mayor to appoint all nine members of the independent agency, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation.

“A different mayor could have a totally different outcome in terms of what that panel might look like,” Behning said. “We need to at least make sure that the whims of whoever is at the helm of the mayor’s office doesn’t necessarily have a huge impact on the overall governance.”

In addition to recommending a new agency with oversight powers, the group voted 8-1 to recommend requiring that all schools provide transportation to students living within IPS boundaries, restricting the number of charter authorizers, and exempting IPS buildings from a state law requiring districts to make unused buildings available to charters for $1.

Behning said he would also support repealing the so-called $1 law, although he noted his support depended on the ILEA’s recommendations being fully implemented first.

The ILEA’s recommendations also earned support from Indianapolis Rep. Ed DeLaney, a Democrat. Since the new agency as proposed would have the power to impose property taxes for both IPS and charter schools, that means it could demand accountability for charters that’s currently missing, he said.

“Over my objection, we decided to give the charter schools tax revenue,” he said. “This gives us an opportunity to say, ‘we’re not going to give you the money, we’re going to have a structure under the mirror to see how you do it and make sure you cooperate.’”

Despite their past disagreements over charter and traditional public schools, Behning and DeLaney said they may co-author a bill based on the ILEA’s recommendations. Each said taking the responsibility of buildings and transportation away from the current IPS board would allow the board to focus more on students and academics. 2

“I think this allows the IPS board to focus on really trying to drive resources into the classroom and have a positive impact in terms of outcomes for kids, and they won’t have to be labored with facilities,” Behning said.

Lawmakers: ILEA proposals could help other school districts

Leaders from other parts of the state also see the potential to replicate some of the ILEA’s work in their own districts.

Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said rural communities face many of the same challenges as IPS, like declining population and transportation issues.

“This is an innovation incubator on education,” he said. “So we’ll get started here, and maybe it will work in other ways across the state, to help economies of scale, and looking at the number of buildings as population declines in some counties.”

Raatz said while a statewide expansion of the ILEA’s work is unlikely this year, lawmakers may make it easier for rural school districts to merge together or consolidate services.

For example, they could repeal a state requirement that school boards must meet in the geographic boundaries of their school district, Behning said.

Secretary of Education Katie Jenner also said rural and suburban districts are watching what happens in Indianapolis closely. During the 2025 session, lawmakers initially proposed a bill that would have dissolved IPS and four other school districts where most students attend schools not directly run by the district. That led to panicked calls from leaders of the other districts, Jenner said.

“I think we’ll be able to learn some things and probably apply them more broadly in Indiana, and I believe other states will watch as well,” Jenner said.

But Jenner also encouraged lawmakers to look at more than just student enrollment when considering school consolidation, closure, or other changes. Student academic outcomes and fiscal health should also be factors to account for small, successful school districts, she said.

In a last minute move in the 2025 session, Indiana lawmakers added a provision to dissolve the Union School Corporation, citing its low enrollment of around 300 students in brick-and-mortar schools as well as its academic performance.

The same law that created the ILEA this year also gave other schools throughout the state the option to participate in a pilot program testing new ways to use facilities and transportation. Three such pilot programs were approved this year, including one involving more than 50 public charter and private schools in Marion County.

Behning said the Marion County program may be reconsidered, given the recommendations of the ILEA.

Lawmakers are up against the clock to pass a bill turning the ILEA’s proposals into law.

The 2026 session started early in December, meaning lawmakers may only have three committee hearings to pass bills before they must move to their full chambers. Raatz said on the Senate side, that might mean a max of 10 education bills this year.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance backs plan to create new education authority to oversee IPS, charter schools

2025-12-18T01:24:32+00:00

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In a move with potentially profound consequences for Indianapolis education, a state-backed task force has told lawmakers they should establish a new agency to oversee both the city school district and charter schools.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance voted 8-1 on Wednesday to recommend the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation that could set and enforce standards for both district and charter schools. The new agency would consist of nine members appointed by the mayor: three IPS board members, three charter leaders, and three at-large members, all of whom would have to live within IPS boundaries.

The new corporation would have the power to impose property taxes for both charter and IPS schools. It would also manage the district’s buildings and transportation services through its own staff, establish a framework for school accountability, and manage a unified enrollment system.

If state lawmakers agree to turn the ILEA’s recommendations into law, the vote would mark a monumental shift in the city’s educational landscape. It would represent a significant loss of power for IPS and a qualified victory for charter supporters, after years of rising conflict between the two sectors. The GOP-run state legislature has become increasingly skeptical of IPS while passing legislation favorable to charters when it comes to issues like property taxes.

In addition, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance voted to restrict the number of charter school authorizers to the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, the Indiana Charter School Board, and the IPS school board, which this week said it will seek to become a charter authorizer. The recommendations also require all schools to offer transportation to students living within the IPS boundary, and exempt IPS buildings from a state law that requires districts to make unused buildings available to charter schools for the sale or lease price of $1.

Under the recommendations, school boards would retain the power to set certain policies, hire leaders — including the superintendent — and approve budgets and contracts. The recommendations, which will be in a final report, were outlined to the public in a presentation.

ILEA member Tina Ahlgren, an IPS parent and teacher, was the sole no vote.

The ILEA’s recommendations come amid struggles by both IPS and charters to address structural challenges.

The district has been losing students for years. IPS also has significant long-term financial problems as well as underutilized buildings. Charters, meanwhile, have struggled to acquire buildings and provide transportation services as their enrollments have grown, and roughly 1 in 3 Indianapolis charters closed from 2001 to 2023.

The ILEA’s recommendation to reduce the power of the IPS board matches the desire among many charter supporters for less power to rest with the elected school board.

But supporters of traditional IPS schools have not only opposed efforts to diminish the elected school board; they’ve also pushed for the board to exercise power over charters as well as district-run schools. They’ve criticized the growth of charters, calling for more accountability in that sector, and said that the elected school board should serve as the only charter authorizer.

In a statement before the vote, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson — who is an ILEA member and voted yes — said she championed many of the recommendations.

But not all the details of what the ILEA has recommended are clear yet, she noted. She urged the public to keep pressure on state lawmakers to ensure any new authority is transparent and values community input.

“In my most pessimistic moments, I can assume that those details will be filled in ways that intentionally bring harm to families, staff and students in IPS,” Johnson said. “However, because the details aren’t filled in, I actually do — naively or not — hold some level of optimism.”

The Mind Trust, a nonprofit that’s supported many Indianapolis charter schools, celebrated the “bold, structural changes” in the ILEA recommendations.

“Separating the education of students from the management of real estate and transportation is a nationally unique innovation that The Mind Trust has long supported,” Brandon Brown, the group’s CEO, said in a statement Wednesday. “This approach will expand access to transportation for thousands of students, ensure that facility access is tied to school quality, and create a path to full funding parity by ensuring capital funds are available to charter schools that opt in.”

Some speakers say elected board should maintain power

Several people expressed hostility to the ILEA’s plans on Wednesday, and some didn’t wait until the task force’s meeting began to do so.

Roughly 60 people supportive of traditional IPS schools gathered outside of the City-County Building ahead of the vote to urge the ILEA to consider a Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America proposal that would expand the power of the elected IPS board. They also attacked how charter schools operate and the private interests that support them.

“We’re told, ‘This is for the kids,’ but if that was true, the money and political will behind privatization could have fully supported public schools serving mostly Black and brown students decades ago,” said Brianna Dines of the Central Indiana DSA.

In a public comment period at the meeting before the ILEA voted, many speakers chastised the task force for diluting the school board’s power. Pastor Clyde Posley Jr. said the ILEA’s process amounted to political overreach.

“To remove the voices of elected board officials and replace them with other overt or private agendas — which do not benefit our children in the short or long term, but only invite scavengers and investors to pillage off the plight of a broken school system — is not only wrong, it is vicious toward the well being of our children and their future,” Posley Jr. said.

Meanwhile, organizations that back charter schools celebrated the recommendations minutes after the vote.

“While the ILEA’s final plan differs somewhat from advocates’ ideas, parents celebrated the focus on stronger school accountability, a growing transportation system and a more unified and coherent approach to school facilities,” Stand for Children Indiana, a parent advocacy group that has pushed to expand certain charter models, said in a statement.

Universal ratings could guide school closure decisions

Under the recommendations, the new corporation would create an advisory board that would collaborate with charter authorizers and IPS to develop unified accountability standards. Those would be based on measures such as test scores and student discipline practices.

Both charter and district schools would need to commit to use the standards to make decisions about closing chronically low-performing schools — provided that struggling schools are given time to make improvements.

The task force also recommended that the legislature fund the full cost of educating students with disabilities. The ILEA noted that IPS spends millions more to educate students with disabilities than what the state provides.

It’s unclear whether the new authority would assume control of both IPS school buildings and those owned by charters.

The task force also noted that details on how exactly to collect and distribute property taxes would need to be ironed out with fiscal experts at the statehouse. Other topics, the group noted, also require further legal review.

Ahlgren highlighted the lack of details in the recommendations as a key reason why she could not support them.

“I find these recommendations falling into this bizarre zone of simultaneously feeling both too much and not enough, bold in some areas, but overly timid in others, with vague promises that the ecosystem will sort itself out,” she said. “I’ve done enough policy work … to understand the dangers of leaving important elements up to chance — or worse, a legislature which historically has not aligned with the values of this community.”

Before his vote of support, ILEA member Andrew Neal acknowledged to the crowd that “this is an imperfect plan.” But he said he was proud the group recommended mandating transportation, and called on the legislature to adequately fund students with disabilities.

Lawmakers will return to the statehouse on Jan. 5 to resume the legislative session.

This story has been updated to include additional details about the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s recommendations and comments from officials and members of the public.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

As the ILEA mulls changing how Indianapolis schools are run, here are 5 key unanswered questions

2025-12-11T00:25:43+00:00

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A state-mandated task force is one step away from proposing major changes to who oversees public schools in Indianapolis. But even at this late stage, significant questions remain.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is weighing two options that would leave the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board in place but significantly weaken its power. The task force is mulling two possibilities. One model would create a “collaborative compact advisory board” that would oversee both traditional public schools and charter schools. The other would establish a separate authority and create a new position for Indianapolis schools: a secretary of education.

Such a loss of power by the elected IPS board could have profound effects on the city’s schools and change their relationships with students, families, state officials, and others. But beyond that, it’s not clear how much detail for each option the ILEA will include in its final recommendations.

It’s also uncertain whether state lawmakers will adopt the ILEA’s recommendations, or whether they will flesh out the task force’s proposals through new laws or other means.

The ILEA is also weighing recommendations to change how transportation and buildings are managed. One model would create a collaborative advisory board in which schools would voluntarily work together and pay for services. The other would create an independent authority that would manage and possibly dictate services to schools.

The task force is considering both models for each of the two issues; it could recommend a collaborative board for transportation but an independent authority for buildings, for example.

The ILEA will vote to adopt final recommendations on Dec. 17.

Here are a few major unanswered questions that the alliance could address in its final recommendations — and what we know right now.

Who exactly would be in charge of schools?

The proposed collaborative compact advisory board would be made up of an unknown number of appointees from IPS, the mayor’s office, and charter schools. But how those appointees would be chosen is unclear.

Then there’s the other option, which would create the Indianapolis Education Authority. In an initial draft, that authority would have a nine-member board appointed by the mayor. The mayor would have to appoint four of the nine members from the elected IPS board.

But the draft advanced by the ILEA last week removed the requirement to have four IPS board members on the Indianapolis Education Authority, and didn’t specify who would appoint the authority’s members.

It’s also unclear how much either of those options would overlap with the ILEA’s separate recommendations for transportation and buildings.

How much power would these new authorities have?

In both governance models, the IPS board and charter school boards would still exist and report up to a new authority.

But how much power the new authority would have is unclear. It could have the power to impose and collect property taxes and authorize new charter schools. It could also set policies for all schools to ensure charter and IPS schools are held to the same standards — such as guidelines for students with disabilities or discipline.

In theory, the IPS school board and individual charter school boards could still be in charge of day-to-day school operations, including hiring and firing school leaders and superintendents or approving yearly budgets — the most important functions elected boards have.

Collaborative advisory boards for transportation and facilities could allow participating schools to agree on decisions such as transportation zones or opening or closing schools. In contrast, independent transportation or facility authorities that receive property tax dollars directly could dictate some of these decisions to the schools.

Would all students have school transportation?

It’s unclear whether all students would receive transportation to school under the ILEA’s recommendations.

There seems to be some consensus among ILEA members that to bus all students to any school they want to attend — regardless of distance — would be too costly.

But the larger unanswered question is whether all schools would be required to offer transportation to students living within a certain distance of the school.

About half of the 25 charter schools in the IPS Innovation Network use the district’s bus services. Less than half of the 29 independent charter schools provide bus service, according to a September report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, which authorizes charters.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who has objected to stripping the district of its authority over transportation, said at an ILEA meeting last month that schools should be required to participate in a transportation service. She said this would address the problem that the alliance is trying to solve, which is how to ensure every school offers transportation.

If schools decline to do so, she said, then they should not receive property tax dollars earmarked for transportation.

Four other ILEA members have told Chalkbeat they would support a requirement for schools to offer transportation: Tina Ahlgren, Barato Britt, Andrew Neal, and Angela Smith-Jones.

But former mayor Bart Peterson, who’s also an ILEA member, said there would need to be limits on how far students could live from their school and still receive transportation.

Will new charter schools be allowed to open?

It’s unclear whether the ILEA will address the issue of opening new schools.

In the proposals, there’s no mention of stopping new public schools from opening in Indianapolis. But in an ILEA meeting last month, Ahlgren and Smith-Jones voiced support for a moratorium on new schools.

“We have to have a pause, because you cannot continue to have just a rolling wheel of change,” Smith-Jones said last month. “To me that feels unstable.”

In practice, such a moratorium would likely disproportionately impact charters, which have grown in number in recent years as the number of IPS-run schools have shrunk, although roughly one-third of charters have closed since 2001.

In a related matter, IPS supporters are also calling for just one charter authorizer instead of the three currently overseeing schools in Indianapolis. Charter school leaders and advocates have opposed limiting the number of authorizers and any moratorium on new schools.

Would charter schools need to give up their buildings?

Few charter schools own vehicles that transport students. But over 20 charter schools own their buildings and a little over a dozen leased them in the 2023-24 school year, according to a report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. Those arrangements include millions in remaining financial obligations.

It’s unclear whether the alliance will recommend that charter schools give up authority over those assets.

“How are property rights exercised by an independent authority over buildings that are owned in lots of different ways by lots of different entities?” Peterson said at the ILEA’s meeting in November.

It’s also unclear whether the ILEA will recommend the state repeal a law that allows charter schools to buy unused school buildings from IPS for $1 under certain conditions. The law has sparked conflict between IPS and charters for years.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s when the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance will meet next

2025-11-26T17:38:55+00:00

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The Indianapolis Education Alliance will meet Dec. 3 to narrow down possible recommendations for changing who oversees schools and how school buildings and buses are managed.

The meeting is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the public assembly room of the City County Building, said Shaina Cavazos, director of the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

ILEA members acknowledged at their last meeting that in order to recommend changes to building and transportation management — the main task assigned to them by state lawmakers — they need to address school oversight. The group heard four options for doing so, including ones that would drastically limit the power of the elected board for Indianapolis Public Schools.

On Dec. 3, the ILEA is expected to go over the options for how to change the management of facilities, transportation, and school oversight, and narrow them down. The alliance could decide to not pick one of the presented options, and instead combine elements to create a new option, or choose something entirely different, ILEA consultant Michael O’Connor previously told Chalkbeat.

A majority of alliance members told Chalkbeat that they don’t yet have a preferred option for how to change school oversight. However, multiple members said they are considering appointed board members for schools, as well as reducing the number of charter authorizers. Other members, however, support elected school boards.

After the meeting, the ILEA will host public input sessions on the transportation, facilities, and governance models that the group likes best, before voting on its final recommendations to city and state leaders on Dec. 17.

The time and location of that meeting has not yet been announced.

Give the ILEA your feedback on the options for governance, transportation, and facilities from the November meeting here. You can also send general feedback to the ILEA by emailing ILEA@indy.gov.

Chalkbeat reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Voters in 5 of 6 Indiana communities, including Avon, approve school referendums

2025-11-05T21:30:10+00:00

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Volunteers and district leaders wearing school colors stood outside the Avon United Methodist Church, a popular polling place in the Hendricks County town, handing out information about the only item on Tuesday’s ballot: a referendum for Avon Community Schools to pay for maintaining smaller class sizes, extracurriculars, and competitive teacher pay.

Nearby, members of the Avon High School orchestra played Christmas carols, and a steady stream of people arrived to cast their vote.

One hundred and seventy-three jobs, mostly teachers, were on the line. The vote was six months earlier than planned, due to changes made at the statehouse. And Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith went to Avon less than two weeks earlier to showcase his opposition to school referendums.

Avon Community Schools was one of six school districts with a referendum vote on Tuesday, an election watched by many as a test case for future school property tax measures due to multiple changes by lawmakers.

Unofficial results showed five districts – Avon, Cannelton City Schools, Duneland Schools, Hanover Schools, and Lake Central Schools – passed their referendums, all renewals of previous ones. Northwest Allen Community Schools, the only district with a new referendum, did not.

“We don’t take that support lightly and I’m excited to see all the many ways our students and educators will thrive in the coming years thanks to our community’s support,” Avon superintendent Scott Wyndham wrote in his victory message.

State law allows school districts to seek this additional revenue as a supplement to the local property tax dollars they receive, as well as state and federal funding. Referendums can be for construction, safety, or operating expenses. All six this year were operating referendums meaning they were to fund salaries and programming.

Members of the Avon High School orchestra perform for voters on Tuesday. The school district referendum was the only item on the ballot.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed measures to lower property taxes, which many expect to lower operating revenue for schools, increase how much of that funding some districts must share with charter schools, and restrict referendums to only general statewide elections, rather than during any primary or general election. This year was an exception for school boards that passed a resolution before June 30 to place a referendum on the November ballot.

“Indiana is now a referendum state and it’s only going to become more and more the case,” Wyndham said, adding that school leaders and educators are there to teach kids and provide the best schools possible. “Yet Indiana has put us in a situation where for the last three months we’ve been running a campaign.”

School referendum campaigns are ‘full-time job’

In Avon, the referendum was a renewal of the 2018 referendum, but at a lower rate, and campaign volunteers aimed to share what was at stake with the community.

One example was the orchestra playing outside the polls. Before the 2018 referendum, elementary schools shared teachers for “specials” like art, gym, and music. After the referendum, each school has a dedicated teacher for those classes, and the music program has grown. Avon now has the largest orchestra program in the state with over 1,000 students in grades six to 12 participating, per the district.

While referendum support was generally positive, Avon school leaders said misinformation also caused challenges.

Sarah Parent, an Avon school board member, said the district’s political action committee put in a lot of time and effort, equating it to a full-time job. “And many of us already have full-time jobs.”

Parent, who has three children in the district, added that she thinks referendums are divisive and wants to see more school funding from the state legislature so that schools don’t have to do them, eliminating ”one extra thing that’s dividing the community right now.”

Both Parent and Wyndham encouraged people in Avon to stay involved with the schools and do their research, especially if they have questions about the district or voted against the referendum.

“Win or lose,” Parent said, “there are a lot of big decisions to be made.”

Indiana school referendum election results

Below are unofficial results for the November 2025 Indiana school referendums:

Avon Community School Corporation, Hendricks County: Passed. 64.58% voted yes.
Cannelton City School Corporation, Perry County: Passed. 71.5% voted yes.
Duneland School Corporation, Porter County: Passed. 61.9% voted yes.
Hanover School Corporation, Lake County: Passed. 52.71% voted yes
Lake Central School Corporation, Lake County: Passed. 59.51% voted yes.
Northwest Allen Community Schools, Allen County: Failed. 53.99% voted no.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this story.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how many students were held back thanks to Indiana’s retention law

2025-11-05T18:34:31+00:00

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Roughly 3,000 Hoosier students are repeating third grade this school year, due to the state’s retention law.

This is the first school year students were held back under the 2024 law that mandates retention for students who don’t pass the state’s reading test, the IREAD-3.

The law sought to address the growing number of students who were promoted to fourth grade without passing the test, which is an indicator of the early literacy skills tied to success in later grades. It has exemptions for certain students such as those with disabilities or those who are learning English, and gives students multiple chances to pass the test, including twice in the summer after third grade.

The state’s department of education presented data on IREAD pass rates and retention to the State Board of Education on Wednesday, revealing the total number of students who were held back for the first time.

“We will be watching those students very closely,” State Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said of the students held back, “to ensure they are readers following this year.”

Statewide, over 84,000 students were tested, and 10,663 didn’t pass the IREAD by the end of third grade. Of those, 6,950 received a good cause exemption to go to fourth grade anyway, 3,040 were held back, and roughly 673 students either left the state or are now homeschooled, per the state’s presentation.

A state dashboard with this data for traditional public schools, charter schools, and private schools is available online.

The number of students held back is lower than estimates during the 2023 legislative session, which said more than 7,000 students could be retained in third grade due to the law, Jenner pointed out to the board. She previously said that she didn’t believe many students would be held back.

The smaller-than-first-estimated retention numbers also follow an increase in IREAD scores last school year where 87.3% of students passed the test, an improvement of 5 percentage points from the previous year.

Anna Shults, chief academic officer for the department of education, credited the impact of statewide literacy efforts and policies to support reading, such as giving students multiple chances to pass IREAD, summer school, and more. She also noted that literacy is a key part of the state’s proposed accountability model for schools.

“We are now ensuring that students that are promoted onto grade four are doing so with an ability to read and show mastery of key foundational reading skills,” Shults said.

Students who didn’t pass IREAD can still go to fourth grade

The state has multiple ways for a student who didn’t pass IREAD to qualify for a “good cause exemption” and be deemed that it’s in their best interest to go to fourth grade.

Those are if a student is in special education, if they are an English learner with less than two years of services, if they were previously held back in third grade or more than once before that, and if they are proficient or above in math on the ILEARN.

Schools have the laws and policies to hold students back, but the exemptions allow conversations on the local level about individual students, Shults said.

This school year, of the students who went to fourth grade with an exemption, nearly 75% were students in special education and nearly 24% were English learners. The remaining roughly 1% were either proficient in math or previously held back.

Indiana will continue literacy support going forward

For students who don’t pass the IREAD, Shults said the state’s focus will be on interventions for those students and what is happening day-to-day for them in school.

And she said the state will continue to make sure educators have what they need to improve literacy rates overall by looking at schools’ reading plans and providing teacher training, literacy resources, testing checkpoints, and supports like tutoring and summer programs.

The state board also heard a report on summer learning labs from Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. This summer was the fifth year for the program that does English and math education, and it served roughly 12,000 students in 144 locations across the state.

Students take an assessment at the beginning and the end of the five-week program, and Brown said data showed gains across the board for all students.

He added that research also showed gains on state tests following the summer program, and the largest gains were for students who also did tutoring through Indiana Learns in addition to the summer learning labs.

Next, he said, the Mind Trust is looking at ways to replicate the program during other breaks from school in the fall, winter, and spring.

Update: This story was updated on Nov. 6 to include a link to the state dashboard.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this story.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana is a step closer to a new grading system for schools. Here’s the latest draft.

2025-10-15T18:30:19+00:00

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State education leaders want to measure schools by what students achieve, not punish schools for what students don’t. And they want to grade schools on more than test scores.

A second draft of an accountability system for Indiana schools was presented to the State Board of Education by Indiana Department of Education officials on Wednesday. The board has until the end of 2025 to approve the new framework, per state law, and is expected to vote on a new framework at its Dec. 10 meeting. Schools would receive grades no later than December 2026.

The proposed grading system assigns points to students based on their academic mastery, measured through test scores, and gives them additional points for other knowledge, skills, and experiences that state education leaders say students need for future success. That includes earning workforce credentials and skills like work ethic and communication and collaboration.

Each student’s overall score is then averaged with other students for a school’s overall grade. Schools are not docked additional points for students who don’t pass tests or master specific skills. Schools receive a letter grade based on a scale of zero to 100 points, with 90 points and above graded as an A and 59 and below as an F.

The blend of academics and skills in the proposed accountability model is the biggest change from previous models, and one that board members and Indiana’s education chief defended during the meeting, saying there are some people who want Indiana to focus just on academic mastery.

“There are other things that matter as well, and this is representative of what we’re really driving towards,” said Katie Jenner, Indiana secretary of education.

She said the new model would prioritize academic mastery and skill development, and stressed that “academic mastery, assessment and accountability matter in Indiana, regardless of what the federal government does or does not do.”

“For people in our country who think that if we have all humans take a test and if they pass or not that determines their success, you are fooling yourself because there are leaders in seats all over our country who probably couldn’t pass the test,” Jenner said. “We have to see the full human picture.”

School grading framework focuses on individual students

Indiana schools have not been graded since 2018 due to changes in state testing and the pandemic. In 2022, Indiana created the Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard that includes a profile of each school, but not a single grade. But some families found it too complex. So officials also want the new accountability system to be transparent and easier for people to understand.

By assigning scores to each student first, the proposal incentivizes schools to work with individual students to increase their school grade, instead of focusing on increasing the average of one metric, said Ron Sandlin, chief innovation officer for the state education department, who presented the draft to the board on Wednesday.

That approach to maximizing outcomes for every individual student is a “fundamental shift,” he said.

Overall, the second draft of the accountability model is largely similar to the first draft officials presented to the state board in June. Students who are proficient in a subject on a state exam earn points, but so do students who are approaching proficient – just a lower amount.

However, it does include additional opportunities for students to earn points based on work that schools are already doing to help students who are not reaching milestones.

For example, a student who is deemed to not be where they should be academically in ninth grade, but is able to get back on track in 10th grade would earn points to reflect the work the student and school did. Points are also earned for students who are identified at risk for not passing IREAD as second graders, but pass the test in third grade.

The proposal awards points for the readiness seals in the new high school diplomas. But it also includes a way for students to earn points for the old high school diplomas, as schools transition students from one diploma format to the other.

State education board member Kristin Rentschler said she works with students on a daily basis as a social studies teacher, and while school accountability frameworks are not something students think about, this draft would shift the conversation that educators have with students.

Specifically, it would give hope to students who struggle with test taking because educators can say “that’s not the only thing you are being measured on kiddo,” Rentschler said.

Next up is a public comment period before the final draft in December. An online public comment period is now open through Nov. 17. A public hearing for feedback will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 17 in the history reference room at the Indiana State Library, 315 W. Ohio St. in Indianapolis.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance emphasizes collaboration, data collection, and student focus at first meeting

2025-06-26T01:26:00+00:00

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The first meeting of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance set the stage for the group’s work, emphasizing collaboration and maintaining focus on students and their experiences while also keeping historical context and accountability in mind.

“We are here tonight to begin a new chapter of collaboration for the future of education in the city of Indianapolis,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett, chair of the ILEA, at the beginning of the meeting.

The nine-member ILEA was created by state lawmakers earlier this year and could shape the future of charter and traditional public schools in Indianapolis. The group is tasked with examining solutions for facility and transportation management across Indianapolis Public Schools and the charter schools within its borders, as well as addressing school governance structure and efforts to increase efficiency.

The group includes Hogsett and IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson as well as their appointees and must provide a set of recommendations to IPS, city, and state leaders by the end of 2025.

The recommendations will be a “data driven and actionable plan” that will lead to a “more rational, more equitable, and more sustainable system of school facilities and transportation that benefits all students in Indianapolis,” Hogsett said.

He said the plan will be a roadmap for collaboration between schools and could include ideas such as co-locating, sharing services, and consolidating.

The ILEA will start its work with data collection and members made several requests for data during the meeting. The group could also issue a request for qualifications for an outside firm to help with that work in addition to those from IPS and the mayor’s office already working on data collection, Hogsett said, adding there would be more details about that process at the next meeting.

Johnson stressed the need to also look beyond the data to the historical context and the impact of policy decisions over decades.

“As we are collecting data and doing those things, I don’t want us to lose sight of what has happened over 50 years ago to bring us to this place today,” she said, adding that she also wants to keep in mind the collaboration that has happened.

Wednesday’s meeting included a presentation from Andrew Strope, IPS deputy superintendent, and Shaina Cavazos, director of the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, that gave an overview of the history and the policies shaping education in the city such as the creation of Unigov in 1970, which intentionally left school districts out while unifying city-county government and the 2001 state law allowing for charter schools.

After spending the summer collecting data, the plan is to dive into the data in the fall and then spend late fall working on and refining recommendations before they are proposed by the end of the year, Hogsett said.

The introductory ILEA meeting follows a tense legislative session where the group was created, as well as a proposal aimed to dissolve IPS and replace it with charters. That bill ultimately failed, and a successful plan to redirect some property tax revenue from IPS to charters was approved. Starting in 2028, charter schools, which have grown in enrollment as IPS enrollment has dipped, will receive a portion of property tax funding that has been for traditional public schools in the past.

Money from property taxes is used by traditional school districts for operations including transportation and building maintenance. Charter school advocates have argued that the lack of property tax funding contributes to their struggle to offer transportation to students who want to attend.

And charters are tasked with finding buildings to open in. The $1 law allows charters to buy or lease vacant school buildings for $1, but is often formally challenged when schools try to use it.

During the legislative session, IPS called for a moratorium on new schools in its boundaries, and lawmakers prohibited new charters from July to December of this year, except for those schools approved by the mayor’s office.

On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Charter School Board approved Legal Prep Charter Academy to open in 2026, meaning it would be the first new school to open in Indianapolis since the end of the legislative session.

At the ILEA meeting on Wednesday, a dozen people spoke during public comment, urging the ILEA to make sure all children in Indianapolis have good schools to attend, regardless of the type. Speakers also stressed that a lack of transportation can limit school choice, asked the group to look at school collaboration models that are working, and called for greater school accountability, largely for charter schools.

They told the group it had the opportunity to change the competitive school choice environment in Indianapolis and collaborate in a way that benefits all students.

“You all are going to be asked to make some impossible decisions that will likely upset a lot of people, so thank you all for taking on that burden,” said Arion Clanton, who said he’s worked as both a teacher and a coach.

Clanton told the ILEA that solutions need to be longstanding and not one-size-fits all. He also urged the group to keep in mind the kids and families affected by the systems it is addressing.

Additional public comments submitted online were shared with the ILEA members and will be posted online, Cavazos said.

The ILEA is exempt from the state’s Open Door Law, which requires public agencies to make meetings open to the public; however, it does plan to have multiple public meetings like Wednesday’s. State law requires the group to meet publicly to vote on the final recommendations.

The next public meeting of the ILEA is 6 p.m. July 23 at the City County Building at 200 E. Washington St. A calendar of meetings and agendas is on the ILEA website.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Schools prep students for summer IREAD test as tougher third grade retention law takes effect

2025-06-24T16:35:33+00:00

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All hands were on deck at the PATH School at Stephen Foster School 67 on Monday.

In Destiny Patterson’s room, students used context clues to find out the meaning of the word “pliable.” Down the hall, the definition of “adjective” was on the board as students deconstructed a reading passage.

It was two days before the students began their retake of the state’s third grade literacy exam known as IREAD, and this was the very end of the charter school’s IREAD boot camp. The goal is for students who just finished third and even second grade to pass the test.

The PATH School is one of 55 Indy Summer Learning Lab sites that have enrolled 5,300 Indianapolis students this summer. While the program, which is run by the Mind Trust, focuses on improving students’ math and English skills, they could now play a crucial role for students at risk of being held back based on their literacy skills.

This summer is a critical point for an unknown number of students: a final chance to pass the IREAD in order to avoid repeating third grade.

For many years, Indiana has had a policy on retaining students who do not pass the test — but few students were actually held back thanks to an allowable practice known as “social promotion.” In 2023, over 13,000 students statewide moved on to the fourth grade despite not passing the test, according to Indiana Department of Education data.

Amid concerns about the state’s literacy rates, lawmakers last year mandated retention in law, which makes it more likely that more students will be held back. Those changes take effect for the upcoming school year, though there are still a few exceptions for certain students.

Research suggests that reading by grade 3 is critical to a child’s future academic success.

Still, the retention requirement has garnered concerns from educators, and has reopened a longstanding debate on whether students should be held back.

In even more revisions to the retention law this year, lawmakers allowed students to retake the test twice rather than just once in the summer. The revised law also exempts schools from retaining students until 2027-28 if at least 50% of their third graders are English language learners.

PATH falls under that exemption. But that hasn’t stopped the school from prepping all students for the test. Both third and second grade students who did not pass during the second and third grade are enrolled in the Indy Summer Learning Lab.

“The first core belief of the PATH school is that all scholars can thrive when given the necessary supports to do so,” said Ann Shields, the school’s director of literacy. (PATH is part of the Innovation Network in Indianapolis Public Schools.)

IPS, meanwhile, has summer school sites targeting students who did not pass the IREAD in third grade.

And in Warren Township, the school district has one summer school site for third grade students who did not pass.

“We don’t want to try to communicate the retention piece as a punitive measure, even though it certainly feels that way from a parent’s point of view,” said Associate Superintendent Ryan Russell. “So we try to communicate how critical a student’s ability to be successful on this examination is to their educational outlook.”

Indiana reading retention law does include exemptions

The law’s impact on classrooms will be unclear until after the summer testing window ends Friday. Until then, schools across Indianapolis have been prepping for one final retake.

Schools and districts likely won’t know the total number of students held back until they get IREAD results back around the end of June. IREAD results are typically made public in August.

There are several elements of the law that in theory make it easier for students to avoid being held back.

Schools must give the IREAD test in second grade, and those who pass it are exempt from taking it in third grade. They’re also counted in the following year’s pass rate.

Districts must also offer summer school for third graders who did not pass the IREAD, and to second graders at risk of not passing it. This year, the state budgeted $17.4 million statewide for summer school, with priority given to programs focusing on IREAD.

Students who’ve been English learners for less than two years are exempt from being held back. Those who’ve already been held back or have an intellectual disability or an Individualized Education Program that specifies retention is inappropriate are also exempt. Other exemptions cover those who reached proficiency in math on the state ILEARN exam, and those who have been retained multiple times and have received intensive reading intervention for at least two years.

But educators are particularly concerned about the requirement’s impact on English language learners and have argued that it takes longer than two years to appropriately master English.

In IPS — where nearly one-third of students are English language learners — the district’s IREAD pass rates have dipped from 59.9% in 2021 to 59.8% last year. Since the pandemic, the district has annually promoted upwards of 289 students who did not pass the IREAD and did not receive an exemption to fourth grade, according to state data.

IPS did not respond to requests to visit a summer school site and speak to an official by deadline.

But in April, Chief Learning Officer Lela Simmons told the school board that the district was tracking students who did not pass IREAD to determine areas of improvement.

“This mandate for retention is life-changing for every one of those kids,” she said. “And so we are taking it with that level of seriousness.”

In Warren Township — where IREAD pass rates have increased from 62.7% in 2021 to nearly 82% last year — the district’s work to increase IREAD proficiency has made it “far less anxious” about the number of students facing retention, said Russell.

“But tell that to a family who falls in that category,” he said. “That’s high pressure, high anxiety.”

Summer school attendance can be challenging

In Warren Township, students at Eastridge Elementary rotate between classrooms focused on the three sections of the IREAD test: foundational skills, nonfiction, and literature.

The law requires such summer school programs to be staffed by teachers with training in the science of reading, which the state defines broadly as a body of scientifically based research on literacy instruction. The district has seen scores grow as much as 10% over the summer, according to Russell.

Third grade students in Warren Township who did not pass Indiana's IREAD exam work on summer school assignments at Eastridge Elementary.

After applying exemptions, Eastridge Elementary Principal Tomeka Johnson estimates retaining only two of the nine students who qualified for summer school this year.

One major challenge of summer school: convincing families to show up. Shorter summer school hours and summer travel can lower attendance.

Students who do show up are on a tight timeline, said Monica Shellhamer, a third grade teacher and second vice president of the Indianapolis Education Association who is teaching at one of the IPS summer school sites.

“We really only have three weeks to make a huge gain for some of our students, and a lot of that’s not realistic,” she said. “Some of them are pretty far off and don’t have an exemption and will be retained based on a multitude of factors.”

At PATH, though, the school has seen good engagement, said Shields. And for second graders, staff have pitched summer school as an opportunity to cross off the IREAD requirement.

“And then once they pass it,” she said, “we tell them they never have to see that test again.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Schools assess fallout after lawmakers snub prominent bills on student mental health

2025-06-20T11:00:00+00:00

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Emojis are an important part of morning check-ins for students at some Marion County schools.

After they pick a smiling, neutral, or sad face, they also write a few words to explain their choice. If they skipped breakfast or didn’t get a good night’s sleep, that signals to school staff that they may need a snack or a talk with a trusted adult.

Students in a southern Indiana district learn that not getting basic needs met can cause someone to “flip their lid,” and lose control of their behavior. But they also learn how to reset from that state, and come back fresh the next day.

These are examples of social-emotional learning programs in Indiana schools. Educators say they provide a common language for students, teachers, administrators, and parents to understand a student’s well-being, and in turn improve academic performance, attendance, and school culture.

“You can’t teach a child anything if they don’t feel safe and cared for,” said Tricia Hudson, director of K-8 curriculum at North Lawrence Community Schools.

But putting these programs in place and maintaining them in the current political climate is increasingly challenging for Indiana schools despite persistent needs: Indiana schools saw a 41% increase in bullying incidents from 2023 to 2024, according to the Indiana Youth Institute. And feelings of hopelessness remain higher among Hoosier girls than boys despite an overall decline in self-reported rates of depression.

Indiana legislators this year left several bills on the table that sought to address student mental health, bullying, and counselor shortages, and dropped some requirements related to social emotional learning in teacher training. In April, the Trump administration announced an end to federal grants that supported mental health professionals. And conservative state and national politicians and groups have criticized social-emotional learning as inappropriate in a school environment.

Uncertainty about state and local funding is also an ongoing concern, said Brandie Oliver, a professor in the graduate counseling program at Butler University, because it affects schools’ ability to offer proactive rather than reactive resources.

While most schools offer some mental health support, a much smaller portion effectively address the needs of all students, she said. Without that kind of help, growing anxiety and school refusal can affect students’ attendance and academics.

“The capacity to be able to adequately resource the needs of our students is just not there,” Oliver said. “We’re trying to triage what we see rather than get to the root causes.”

Lawmakers don’t pass bills on bullying, school counselors

The legislative session was “devastating” for student mental health initiatives, said Rachel Van Alstine, a parent and advocate for anti-bullying legislation.

Three bills about the issue championed by her group, the Parent Coalition for Child Safety and Wellness, failed to advance this year. One of them would have changed the definition of bullying to include isolated incidents, and also would have required more tracking and reporting of bullying.

Another bill would have compelled parents and the state Department of Child Services to address bullying behavior by seeking resources for the perpetrator, and the the final bill would have specified that officials must assume students’ mental health is endangered if they learn that their parent or guardian uses illegal substances.

Van Alstine said her group was told by legislators that these initiatives were scrapped due to a tight state budget. But addressing bullying early could save the state money it spends on mental health issues, she said.

“We have the money — but where are we choosing to put it?” Van Alstine said.

Other bills that failed this year would have created ways for victims or perpetrators of bullying to transfer schools.

Proposals that sought to increase the time that counselors can spend with students, or relieve them of other non-counseling duties, also failed to pass despite years of advocacy from counseling groups. Indiana already has much higher ratios of students to counselors than recommended.

When those counselors spend their time overseeing testing or making attendance calls, they’re not able to “help a student change their behavior, or find a reason to wake up and be there,” said Jan Desmarais-Morse, executive director of the Indiana School Counselor Association.

“They may struggle emotionally, have discipline issues, or not meet their full potential because of all the other things getting in their way,” Desmarais-Morse said. “That’s our job, to help remove barriers.”

Indiana lawmakers again tried to allow chaplains to serve as public school counselors, but the bill failed.

One of the few proposals related to mental health that passed the state legislature focuses on how quickly schools must report bullying to parents. The new rule going into effect July 1 says schools must make a “reasonable attempt” to notify parents that the school is investigating a bullying incident “before the end of the next school day after the school becomes aware of the possible incident.”

The school must also report the conclusion of the investigation to parents before the end of the next school day. Current law gives schools five days to report a bullying incident to parents and does not address investigations.

Lawmakers also increased the Secured School Safety Grant Program by $2.6 million in each of the next two years. The program can fund mental health programs, along with school resource officers and other safety initiatives.

In a last-minute move, Republican legislators removed teacher training requirements related to social-emotional learning, cultural competency, and restorative justice, arguing that they were not relevant to schools’ core purpose.

“Teachers should focus on academic rigor, math, science, reading, and writing, technical skills, instead of this emotional regulation, empathy, and etcetera,” said Republican Sen. Gary Byrne.

But the move drew significant pushback — even in one instance from a fellow conservative legislator, Sen. Ron Alting, who said that “the best counseling I’ve had in my whole life was from my teachers and my coaches.”

Schools help students understand their emotional status

Despite the hostile political environment, some schools are proceeding with mental health programs, often through community partnerships, although these are easier to form in urban districts than rural ones, Desmarais-Morse noted.

Districts may also turn to discretionary grants, but these don’t offer the same reliable funding for counselors and mental health initiatives as consistent state aid.

Offering these services in schools removes transportation, scheduling, and access barriers for families, said Oliver, the Butler professor, and students are more likely to complete a series of counseling sessions.

But on the flip side, fully implementing these programs can take years — much longer than the life of a typical grant.

North Lawrence Community Schools in Bedford, Indiana was among five districts to receive funding and support from Butler University to sustain in-school social emotional and mental health programs. Providing mental health services in every school was a promise the district made to the community made in 2020 when it underwent school consolidation, said Hudson, the curriculum director.

The district tries to funnel grant funding into support for several longstanding programs: The district has since 2018 trained all staff — certified and not — in Trust-Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI, a framework to address student behavior. TBRI provides a common language for educators and students to understand their emotional state, said Megan Shipley, the district’s school health coordinator.

Teachers also practice the principles of TBRI, like recognizing when they’re “flipping their lids,” a term for becoming overwhelmed.

The district also uses grant funding to place specialists in schools from Centerstone, a community mental health system. These specialists can help identify students who need more comprehensive interventions, and offer it at school.

But now the district may need to seek alternative funding sources to sustain a family engagement specialist position. It’s currently funded by the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but the grants associated with that law were recently discontinued by the Trump administration.

“Our job is to make such a strong case that these roles are essential that you can’t say, ‘oh we’ll be fine without that,’” said Hudson.

In Indianapolis, 13 schools use the Building Dreams platform from the Fight for Life Foundation, which allows educators and parents to communicate about student behavior, both positive and negative. The program has been provided for free to some schools via fundraising and grants. But at least one of those schools will need to find new funding to sustain the program beginning next year.

The system allows students to report both their own mood — via the morning check-ins — as well as concerns or conflicts with peers that trigger a series of interventions from school personnel, said Fight for Life founder Marlin Jackson.

“We want to create an environment where students feel, ‘they’re paying attention to me. They support me. I feel understood so I want to be here,’” said Jackson, a former Indianapolis Colts player.

At a recent panel discussion about Building Dreams, educators observed that regular check-ins had reduced negative behavior and helped students learn to articulate and cope with their feelings.

“It gives you a chance to express your emotions,” said Joshua Lopez-Martinez, a fifth grade student recognized at the panel for his consistent use of the platform. This in turn builds trust with teachers, he added: “Everyone should be able to do that.”

The practice of giving their classmates compliments made students kinder and more self-aware over the course of the year, said Daria Parham, executive director of schools at IPS who used to be the principal of Frederick Douglass School 19, which uses Building Dreams.

“It creates a sense of belonging, and that sets the tone for learning,” Parham said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools announces public meetings to collect input on legislative session

2025-05-27T15:52:18+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools will host a series of “community conversations” to hear feedback about the state’s recent legislative session in which lawmakers created the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.

The district said in a press release on Friday that the meetings will collect insight that will inform how the district will engage with the ILEA, which will offer recommendations for lawmakers on how the district and charter schools can share transportation and facility resources. The meetings are open to families, IPS staff, and other community members.

The session, in which legislators also redirected some property tax revenue from the district to charter schools, helped create unprecedented acrimony between supporters of IPS and charter backers.

The time and location of the meetings are as follows:

6-8 p.m. on June 3 at Lew Wallace School 107.
6-8 p.m. on June 5 at James Whitcomb Riley School 43.
6-8 p.m. on June 11 at James Russell Lowell School 51.
6-8 p.m. on June 17 at William McKinley School 39.

IPS school board members will host each conversation, and the district will also give a presentation on the history of IPS and the ILEA, the district said in the release. Attendees will also break out into smaller group discussions.

The public can register to attend these meetings at www.myips.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members announced by mayor and IPS

2025-05-23T21:09:32+00:00

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Mayor Joe Hogsett along with the Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and the IPS school board announced the members of the new Indianapolis Local Education Alliance on Friday.

The nine-member board, led by Hogsett, was created by lawmakers in this year’s legislative session and is tasked with examining the potential for IPS and charters to share buses and buildings as well as other “topics such as governance structure and increasing efficiency.”

“The goal of the alliance is to deepen collaboration across traditional public and public charter schools and support a strong academic experience for all students,” per the announcement from Hogsett’s office.

The creation of the board occurred during a legislative session that also included a proposal to dissolve IPS and replace it with charters that ultimately failed, and a successful plan to redirect some property tax revenue from IPS to charters.

According to the announcement, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members — in addition to Hogsett and Johnson — are:

Bart Peterson, former mayor; former CEO of Christel House International; former senior vice president of corporate affairs and communication for Eli Lilly and Company (mayoral appointee).
Maggie Lewis, majority leader of Indianapolis City-County Council; CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis (mayoral appointee).
Angela Smith-Jones, associate vice president for state relations, Indiana University; former deputy mayor of economic development; former general counsel for the Indy Chamber (mayoral appointee).
Tobin McClamroch, managing partner, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum; chair of the Marian University Board of Trustees, (mayoral appointee).
Barato Britt, President/CEO, Edna Martin Christian Center (IPS Board President appointee).
Tina Ahlgren, teacher, H.L. Harshman Middle School; Hoosier Educator of the Year, 2024; IPS Teacher of the Year, 2014 (IPS district-managed school parent appointee).
Andrew Neal, CEO, Outreach Indiana; former Chief Operating Officer, Brookside Community Development Corporation (IPS innovation school parent appointee).

The group is not subject to the state’s open meetings law.

Hogsett called the members “accomplished civic leaders” and said he’s confident the group “will create a plan that ensures a stable, sustainable and collaborative path forward for our schools.”

Johnson added that the ILEA is an “opportunity to hear the diverse perspectives” of Indianapolis leaders as they create recommendations about the future of the city’s schools.

“We remain committed to advocating for our families, students, and staff throughout the course of our engagement with the ILEA,” she said in the release.

The organization is required to meet for the first time before July 1 and details about the meetings will be shared “in the coming weeks,” per the mayor’s office.

The announcement also noted that “opportunities for public comment and community input will be made available.”

The ILEA must submit recommendations to the state education secretary and legislators for consideration by the end of the year. The Friday announcement also noted that the group will report back to the city and district.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS opens nominations for Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, launches transportation survey

2025-05-05T17:02:11+00:00

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Indiana’s controversial property tax changes will not affect Indianapolis Public Schools operations in 2025-26 — but in later years, they’ll mean “giant cuts” to the district’s budget and require “gut-wrenching” decisions, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said Friday.

The district is also accepting nominations for people who wish to serve on a new state-mandated group that will examine resource-sharing between IPS and charter schools.

Senate Bill 1, which state lawmakers passed last month, not only reduces the amount IPS will receive in property tax revenue beginning in 2026, but also requires the district to share that revenue with charters in 2028.

Lawmakers also created a new Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which will examine the sharing of transportation and building resources between the district and the roughly 50 brick-and-mortar K-12 charter schools within its borders.

IPS will bring in roughly $5 million less in property taxes in 2026 than it would have under previous property tax law; roughly $4 million less in 2027; and roughly $5 million less in 2028, according to the latest fiscal analysis for SB 1. The district previously estimated that SB 1 would make IPS lose as much as $96.8 million from 2026 to 2032.

Johnson said SB 1 creates a “win-lose framework” that incentivizes competition between schools over an even smaller pot of funds.

“Our community worked tirelessly to stop this bill because we know there’s no way we can move forward with such giant cuts to our budget without gut-wrenching decisions at IPS,” she said.

“We will vigorously pursue savings and cost reduction opportunities,” Johnson added. “But we will do so while keeping stability for students and families at the forefront.”

Johnson also announced that nominations are open for the three ILEA members who are to be appointed by the superintendent and school board President Angelia Moore. The superintendent’s appointees must be one parent of a traditional IPS school and one parent of a charter school in the district’s autonomous Innovation Network. The board president’s appointee must live in district boundaries.

Johnson or her representative will also serve on the alliance.

The district is also launching an online transportation survey to help inform the ILEA’s members on recommendations for improving school transportation, Johnson said.

“While I’m deeply concerned about the scale of changes ahead, we will strive to continue to engage our community deeply,” Johnson said.

IPS will host a series of town halls to provide the public with a detailed analysis on the impact of the recently passed state laws. IPS plans to organize the town halls before the ILEA’s first meeting in June, Johnson said.

“IPS is more than 150 years old,” Johnson said. “We’ve been here a long time as the pillar of this community, and we are going to be here a long time to come.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

New group on sharing Indianapolis school buildings and buses gets exemption from open meetings law

2025-04-25T17:32:50+00:00

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Lawmakers on Thursday finalized the creation of a group that will examine the potential for Indianapolis Public Schools and charters to share buses and buildings — but the body won’t have to meet publicly before it votes.

The nine-member Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which must hold its first meeting by July, will be led by Mayor Joe Hogsett. It is tasked with conducting assessments of school buildings and developing a long-term plan for both IPS and charters to share building and transportation assets.

That set of recommendations must be submitted to the state education secretary and legislators for consideration by the end of the year. It could include suggestions on school consolidation, a governance structure for a “collaborative school system,” and planning for future referendums.

The group will consist of the IPS superintendent or her representative; the mayor or his representative; one member appointed by the school board president; four members appointed by the mayor; one parent of a traditional IPS school appointed by the superintendent; and one parent of a charter school student in the district’s autonomous Innovation Network of schools appointed by the superintendent.

The proposal to establish the group moved from bill to bill throughout the session, including during the final days. The provision that its pre-vote meetings aren’t covered by the state’s Open Door Law was a last-minute addition by legislators.

The final language that passed both chambers clarifies that the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is not subject to state law that requires public agencies to properly notice the time and location of upcoming meetings, which must be open to the public. However, the law does require that the group meet publicly to vote on the final facilities and transportation plan.

The Legislative Services Agency noted that the group is likely considered an advisory one that is not subject to the law. The language exempting certain meetings of the group from being open to the public was added to clarify that exemption and was inserted at the mayor’s request, said Rep. Bob Behning, a Republican and the chair of the House education committee, on Thursday.

A city spokesperson said in a statement that the city and IPS are aligned on creating a transparent structure to carry out the group’s work.

“As the Alliance conducts this work, there will be opportunities for community input and public meetings,” the spokesperson said.

The finalization of the group came hours after an IPS school board meeting at which parents and community members expressed concern about the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance — although some public commenters spoke in favor of it.

“This alliance doesn’t give me hope and transparency. I believe it will move power away from local communities and closer to state-appointed authorities,” IPS parent Ashley Salazar said at the board meeting Thursday night. “From where I stand, this does not look like innovation or collaboration. It looks like a slow, quiet path towards privatization.”

This story has been updated to include comment from the mayor’s office.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school districts move to e-learning on Monday as staff protest potential school cuts

2025-04-14T01:34:20+00:00

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Several Indiana schools, including Indianapolis Public Schools, announced closed buildings or an online learning day on Monday, a day of action for the state teachers union that will feature heavy pushback against a proposed property tax reform bill slashing funding for public schools.

The announcements from the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township and the Monroe County Community School Corporation on Friday come in the waning days of a legislative session that could carry a huge financial hit for school districts. The Senate Bill 1 property tax relief bill would decrease a significant revenue source for school districts, which would also have to share property tax revenues with charter schools.

The combined effects of both changes would cost school districts roughly $744 million over the next three years.

The Union School Corporation — which would also be dissolved under the same tax reform bill — also announced on Friday that it would cancel school on Monday and offered buses for students, staff, and parents to ride to the statehouse.

And on Sunday evening, Indianapolis Public Schools announced an asynchronous learning day on Monday, after the district insisted that it would not shift classes, in part because of the hardship it could create for families.

“We recognize that many staff members will be attending a Day of Action at the Indiana Statehouse on Monday, April 14, and we support the advocacy of our staff members, along with the advocacy demonstrated by so many of our families,” the district said in a statement Sunday night. “Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to identify enough staff coverage to feel confident in our ability to safely operate schools on Monday, April 14, while staff members are out.”

Because IPS has already used up its allowed asynchronous days for the school year, the district will add an additional in-person day to its school calendar. The last day of school for students will be May 23, and the last day for staff will be May 27, the district said.

“If your student attends an IPS Innovation school, please check with your student’s individual school for details regarding this issue,” the district said in its statement.

In a memo to families on Friday, the Union School Corporation also said it would make up the day off with an e-learning day on April 18.

“While MCCSC acknowledges the disruption this may cause for families, the urgency to advocate for public school funding has never been greater,” the Monroe County school corporation, which is estimated to lose roughly $17 million by 2028 under the latest version of the bill, said in a statement. “Tens of millions of dollars are at stake with proposed legislation, including Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 518. If passed, this legislation could have devastating consequences for public education across Indiana.”

The district said that administrators, teachers, and staff would attend the day of action.

In Pike Township, the district said there were 184 planned teacher absences on Monday, but did not indicate whether those were due to the union’s day of action. (The district had just over 700 teachers in 2023-24).

The district said in a statement that after-school tutoring would be canceled, but that the e-learning day would not impact other after-school activities.

This story has been updated to include statements from IPS and the Union School Corporation.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana senators leave universal private school vouchers out of budget bill over cost concerns

2025-04-10T22:36:27+00:00

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Republican senators’ state budget bill would not change the state’s private school voucher program to make it universal, despite support for the idea from Gov. Mike Braun and other lawmakers.

The budget blueprint unveiled by senators Thursday maintains a 2% increase in K-12 tuition support as proposed by the House. And it would cut funding for virtual schools, a big departure from the blueprint proposed by House Republicans, who want to put virtual school funding on par with aid to in-person schools.

The Senate budget bill would also change funding levels from the House budget when it comes to career-focused scholarship accounts and for accounts focused on students with disabilities.

GOP senators indicated they aren’t opposed to universal vouchers but have worries about the cost. That could set up a high-profile debate among Republican state leaders. The House version of the budget includes universal vouchers. Braun campaigned on the idea last year and included them in his own budget blueprint in January. Several states, including Indiana, have dramatically expanded vouchers in the last few years.

The Senate’s proposed two-year state budget comes as districts brace for sweeping financial implications from separate legislation — Senate Bill 1 — that’s focused on property tax reform.

That property tax legislation, which was amended on Wednesday to include an even higher maximum tax credit of $300, is now estimated to cost school districts roughly $744 million over the next three years, according to the latest state legislative analysis.

Republicans are stressing that their plan provides relief for taxpayers. The Senate’s tax reform proposal provides homeowners tax deductions and credits, while allowing local governments to raise local income tax rates.

Speaker Todd Huston also said that property tax revenues have increased for schools year over year.

“They’ve had a few good years,” he said of schools before the House vote on Senate Bill 1, which the House passed Thursday. “We can ask them to do a little more with less to support our taxpayers.”

But Democrats expressed concern over both the state budget and the tax reform legislation, saying that the change shifts the burden to local governments to raise income taxes in order to account for the loss in revenue.

“It is a mirage,” Democratic Rep. Greg Porter told the media after the House advanced Senate Bill 1. “It hurts public education.”

Cost of universal vouchers concerns Indiana senators

Making vouchers available to all families regardless of income would cost the state an additional $89 million in 2026 and $95 million in 2027, according to previous estimates from the Legislative Services Agency.

The state spent about $439 million on vouchers in the 2023-24 school year.

“It’s not that we don’t want to do the vouchers,” GOP Sen. Ryan Mishler, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, told reporters. “It’s just, how do we pay for it?”

The Senate budget also suggests funding virtual schools at 70% of basic K-12 tuition support, below their current level of 85%. That’s very different from the House Republican proposal, which calls for funding virtual schools at the same level as brick-and-mortar schools.

Virtual schools have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, particularly through a federal indictment of former virtual school leaders accused of falsely inflating enrollment numbers and defrauding the state of millions of dollars.

“We just felt there are still some issues in the virtual space,” Mishler told reporters.

There are a few other items in the Senate’s budget that differ from the House budget.

The Senate is proposing $9.5 million for Career Scholarship Accounts, which offer career-based training for students, for each year of the two-year budget. The House is proposing $15 million for each year. Current funding for the accounts is $10 million this year.
The Senate’s budget bill provides $10 million each year for Education Savings Accounts, which fund educational services for students with disabilities. That’s the same as current funding. The House’s budget proposes $15 million.

The Senate budget bill does match the House budget proposal when it comes to funding for school safety grants ($27.1 million annually) and gifted and talented programming ($15 million).

It also includes the $86 million annual amount for the Freedom and Opportunity in Education fund, which would give the Indiana Department of Education flexibility to fund initiatives such as student learning recovery grants.

Districts expect to collect less in property taxes

The Senate’s proposed property tax reform would cut many school districts’ revenue significantly, with Indianapolis Public Schools set to take a relatively big hit.

The latest fiscal note for Senate Bill 1 projects IPS would bring in roughly $5 million less than it would have otherwise received in 2026, followed by roughly $4 million less in 2027 and another roughly $5 million cut in 2028.

These estimates account for the property taxes IPS also must give charter schools starting in 2028.

Below are the projected revenue cuts for other Marion County districts under Senate Bill 1.

Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township: $538,440 in 2026, $369,450 in 2027, and $484,640 in 2028.
Franklin Township Community School Corporation: $1.5 million in 2026, $869,120 in 2027, and $1.4 million in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township: $1.5 million in 2026, $341,140 in 2027, and $853,430 in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Perry Township: $3.1 million in 2026, $4 million in 2027, and $6.5 million in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Pike Township: $850,430 in 2026, $58,200 in 2027, and $132,460 in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Warren Township: $1.8 million in 2026, $1.9 million in 2027, and $2.8 million in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Washington Township: $3 million in 2026, $4.1 million in 2027, and $6.1 million in 2028.
Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township: $2.3 million in 2026, $3.3 million in 2027, and $5.9 million in 2028.
Beech Grove City School Corporation: $475,100 in 2026, $711,230 in 2027, and $1.3 million in 2028.
Speedway City School Corporation: $288,510 in 2026, $433,280 in 2027, and $584,300 in 2028.

The legislative session ends on April 29.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Proposed advisory group on IPS and charter schools sharing resources tweaked by lawmakers

2025-04-09T18:56:33+00:00

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Lawmakers have changed a proposal to establish an advisory group that would examine sharing transportation and building assets between Indianapolis Public Schools and charters.

The amended bill, advanced Wednesday by the House Education Committee in a 9-3 vote, would also halt the approval of new charter schools — except for those authorized by the mayor’s office — from July to December of this year.

The advisory group, which Senate Bill 373 calls the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, is the latest iteration of a proposal that initially would have required IPS to relinquish control over its buildings and transportation to appointed boards. But under the bill that advanced on Wednesday, the group will instead develop a plan for the collaborative use of transportation and facilities between IPS and charter schools within IPS boundaries. The group must complete such a plan by the end of this year.

If it’s established, the alliance could ultimately lead to a significant shift in resources away from IPS, where schools have closed recently due to under-enrollment, and towards charter schools that can struggle to access adequate facilities and transportation.

The latest version of the proposed group comes after input from IPS, which has advocated for a local alliance of IPS residents to shape the city’s future educational landscape. The initial makeup of the alliance proposed by GOP Rep. Bob Behning last month prompted criticism from IPS.

The bill also allows other school districts, charters, and private schools throughout the state to opt into a pilot transportation or facilities program. The programs, which would run from 2026 to 2029, would establish local transportation or facilities boards to oversee those assets and study the possibility of collaboration between districts and other schools. The boards would have the power to approve or deny local property tax levies, but they would not have the power to impose taxes, as initially proposed.

The proposal isn’t the only big change afoot for schools in the state capitol: Lawmakers are also considering legislation that would require IPS to share more property tax revenues with charter schools.

Under the amended Senate bill advanced Wednesday, the nine-member alliance would include:

The mayor or the mayor’s designee, who would serve as the alliance’s chair.
The superintendent or the superintendent’s designee.
One member appointed by the president of the IPS board who would not be a school board member.
Four members appointed by the mayor, one of whom would be a business representative.
One parent of a student in a charter school that’s in the district’s Innovation Network of autonomous schools. The parent would be appointed by the superintendent.
One parent of a student in a district-run school who would be appointed by the superintendent.

Under the legislation, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance would begin meeting by July and submit its recommendations to lawmakers and the state education secretary by December.

The district said in a Wednesday statement that it is encouraged by the revised bill, which IPS said would ensure “balanced representation” from the city’s educational landscape in the group.

“These revisions reflect important progress toward a more collaborative, community-responsive model for public education governance in Indianapolis,” the district said. “Any future proposals involving long-term transfers of authority, funding, or facilities must continue to center transparency, and the leadership of locally elected officials.”

The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis nonprofit that helps grow charter schools in the city, said in a statement that it also supports the amendment but would not support a long-term limit on charter authorizing in the future.

“This legislation paves the way for the creation of centralized approaches to facilities and transportation management that have the potential to expand access for students who attend both district and charter schools,” the group said.

The Indiana Charter Innovation Center, a new group launched last year that supports charters statewide, backed the pilot program.

“Historically, facility and transportation planning has often happened around charter schools—not with them,” said Scott Bess, the center’s president and CEO, in a statement. “This amendment corrects that by establishing local boards where charter leaders are equal partners in planning and oversight.”

The bill now moves to the Indiana House. The legislative session must conclude by April 29.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Scholarships for career-driven Indiana teens are growing and gaining fans, but lack transparency

2025-03-11T19:17:59+00:00

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This story is a partnership between Chalkbeat Indiana and journalists at the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University.

Three times a week, Milan High School senior Katherine Prifogle drives across the Indiana-Ohio border to Whitewater Aviation, trading her high school classroom for a cockpit.

The Indiana Career Scholarship Account, known as CSA, funds her trips to Ohio for aviation lessons. Prifogle hopes to eventually earn her pilot’s license.

The state-funded program started in 2023 to supplement career and technical education for Indiana sophomores, juniors, and seniors in public or private schools. For small schools like Milan High School, where funding is limited and opportunities for early career experience are rare, the CSA program fills a gap and enables students like Prifogle to gain creditable work experience based on individual students’ desires and interests.

“Our school is in a low-income area, so it’s an opportunity that most of the students wouldn’t be able to get otherwise,” said Zarah Hileman, a counselor at Milan High School.

The scholarship program is growing in more ways than one. Participation soared from around 200 students in the 2023-24 school year to 1,900 students this year, and the program is at full capacity. The Indiana General Assembly is considering boosting its funding from $10 million to $15 million in the next state budget. And new state graduation requirements could soon lead more students to using the program, and lawmakers are also moving toward making private school vouchers like the CSAs available to all Indiana families regardless of income.

But at the same time, the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism in collaboration with Chalkbeat found a glaring lack of transparency regarding how the CSA money is allocated and which employers get it.

Three state agencies jointly administer the Career Scholarship Accounts: the Department of Education, the Commission for Higher Education, and the Indiana State Treasurer’s Office. All three denied records requests for invoices related to spending and total distribution to each company receiving the funds in 2023 and 2024.

Startup Moxie students tour businesses, hear from business leaders, and prepare for careers through professional headshots and practicing their professionalism.

A representative from the Treasurer’s Office said the office was “unable to publish information requested externally.” The office also said: “Under state law, information on student funding allocations and spending is provided to the Indiana Department of Education and the Commission for Higher Education.”

Qualified expenses for CSAs, which lawmakers established in 2023, include everything from clothing and gas to business materials and technology, according to the state. But the lack of public records means it’s difficult to track what’s paid for and the price tag for various items.

The state’s CSA website lists 54 companies, 10 public schools, four private schools, and two charter schools as program participants. The Arnolt Center and Chalkbeat contacted all the listed participants. Only 10 of them responded, and five of those said they did not know why they were listed on the CSA website as a participating school or employer.

One such participant is Gaylor Electric, whose CEO is former GOP Rep. Chuck Goodrich, author of the CSA law. Gaylor is listed as a CSA partner. But Jeff Bryant, director of Gaylor University — Gaylor Electric’s training arm — said in an email that the company has not received or requested CSA funds, although it has hired students who have participated in the program.

Goodrich also did not respond to requests for comment about the program’s transparency and Gaylor’s role.

Students, businesses see benefits from Career Scholarship Accounts

Students can use the Career Scholarship Accounts to work on their broader business skills, not just to learn a particular trade or industry.

For example, some schools are using the CSA program to encourage students to join other programs like Startup Moxie, an entrepreneurship program located in Elkhart County that lets students use the CSA money on tools and materials.

Currently, 24 students are using Startup Moxie to tour local business facilities, get to know the owners, and develop their networking skills.

“I’ve seen students just year after year, student after student, that come into the program not extremely confident or not sure what they want to do after high school,” Startup Moxie Director Kris Weimer said. “It’s important for students to have this opportunity to help set them up for whatever’s next in their life.”

Concord High School has a list of career and technical education programs for their students to take on campus. However, Concord High School Principal Seth Mulnar said those courses cannot replicate networking opportunities with local business leaders or the diverse career-focused experiences that CSA programs like Startup Moxie can.

“I like the aspect of Startup Moxie that we are given an environment that fosters us to explore the entrepreneurship side of things and goes against the grain of traditional school,” said Max Malloy, a senior at Elkhart High School in the Startup Moxie entrepreneurship program. “It gives us a different path if we want to go out in our community and do something that is worthwhile.”

For companies, the CSA program is an opportunity to introduce a new generation of workers to the trades.

James Robertson, the owner of Armor Air, which offers HVAC, plumbing and air conditioning services, got set up with the Department of Education and partnered with Cardinal Ritter High School to teach students how to become HVAC technicians.

“We struggle to find people in the trades anymore,” he said.

While it’s the first year Armor Air has participated, Robertson said that some students are showing significant interest in the industry, enrolling in classes and asking for job interviews.

Cardinal Ritter High School Vice Principal Erik Longenecker said he had spent all of the 2022-2023 school year looking to fund career training programs for the juniors and seniors. When he found out about the CSA program, he encouraged students to apply for the 2024–2025 . Ultimately, the school received funding for 94 students.

In addition to the HVAC program, Cardinal Ritter offers CNA and cybersecurity training using CSA funding.

While there’s positive feedback about the scholarships, school administrators have acknowledged room for improvement.

The only criticism Longenecker has for the CSA program is their disbursement of funds throughout the year. While the program provides up to $5,000 annually, it is disbursed quarterly.

“It’s unique and makes it challenging when trying to pay for things upfront,” Longenecker said.

A student can roll over a maximum of $1,000 in funds into the next school year, and unused funds for an account are returned to the state once a student in the CSA program graduates high school.

Rather than paying students the full amount directly, scholarship funds are administered by the program directors to ensure that students’ needs are met. When students request funding to pay for specific needs, money can be taken from the account to cover the costs, according to Longenecker.

Concord High School Associate Principal Kendra Divine stressed that the program’s clear goal is to help students develop skills, and isn’t just a chance for teenagers to get “a wad of cash and then they go buy Skittles or something.”

“It’s more, this is the purpose of it, here’s what you’re going to use it for, and we are going to assist you while you use it. That’s how it works,” Divine said. “It’s not like you can do this and be $5,000 richer.”

But the limits on how the CSA money can be spent doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to learn notable details about how the program works.

Whitewater Aviation in Ohio, where Prifogle takes her flying lessons, sends a bill for them to Milan High School, which then works with the CSA program to pay the bill.

To facilitate this process, there is a third-party administrator of the program, ClassWallet. The State Treasurer’s Office sends the company quarterly payments to cover its expenses.

ClassWallet denied multiple requests for interviews about how the program functions. Several states have given ClassWallet contracts to help manage education choice programs, including Alabama, Arkansas, and North Carolina. The company has also expressed an interest in doing business with Tennessee to help oversee its recent school choice expansion.

New graduation requirements could boost prominence of CSAs

The Indiana Department of Education says the CSA program is designed to work in conjunction with — and not replace — the state’s dedicated career and technical education funding, which nearly 268,900 students used in the 2023-2024 school year.

The typical career and technical education approach backed by state funding “is providing that education in a school-like lab environment, where the CSA is allowing the education to take place at the place of business,” Jesse Webb, director of career and technical education for Fort Wayne Community Schools, said.

While CSA dollars can be used to attract students, schools cannot stack CSA dollars on top of the state’s grant funding for career and technical education, because schools can’t accept both.

The Indiana General Assembly is considering boosting Career Scholarships Account funding from $10 million to $15 million in the next state budget.

Mike Schimpf, superintendent of North Central Parke Community School Corporation, applied for his district to use CSA funding for students to enroll in a commercial driver’s license program, which is currently being funded through state career and technical education dollars.

Students who rely on career and technical education funding often take several courses on their graduation track. That means the funding those students can use from CSA can ultimately be less than the career and technical education funding available to them, Schimpf said.

Nevertheless, the Indiana General Assembly’s draft two-year budget that would increase the CSA’s funding to $15 million isn’t the only state policy change that could increase the scholarships’ prominence.

In December, the State Board of Education approved new graduation rules that allow students to earn seals from one of three “pathways” to enrollment in college, careers, or enlistment in the military.

Students can earn an Honors Employment seal on their diploma through 150 hours of work, which can now include a work opportunity paid for through CSAs.

Schools must implement the changes for diploma requirements by the 2028-29 school year. However, schools can choose to adopt the new graduation rules as soon as next school year, which could accelerate student interest in the CSAs and lead to increased state funding for them.

During the debate about revising Indiana’s graduation requirements, officials initially floated a plan to require more students to gain work experience in order to graduate. They backed off that plan in the final rules approved by the state board. State policymakers see CSAs as a means to help high school students get financial support so they can get jobs after graduating, similar to how financial aid helps college students pay for higher education.

“There is not a mechanism for high school students to receive financial aid for college classes, so the CSAs have been a game-changer,” said state Rep. Wendy McNamara, a Republican and director of Early College High School in Evansville.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Chuck Goodrich is a former Indiana House Representative and correct the location of the school where Rep. Wendy McNamara is a leader.

Jon Eckert, Charlie Herman, Char Jones, Mitchell Lierman, Mackenzie Lionberger, Eva Remijan-Toba, Maddie Slepski and Jasmine Wright are reporters from the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Future of property tax revenue for IPS and charter schools fuels intense debate

2025-02-28T04:09:13+00:00

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Discussion of legislation that would require Indianapolis Public Schools to share property tax revenue with charter schools dominated the roughly two hours of public comment at the Indianapolis Public Schools board meeting on Thursday.

The debate over Senate Bill 518, which the state Senate has passed, underscores the tensions between IPS and the charter school community. House lawmakers have also adopted a budget proposal to cut property taxes, which would also affect district revenue.

Nearly 100 people signed up to speak. Speakers advocated for and against the bill, as well as for and against charter schools. However, the loudest applause came for those speaking against the bill and urging the board to take a stronger stance against it.

Ahead of public comment, board members Allissa Impink and Gayle Cosby, said they oppose Senate Bill 518 and that it is part of a larger effort to defund public schools by making traditional public schools and charter schools compete for the same funding.

Impink said the statehouse can fully fund schools and that the community must call on lawmakers to do so.

Cosby said the bill “has all of us collectively sinking in the same leaky boat.”

Public speakers discuss funding levels, school resources

It’s unclear how much revenue IPS would lose under the proposed Senate bill. The district would need to share certain revenue streams, such as any future voter-approved referendums, as early as 2026. But perhaps the largest chunk of funding would come from the district’s operating revenues, which the district would have to share beginning in 2028.

Several speakers made comments similar to those from Cosby and Impink.

Parent Simona Santabarbara said she was against the bill, but not against charter school families. She said that the children are watching how this moment is handled.

“The stakes are too high for us to not fight together,” Santabarbara said.

However, the majority of speakers either spoke for or against the bill or charter schools in general.

Speakers opposed to the bill said they worried it would lead to program cuts and school closures.

Monica Shellhamer, a teacher at Christian Park School 82, asked the board to take action against the bill, not just talk.

“We need action to make sure all our students have the resources we need,” she said.

But speakers backing the bill said it would allow schools to be funded equally, and said additional funding would allow charter schools to offer transportation, making them more accessible to more families.

Those who advocated for charters also stressed they felt ignored by the board.

LaToya Tahirou, a parent associated with Stand for Children, said she’s about promoting schools that close the opportunity gaps and allowing for families to choose. She added that she sees “more division being created when we need to come together and let everyone be heard.”

Some also raised the issue of advocacy groups. Those against charter schools urged the board not to negotiate with groups that support charter schools. Some called out the Mind Trust, Stand for Children, and RISE Indy — groups that run their own programs and also support charter schools — for the division.

Stand for Children and RISE Indy have political action committees that have also donated tens of thousands to IPS school board races.

In a statement after the meeting, the Mind Trust said it supports calls “from parents, students, and community members for IPS leadership and board members to collaborate with charter schools to strengthen our city’s public school system so that all students have the resources they need.”

RISE Indy also stressed the importance of providing resources for all kids, and said they will continue to fight for those “who have been deprioritized.”

In addition to the bill requiring IPS to share property tax revenue, lawmakers introduced a bill that would dissolve IPS and its elected school board and replace it with charter schools overseen by an appointed board. They also floated a bill to remove the district’s power over transportation and facilities.

Those bills hadn’t advanced by the midpoint of this year’s legislative session, although lawmakers could incorporate the same bill language into other legislation later in the session.

Some say IPS should reconsider charter collaboration

Some asked the board to rescind a resolution that reaffirmed its commitment to collaboration with charters, which the school board approved in May.

That resolution came after significant pressure from pro-charter parents, who last year demanded that IPS partner with more charter schools where students of color are successful.

Several speakers also called for a moratorium on new schools. Last week, the school board called for a moratorium on new schools in the area for the next two years. IPS officials have stressed that splitting revenue among over 100 schools within district boundaries will result in no school truly receiving enough.

Charter school authorizers are ultimately responsible for approving new charters in Indianapolis. Authorizers that have approved schools within IPS borders in recent years include Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Office of Education Innovation, the Indiana Charter School Board, Ball State University, and Education One at Trine University.

But charter leaders have argued that additional funds to charter schools will help pay for higher teacher salaries and better transportation. Groups advocating for charters opposed a moratorium, arguing that charters have delivered better results for families while also having to operate with significantly less public revenue than IPS.

Charter supporters have also pointed out that IPS recently launched new schools.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Where education funding stands at the midpoint of the Indiana legislative session

2025-02-20T22:10:11+00:00

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Indiana House lawmakers on Thursday approved their version of the next state budget, sending the proposal to the Senate to consider how to shape education funding for the next two years.

The House draft is similar to the proposal first outlined by Republican Gov. Mike Braun earlier this year, including an approximately 2% annual increase in tuition support, which funds both public schools and private school vouchers.

But lawmakers have also restored funding that would have been cut to gifted and talented education and folded curriculum costs into the base funding that schools receive.

The budget passed over the objections of House Democrats, who called for universal eligibility for preschool vouchers, as well as more funding for traditional public schools.

But the Republican architects of the budget rejected their amendments, saying that they fund students, not schools.

“Public schools would get lots of money next year if parents chose to send them there,” said Rep. Jeffrey Thompson, author of the budget bill and chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The Senate will now consider the budget. Senators have already passed property tax measures that will likely lower the property tax revenue available to schools, though not as much as an initial proposal by Braun. Those tax measures will now move to the House for consideration.

Here is where education funding stands at the midpoint of the legislative session.

Education budget changes textbook funding distribution

Republican lawmakers are still proposing an approximately 2% increase in tuition support each year of the budget, or around $180 million more in 2026 and $370 million more in 2027. This figure is in line with Braun’s proposed increase for tuition support.

But the total budgeted for tuition support in the new draft of the budget looks higher because lawmakers would like to roll the funding that schools receive for textbooks into the foundational amount schools receive for educating students. Thus the total budget for tuition support is $9.4 billion for 2025-26 and $9.6 billion in 2026-27.

Schools received $160 million for curriculum costs in 2025.

“By putting it in the foundation that’s going to grow as we grow the foundation throughout the years,” Thompson said.

This fund will also cover a proposal to make school vouchers universal for all families, regardless of income, which would cost the state around $89 million in 2026 and $95 million in 2027, according to an estimate from the Legislative Services Agency, or LSA. In total, the Choice Scholarship program is expected to cost around $622 million in 2026 and $674 million in 2027.

The graph below from LSA shows a breakdown of tuition support expenditures. Foundation amounts are the base funding that schools receive to educate all students, while complexity dollars go to students from low-income backgrounds.

A screenshot of the Indiana Legislative Service breakdown of tuition support in the proposed state budget.

Under the new budget proposal, the tuition support will also fund virtual students at 100% of the foundational amount, rather than 85% as is currently law.

In other education funding, lawmakers have proposed $86 million per year for the Freedom and Opportunity in Education fund, up from $25 million per year in the first draft of the budget. This fund is a new line item intended to give the state Department of Education flexibility to fund priorities, such as expanding the new ILEARN checkpoint test, operating the state teaching jobs board, and funding student learning recovery grants.

Furthermore, Gifted and Talented Education funding has been restored to $15 million per year after facing a cut to $13 million per year in the first draft of the budget. The second draft also adds funding to the budget earmarked for adult learners.

However, Republican lawmakers did not restore funding for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library despite calls from their Democratic colleagues to do so.

They have also kept summer school funding flat at around $18 million, though another bill will allow the Department of Education to differentiate funding for these programs based on the type and length of the course.

Finally, lawmakers are increasing the annual allocation for Education Scholarship and Career Scholarship accounts — two voucher-like programs used to pay for students with disabilities to receive services outside of schools and for high schoolers to take career training with private companies.

Both programs will each receive $15 million per year — less than the $25 million initially proposed for Education Scholarship Accounts, but more than the $11 million first proposed for Career Scholarship Accounts.

Revised property tax relief bill still affects school funding

Indiana Senators, meanwhile, have passed a property tax relief bill that mitigates the initial impact of Braun’s proposal to cap property taxes. That proposal was expected to cost schools and other local government entities around $1.2 billion in 2026 and up to $1.6 billion in 2028.

The revised Senate Bill 1 is now expected to cost these entities around $300 million in 2026 and $800 million in 2028. (Braun has suggested he would consider vetoing the bill if it doesn’t provide more relief to taxpayers.)

It may also have other effects on funding because it restricts the years that schools can hold referendums to general elections instead of both general and primary elections.

According to a revised report from the Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis, Senate Bill 1 would reduce funding to Indianapolis Public Schools by an estimated $1.2 million in 2026 and up to $2.9 million in 2028.

Other districts in Marion County are projected to lose:

Beech Grove City Schools — $139,000 in 2026 up to $364,000 in 2028.
Franklin Township Schools — $241,000 in 2026 up to $443,000 in 2028
MSD of Decatur Township — $37,000 in 2026 up to $68,000 in 2028
MSD of Lawrence Township — $33,000 in 2026 and $740 in 2028
MSD of Perry Township — $60,000 in 2026 up to $492,000 in 2028
MSD of Pike Township — $566,000 in 2026 up to $1.4 million in 2028.
MSD of Warren Township — $338,000 in 2026 up to $759,000 in 2028
MSD of Washington Township — $1.2 million in 2026 up to $3.1 million in 2028
MSD of Wayne Township — $780,000 in 2026 up to $2 million in 2028
School Town of Speedway — $71,000 in 2026 up to $166,000 in 2028

Senate Bill 1 has passed the Senate and will now move to the House for consideration.

Another bill, Senate Bill 518, also passed a final vote in the Senate Thursday. It requires districts to share some property tax revenue with charter schools. Property tax revenue funds schools on top of the state tuition support described above, and currently, only districts in a handful of counties must share some of this revenue with charter schools.

An amendment Wednesday delayed some of the sharing provisions until 2028.

But the Republican supermajority voted down several amendments by Senate Democrats that would have instead sent the issue to a summer study committee, required audits of charter schools receiving property tax revenue, or reduced the amount that charter schools receive.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Virtual school officials used money for students on political donations instead, prosecutors say

2025-02-12T12:00:00+00:00

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The founder of two shuttered virtual charter schools used state funds meant for “underprivileged and at-risk” students to make over $40,000 in campaign contributions in 2018 to support Republican candidates, prosecutors allege in an ongoing federal criminal case.

The federal case against operators of Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy is one of two that allege that Thomas Stoughton, the schools’ founder, and other defendants defrauded millions from the state by inflating student enrollment. Stoughton and other defendants also face a civil action from the state attorney general’s office over alleged fraud.

Federal prosecutors allege that Stoughton created a number of educational service providers to contract with the schools’ organizer, the Indiana Virtual Education Foundation, to conceal substantial amounts of money that Stoughton paid himself, the schools’ superintendent Percy Clark, and others affiliated with the schools.

One of those providers, Educational Innovation Research, LLC, allegedly paid $40,100 to political campaigns for 43 Republican candidates for the Indiana General Assembly, the Senate Majority Campaign Committee, and the House Republican Campaign Committee in the three months leading up to the 2018 election, according to prosecutors.

“The purpose of the political contributions was, of course, to curry favor with state lawmakers who were responsible for school funding legislation,” prosecutors said in a Nov. 18 court filing to introduce the contributions as evidence in the trial. “Legislation that the Defendants hoped to have amended in ways that would be favorable to them.”

Stoughton did not respond to a request for comment left at a number listed for him, and his court-appointed attorney for the federal prosecution — which the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana originally filed about a year ago — declined to comment. Clark’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment, and a person who answered a number listed for Clark said he was not present and repeatedly told Chalkbeat to call back.

Clark has pleaded not guilty in the federal case. Stoughton is contesting the charges against him, according to federal prosecutors.

The legal actions follow a 2017 Chalkbeat investigation into the virtual schools that found ballooning enrollment figures, and also found that state funding went to a for-profit company founded by Stoughton. The political donations came roughly a year after that investigation, prosecutors say.

The two schools closed in 2019, and in 2020 the Indiana State Board of Accounts released a special investigation report that called on the schools to repay over $85 million in state funds.

In the civil case brought by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita in 2021, a judge recently ordered the assets of Thomas Stoughton and his wife Rhonda to be placed in receivership, after finding that they violated a 2022 order not to transfer or sell personal property worth over $5,000. That lawsuit seeks over $154 million from the defendants.

Clark, Thomas Stoughton, and Rhonda Stoughton — who are named as defendants in the state’s civil action — have also denied the allegations against them. (Rhonda Stoughton is not a defendant in the federal criminal case.)

The alleged campaign contributions are part of a lengthy legal battle that could leave the state struggling to recoup millions of dollars meant for students. Prosecutors in the federal case allege that the schools accepted over $44 million from the state using inflated student counts.

The House Republican Campaign Committee said in a statement to Chalkbeat that House Republicans who received the contributions donated those dollars to local education foundations or other charities.

The committee also reiterated its support for school choice.

“For over two decades, the House Republican caucus has led the charge to give all Hoosier families the ability to choose the education opportunity that best fits their kids’ needs, whether that be traditional K-12 schools, charter schools, or school choice vouchers,” the statement said.

The Senate Majority Campaign Committee also said in a statement to Chalkbeat that it suggested that members who received the donations contribute it to an education-related cause in their district — although it’s unclear whether every caucus member did so.

Chalkbeat attempted to reach all 41 Republican candidates still living whom prosecutors listed as receiving donations in 2018. Of those, 11 whom Chalkbeat was able to reach said they did not know either Thomas Stoughton, Clark, or Education Innovation Research; did not recall the donation; or recalled returning the donation to local education-related charities or nonprofits. And one senator referred a reporter to the Senate campaign committee’s statement.

Some were unaware of Education Innovation Research’s ties to the virtual charter schools. Others who did recall returning the donations told Chalkbeat that such donations would not have garnered them favor.

“Nobody’s ever came to me and said, ‘Here’s money, this is what we want to do,’” said former Rep. Jeff Ellington, who said he doubled the $300 donation he received and gave it to a local educational nonprofit in Greene County.

The trial date in the federal criminal case, which includes charges of wire fraud and money laundering, is set for April 1.

School leaders lobbied to change funding, prosecutors say

Federal prosecutors allege that Education Innovation Research’s 2018 campaign donations were part of broader money laundering efforts that ultimately enriched Stoughton and Clark.

Under state law, charter school operators are required to be tax-exempt, nonprofit entities and therefore are prohibited from contributing to political campaigns.

But Education Innovation Research’s campaign donations, prosecutors argue, came from the Indiana Virtual Education Foundation after passing through at least one shell company controlled by Stoughton.

The company was one of several that Stoughton created to move money out of the foundation “and conceal where (and to whom) the money was going,” according to the Nov. 18 court filing.

“If the Defendants did not conceal their actions, then IVEF would lose its exempt status, which would result in the loss of its charter and end to the influx of state funds,” federal prosecutors said in the November filing. “Simply put, if the Defendants did not hide their actions, then they would kill the cash cow.”

Donations ranged from $300 for various lawmakers across the state to $5,000 for Brian Bosma, then the speaker of the house, and $5,000 each for the Senate and House Republican campaign committees. Bosma did not respond to a voicemail or email seeking comment.

Chalkbeat checked the donations in the court document against campaign finance records, and found matching amounts from Education Innovation Research except in four cases — although three of those exceptions did list a donation from Alpha Consolidated Services, LLC, a company listed as a defendant in the state’s civil case.

Federal prosecutors plan to call multiple witnesses to testify that Stoughton and other defendants “were lobbying to change the enrollment and attendance requirements in Indiana’s school funding law to make the law more favorable to them,” they said in the filing.

Six current and former lawmakers — former Reps. Sharon Negele, Woody Burton, and Tim Brown, former Sen. Jon Ford, Sen. Jean Leising, and Rep. Christopher Judy — told Chalkbeat they did not recall the donation or whether they returned it to local causes. Rep. Heath VanNatter said he recalled talking about the donation when it happened, but did not recall whether he returned the donation.

These lawmakers also said they were unaware of the donation’s ties to the virtual schools.

“I just know if I was instructed to do that, I would’ve done it,” Negele said of the directive from the Republican campaign committee to return the donation to charity.

Four former lawmakers — Ellington, former Rep. Tony Cook, and former Sens. John Ruckelshaus and Philip Boots — told Chalkbeat they recalled giving the money back to local educational causes.

After Chalkbeat’s investigation into the two virtual schools generated increased scrutiny, lawmakers changed state law in 2019 to increase oversight.

Indiana law now forbids school districts from authorizing virtual charters, and requires students who are habitually truant to be withdrawn from virtual schools. The legislature also approved a funding cut for virtual schools, which now receive 85% of the state funding that students at brick-and-mortar public schools receive.

Some Democrats said the changes did not go far enough.

Indiana may not recoup funding meant for students

It’s unclear whether Indiana will ever recoup the money the Stoughtons, Clark, and others allegedly squandered.

After failing to pay the attorney he initially hired in the federal criminal case, Stoughton has received a court-appointed attorney instead, court documents show.

In the state civil action, the court placed the Stoughtons’ assets into receivership last month after it determined they violated a 2022 order restricting them from transferring or selling property.

The court found that the Stoughtons violated the order due to their transactions related to a luxury beachside Florida condominium they initially bought for roughly $1.5 million in 2016.

The state alleged that a Florida court ordered a foreclosure on the condo in 2024, after the couple failed to make payments on a $1.8 million mortgage issued the year prior.

The Stoughtons’ assets include a Cadillac, a Corvette, a boat, seven pieces of Tiffany jewelry, and a lakeside home in Syracuse, according to a Feb. 5 court filing in the state case.

Hamilton County property tax records also show the couple owes over $19,000 in unpaid taxes on their Carmel home.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Draft budget has more for tuition support, less for gifted learners, zero for Dolly Parton library

2025-01-31T14:11:25+00:00

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Funding for gifted learners, dual immersion programs, and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library is on the chopping block in the proposed state budget, while tuition support is increasing, as Indiana faces a leaner two-year fiscal period.

In total, the 2025-27 state budget draft outlines an increase of around 2% each year in overall education funding, alongside cuts to several K-12 and library programs and initiatives.

Education officials say some of those cuts are necessary to increase tuition support, the primary funding mechanism for both public schools and private school vouchers.

The budget proposal from House lawmakers is just the first step in a months-long budget process in which legislators could restore funding. It also likely doesn’t capture the full effect of lawmakers’ policy priorities this year, which include caps on property tax growth as well as universal school vouchers.

It reflects the pressure on the state to fund K-12 education, which makes up nearly half — $21 billion — of the state’s two-year budget, amidst ongoing inflation, a Medicaid deficit, and the end of federal pandemic funding.

In a presentation to the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, Secretary of Education Katie Jenner — who made recommendations that lawmakers then incorporated into the draft budget — said she looked through the whole budget to find places to streamline in order to increase funding for tuition support.

“I’ll be honest with you, I want all the things. … But noting that we had to make some decisions, I went through with a red pen and cut about 20.5 million in order to try and get that tuition support number up,” Jenner told lawmakers. “Glad to add that back in if we have the money.”

Indiana Department of Education representatives did not reply to a request for more details about what was cut. But a comparison of the proposed budget to the 2023-25 budget shows some key areas where funding is being cut, added, or held flat.

Here are a few highlights from the 2025-27 budget proposal.

Funding cuts: Dolly Parton’s library, computer science

The budget proposal includes 5% cuts to the Department of Education and the State Board of Education, per directives from GOP Gov. Mike Braun that state leaders find savings within their departments. That reduces funding for the department from $19.9 to $18.9 million annually, and funding for the board from $1.9 million to $1.8 million annually.

Other cuts include:

All funding is cut for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which received $2 million in 2023-24 and $4 million in 2024-25 — its first two years operating in Indiana. The library offers free books to children under 5 in around 85 counties in Indiana funded by a combination of state and local funding.
All funding is cut from the Career Advising Grant program, which received $10 million in 2023-24 and $15 million in 2024-25.
All funding — $425,000 — is cut from the Dual Immersion Pilot Program.
All funding — $3,415,000 — is cut from the School Internet Connection fund.
Funding for Gifted and Talented Education is cut from $15 million annually to $13 million annually in the two-year budget.
Funding for the State Library is cut from $3.7 million annually to $2.6 million annually. Additionally, funding for statewide library services is cut from $1.5 annually to $1.43 million annually.
Funding for the Next Level Computer Science program is cut from $3 million annually to $2.5 million annually.
Funding for the David C. Ford Educational Technology program is cut from $5 million annually to $3 million annually.
Funding for Alternative Education fund — which includes $10,000 for each child in recovery from alcohol or drug abuse who attends a certain kind of charter school — is cut from $5.3 million annually to $800,000 annually.

Funding increases: Tuition support, ILEARN pilot

One of the primary increases in funding in the budget proposal is for tuition support, which would increase by around $181 million in 2026 and $365 million in 2027, for a total allocation of $9.4 billion by 2026-27. That funding supports public schools, including charter schools, as well as private school vouchers.

According to a fiscal analysis from the Legislative Services Agency, making vouchers universal would increase state expenditures by an estimated $88.6 million in 2026 and $94.6 million in 2027. The state spent roughly $439 million on its voucher program for the 2023-24 school year.

Additionally, Education Scholarship Accounts, a voucher-like program for students with disabilities, would receive $25 million per year in the budget proposal, up from $10 million in each year of the last budget. Career Scholarship Accounts, which fund career training for high schoolers with private companies and organizations, will receive $11 million per year in the next budget, up from $10 million each year of the last budget.

A new addition to the budget is a $25 million per year Freedom and Opportunity fund, which will support the following, according to a Department of Education budget presentation to the House Committee on Ways and Means:

$11 million to expand the ILEARN checkpoint pilot
$4.5 million to develop and deploy an interactive advising tool to help implement the new diploma requirements
4.26 million to sustain the state teaching jobs board
$5.5 million to recruit English learner, special education, and STEM teachers

Funding is flat for summer learning, literacy programs

The budget notably does not propose additional funding for curricular materials, which will be held at $160 million per year.

Some schools have reported that their share of those funds has not been enough to pay for books and materials for all students, requiring them to dip into their general budgets to cover the cost.

The budget proposal also keeps funding flat per year for excess special education costs at $29 million, and summer school, at around $18.4 million.

Addressing increased costs in these categories may come down to budgeting. In her Ways and Means presentation, Jenner said there are schools that were spending less than their allocation for curricular material.

Jenner has also hinted at reprioritizing funding for summer school to focus more on required literacy intervention, and less on physical education costs, which currently eat up a large share of summer school funding.

The budget proposal also maintains $50 million per year for academic improvement initiatives. According to Jenner’s presentation, these funds would support the following:

$17.5 million for programs like the Summer Learning Labs, a summer acceleration program operated by The Mind Trust.
$20 million on literacy initiatives like the Literacy Cadre.
$10 million for outcome-based funding for staff who have improved students’ literacy skills.
$2.5 million for Crossing the Finish Line.

Policymakers have not publicly proposed a figure for the Indiana Learns program, which provides families with $1,000 in state funds for private tutoring.

The House Ways and Means Committee, which helps draft and advance the state budget legislation, has yet to schedule its next meeting.

Chalkbeat Data and Graphics Reporter Kae Petrin contributed data analysis.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board takes stand against bills that threaten district’s survival, asks for public support

2025-01-31T05:30:11+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Schools board took a stand against bills at the statehouse that could dismantle the district in a statement at its Thursday meeting, calling on the public to share their concerns with lawmakers.

But in a rare move for a board that has in recent years prided itself on presenting a united front, some board members wrote separate additional statements calling for change from the powerful education reform organizations that have faced heightened criticism since the legislation was introduced.

The board’s statement, which members took turns reading before a crowd of over 50 people, is the district’s latest response to a legislative session that could challenge the district’s future viability. House Bill 1136, the most extreme bill facing the district, would dissolve IPS and its elected school board and replace it with charter schools overseen by an appointed board. Another bill, House Bill 1501, would strip the district of its power over transportation and facilities.

A third proposal would force IPS to give charter schools what charter advocates have long pushed for: more tax dollars. These bills all come as Gov. Mike Braun advocates for property tax cuts statewide and the district faces a severe budget shortfall in the coming years.

“All together, the picture that comes into focus is challenging but clear: There simply is no scenario where the district looks in a decade the way it does today,” board member Hope Hampton read from the statement.

The board’s statement adds to the city’s increasingly politically charged education environment. Roughly 30 people spoke in public comment on Thursday, at times shouting back at the board during their individual statements and pushing for more time for public comment. The legislative proposals have not been heard in committees at the Statehouse yet, and some argued that HB 1136 is a bargaining chip to force IPS to share more property tax revenues with charter schools.

In its statement, the board said it will “show an authentic willingness to work together” as it did in 2014, when the legislature passed the Innovation schools law. But the board also nodded to a potential overabundance of schools for the district’s population of roughly 40,000 students, and said that closing or consolidating schools “can not rest only with our district.” It also said “all of our public schools must be included in this solution.”

The board called House Bill 1136 “a non-starter” that would destabilize the district’s financial foundations and strip communities of their voice. House Bill 1501 would create confusion and raise taxes, the board said. And Senate Bill 518 would shift tens of millions of dollars from the district to charter schools.

“Revenue loss on that scale — which could approach half the district’s operations fund budget — would unquestionably force us to close 20 or more district schools and cut many jobs throughout the district,” board member Ashley Thomas read from the statement.

Board members call for unity, scrutinize pro-charter groups

In individual statements, some board members took aim at the growth of the charter sector and the Mind Trust, Stand for Children, and RISE Indy — groups that advocate for their own interests and run their own programs but are also supportive of charter schools.

Stand for Children and RISE Indy have political action committees that have also donated tens of thousands to IPS school board races.

Board member Nicole Carey scrutinized the number of charter schools in the city, noting that other states have caps on charter schools.

“It is not efficient to have too many schools operating in silos, each with their own administration, each pulling from the same limited pool of resources,” she said.

Carey also called on the Mind Trust, Stand for Children, and RISE Indy to use their power at the statehouse to ensure all students get what they need.

“But that’s not what’s happening,” she said.

Board member Gayle Cosby described the three groups as “intent on destroying public education by any means necessary.” (Charter schools are public schools but privately operated.)

Through a spokesperson, the Mind Trust reiterated its support for solutions to increase access to transportation and facilities.

“The Mind Trust believes Indianapolis Public Schools remaining a strong and stable district is important to the vibrancy of Indianapolis,” the nonprofit said in a statement. “There is no truth to claims that the Mind Trust is working to destabilize IPS. In fact, the opposite is true. Our teams have worked collaboratively for years to advance outcomes for all public school students.”

In a statement, RISE Indy said it takes pride in its work to elevate Black and Brown voices in political spaces.

“We unapologetically advocate for every public school child because marginalized students exist in all school types,” the statement said.

Parents with Stand for Children, which organizes parents to advocate on educational topics, did not speak to the specific claims against the group but publicly commented on the need for support for charter schools, some of which they say offer their child a better education.

Board member Thomas called for unity, urging the public to focus on challenges students face every day, such as poverty and crime.

“While we should be fighting the real monsters, we are turning around and fighting each other,” Thomas said. “We won’t always agree with one another, but if we continue to split hairs simply to keep division moving, then we will continue to be dog-walked.”

The public voices opposition, concern on charters

Most of the roughly 30 people who spoke at the meeting Thursday were opposed to the expansion of charter schools and the dissolution of the district.

Amy Noel, whose child has a 504 plan for students with disabilities, questioned charters’ ability to serve him.

“How do we know how many charters who are going to say, ‘You know what, I don’t want to deal with this kid,’” Noel said. “What’s going to prevent them from throwing that kid out, and then that kid tries to go to another school, and then what if it happens again? There’s no fallback for those kids.”

Other parents called on IPS to change.

Vilma Hernandez said she pulled her son from IPS when he was placed on the wrong bus and dropped off far from home.

“It made me realize I couldn’t rely on the system to keep him safe,” she said through a translator. “One of the biggest inequities in our system is that families must provide their own transportation to charter schools, even when those schools offer some of the best education in the city.”

Feb. 20 is the last day for bills to pass out of their originating chambers at the statehouse.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

You’re invited: Hear local educators share their stories they want lawmakers to know

2025-01-30T21:38:09+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

What do teachers wish Indiana’s lawmakers knew about daily life in schools? We’re asking educators to share stories and experiences from the classroom that they want state lawmakers to know as they craft rules about schools at the Statehouse.

Join us for “Letters to Lawmakers,” a teacher story slam from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Guggman Haus Brewing Co., 1701 Gent Ave. in Indianapolis. The event is hosted by Chalkbeat Indiana, Indy Kids Winning, and Teachers Lounge Indy, and is a continuation of previous story slams. It’s a place for educators to share stories, spend time together, and learn from each other too. The community is also invited to hear their stories.

The event is free, but RSVP is encouraged. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

To RSVP, get your free ticket here.

And if you are an educator and are interested in telling your story, please fill out this form by Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Update, Feb. 4: This story was updated to extend the deadline for educators to sign up to be storytellers.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS is confronting a legislative session that could remake it — or break it

2025-01-22T12:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Indianapolis Public Schools is on a bumpy road that leads to the edge of a cliff.

The district is accustomed to hostile legislation at the statehouse — but this year’s session features several high-profile bills that could fundamentally alter IPS.

GOP proposals to curb property taxes would hurt the district’s coffers. Legislation requiring the district to give more of its property tax revenue to charter schools would add to its fiscal strain. Another bill would strip its power over facilities and transportation.

And perhaps most controversially of all, House Bill 1136 would dissolve the district altogether and replace it with charter schools, as well as end the elected IPS school board.

These bills aren’t the district’s only worries. IPS is continuing to lose students in its non-charter schools. It is also approaching a fiscal cliff: Funding from the voter-approved 2018 operating referendum dries up in 2026.

But the flurry of legislative proposals pose a significant question about the district’s future, even if many or all of them don’t become law this year. Those who support IPS and are critical of charter schools argue that the activity this session is part of a larger attempt to ultimately destroy the district. Those putting pressure on IPS, however, argue that the district must respond to serious financial issues amid its declining enrollment.

At the first meeting of the new school board this month, Christina Smith, head of the Indianapolis Education Justice Coalition that is critical of charters, reviewed her longstanding attempts to alert the public to the “complete privatization of public education and the plan to dismantle IPS.”

“I’m trying real hard not to tell people, ‘I told you so,’” Smith said during public comment. “As a new board in this pivotal moment, you have the opportunity to be on the side of students, families, and the public school district you were elected and have sworn to serve.”

But Rep. Bob Behning, the GOP chair of the House Education Committee, said his hope is “not at all” to eliminate IPS.

“I do believe that IPS knows very clearly the messages it’s being given: You have a chance to control your destiny,” Behning said. “Take a hold of it and do something about it.”

District leaders did not return repeated requests for comment. While the district has vocally opposed the HB 1136, the bill that would dismantle it, it has not announced stances on other proposals involving IPS. Board President Angelia Moore said HB 1136 “risks dismantling the very foundation that supports student success and community collaboration.”

IPS, charter advocates square off over district’s fate

A push to provide property tax relief to homeowners — following a post-pandemic spike in assessed values that caused an increase in property taxes — could hurt IPS financially. Several bills call for property tax reform, including limiting the rate at which property taxes can grow each year and freezing the assessed values of homes.

Follow education bills in Chalkbeat's weekly bill tracker

Senate Bill 518 would also require all school districts to share operating revenue generated from property taxes with charter schools, and with other school districts that enroll students living within their borders. IPS, unlike charter schools, receives funding through local property taxes and can also increase such funding by asking voters to approve referendums. But IPS and other Marion County districts are already required to share a portion of property tax increases with Marion County charters that enroll students living within their boundaries.

The financial impact of Senate Bill 518 on IPS specifically is unclear.

Scott Bess, head of the new Indiana Charter Innovation Center that plans to push for more property tax revenue for charters this session, cited a frequent claim of charter advocates: There is a significant funding gap between charters and IPS.

“The reality is charter schools have been paying for all the same things that districts are paying for, they’re just paying for it out of their state tuition money,” he said. “And so yes, I have sympathy for the district because it is going to be an adjustment and they are going to have to figure this out. But charter schools have been having to figure that out for the last 20 years, and have done it.”

The Mind Trust, which helps establish charter schools in Indianapolis and is frequently criticized for driving legislation to harm IPS at the statehouse, declined an interview for this story. But in a statement, the nonprofit said that it supports sharing local property taxes with charters as well as ensuring transportation and facilities for all public school students.

“We support the district proactively pursuing structural changes that will ensure the success of all public school students within IPS’ boundaries and safeguard the district’s long-term sustainability,” the group said.

Another bill, House Bill 1501, would ultimately require the district to hand over authority of its transportation and facilities to appointed boards. Supporters of the legislation say it would help students and save money. But such a move would further erode the power of the publicly elected school board, which charter schools do not have.

There’s also a concern that in a fragmented schooling landscape without such boards to oversee academics and finances, many vulnerable students could get lost in the shuffle.

Critics of charter schools argue that a series of decisions, as well as a bias against the district, has forced IPS to this point.

They note longstanding Republican support of school choice in the legislature, the city’s powerful education organizations that support charter schools, and years of heavy spending from charter-friendly political action committees in the local IPS school board races.

Within hours of being sworn on to the IPS school board for a second time earlier this year, Gayle Cosby didn’t mince words.

“There are snakes among us,” she told the crowd on Jan. 2, saying that “dark billionaire money” has purchased influence on the IPS school board since she was first elected in 2012. Political action committees associated with charter-friendly groups such as Stand for Children and RISE INDY — as well as out-of-state donors with strong ties to the charter movement — have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to school board campaigns since that year.

Cosby also said that the legislation to dissolve IPS meant that the attacks on the district are coming “full circle.”

GOP lawmakers: We want IPS to change, not disappear

The district, meanwhile, has pointed to how it’s evolving and improving.

In a video posted Jan. 10, IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson pointed to the district’s attempt to right-size itself under its Rebuilding Stronger plan.

She noted the district’s graduation rate of 87%, more than 20 points higher than 10 years ago.

And almost 90% of staff stayed with the district throughout Rebuilding Stronger’s consolidation and closure of schools, she noted — a retention rate that showed “stability for our community and consistency for our students.”

“Looking forward, we know challenges remain. In the months ahead we’re going to be hearing more about legislation that could seriously impact the future of this work and where our district goes next,” Johnson said. “There are different proposals being filed and discussed about our funding structure, and both myself and the board are committed to looking at each piece of legislation carefully as it comes.”

Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have also dismissed the claim that the bills are part of a larger attempt to dismantle the district.

“The goal is to get them into a financial spot so that they can continue to exist,” said Rep. Jake Teshka, a Republican who co-authored House Bill 1136, which would effectively dissolve IPS. “Nobody woke up one day and said, ‘We really want to dissolve IPS. We want to attack IPS.’”

But even outside of the district, educators fear a greater intent behind HB 1136 and HB 1501, the bill to strip IPS and other districts of their control over transportation and facilities.

“Any movement away from school districts having control over their own districts and over their own budgets is a negative move for the students and families of Indiana,” said Galen Mast, superintendent of the Union School Corporation, which educates over 7,800 students and would also be impacted by both bills. “The desire for money and control and to privatize education is behind both of these bills.”

The end of Indiana’s legislative session is April 29.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board denounces bill to dissolve district in shift to charters

2025-01-08T03:31:58+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Schools board is strongly opposing a bill that would dissolve the district and force it to convert to charter schools, a proposal that has spurred calls for an organized campaign against it.

The pushback against HB 1136 at the first meeting of the new school board on Tuesday comes as IPS faces the start of yet another legislative session Wednesday that could leave the district more financially strapped and struggling to stay alive.

The bill also became the focus at Tuesday’s meeting, where new board members were sworn in at a historic moment for IPS — for the first time, a board made up entirely of women of color leads a district overseen by its first Black female superintendent.

“This legislation is not student focused, and fails to reflect the community’s input on how they envision their public schools thriving,” board President Angelia Moore said in a statement on behalf of the board at the meeting. “Instead of fostering growth and innovation, HB 1136 risks dismantling the very foundation that supports student success and community collaboration.”

The bill would require Indiana districts to dissolve and transition into charter schools if more than half of students living in the district boundary enroll in a school outside the district. Under the proposal, IPS would dissolve, and 50 of its schools would convert to charters, according to the bill’s latest fiscal impact statement.

Four other districts — Gary Community School Corp., Union School Corp. in east-central Indiana, Tri-Township Consolidated School Corp. in the north, and Cannelton City Schools in the south — would also dissolve.

The bill, proposed by Republican State Rep. Jake Teshka of North Liberty, would also dissolve the IPS’ elected board and replace it with a seven-member board appointed by the governor, the mayor, the president of the city-county council, and the executive director of the Indiana Charter School Board.

IPS to face challenging legislative session

In addition to this bill, a number of other proposals could spell financial ruin for the district, at a time when it faces mounting pressure to share more resources with charter schools. Amid mounting competition from the charter sector, the district has already tried to right-size itself through its Rebuilding Stronger reorganization, which closed several schools last school year and reconfigured grades districtwide this school year.

A new charter advocacy group, the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, will push for charters to receive the same amount of funding from property taxes that traditional districts receive. That would require IPS to give more than the $4 million in property tax revenues it is estimated to give to charters this year, in accordance with a law passed last year.

And incoming Gov. Mike Braun has pushed for capping increases in property taxes, which could further restrict funding for traditional public schools.

IPS grapples annually with competition from Indiana’s strong school choice environment, which state lawmakers have bolstered in previous sessions. The district faces a fiscal cliff once additional property taxes from the 2018 operating referendum expire in 2026. Federal pandemic relief funds have also expired.

“Urban education systems face complex and nuanced challenges that may be unfamiliar to some policymakers,” Moore said at the meeting. “We invite legislators who are genuinely interested in public education to visit our district, gain firsthand insight on our unique mission and vision, and work alongside us to ensure sustainable and meaningful outcomes for students, educators, and families.”

Community members raise opposition to bill

Parents and staff also voiced their opposition to HB 1136 at the meeting Tuesday and called on the board to loudly protest it. Four people spoke against the bill, while three others suggested the board partner with charters, respond to the demand for educational choice, or work with lawmakers to improve the district.

“Rebuilding Stronger shut down schools. The loss this community felt cannot be overstated. Don’t let their loss be in vain,” parent Kristen Phair told the board in between sobs. “I am asking each of you commissioners to take a united stand and be loud in advocating against this bill. Please help us organize. Our families want to organize against this.”

The public support follows a separate call from a group of community leaders who last week called on IPS to consider how to remain operational amid “strong financial headwinds.”

“The legislature has taken notice and seems ready to act if needed,” read the statement from former mayors Bart Peterson and Greg Ballard; former IPS board president Mary Ann Sullivan; and city-county councilors Maggie Lewis, Carlos Perkins, and Leroy Robinson. “It is preferable, however, that any structural changes in IPS are driven locally and to the benefit of our Indianapolis students and community.”

The group urged IPS to share more property tax funding with charter schools.

But Noah Leninger, a teacher at Robert Frost School 106, urged the board not to accept any such compromises.

“More charter schools will not save IPS,” he said. “No matter what they’re called — if we’re honest and we call them charter schools, if we lie to ourselves and our community and call them Innovation Network schools — whatever the name, the rapid and unchecked expansion of these unaccountable grift mills has not gotten IPS out of this mess.”

Board member Gayle Cosby, who beat an opponent backed by political action committees supportive of education reform to return to the board, said that she was encouraged by the crowd. She also scrutinized the often repeated call by charter supporters for IPS to “partner” with charters.

“My definition of partner does not include any entity that is actively seeking to destroy or dissolve our district, as noted in the proposed legislation,” she said.

Board member Nicole Carey said the challenging times will require courage from district leaders.

“To everyone tonight, I want to say stand with us, stay engaged, hold us accountable to this promise of prioritizing the needs of our students,” she said. “It is going to take all of us.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Text with Chalkbeat for updates on the Indiana legislative session

2024-12-19T12:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Keep updated on the latest education news coming from the Indiana legislative session by texting with Chalkbeat Indiana.

Each year, the lawmakers meet to create laws and policies around education in the state. In recent years, they’ve discussed and passed sweeping laws on what students learn and how their teachers teach, literacy, absenteeism, high school diploma requirements, and more.

Plus, legislators adopt the state budget every two years. It includes funding for public schools as well as vouchers for students to attend private schools. The 2025 session is a budget year.

So Chalkbeat Indiana launched Session Syllabus, a texting service that helps you stay in the know on big education issues and laws moving through the legislature.

Sign up by submitting your phone number in the form below to get texts about once per week from Chalkbeat reporter Aleksandra Appleton with updates on key legislation affecting schools and students. Or you can text the word SESSION to (317) 648-5331 to sign up.

You can also text back with your questions about bills, issues, and the legislative process and we’ll try and track down the answer for you.

We also offer text updates from Indianapolis Public Schools meetings — sign up for those here.

MJ Slaby is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Participation in voucher-like education choice programs soars in Indiana after legal changes

2024-09-06T20:30:41+00:00

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Months after lawmakers loosened certain rules, two programs that provide students with state funding for education outside of their schools saw spikes in enrollment for the 2024-25 school year.

The Education Scholarship Account (ESA) and Career Scholarship Account (CSA) programs have each reached maximum enrollment for the first time ahead of their application deadlines, according to the Indiana treasurer’s office, which administers both programs.

The surging participation mirrors the growing popularity of Indiana’s private school voucher program, and underscores the state’s willingness to loosen rules or restrictions that could be barriers to education choice. Last year, lawmakers relaxed eligibility requirements for the voucher program to include most students in Indiana.

The CSA program, which gives students in grades 10-12 grants of $5,000 for career training with outside employers, saw a 700% spike in participation, from around 200 students in 2023 to 1,900 students in 2024-25. Its deadline was Oct. 1, but the program is now full.

The state established the CSA program in 2023. Students can use the funds for career and technical education, certain apprenticeship programs, or the Indiana College Core provided by an approved organization. In its first year, lawmakers anticipated 1,000 students would participate, but 234 did.

This year, lawmakers expanded the allowed uses for CSA funds to include transportation required for students to access job-training opportunities — up to $1,000 toward the costs of obtaining a driver’s license and up to $625 for other transportation costs. Lawmakers said transportation barriers hindered students who wanted work experience.

It’s not clear how many of this year’s students might be using the accounts for transportation or driver’s license costs. The treasurer’s office would not say how much has been allocated to each private employer or other organization participating in the program.

Meanwhile, the number of students cleared to participate in the ESA program, which provides money for students with disabilities to access services outside their schools, rose by 55% over last year. The program’s application deadline was Sept. 1, but it reached capacity on Aug. 27.

This year, 706 students with disabilities have been approved for the program, as well as 156 of their siblings who do not have disabilities but are allowed to participate under an amendment to the law approved this year. In 2023, 557 students were approved for an ESA and 540 participated in the program, according to the Department of Education.

The ESA program has a waiting list of 599 students with disabilities this year, as well as 31 siblings. To participate, students must meet income eligibility requirements, which are 400% of the Federal Free or Reduced School Meals limit.

Each program had a $10 million allocation. For each allocation, 5% is spent on the administration of the program.

While proponents say the state’s education choice programs provide students and their families with crucial opportunities they could otherwise not afford, critics say the programs divert money from public schools and frequently lack transparency.

Some state leaders have hinted they might replace the three disparate programs with a single track that would allow parents to purchase classes and lessons a la carte.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

New Indiana law designed to reduce chronic absenteeism could lead to more parent prosecutions

2024-08-21T11:00:00+00:00

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This story was written by journalists at the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University in partnership with Chalkbeat Indiana.

After the death of her parents, an Indianapolis student’s attendance began to lapse — her guardians were busy, and school became a lower priority.

Monarca Academy administrators talked to her guardians, and they promised she’d make it to school. But absences continued to stack up and Francisco Valdiosera, executive director of Monarca Academy, referred the case to the Department of Child and Family Services for educational neglect.

The student, whom school officials did not identify, ultimately received counseling and her attendance improved. But a new state law could have had that student and her guardians spending more time in the courtroom than the classroom.

As of July 1, Indiana school districts must meet with parents about their student’s absences and offer services to help improve their attendance. For elementary students who are habitually truant — defined as having 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year — districts must take a more punitive approach by referring those cases to the county prosecutor under Senate Enrolled Act 282.

While school officials have always had the ability to seek prosecution for parents of truant students, the General Assembly took the step of mandating this course of action in order to combat rising absenteeism.

“Hearing from numerous schools, there is a problem with attendance. Our great educators are saying we want to teach these kids, but if they’re not there, it’s really hard,” said Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, who co-authored SEA 282. “It’s become exacerbated after COVID.”

The new law also requires schools and prosecutors to inform parents that their students’ absenteeism could have legal consequences, including misdemeanor charges that may carry a fine or jail time. And lawmakers may take further steps as they consider solutions this summer for older students who are absent.

However, criminal prosecution for absenteeism has been rare.

Reporting by the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism and Chalkbeat Indiana found that, before the law went into effect, prosecutors and school districts rarely turned to the criminal justice system to tackle chronic absenteeism. In Marion County, which educates over 165,000 students, only 15 referrals were made to the prosecutor’s office in 2023, and in LaGrange County, with over 7,300 students, only 23 were made.

A clear statewide picture of how often absentee cases are referred to prosecutors is difficult to piece together. Calls to 92 prosecutor’s offices, 398 public and charter school officials, the state Department of Education, and the Department of Child and Family Services found no centralized data on criminal referrals or the effectiveness of prosecuting absenteeism cases.

Critics of the new law say more prosecution won’t solve the wide array of reasons that students are absent, like a lack of access to transportation or adequate food and clothing. They argue that families instead need more engagement and wraparound services — though schools and counties did not receive additional funding to put these in place under SEA 282.

“Jail for non-complying adults is not the answer,” Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman said in an email. “[The] criminal justice system has limited effectiveness for correcting this behavior.”

Indiana is not the only state to attempt to address absenteeism through legal means, with similar bills passed in Iowa and West Virginia.

During the 2020-2021 school year, the number of chronically absent students increased by 64%, according to IDOE. Since then, that figure has declined but not to pre-pandemic levels.

Rogers said she didn’t hear from state prosecutors during legislative hearings. A review of committee testimony for the bill did not find any comments by prosecutors.

“I’m not sure how well prosecutors like [SEA 282],” Rogers said.

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said a child services referral or criminal prosecution does have its place in handling chronic absenteeism. He said school officials can communicate that these are real consequences for parents if they don’t send their children to school.

“People need to understand that the school system takes this seriously. All we’re doing here is saying the legislature took this seriously.” DeLaney said. “That’s really our message, and a very well-thought-out mechanism for the schools to point that message from us and send it on to the parents.”

Chronic absenteeism law is often tough to enforce

Indiana prosecutors have long complained that increasing caseloads and small staffs can bog down the wheels of justice and adding a glut of chronic absenteeism cases will only make that problem worse.

Pike County, just north of Evansville, has a population of approximately 13,000 people and only two prosecutors, who primarily handle violent crime cases.

The small county lacks the resources and funding to be able to hire more staff or offer diversion programs to students, Pike County Prosecutor Darrin McDonald said. An alternative to prosecution is detention or probation, McDonald said, but there is a lack of staffing, shortage of bedspace, and minimal resources and support for the juvenile court system.

“There’s a lot of wind coming from the legislature, but no substance to do anything practical that would make it better,” McDonald said.

The Indiana Capitol in Indianapolis. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a bill that says schools must refer cases of habitually truant elementary students — defined as having 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year — to the county prosecutor.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, said SEA 282 is underfunded and the General Assembly gave no additional money to schools or prosecutors to provide them with additional social workers or staff.

For truancy rates to decrease across the state, Hunley said it is about reorganizing priorities.

“It’s really about shifting [prosecutors] mindsets to prevention,” Hunley said.

And some counties do have prevention efforts in place. The nearly 30-year-old Truancy Intervention Program in Allen County offers incentives such as phone calls, school visits and letters, and Pizza Hut coupons to help encourage students to attend school, said Tamyra Kelly, public information officer for East Allen County Schools. If that doesn’t work, students are sent to a truancy program.

In Marion County, students and parents are sent to a diversion program where staff can get an understanding of why students cannot attend school, said Jake Brosius, director of youth programming for Marion County. Marion County has not prosecuted a truancy case since 2019, Brosius said, because the program has been successful at connecting parents and students with the resources they need.

“I would say we are definitely successful in getting contact and communication kind of restored with the school,” Brosius said.

In some cases, school districts already inform parents and students of legal consequences of chronic absenteeism.

The Anderson Community Schools’ “2024-2025 Student Rights and Responsibilities” handbook lays it out plainly: “A person who knowingly violates the compulsory attendance law commits a Class B misdemeanor. punishable by up to 6 months in jail and up to a $1.000.00 fine for each separate offense.”

Lawmakers are hoping the threat of prosecution is enough for parents to take their child’s school attendance seriously.

“I would hope that when it comes to parents and children, that this is enough as a tactic to force parents to make sure that their kids are in school,” said Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, who was one of the law’s co-authors.

‘Common sense’ solutions preferred to prosecuting parents

Indiana school districts already rely on intervention programs to address chronic absenteeism and prefer those methods over the General Assembly’s solution of referring elementary students and their parents or guardians to prosecutors.

The solution for a Scott County student’s absenteeism was simply a phone call away.

The student’s parent worked early morning shifts, and he routinely slept through his alarm or missed the bus, Scott County Prosecutor Chris Owens said. The county’s attendance review board looked at his case and gave him a dedicated contact person at the school to call if he was late and needed a ride.

“That’s just one scenario,” Owens said. “There’s all kinds of cases like that where they try to use common sense and real-world solutions to fix the problem.”

Many school districts focus on student-parent-school communication to resolve truancy issues. For Kankakee Valley School Corporation, the process starts with a phone call, then parents will receive a letter at four, eight and 10 unexcused absences.

At Greenfield-Central Community Schools, administrators organize conferences to discuss attendance contracts, possible consequences, and solutions such as future phone calls or school-provided alarm clocks.

At West Washington County School Corporation, an attendance committee meets with students to explain what Indiana Code says about state attendance policies and students can share reasons for chronic absences as well as possible solutions.

Kids miss school for a variety of reasons: medical issues, passing of a loved one, lack of transportation, struggling academically, bullying, and work, according to school officials.

Hanover Central High School has found banning chronically absent students from participating in extracurricular activities, school dances or sports events to be more effective. Hanover Central Principal Tami Kepshire said the school may also revoke a student’s driver’s license and parking privileges if they are chronically absent.

“We’re constantly in contact with parents of kids that are missing frequently,” Kepshire said. “We’re on the phone with them, and I think it’s probably because we’re a smaller school, but we know the families, so we feel very comfortable giving them a phone call and saying this is what’s going on.”

Educators and prosecutors who work with students and families daily say each case requires a unique approach.

“We attempt to develop positive relationships with students and create conditions for them to be successful in hopes that these relationships will encourage and motivate a student to attend school regularly,” Wendel McCollum, associate superintendent of Michigan City Area Schools said.

Lawmakers mull absenteeism bills for older students

As the 2024-2025 school year begins, and the new law remains in its infancy, the General Assembly may soon expand chronic absenteeism enforcement measures to include junior high and high school students.

The Interim Study Committee on Education plans to meet in September to discuss legislation for chronically absent students in grades 7-12 as the new law only dealt with K-6 grade students. However, lawmakers are unsure what holding students in grades 7-12 responsible will look like.

“When it comes to seventh through twelfth graders, we’re saying, at what point does it become the student’s responsibility?” Hunley, a member of the interim committee, said. “How do you legislate in a way that doesn’t contribute to the school to prison pipeline? It’s really more supportive and preventative than it is punitive.”

Lawmakers are also considering methods to track absenteeism data for all grades, Hunley said. Legislators want to ensure that the 2024 law is effective at curbing rates of chronic absenteeism across the state, but methods for ensuring schools and prosecutors are reporting truancy data are still up for debate.

“We don’t have a streamlined way to collect that information. I think that’s going to be really key to know, did we prevent people from getting all the way to that point because then those kids won’t show up as being chronically absent, if we’re doing our job,” Hunley said.

Annika Harshbarger, Brookelyn Lambright, Brenna Polovina, Karl Templeton and Emma Walls are reporters from the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org .

Cell phones, reading, state testing: See what’s new as Indiana students head back to school

2024-07-24T10:00:00+00:00

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Across the state, students are heading back to school soon. Students in Beech Grove and Warren Township start classes this week, followed by the rest of Marion County’s districts next week.

With a new school year comes new rules about cell phones in classrooms, a new pilot program for shorter but more frequent state testing, and a new policy on holding back students who can’t read based on third grade reading exams.

Read more about these changes and others you’ll notice this school year:

Check for school bans on cell phones

A new Indiana law requires school districts to ban cell phones and “any portable wireless device” from class time.

The ban covers phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, as well as any other devices that can provide communication between two parties. But it’s up to each school district to decide on the exact policy.

There are some exceptions for educational purposes (including Individualized Education Programs), emergencies, and health care.

Some students will take more, shorter state tests

The Indiana Department of Education is piloting a checkpoint-based ILEARN this school year as an alternative to one high-stakes exam at the end of the year. More than 70% of schools opted into the pilot program, the department said.

The aim is to make the data more actionable throughout the school year for students, families, and teachers, instead of having to wait for results at the end of the year.

The pilot program will have three checkpoints throughout the year and a shortened summative assessment at the end of the year, per the department. The change is expected to be made for all students in the 2025-26 school year.

Schools and parents must meet about chronic absenteeism

Parents of chronically absent students in kindergarten through sixth grade will be required to meet with schools to create a plan and receive wraparound services to improve attendance, under a new law on truancy prevention.

The law also requires school officials to report truant students to the prosecutor’s office, and requires prosecutors to tell parents that they could be held legally accountable for their children missing school.

More students could be held back

More students could have to repeat the third grade, due to a new law that tightens the state’s policy for remediation. The policy doesn’t start until the 2025-2026 school year, but will be based on test results from the coming school year.

Retention has long been part of Indiana policy. It’s become less common in recent years, with thousands of students “socially promoted” over the years. But now, students have to pass the IREAD-3 to move to fourth grade.

There are some exemptions including for some students with an IEP and some English learners as well as students who pass the math portion of the statewide exam.

Additionally, parents have an opportunity to appeal a remediation recommendation if they believe their student meets one of the exemptions.

COVID relief funding ends for schools

Schools have until September to commit the third and final round of federal COVID funding — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER. This means districts may already be looking for new ways to fund programs and positions supported by these dollars.

The state spending tracker shows the state has reimbursed schools for about 87% of available federal relief funds as of July 19. However, the tracker doesn’t capture schools’ expenditures in real time.

Chalkbeat Indiana Reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Popularity and cost of Indiana’s voucher program surge as more wealthy families sign up

2024-05-24T21:10:14+00:00

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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 surge driven in large part by students from wealthy families.

The figure represents a $127 million increase from the $311 million the state spent on its voucher program last year, according to the Choice Scholarship Program annual report released Friday. The number of participating students in 2023-24 increased by approximately 32% from 2022-23.

Additionally, the number of voucher students from households making more than $150,000 soared after lawmakers last year abolished most requirements for participation and raised income eligibility to 400% of the threshold to qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program.

Nearly 8,000 students in 2023-24 came from households making between $150,000 to $200,000 annually, up from around 2,800 in 2022-23 — an increase of 183%.

And the number of voucher students from households making more than $200,000 increased roughly tenfold, from 354 students in 2022-23 to about 3,700 in 2023-24.

The number of students from those two income brackets combined who used vouchers in 2023-24 increased by 8,495, representing just over half the total growth of about 16,720 students.

Among the other income brackets, around 2,000 more students came from families making up to $50,000; an additional 2,000 came from families making between $50,000-$100,000; and the number of students from families making between $100,000 to $150,000 grew by a little more than 4,000.

Critics of the voucher program warned last year that relaxing the income eligibility requirement would effectively subsidize students from wealthier families to attend private schools. Supporters, meanwhile, said relaxing eligibility would give parents more choices in their students’ education.

Previous data showed that private school enrollment in Indiana was increasing, but not as quickly as the rate of voucher use, indicating that many students using vouchers this year had already been enrolled in private schools.

In a statement Friday on the voucher report, the Indiana State Teachers Association said the expansion funnels public funds “to those who can already afford private schools.”

“Public schools, which serve 90% of Hoosiers’ children, are open and nondiscriminatory, providing essential services and a common foundation for our diverse communities,” the ISTA said. “Vouchers undermine this public good by siphoning limited funds to private schools that lack accountability and do not serve all students equitably.”

The report notes that had all 70,000 voucher students attended their public schools, the state would have paid around $516 million in public school funding. However, the majority of Choice Scholarship students have never attended a public school.

Voucher students made up around 6.1% of enrollment statewide in 2023-24, according to the report, up from around 4.7% the year before.

The average voucher student in Indiana is a white, elementary-aged girl who lives in a metropolitan area and comes from a household of around 4.7 people making around $100,000, according to the report.

An additional 14 schools participated in the program in 2023-24, the most of any year of the program.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Charter schools could get property tax money if Pike Township referendum passes

2024-05-01T21:22:19+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI. It was updated to include comment from a Department of Local Government Finance spokesperson.

If Pike Township voters approve a $14.5 million property tax referendum to increase funding for the school district next week, a portion of the new money could be shared with Indianapolis charter schools.

It would be the first time an Indiana charter school benefits from a tax increase under a 2023 state law. The change is the result of years of lobbying by charter school supporters, who say that all public school students should benefit from local property taxes that help pay for buildings.

“This was the entire point of passing the law — so the charters could begin to get on equal ground with districts in terms of the public helping to finance facilities for these public school students,” said Marcie Brown-Carter, executive director of Indiana Charter School Network.

Charter schools are public schools overseen by a board that is not elected by voters. The schools get public funding from the state that pays for most of the cost of educating students. But they don’t typically receive local property tax revenue.

Under the new law, school districts in Marion and three other counties are required to distribute proceeds from a ballot approved levy with eligible charter schools that enroll students who live in the district boundary.

Last November, School City of Hammond in Lake County was the first school district to seek a referendum that it would have shared with charter schools under the new law. But the ballot question was defeated.

The May 7 primary election comes during a time of increased tensions in Indianapolis between supporters of traditional school districts and advocates of school choice. Indianapolis Public Schools is locked in a court battle with the state over a law that requires districts to sell unused property to charter schools for $1, and another Indianapolis district opposed a charter school opening in its boundaries.

Now, some charter school supporters worry this referendum could become another fight. That’s because Pike Township Superintendent Larry Young is questioning whether all the charter schools that want to participate in the referendum will qualify to receive a portion of funds.

Fifteen charter schools notified Pike that they intend to join the referendum. But to be eligible for funding, they must also follow other requirements — such as posting disclosure statements that include that they are not committing any crimes — and provide data on staff compensation and student enrollment.

Young told WFYI it remains to be seen whether all schools met the law’s requirements.

“There are some things that the schools have to do and so that’s something that we are monitoring,” Young said. “And assuming the referendum passes we’ll attend to that and see who actually qualifies to participate in our referendum.”

A district spending plan for the referendum shows most of the $14.5 million tax increase would cover staff pay and related expenses so the district can maintain academic support that has been paid for with temporary federal pandemic funds.

Pike estimates about $412,000 could be distributed annually among the 15 charter schools if the referendum passes. The district is not coordinating campaign support with the charter schools.

“I don’t know that that would happen, that all would qualify,” Young said, when asked how the district would adjust spending plans to share those funds. “Any amount of money taken away from Pike Township students would have an impact — absolutely.”

Brown-Carter, of Indiana Charter School Network, said operators of the 15 charter schools made every effort to comply with the law and believe they are doing so.

“The superintendent of Pike is not the arbiter of who is following the law or not,” said Brown-Carter, who advocated for the passage of the fund-sharing law. “It’s not his decision to say.”

State code does not include an enforcement provision in the law.

A spokesperson for the Department of Local Government Finance, which oversees local property tax referendums, said state code does not explicitly assign a public agency to determine whether a charter school correctly posted information on its website to satisfy eligibility requirements for referendum proceeds.

Sharing referendum funds among schools

Pike Township voters will likely not know whether their vote could impact charter schools. The law does not require the ballot question to identify if charter schools would receive a portion of a school district’s referendum.

Voter guide: These Indiana districts are asking voters for funding in the May primary election

If Pike’s referendum is approved, the property tax rate would increase for homeowners up to $0.24 per $100 assessed value for eight years. The law requires the eligible charter schools to receive a per-student share of the funds for each student they educate who lives in Pike Township.

Some of the Marion County charter schools say their plans for the funds are the same as Pike’s — to pay for teacher compensation and programs previously covered by federal aid.

Herron Classical Schools would receive a total of around $161,000 annually. The network’s three schools opted into the referendum and enroll a total of 106 students who live in Pike, according to an Indiana Department of Education estimate. The network says all funds would go toward teacher salaries.

Purdue Polytechnic High Schools would receive a total of around $35,000 annually for its 23 students who reside in Pike and attend one of its two high schools. Keeanna Warren, network CEO, told WFYI the share would go toward covering student academic supports previously funded by federal pandemic dollars, and teacher pay and recruitment.

Eligible charter schools for Pike referendum

Here are the charter schools that could receive a share of the referendum funds, according to Pike Township Schools. Estimated annual revenue share is in parentheses.

BELIEVE Circle City High School ($13,693)
Christel House Academy West ($7,607)
Enlace Academy ($31,950)
Herron Charter ($71,507)
Herron Preparatory Academy ($30,428)
Herron-Riverside High School ($59,335)
IN Math & Science Academy ($82,157)
IN Math & Science Academy - North ($33,471)
Matchbook Learning ($6,086)
Paramount Brookside ($10,650)
Paramount Cottage Home ($9,129)
Paramount Englewood ($6,086)
Purdue Polytechnic High School North ($24,343)
Purdue Polytechnic High School ($10,650)
Vision Academy ($15,214)

WFYI education reporter Dylan Peers McCoy contributed to this story.

Eric Weddle is the WFYI education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org.

Should students have cell phones in class? Indiana just said no — with a few exceptions.

2024-03-12T13:47:01+00:00

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Indiana students will need to put their phones away during class starting next school year, under a new law that requires districts to ban communication devices from classrooms.

Senate Enrolled Act 185 bans “any portable wireless device.” The bill — which was signed into law Monday by Gov. Eric Holcomb and takes effect in July — requires districts, including charter schools, to adopt policies banning several types of devices during class time.

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. They’re part of a national push to enact bans on cell phones in schools.

“Even as adults, we’re distracted by using our cell phones,” said Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Republican and the bill’s author, in a Feb. 14 meeting of the House Education Committee.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming cell phone ban, including exceptions to it, what schools have previously done to limit cell phones, and concerns about it.

How does the new cell phone ban work?

Under the new law, school districts will need to adopt policies banning communication devices during instructional time. That includes phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, as well as any other devices that can provide communication between two parties.

Exactly how that will be done is up to each individual school district. Students might be required to put their phones in locked pouches or designated places in the classroom.

It will be up to school boards to adopt these policies this summer.

However, the law says a student can use their device:

if a teacher allows it for educational purposes during instructional time.
if a student needs to manage their health care, as for blood sugar monitoring, for example.
in the event of an emergency.
if the use of the device is included in their Individualized Education Program or 504 plan.

The law does not define what constitutes an emergency.

The exception for instructional time is important for students in dual credit programs, said Mary Jane Michalak, vice president of legal and public affairs at Ivy Tech Community College, because it will allow them to access two-factor authentication.

Why do people want a cell phone ban?

Lawmakers attempted to ban cell phones in schools over two decades ago, said Rep. Vernon Smith. However, the law was reversed due to safety concerns.

The rapid adoption of phones between 2010 and 2015, coupled with the development of more attention-grabbing apps, has led students to spend more and more time on their phones, said Evan Eagleson, regional advocacy director for ExcelinEd, during testimony.

Eagleson said studies have shown students spend seven to nine hours a day on their phones, receiving around 237 notifications — a quarter of which occur during class time.

Since COVID, teachers report that student behavior and mental health issues linked to cell phones have spiked, said John O’Neal of the Indiana State Teachers Association in testimony.

“It’s becoming a major problem,” O’Neal said. “Students aren’t motivated in class because they’re distracted by their devices.”

How do educators and parents feel about it?

While schools already have the power to ban cell phones, such prohibitions have largely been left to the discretion of individual teachers, the bill’s supporters said, creating inconsistency from classroom to classroom.

A statewide law provides consistency and helps to enforce existing local policies, said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, during testimony on the bill.

Education groups that supported the new law include the Indiana State Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Indiana School Boards Association, and the Indiana Association of School Principals.

While the bill saw little opposition from advocates or lawmakers, some noted the potential increase in school discipline for students who try to circumvent their districts’ new policies. The enforcement of the ban, as well as any potential consequences for students who violate it, will be up to school districts.

Parents, too, have expressed concerns about being able to reach their students in the event of a school emergency.

How have schools tried to limit cell phones?

Spradlin said school districts’ existing guidelines on cell phone use typically ban the devices from classrooms, or leave it up to teachers. They often permit cell phone use during lunch and passing periods.

But a few Indiana districts have recently moved to ban cell phones during the school day. Fort Wayne Community Schools announced in February that it would pilot “phone-free schools” at two of its middle schools and two of its high schools this spring.

Students will be required to put their phones in locked pouches, which will be unlocked at the end of the day.

Hammond and Martinsville schools also adopted policies at the beginning of this school year requiring students to put their phones away.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the law includes both traditional public school districts and charter schools.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here are the education bills approved by the 2024 Indiana legislature

2024-03-09T03:00:58+00:00

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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.

Lawmakers wrapped the session late Friday, nearly a week earlier than their deadline, after spending hours negotiating bills in bipartisan, bicameral conference committees charged with hashing out versions of bills agreeable to both chambers.

Lawmakers hinted that a dramatic overhaul of school voucher funding may be coming next year, when they take up budget proposals. They took a step in that direction this year by expanding access to Education Savings Accounts — a type of voucher funding for students with disabilities — to the siblings of students who have the accounts.

And while some lawmakers hoped for a session free of controversial social issues, the legislature passed a bill aimed at universities’ diversity practices that sparked anger among students and faculty.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has seven days to sign legislation once it lands on his desk. If he does not sign a bill, it still passes into law. If he vetoes a piece of legislation, the legislature can override the veto with a majority vote in both houses.

Here are the bills that passed the statehouse this year and now await action by the governor:

Bills address reading, cellphone bans, and college tenure

Senate Bill 1 tightens the state’s policy for holding back and remediating young children who don’t demonstrate reading proficiency by third grade, unless they meet one of a few exceptions. Amendments to the bill created a policy for parents to appeal a remediation recommendation.

Addressing students’ declining reading skills was the top priority of the GOP supermajority. While proponents of the bill hope that few students are held back, schools are bracing for more students in third grade classrooms. Advocates for English learners warn that the state could run afoul of federal law by retaining students only for a lack of English proficiency.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 6, a companion bill, would require the Indiana Department of Education to identify older students who don’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 185 requires school districts to adopt policies banning communication devices like cellphones from the classroom. The policies must include exceptions for emergencies, health needs, and cellphone use at the direction of a teacher or under an individualized education program.

Senate Bill 202, the most controversial bill of the 2024 session, makes many changes to colleges’ tenure, promotion, and diversity policies.

It would prohibit colleges from offering tenure to or promoting faculty who have failed to expose students to a variety of political or ideological frameworks, and create complaint procedures aimed at professors who have shared political opinions unrelated to their academic discipline. It would also compel colleges to consider “intellectual diversity” in policies alongside cultural diversity. An amendment removed part of the bill that changed the makeup of university boards.

The bill’s author, Sen. Spencer Deery, said it would help more conservative students feel comfortable on university campuses, pointing to Indiana’s declining college-going rate as one measure that they currently do not.

Critics said the bill would stifle classroom discussion and force professors to teach false information in order to comply, and ultimately lead to a brain drain in the state as faculty leave Indiana or refuse to teach here.

Education-related bills significantly changed during session

Several education-related bills passed after going through multiple changes as they moved through the legislature, though some reverted to their original language after negotiations in conference committees. Among them:

House Bill 1002 codifies a definition of antisemitism and prohibits religious discrimination at the state’s schools. The bill passed the House with a definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which the Senate removed. In a compromise, the conference committee kept the definition but left out the contemporary examples of antisemitism that the alliance includes.

House Bill 1137 requires principals to allow a student to leave for off-campus religious instruction. The bill saw many changes throughout session, including a House amendment that would have recognized Indiana students and schools for civic excellence. The Senate removed that amendment and instead added language allowing chaplains to work in public schools. A conference committee removed the chaplains provision, returning the bill to its original form.

Senate Bill 211 establishes an excellence in civics education designation for students and schools. A conference committee removed several House amendments that would have subjected charter schools to open-records law, established an internet safety curriculum, and allowed school employees to remove disruptive students from the classroom.

House Bill 1001 allows siblings of students who have Education Scholarship Accounts — a type of school choice program for students with disabilities — to qualify for their own ESA. The bill, originally intended to modify last year’s law on Career Scholarship Accounts, also allows students to use Career Scholarship Accounts to obtain their driver’s licenses.

Senate Bill 282 establishes truancy prevention policies requiring schools to meet with parents of chronically absent students in kindergarten through sixth grade, and establish plans and wraparound services to improve attendance. The bill also requires school officials to report truant students to the prosecutor’s office, and requires prosecutors to take legal action against parents of students who are habitually truant.

House lawmakers removed a provision to study chronic absenteeism among older students in a summer committee.

They also amended the bill to include a provision that truant students couldn’t participate in extracurricular activities, and one allowing schools to bar parents from campuses for making multiple unsubstantiated claims against teachers. But those changes were removed by a conference committee.

Bills that make smaller changes to education with big impacts

House Bill 1104 lays out requirements for schools’ armed intruder drills, including that students can’t be subject to drills that include sensory components, like simulations of gunfire.

House Bill 1243 enacts numerous education policy changes, including:

Requiring the State Board of Education to establish a new standard Indiana diploma to replace the existing ones by October 2028.
Establishing curriculum requirements for computer science and compelling the Department of Education to approve curriculum for internet safety.
Extending the personal finance curriculum to 8th graders.
Requiring school districts to adopt a policy on habitually truant students participating in extracurricular activities, though the bill doesn’t specify what those policies should be.
Specifying that literacy achievement grants are not subject to collective bargaining.
Creating professional development and curricular resources for mathematics.

House Bill 1380 also includes a number of policy changes:

Prohibiting schools from charging a fee for out-of-district transfer students.
Expanding the Indiana Learns program that gives students up to $1,000 for tutoring beyond 2026.
Requiring that Innovation Network schools receive 100% of their state tuition support dollars, and prohibiting school districts from charging them above a certain amount for goods and services.
Directing the Department of Education to establish pilot programs on student transportation and school facilities.
Requiring universities to publicize information about hazing incidents.
Requiring the Commission on Seclusion and Restraint to meet twice a year and adopt a policy requiring schools to minimize or eliminate the use of time-outs.

Senate Bill 270 would clarify that school districts must close underutilized buildings and make them available to charter schools for $1.

Senate Bill 48 originally would have required colleges to compile information about jobs and pay related to the degrees they offer. But when colleges reported that they already have much of this information, lawmakers amended the bill to require schools to prominently post links to it instead.

Senate Bill 8 would require all high schools to offer the College Core, a certificate earned by completing a set of coursework that’s recognized by all Indiana public colleges. It would also require colleges and universities to explore the possibilities of conferring associate degrees and offering three-year degree programs.

School-related bills that didn’t pass

Several bills passed one chamber of the legislature but didn’t make it through the other.

Senate Bill 128 would’ve required schools to seek school board approval for their sex education curriculum, and publicize the materials, plus information about who teaches the courses and when.

Senate Bill 287 would’ve required schools to teach cursive writing.

Senate Bill 50 would’ve permitted chaplains to serve in public schools as counselors.

Senate Bill 214 would’ve required schools to post links to mental health resources for students, and Senate Bill 141 would’ve required counselors to spend a certain amount of time providing services to students.

House Bill 1073 would’ve required schools to install video cameras in special education classrooms, and allowed parents to review recordings in certain situations. Some provisions of this bill regarding seclusion and restraint were added to House Bill 1380.

House Bill 1304 would’ve created a mastery-based education program, along with a number of other policy changes that were inserted into House Bill 1243.

House Bill 1376 would’ve restricted school referendums to general elections or municipal elections only.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers drop proposal to allow chaplains in public schools

2024-03-07T17:43:27+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers have cut a proposal that would have permitted chaplains to work in public schools — part of a compromise on a bill allowing students to leave school for religious instruction at their parents’ request.

They returned House Bill 1137 to its original form, which requires principals to allow students to attend off-campus religious instruction if parents request it. Indiana law currently leaves the decision to principals’ discretion.

The controversial language in House Bill 1137 would have allowed chaplains to serve as counselors offering only secular support to students, unless the students’ parents gave permission for nonsecular guidance.

Proponents said it would put willing members of the community in schools to counsel students on a volunteer or paid basis. But critics said the proposal would have violated the establishment clause in the First Amendment, which forbids the government from establishing a religion or favoring one religion over another. Some also said that chaplains didn’t necessarily have the training to work in schools.

Multiple changes to the bill prompted it to go to a bipartisan, bicameral conference committee, which cut the language in the final days of the 2024 legislative session as a compromise to pass the bill through both chambers.

House Bill 1137 briefly featured an amendment to recognize excellent civics education, which was later removed by Senate lawmakers. They instead added a provision to allow chaplains to serve in public schools after their bill containing the language, Senate Bill 50, failed to move forward in the House.

Both chambers must now accept the conference committee’s report. If they don’t, the bill dies.

Lawmakers could still insert the language on chaplains into other bills, as several remain in progress in conference committees.

The 2024 session must adjourn by March 14, but could end sooner.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How Indianapolis area educators are preparing for a proposal to retain more third graders

2024-02-28T11:00:00+00:00

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This story was co-published with Mirror Indy and WFYI.

Grace Martin, a tutor at Vision Academy charter school in Indianapolis, teaches the alphabet.

‘A’ makes the sound for ‘apple.’ ‘I’ is for words like ‘important’ and ‘ice.’

It’s a lesson she uses with students in kindergarten — but to her surprise, she has to teach it to third graders as well.

“It’s like they … just paused at kindergarten or first grade, and now they’re in third grade,” Martin said. “I’m helping them pick up on basically two years of learning.”

It’s a challenge that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic but grew much worse after schools switched to remote learning for part of 2020. Third grade reading scores remain near the lowest point in a decade, and that means thousands of kids lack essential skills necessary to learn as they grow older, such as phonics and comprehension.

Now Marion County educators are preparing for the likely rollout of Senate Bill 1, which would require districts to hold back more students who fail the state’s elementary school reading exam. That bill emerged as one solution proposed by the Gov. Eric Holcomb administration and state lawmakers after seeing that nearly one in five Indiana students failed the reading test in each of the last three years.

Schools currently have the option to retain students yet few do. In 2023, of the 13,855 third graders who didn’t pass the state’s spring reading exam, according to state data, only about 400 were held back.

Reporters from Chalkbeat Indiana, Mirror Indy, and WFYI contacted educators across Marion County to learn how school administrators and teachers were preparing for the probable changes coming just a year after the state required schools to adopt new reading curriculum.

Some support the legislation and see benefits in giving students another year to learn how to read. Others, though, worry about what would happen next: a wave of overcrowded classrooms beginning with a “bubble” in the third grade.

“Then we’re going to see that bubble go into our middle schools and into our high schools,” Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts said.

Thousands could retake third grade

If enacted, the legislation could have an outsized impact in Marion County.

That’s because lawmakers are looking at how many third graders are passing the state standardized exam known as the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination, or IREAD-3. That test, given to all third graders, assesses whether the students are proficient in reading.

In Marion County’s public school districts, about 2,700 students were allowed to advance into fourth grade even though they failed IREAD, according to state data. That amounted to 28% of the districts’ third graders. Statewide, that promotion rate was about 17%.

To be clear, not all of those students would necessarily be held back under Senate Bill 1.

Under the legislation, kids would be given three opportunities by the end of third grade to pass IREAD. Students who don’t pass would become eligible for literacy-focused summer school and repeat a year of classroom instruction. But some students — including English language learners with less than two years of learning English, students with disabilities, and those who pass the math portion of state exams — would still move on to fourth grade.

It’s difficult to know how many students would be affected by the legislation. An online portal from the state Department of Education does not outline how many Marion County students would be exempt, and the state did not answer questions about how that number could be estimated.

Statewide, though, as many as 7,050 students would be held back in 2026, according to the Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers on policymaking. That could cost the state an additional $57 million as the students age.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, however, says with multiple opportunities for students to take IREAD, retaining the estimated 7,050 students statewide is “a worst-case scenario.”

“This number, we should never hit,” Jenner said. “It would be unacceptable if we do.”

Marion County schools less likely to hold back

State education officials set a goal in 2022 to ensure 95% of Hoosier students pass IREAD by 2027.

Some officials say meeting that goal will require a shift in how schools decide to hold back students.

At two Marion County public school corporations — Indianapolis Public Schools and Lawrence Township — roughly one in three students were sent to fourth grade without passing IREAD. Both districts declined to comment for this story.

At Pike Township, where 29% of third graders advanced to fourth grade without passing IREAD, Superintendent Larry Young noted the likely effect this legislation would have on urban schools during a January school board meeting. He said he’d like lawmakers to also consider students’ potential for growth.

“I would ask that they look at trajectory,” Young said. “We have children that … in the next year or two, not only will they catch up, they will potentially surpass where their age-same peers may potentially be.”

Butts, the Wayne Township superintendent, said there are valid concerns about holding back students. Studies have found that students who were retained dropped out of school and faced negative social-emotional outcomes. Overall, however, research is mixed on whether retention is ultimately beneficial.

“But we also understand the negative impact of children not being able to read at grade level,” he said. “And that gets exponentially more challenging for them as they get into more difficult content.”

That’s what Rachelle Fisher, a fourth grade teacher in Franklin Township, is seeing. An educator for nearly two decades, Fisher said she loves to teach reading, but by fourth grade, it’s about content.

“It is nearly impossible to teach Indiana history and Indiana state science standards to students that are not reading at grade level,” she said.

Educators say retention isn’t the only answer

Some educators support the legislation but question whether it is happening too quickly.

Indiana lawmakers passed legislation last year requiring schools to adopt curricula aligned with the science of reading, an approach to teaching reading that focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. While some districts have already trained staff and introduced this teaching, others are doing so for the first time this school year.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, introduced a new reading curriculum this year and while 96% of kindergarten through second grade classrooms were using it as of December, only about half of teachers so far have mastered teaching the new material.

“We are three months into implementation of something that a year from now will be very well organized and articulated,” Brookside Elementary School 54 Principal Jeremy Baugh told IPS Board Commissioners during a Feb. 20 meeting.

Other educators stressed that a one-size-fits-all approach to retention may not be best for students.

Stephanie Cotter, principal at Beech Grove’s Central Elementary, said her colleagues consider more than test scores when making a decision about retention. A school committee evaluates what interventions have been tried in the past, how many questions were missed on reading exams and whether retention is socially appropriate for a student. They also consider a student’s size and birthday, and bring parents into the conversation.

A third-grader works through an exercise Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, during a reading intervention class at Central Elementary School in Beech Grove.

“What’s being proposed is even more constraining compared to what’s out there,” Cotter said. “We all want our students to be able to read. We want to hit that 95% target. We want them to have those early literacy skills, and we have to look at specific children and decide, ‘Is this what’s best for them at this time?’”

Cotter and others say retention alone only goes so far. Schools continue to grapple with attendance challenges as students settle into classroom learning after 2020′s pandemic-driven disruptions. About one in five Hoosier students were considered chronically absent last year, and additional legislation has been introduced this year in response.

Some educators say they hope the state will invest in greater literacy support for students before they reach third grade. That could mean universal preschool or mandatory kindergarten.

Barbara Wellnitz, a tutor with United Way’s ReadUP program, said she supports efforts to start students in school earlier.

“Fully funding pre-K for all children, paying teachers of those children decent wages, and requiring children to attend school by age five would all go a long way toward helping children up their reading skills,” Wellnitz said. “Fewer students would face the possibility of retention in all grades.”

What’s next

Parents of students who would have been held back have spoken out against the bill, saying they are concerned about the weight put on students taking a test.

Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, told lawmakers that she knew when her daughter was in first grade that she would struggle to pass the IREAD. But what she didn’t know until December of her third grade year was that her child had been having seizures at the rate of dozens per day, and likely missing instruction as a result.

Even after receiving medication, she didn’t have enough time between December and the March testing window to catch up, Burke said. She failed, and had to take summer school and repeat the test, but those results were lost.

Now that she’s at the top of her class, it’s clear that holding her back would not have been the right course, Burke said.

“She’s not unique. There are kids whose parents die who take the test the next day. There are kids whose houses burned down who have to take this test the next day,” Burke said. “Kids are people. They’re not statistics. There has to be some room.”

But at the Statehouse, the bill continues to advance. It passed out of the House on Tuesday and now returns to the Senate before heading to Holcomb’s desk.

That’s good news to Martin, the tutor, who said she agrees with the proposal. She said no parent wants to hear that their child needs to be held back, but it’s about making sure they have “that extra support that they need to set them up for success.”

“Where do you want your kids to be at? Do you want to pass your kid and then he’s gonna continue failing and then he’s gonna graduate and he actually didn’t retain anything?” Martin said. “No, you can’t do that. You got to put the kid first.”

Aleksandra Appleton, Amelia Pak-Harvey, and MJ Slaby from Chalkbeat Indiana contributed to this article. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Contact the bureau at in.tips@chalkbeat.org

Carley Lanich and Emily Hopkins from Mirror Indy contributed to this article. Mirror Indy is a nonprofit news organization covering Indianapolis.

Eric Weddle from WFYI contributed to this article.

How a revised Indiana absenteeism bill could affect students and parents

2024-02-27T17:44:17+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana House lawmakers have amended a Senate bill focused on chronic absenteeism to require school districts to prohibit habitually truant students from participating in extracurricular activities.

They also altered Senate Bill 282 to add instructions that school officials must report habitually truant students to the prosecutors’ office, and that prosecutors must notify parents that they’ve filed affidavits related to their students’ absenteeism.

But in a policy change not directly related to absenteeism, legislators also amended the bill on Tuesday to provide new protections for teachers who are targeted by unsubstantiated complaints from parents.

Policymakers signaled before the start of this session, which ends March 14, that they wanted to address high rates of chronic absenteeism in Indiana schools. But lawmakers have struggled to articulate how they want to address the issue comprehensively.

The Senate bill primarily deals with student absenteeism. It would require schools to meet with parents and offer wraparound services to address elementary students’ absenteeism.

But an amendment by Democratic Rep. Tonya Pfaff in the last House education committee meeting of the 2024 session added protections for school employees facing unsubstantiated complaints of misconduct.

If an allegation were dismissed or found to be unsubstantiated, a principal would have to inform the school employee and the student and their parent of this decision in writing.

Furthermore, principals would have to inform the parent or student making the allegation that a second unsubstantiated complaint within a year could result in the student being moved to another classroom, or the parent being barred from after-school activities for up to six months.

Pfaff’s amendment passed with bipartisan support.

The changes are similar to an amendment in another bill this session that would allow school employees to remove disruptive students from the classroom and prohibit them from returning.

Lawmakers scuttle plan to study older students’ absenteeism

House lawmakers also removed language from SB 282 that would have asked lawmakers to study the issue of absenteeism over the summer. The bill’s author, GOP Sen. Stacy Donato, said the purpose of this study was to find solutions for truancy among older students.

But Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican chair of the House education committee, said House Speaker Todd Huston requested that bills not contain summer study committee language. Legislative leadership could still decide to study the issue further.

Lawmakers also removed nonpublic schools from the provisions of the bill, and added language that parents can ask a representative — like a doctor or therapist — to provide input at an attendance meeting with their student’s school.

SB 282 is moving forward to a full House vote as the 2024 session quickly draws to a close.

Notably, the House committee did not hear Senate Bill 128, which would have required schools to seek approval from their school boards for sex education material, and then publish the information online. The committee’s decision effectively killed the bill.

You can track SB 282 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How an Indiana bill to recognize great civics education became a bill to allow chaplains in school

2024-02-26T23:22:02+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Lawmakers have altered bills originally designed to recognize Indiana schools and students for civic education to instead cover chaplains in schools, internet safety, and student discipline.

Previous versions of Senate Bill 211 and House Bill 1137 included a requirement for Indiana to establish a civics seal recognizing schools, students, and teachers for excellence in civics at a time when Indiana’s civic participation is declining. The bills would have also brought civic education to the earliest grades through reading materials.

But lawmakers have dramatically rewritten the bills during the legislative process, which is nearing its end on March 14.

House Bill 1137 began as a bill to require schools to release students for religious instruction at their parents’ request, which House lawmakers amended early in the session to include a new civic seal recognition.

But after the bill passed the House, lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee stripped the bill of language related to civics, and added instead a provision to allow chaplains to serve in schools. Senate Bill 50, which passed the Senate but has yet to be heard in the House, includes similar language about chaplains.

The House bill’s provision on chaplains has also been changed by senators to address concerns that it allowed children to receive religious guidance without their parents’ knowledge. In the most up-to-date language, only emancipated minors and parents of unemancipated minors could give permission for religious instruction. Chaplains would otherwise have to provide secular guidance only.

Another amendment to House Bill 1137 adopted by senators would require chaplains to disclose to parents any communication with their students, at parents’ request.

But critics, including the ACLU and Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford, still say school corporations that employ chaplains could run the risk of violating the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause.

Meanwhile, House lawmakers changed Senate Bill 211 to remove the civic seal language. Instead, they added a provision to require the Indiana Department of Education to establish a civics proficiency designation for schools “to further develop student understanding of civil society, constitutional government, and the democratic process.”

The House has also amended the bill to require the Department of Education to approve an internet safety curriculum on cyberbullying and dangerous online behavior. Another amendment would allow school personnel to remove disruptive students and bar them from returning to the classroom.

A House amendment by Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, on Monday would have banned Attorney General Todd Rokita from operating the Eyes on Education portal — a website for parents and others to file complaints against teachers and schools over lessons on politics, race, gender, and sexuality.

Another amendment by Democratic Rep. Carey Hamilton from Indianapolis would have required members of the General Assembly to spend time shadowing public school teachers.

These amendments from DeLaney and Hamilton were rejected for not being germane to the bill.

“Every session, we pass new laws, requirements, and restrictions that impact teachers in their work with students and I think it’s incredibly important for us to be informed about what their work looks like,” Hamilton said.

House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 are advancing to a final reading in their respective chambers. If they pass, they’ll head to the governor’s desk. You can track each bill on the General Assembly website.

Correction: Feb. 27, 2024: A previous version of this story referred to J.D. Ford as a state representative. Ford is a state senator.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

How the reading retention bill moving through Indiana Statehouse impacts English learners

2024-02-23T17:30:22+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A bill that would hold back more third graders in Indiana has raised alarms among teachers of English language learners, who say the retention mandate ignores research on language acquisition, and could violate federal law.

Senate Bill 1 — a priority bill for GOP lawmakers this year — requires schools to remediate young students who don’t demonstrate reading skills and retain most third graders who don’t pass the state reading test, the IREAD3. It’s part of a legislative effort to address the state’s literacy scores, which have declined for more than a decade.

The bill has passed the Senate and is heading for a full vote in the House with support from the Indiana Department of Education.

The bill includes “good cause” exemptions to retention for several groups of students, including English learners who have received services for less than two years and whose teachers and parents agree that promotion is appropriate.

But advocates for English learners say that the exemption for this population doesn’t align with what research says about how long it takes for students to learn a new language.

With a growing population of 93,000 English learners in Indiana, and a history of shortages of educators licensed to teach language learners, advocates worry that English learners will be denied an appropriate education if they’re retained. The state also has an increasing number of immigrant students, some of whom will need language services.

Advocates also say the provision conflicts with the state’s implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which gives students six years to demonstrate proficiency in English before their schools face a penalty. Federal law also states that English learners should not be retained solely on the basis of their English language proficiency and that they are entitled to age-appropriate curriculum and participation in school programs.

State officials who support the bill, however, say it does not conflict with federal law or state rules.

Sen. Linda Rogers, the bill’s co-author, said in a statement that the language conforms with federal guidance, and that the bill’s authors “worked to ensure that was the case as the legislation was being written.”

And the Indiana Department of Education said in a statement that federal guidance requires school districts to help students become English proficient and participate in regular classes “within a reasonable period of time.”

Per the bill, that reasonable amount of time is two years to make sure EL students aren’t retained only because of “their lack of English proficiency and before they have been provided with meaningful opportunity and academic instruction,” the IDOE statement said.

But learning a new language can take anywhere from five to 14 years, said Patricia Morita-Mullaney, a professor of language and literacy at Purdue University and past president of the Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, or INTESOL.

English learners who are retained under the provisions of Senate Bill 1 could sue the state for failing to meet federal requirements, Morita-Mullaney said.

“Indiana is setting itself up for an enormous class action lawsuit,” Morita-Mullaney said.

Meeting the needs of English learners

Historically, most of Indiana’s young English learners were U.S. citizens who had attended American schools since kindergarten, Morita-Mullaney said. A large percentage then could become eligible for retention in third grade, when they are in their fourth year of receiving English language services — an insufficient amount of time, she said.

The effect would be a penalty for the child, instead of the school as currently outlined by ESSA, she said.

Current Indiana law exempts English learners from retention.

In addition to concerns about violating federal law, holding students back based on their English proficiency has a negative impact on their content knowledge, said Donna Albrecht, a professor of ENL/ESL at Indiana University Southeast and a member of the advocacy team at INTESOL. Instead, teachers should be trained in methods that teach content and language at the same time.

“It’s not that they weren’t taught to read; they’re learning two languages. It takes more time,” Albrecht said. “By the time they reach fourth and fifth grade, they’re surpassing their monolingual peers.”

Of the 2,819 English learner students who failed the IREAD-3 statewide in 2023, 1,922 received a good cause exemption from retention, while 897 did not. Most of the latter — 868 students — were promoted to fourth grade anyway. Such “social promotion” has increased in Indiana schools over the last decade.

Retaining hundreds more students will affect both urban districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, which has a large population of English learners, as well as small, rural districts where these students make up a large share of the population, Morita-Mullaney said.

In both cases, schools will need to staff additional third grade classrooms with teachers who are prepared to teach English learners, Morita-Mullaney said. Indiana schools have struggled to find enough qualified teachers for English learners — another federal requirement.

“They’ll move teachers to third grade, or they’ll bring in new people who have never been in high-stakes testing environments before,” Morita-Mullaney said.

Improving Senate Bill 1 for English learners

There are 93,625 English learners in all grades statewide in 2023-24, according to Indiana Department of Education data.

To improve the bill for English learners, INTESOL recommends changing the exemption language to reference scores on Indiana’s assessment for English learners — WIDA.

Under the organization’s proposed language, students who score less than a 5.0 proficiency level on WIDA, the score needed to exit the English learner programs and join the general student body, would be eligible for an exemption if they fail IREAD3.

On average, students gain half a level of proficiency per year on the assessment, said Albrecht. But even students who gain a full level of proficiency each year may not be ready to pass the IREAD-3 in third grade if they started learning English in kindergarten.

It’s not clear from available state data at what WIDA level students can typically pass the IREAD-3, Albrecht added. Comparing data has been challenging due to years of changes in state and federal testing, Morita-Mullaney said.

The state Department of Education said WIDA measures English language proficiency at grade level, as mandated by ESSA, while IREAD3 measures reading proficiency overall.

Advocates pushed back on this interpretation saying WIDA focuses on all parts of language, but IREAD is designed to test reading for native speakers.

Bill author Rogers also said that retention would not conflict with Indiana’s ESSA plan.

“The legislation highlights early identification of students that may not be reading proficient by the end of third grade. These students will be provided remediation and summer school aligned with the Science of Reading,” Rogers’ statement said. “The goal is not to retain anyone that doesn’t have a good cause exemption and ensure that ‘Every Child Learns to Read.’”

Previously, proponents said that retention will remain a last resort for students after they have more intervention and multiple attempts to pass the test. Still, retention is a necessary step in some cases, they said, giving students another year to develop literacy skills.

Both Rogers and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner have said they don’t believe very many students will be retained after receiving increased intervention.

“This is a crisis for our state right now and we have no time to waste,” Jenner said at a Wednesday meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bill is scheduled for a second reading in the House on Monday.

You can track Senate Bill 1 on the General Assembly website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Civics education to come to the earliest grades under Indiana proposal

2024-02-12T17:51:41+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

In Heather Veatch’s fourth grade class at East Washington Academy in Muncie, students run for office at the beginning of the year.

Despite their nerves, they each give a speech to their peers introducing themselves and their ideas and then vote for president, vice president, senators, and representatives. Veatch’s students bring issues to their elected leaders, who work to address them.

This year, they campaigned for and successfully passed a proposal for a new sensory space, which Veatch then granted.

While those who don’t win the class elections are often disappointed, Veatch tells them that they’re now occupying the most important role of all — citizen.

“Kids at a young age need to know they’re part of a bigger picture,” she said. “They’re not just them alone. But they alone can have a big impact on the bigger picture.”

This is the kind of civics education that Indiana leaders hope to see more of under new bills that would reward students, educators, and schools for engaging the next generation of Hoosier voters.

While Indiana has made progress in civics education through new standards requiring a semester of civics in sixth grade, advocates say there’s still work to be done, especially as the state faces a “concerning” drop in voter participation, according to one report.

House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 would each establish a civics seal to recognize students, teachers, and schools for excellence in civics education — which could look like offering civics-minded lessons and field trips to students.

Students could receive the seal on their diplomas, while schools could earn a certification, similar to existing recognition for STEM education.

The bills also seek to increase access to civics material in the earliest grades as part of the state’s push to provide young students with high-quality reading curriculum. And by introducing basic concepts of citizenship and fairness early, advocates hope to build a foundation for improved civic engagement later in life.

“We don’t want to lose social studies standards in the push for science of reading,” said David Roof, a professor and director of the Center of Economic and Civic Learning at Ball State University. “The focus on literacy and the focus on civics don’t need to compete. They should be intertwined.”

While the civics provisions earned widespread approval, each bill also comes with less popular provisions.

Civics education to improve civic engagement

Civic engagement in Indiana has been persistently low, according to the Indiana Civic Health Index, a report compiled by the Center for Urban and Regional Excellence at Indiana University Northwest.

The center’s 2023 survey found Indiana ranked second to last in voter turnout in the 2022 midterm election, with around 42% of voters voting. While turnout nationally is the highest it’s been since the 1980s, Indiana’s rate has dropped nearly 15 percentage points during that time, the report notes.

Common theories about this drop include the absence of contested elections in the state, according to the report, as well a lack of accessible voting policies common in states with high turnout, like unrestricted absentee voting and same-day voter registration.

A foundation in civics education in K-12 schools will also help address the particularly low voter turnout of young voters, said Roof.

“Improving civic education will improve civic engagement,” said Charles Dunlap, president and CEO of the Indiana Bar Foundation. “It’s a long game.”

The bills would direct the Indiana Department of Education to help provide families and schools with affordable, civics-based reading instruction and materials — with the aim of infusing elementary reading instruction with material about U.S. history and government, Dunlap said.

They would also establish recommendations for a civics seal, which students could earn as an endorsement on their diplomas, Dunlap said. To do this, they might go to school board meetings, or receive certain grades in their government classes.

Many schools in Indiana already offer civics education that could form the basis of a civics seal.

Muncie schools, operated by Ball State University, received a $1.3 million federal grant to revitalize its civics curriculum. Students take field trips to the Indiana Statehouse, and Washington D.C. and participate in classroom-level government exercises. Bills include controversial policies about religion, charters

Both bills have passed their chambers of origin.

And while the civics education proposals received unanimous support from lawmakers and members of the public, each bill includes other proposals that raised concerns.

HB 1137, for example, changes existing Indiana policy to require principals to release students for religious instruction during the school day at their parents’ request. Critics said this proposal could cause disruptions to the school day, and open schools up to legal liability.

SB 211, meanwhile, drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers for its definition of “charter school corporations. Critics argued the change removed a layer of financial transparency from reporting requirements.

Tying less popular provisions to a fairly neutral topic like civics education may help those provisions pass with hesitant lawmakers, said Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

Roof, Dunlap, and other advocates for civics emphasized that their support is limited to the civics portions of the bills. It’s not uncommon for lawmakers to consolidate topics, Dunlap noted.

“In moving out of the Committee, perhaps we will see a more focused consideration of the topics on their own,” Roof said.

You can track House Bill 1137 and Senate Bill 211 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Conservative-friendly higher education bill advances at Statehouse

2024-02-08T16:43:41+00:00

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This article was originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A sweeping bill tightening lawmaker oversight of Indiana’s public colleges and universities for “intellectual diversity” purposes drew opposition Tuesday in the Senate but easily cleared the chamber along party lines.

“The number of Hoosier students and parents who view higher education as monolithic echo chambers — (that) coddle students with minority but scholarly viewpoints or ostracize faculty … or students with different viewpoints — is significant,” Sen. Spencer Deery said on the Senate floor.

Deery has called his Senate Bill 202 a “reform” effort intended to reverse those “declining views” of higher education.

“Infringing on academic freedom is a red line we should not cross, but we don’t need to give up on these values to curb the excessive politicalization and viewpoint discrimination that threatens our state’s workforce goals,” he said.

Opponents, however, argued the proposed changes could harm students and faculty members, or would overly burden public institutions.

Those include Ball State University, Indiana University, Indiana State University, Ivy Tech Community College, Purdue University, the University of Southern Indiana, and Vincennes University.

Senators passed the legislation in a party-line vote of 39-9, with all Democrats voting against.

On Wednesday, Indiana University President Pamela Whitten said in a statement that the bill risks unintended consequences for both the university and the “economic and cultural vitality of the state.”

“While we are still analyzing the broad potential impacts of SB 202, we are deeply concerned about language regarding faculty tenure that would put academic freedom at risk, weaken the intellectual rigor essential to preparing students with critical thinking skills, and damage our ability to compete for the world-class faculty who are at the core of what makes IU an extraordinary research institution,” Whitten said in her statement.

Polling students and tweaking boards

Deery and other Republican lawmakers contend that conservative students and faculty members are increasingly ostracized at progressively liberal college and university settings — or at least perceive such shunning.

“Even if some of it is perception, that still matters if it keeps a kid from enrolling in higher (education) or keeps their parents from encouraging them to do so,” Deery said. “Higher (education) should be for all Hoosiers.”

In a 2023 state-commissioned survey of thousands of Hoosier higher education students, about 56% said conservative students can openly express their opinions at school, compared to the 73% who said liberal students can do so. More than 25% of respondents — for both questions — said they were neutral or didn’t know an answer.

Deery’s bill would change up institution boards of trustees by removing appointment power from alumni councils and handing it to House and Senate Republican majority leaders — “with advice” from Democrat minority leaders. It would require boards’ existing diversity committees to consider “intellectual diversity” alongside cultural diversity in employment policies and faculty complaints.

And it would require the committees to make recommendations promoting recruitment and retention of “underrepresented” students rather than the “minority students” specified in current law. That provision drew ire from Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis.

“To … redefine the term ‘minority’ and call them ‘under-represented’ without addressing their issue is offensive,” said Taylor, who is Black. He said both he and his son had been called the n-word as students on I.U.’s campus decades apart.

“The amount of minorities, Black students, going to universities has never been so low,” Taylor added. “… These students still struggle to have the same rights on campus as your conservative students do — and it’s not because of their political views or their ideologies. It’s simply because of an inalienable trait that they had nothing to do with.”

Deery noted his legislation didn’t end existing diversity initiatives and said his single bill couldn’t address every problem. He added that “overwhelmingly” non-white students struggling to access their transcripts are expected to benefit from legislation he authored last session.

‘Abolishing’ tenure?

Deery’s bill additionally re-shapes tenure and promotion policies.

It would require a board of trustees to prevent a faculty member from getting tenure or a promotion if the board thinks the member is “unlikely to foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression and intellectual diversity” and unlikely to offer students scholarly works from a range of “political or ideological frameworks.” Boards would also dock members considered likely to bring up personal political views unrelated to their specific field or class.

Boards would get wide latitude in making those policies. The bill says decisions would be based on past performance “or other determination by the board.”

The bill also mandates that boards conduct reviews of tenured professors every five years based on the above, as well as if faculty members “adequately” carry out academic duties and more. A fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency notes I.U.’s main campus at Bloomington alone has over 1,000 tenured faculty, meaning its board would have to conduct 200-plus reviews annually.

Deery said he sought to protect tenured faculty by codifying things the board can’t consider in reviews: expressing dissent or engaging in research and public commentary, criticizing institutional leadership, and engaging in political activity outside teaching or mentoring duties.

But institutions would be required to adopt policies establishing disciplinary actions — termination, demotion, salary cuts, and more — for tenured faculty members who fail those reviews.

“Some I have heard from in my community feel that it is abolishing tenure,” said Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Indianapolis. She said the legislation could have a “chilling effect.”

Deery countered that schools like Indiana State University already have post-tenure reviews, and called them “not a new concept.”

His bill additionally requires institutions to establish complaint procedures in which school students and staff can accuse faculty members and contractors of not meeting free-expression criteria.

Institutions would have to refer those complaints to human resource professionals and supervisors “for consideration in employee reviews and tenure and promotion decisions,” according to the bill. They’d also have to keep their boards of trustees in the loop and send complaint-related information to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) for a report.

Later, the legislation indicates that petitioners unsatisfied with the results of their complaints can get CHE’s commissioner to consider their requests, and guarantees a “final order” within 60 days of receipt.

Democrats pushed back against the bill’s provisions, even as they acknowledged its intent.

“… Senate Bill 202 actually is stifling diversity and debate of differing views, and it will hurt the recruitment of high quality professors, high quality students and the ability to attract and to keep our students and to prepare them for the workforce,” Yoder asserted.

She said the bill is “tying the hands of universities” and called it “heavy-handed.”

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Bills on literacy, cell phones, sex ed, and civics are advancing in the Indiana Statehouse

2024-02-07T20:27:55+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

The first half of the 2024 legislative session in Indiana has come to a close, and the dust is settling on the bills that cleared their original chamber.

Bills prioritizing reading instruction are again the top of lawmakers’ agenda and will likely become law, as the state tries to address stagnating reading scores. They build on lawmakers’ efforts last year to require instruction based on the science of reading in schools.

A bill allowing schools to ban cell phones from K-12 classrooms also advanced. But as the session has progressed, lawmakers have significantly altered other bills tackling absenteeism and behavior issues in schools, admitting these are tricky problems to solve.

Lawmakers have largely steered clear of controversial social-issue legislation that marked the last two legislative sessions. But bills on publicizing sex ed curriculum and further blurring the lines between public schools and religious instruction drew concerns.

The bills now head to the opposite chamber where they may have further amendments. The 2024 session must end by March 14.

Here are some of the key bills to watch in the second half of the session.

2024 bills addressing Indiana curriculum and instruction

Senate Bill 1 would tighten the state’s policy for holding back and remediating young children who don’t demonstrate reading skills. The most recent amendments to the bill would create a policy for parents to appeal a remediation recommendation. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 6 requires the Indiana Department of Education to identify older students who don’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 50 would permit chaplains to serve in public schools as counselors providing secular support. An amendment to the bill allows them only to provide religious support if a parent or emancipated minor gives permission. House Bill 1137, meanwhile, requires principals to allow a student to leave for off-campus religious instruction at their parents’ request.

Senate Bill 287 would require schools to teach cursive, and directs the state department of education to develop an internet safety curriculum, while House Bill 1243 would establish a computer science curriculum requirement.

Senate Bill 128 would require schools to seek school board approval for their sex ed curriculum, and publicize the materials plus information about who teaches the courses and when.

House Bill 1137, along with Senate Bill 211, would establish a civics seal and expand civics education to the youngest grades.

House Bill 1073 would require schools to install video cameras in special education classrooms, and allow parents to review recordings in certain situations.

These bills target cell phones, mental health, intruders

Senate Bill 211, along with House Bill 1380, would define charter school corporations as a collection of charter schools operated by a single organizer — a change that raised concerns about financial transparency following last month’s federal indictment of former virtual charter officials.

Senate Bill 185 would allow schools to adopt policies banning cell phones from the classroom, though the policies must include exceptions for emergencies, health needs, and cell phone use at the direction of a teacher or under an individualized education program.

Senate Bill 282 originally laid out preventive and punitive measures schools could use to address truancy, but the bill was amended to focus only on preventive measures in elementary schools while a summer study committee considers how to improve older students’ attendance.

Senate Bill 214 would require schools to post links to mental health resources for students, and Senate Bill 141 would require counselors to spend a certain amount of time providing services to students.

House Bill 1104 lays out requirements for schools’ armed intruder drills, including that students can’t be subject to drills that include sensory components.

Funding bills could affect referendum revenue

Though 2024 is not a budget year, several bills moved forward that could affect funding for schools and students.

House Bill 1001 would allow students to use Career Scholarship Accounts to obtain their drivers’ licenses. It will also expand the uses for two kinds of college scholarships, allowing students to put them toward career training.

House Bill 1376 restricts school referendums to general elections or municipal elections only.

House Bill 1380 includes a number of potential funding changes.

It would prohibit schools from charging a fee for transfer students.
It would expand the Indiana Learns program that gives students up to $1,000 for tutoring beyond 2026.
It would require that Innovation Network schools receive 100% of their state tuition support dollars and prohibits school districts from charging them for goods and services if that amount is more than the charter receives in revenue from non-referendum operating fund property taxes.

Senate Bill 270 would clarify that schools must close underutilized buildings and make them available to charter schools for $1.

Some higher education bills take aim at Indiana’s universities

Many of the bills aimed at higher education this year would assert more legislative control over the state’s colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 48 originally would have required colleges to compile information about jobs and pay related to their degrees. But when colleges reported that they already have much of this information, lawmakers amended the bill to require schools to prominently post links to it instead.

Senate Bill 8 would require all high schools to offer the College Core. It would also require colleges and universities to explore the possibilities of conferring associate degrees and offering three-year degree programs.

Senate Bill 202 includes many changes to colleges’ boards, tenure, and diversity policies.

It would prohibit colleges from offering tenure to faculty who have failed to support a culture of “free inquiry,” and create complaint procedures aimed at faculty who have shared political opinions unrelated to their academic discipline.

House Bill 1002 codifies a definition of antisemitism and prohibits religious discrimination at the state’s schools.

Deregulation bills focus on child care, youth employment

Senate Bill 2 removes several child care regulations and makes employees of childcare centers eligible for childcare subsidies.

Senate Bill 147 also offers tax exemptions for for-profit childcare operators, as well as businesses that provide on-site childcare to employees.

House Bill 1093 is not strictly an education bill, but would relax regulations on when teenagers are allowed to work.

The 2024 bills that didn’t make it, but might in 2025

Several bills that didn’t pass this year offer a clue into what lawmakers might tackle during next year’s budget session and during summer study committees.

House Bill 1219 sought to create a mastery-based education pilot program, and along with Senate Bill 165, measure the educational time that students must receive in minutes instead of days.

Senate Bill 255 would have dramatically expanded Indiana’s choice program and allow families to choose where they would spend state dollars to create customized programs. The bill was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee, with chair Sen. Ryan Mishler saying it would return next year.

House Bill 1262 originally laid out several punitive measures schools could take to address student behavior. The bill passed the House education committee with lawmakers promising to amend the bill to send the issue for further study instead. But it died on the House floor after a disagreement over what kind of committee should study the issue.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that charter schools would not be charged for goods and services if the cost exceeds the amount they receive in non-referendum operating fund property taxes in House Bill 1380.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers want more parental help, wraparound services to reduce young students’ absenteeism

2024-01-31T23:53:56+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Too many students in Indiana are missing school. And Indiana lawmakers have struggled to find a fix for the issue of absenteeism.

Finding a balance between punitive and proactive measures to fix absenteeism where it’s highest — in the earliest grades and in high school — has evaded Indiana lawmakers trying to grapple with the state’s absenteeism rates, which peaked during COVID and still remain high in Indiana and nationwide.

With Senate Bill 282, which members of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development approved unanimously on Wednesday, they seek to begin to address the bell curve of absenteeism.

“There are younger students that have truancy issues, and there are older students. Trying to wrap your arms around that 900-pound gorilla I found to be absolutely impossible,” said said Sen. Stacey Donato, a Republican from Logansport and the bill’s author.

GOP lawmakers flagged absenteeism as a priority for their agenda this year. But they had yet to bring a bill forward before Wednesday, the last opportunity for bills to be heard in the education committee before midway deadlines.

The proposals targeting each side of the bell curve are different.

First, it prescribes steps that schools must take to contact the parents of truant elementary students and provide them information and wraparound services to help improve attendance.

The bill also urges the bipartisan Legislative Council to further study absenteeism this summer — including ways to promote school attendance and age-appropriate consequences for habitually truant students — which will help address absenteeism among older students, Donato said.

“We’re going to do our absolute best to get those children the services that they need, the parents the services that they need, and work with those children to get them to school so that they can learn to read,” Donato said.

Donato ended up heavily amending her original bill, which in its initial form prescribed both punitive and preventative measures that schools could use to curb habitual truancy.

It would have referred more students to juvenile courts, which could have assessed fines of up to $1,000 to parents of truant students and assigned community service to the students themselves.

Absenteeism is ‘far beyond’ scope of one bill

Under Donato’s revised bill, schools would be required to notify parents of elementary students in writing of their student’s absences, their responsibility to ensure their student’s attendance, and the possible consequences for failing to do so, like juvenile court intervention. Schools would need to hold attendance conferences with parents no more than five days after the student’s fifth unexcused absence in a 10-week period.

The revised bill also mandates that schools create behavior plans to improve students’ attendance, and offer counseling to address any underlying issues keeping them from attending school.

Donato’s amended bill received support from a wide array of groups, including the Indiana Teachers Association, the Indiana School Social Workers Association, and the Indiana School Boards Association. They said they would have opposed the bill as originally written.

“This is an issue that goes far beyond what any one bill could possibly fix,” said Joel Hand, representing the School Social Workers Association. “But this is a step in the right direction.”

You can track SB 282 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill would make schools disclose details about sex ed classes

2024-01-31T21:45:32+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill requiring schools to seek school board approval for their sex education materials, as well as publicize information about who teaches the courses and when.

Sex ed is not required in Indiana schools, despite evidence linking such courses to improved behavioral outcomes among teens. Schools are required only to teach lessons about HIV and AIDS, and if they do choose to offer additional sex ed, they must emphasize abstinence.

Still, many schools do offer sex ed, sometimes contracting with outside organizations that offer lessons on consent and healthy relationships alongside reproduction and contraception.

The legislation from two GOP lawmakers marks the latest attempt by the Indiana legislators to shape how schools should approach sex, sexuality, and gender. Last year, they restricted the teaching of human sexuality in the earliest grades. And a state law that took effect last school year requires schools to disclose students’ requests to use different names or pronouns, prompting criticism from the LGBTQ community and mixed reactions from districts.

Supporters of the bill say it’s appropriate for schools to be especially sensitive about sex ed in particular, and that the proposal could defuse political tensions. Critics say it could shut down conversations related to sexuality and run afoul of federal law. Observers pointed out that some of the bill’s provisions are already part of state law.

Under Senate Bill 128, schools would need to seek approval from their school boards before using curriculum materials related to sex ed. They would also have to share details like which grade levels will receive sex ed lessons and when, whether male and female students will be taught together, and whether the class is led by a male or female instructor.

The bill would also require schools to post all this information on their websites.

The bill passed the Senate Education and Career Development Committee on Wednesday on an 8-5 vote, with GOP Sen. Dan Dernulc joining the four Democrats on the committee in voting no.

The bill was authored by Sen. Gary Byrne and Sen. Jeff Raatz, chairman of the Senate education committee.

Byrne said publishing the information would help parents decide whether they want to allow their children to take the lessons. Indiana already allows parents to opt their students out of sex education.

Byrne said the bill targeted sex ed — and not other subjects — because of the sensitive nature of the subject and families’ differing views on when it should be taught.

“I think putting the local school boards in the driver’s seat is an issue that makes good sense,” Byrne said.

The bill received support from the Indiana School Boards Association for strengthening local control and parental engagement. But Terry Spradlin, the association’s executive director, said its provisions requiring school board approval and public posting of curriculum were already part of Indiana law.

Other supporters said the bill could prevent turmoil at school board meetings by making board members aware of what’s being taught.

But critics of the bill, including advocates for gender diversity and sex education, said school boards already have the ability to review and approve curriculum. They also say a state mandate could create an additional burden on teachers and school administrators and ultimately serve as a deterrent to offering sex ed at all.

“This is a bill requiring every school district in the state to now hold hearings on very volatile issues in which a small number of folks can come and take over those meetings, that also allows a small number of school board members to inject their own political beliefs into sex education,” said Chris Daley, executive director of the ACLU of Indiana.

Daley also called the proposal an unfunded mandate.

Emma Vosicky of Gender Nexus, a group that advocates for gender diverse people in Indiana, said the ambiguous language of the bill could create a chilling effect on broader discussions of gender, including on children’s books about LGBTQ families.

Furthermore, the requirement to approve things like the gender of the person teaching a sex ed course leaves districts at risk of violating federal mandates prohibiting sex discrimination, she said.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, a Bloomington Democrat, said that requirement could also be discriminatory toward teachers who identify as a gender other than male or female.

Tammy Carter, CEO of Lifesmart Youth, a nonprofit organization that provides sex ed to 26,000 students in 122 Indiana schools, said the bill’s requirements are redundant, as the organization already meets with school boards and parents and posts its full curriculum material on its own portal.

Additionally, the bill would force her organization to release proprietary information to schools to post online under the bill, Carter said.

Other efforts have sought to expand access to medically accurate sex education, especially in the wake of Indiana’s near-total abortion ban.

Both GOP and Democratic lawmakers have previously authored bills to require schools to provide information about conception and contraception if they choose to teach sex ed. These bills have not been taken up, and similar bills have not been filed this year.

You can track SB 128 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Bill would require charter school leaders to disclose family, business ties with building owners

2024-01-31T19:55:37+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Charter school leaders would have to publicly disclose if they have a family or business connection to the owners of their school building under a new proposal in the Indiana Statehouse.

It’s the latest call for charter school oversight and transparency following federal charges that could mean decades in prison for the former leaders of the Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy.

The operators of the now-closed schools allegedly inflated the enrollment by thousands of students and accepted more than $44 million in state funding, according to a federal indictment filed earlier this month. The state money was allegedly funneled through several for-profit companies owned by the schools’ founder, Thomas Stoughton, and then paid out to himself, his family, former IVS and IVPA Superintendent Percy Clark, and others, the indictment said.

A Chalkbeat Indiana investigation in 2017 found ballooning enrollment and conflicts of interest at the two schools, among other problems. A lawsuit from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to recoup $154 million in state funds from school leaders and others is ongoing as well.

The proposal to beef up charter oversight is an amendment to House Bill 1243, which addresses various education topics. The amendment says that a charter school shall annually post on its website “information for the immediately preceding school year regarding whether there is a familial or business relationship between the organizer, owner, or operator of the charter school and the owner of the charter school’s building.”

The amendment was authored by Democratic state Rep. Ed DeLaney, who represents Indianapolis. The bill — which includes DeLaney’s amendment — passed the House Wednesday and now goes to the Senate.

“It is clear that we need to tighten reporting requirements on the financial activities of charter schools,” DeLaney said in a statement Tuesday after his amendment was added to the bill.

He said the amendment is part of his “step-by-step” approach to require more oversight of charter schools, especially as they grow, and to fight against misuse of public money.

He pointed out that if a school district rented a school building from or contracted with the family member of the superintendent, that would be wrong, and the same goes for charters, given that they are public schools and use public funds.

“We must require transparency so the public knows who is benefitting from rent for the buildings that charter schools are using,” DeLaney said in his statement.

DeLaney is one of several lawmakers who’ve called for more oversight and transparency from charter schools and their leaders.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat who represents parts of Indianapolis, filed a bill about charter authorizers, which approve or reject applications for new charter schools. They are also tasked with providing the kind of oversight that elected school boards handle for traditional public schools.

Hunley’s bill would restrict the power to approve and oversee new charter schools in Indianapolis to two government authorizers: the Indiana Charter School Board and the Indianapolis Charter School Board. That would halt charter authorizing in the city by other groups, including authorizers housed at Ball State University and Trine University.

Hunley’s bill follows a Chalkbeat Indiana report on charter school accountability that found roughly a third of brick-and-mortar or blended-model charter schools in Marion County have closed since 2001.

However, the bill, SB 173, is unlikely to advance. It was referred to the Senate education committee, but is not on the agenda for the committee’s last scheduled meeting before the deadlines for bills to advance out of their respective chambers.

You can track HB 1243 and SB 173 on the General Assembly’s website.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana wants to address student behavior. Here’s one school’s approach involving birdhouses.

2024-01-30T17:22:05+00:00

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At first, it’s not clear what birdhouses have to do with student discipline.

A half dozen of them welcome visitors to James Whitcomb Riley Success Academy. Another dozen line the hallways. Plaques in the woodshop reveal that each colorful house was built by a student for a teacher who has made an impact on their lives.

Students come to J.W.R. after running into trouble at their home Perry Township middle schools. Some are facing expulsion. Others are invited to attend as a preventative measure after a string of discipline referrals or excessive absences.

The birdhouses are a hallmark of the school’s service learning program, which sees a small cohort of students every quarter work on philanthropic projects in order to build leadership and cooperation skills during a critical age for development when behavior incidents may spike.

The need for similar programs may grow as lawmakers seek solutions following concerns from teachers across the state and nationwide about student behavior since COVID.

Both in-school and out-of-school suspensions spiked in Indiana in 2022 after a drop in 2021, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education compiled by the Fairbanks Foundation, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit.

In Marion County districts alone, many middle schools had higher rates of discipline incidents than other types of schools within the same district. Southport Middle School in Perry Township, for example, had an in-school suspension rate of 23.3%, or 306 students, over twice that of Southport High School at 9% and 187 students in 2022.

Indiana lawmakers have now taken notice, with bills on disruption, cell phone use, and absenteeism all filed in the Statehouse this year.

House Bill 1262, authored by Rep. Vernon Smith and backed by the Indiana State Teachers Association, originally allowed schools to suspend chronically disruptive and defiant students. Lawmakers intend to amend the bill to instead create a committee to study student discipline.

Smith said he brought the bill after discussions with teachers. Ongoing issues with behavior are also beginning to worsen teacher recruiting and retention, he added.

“You spend so much time on behavior problems that you don’t have time to teach,” Smith said.

In Marion County districts, many middle schools had higher rates of disciplinary incidents than other types of schools within the same district.

The goal of the program at J.W.R., school officials say, is to make a positive impact on students’ behavior that stays with them long after the challenging years of middle school.

“We’re going to spend the time with the student whether it’s now or later,” said Joe Shelburn, the school’s director. “We’d rather do it now, when we can be positive, as opposed to coming up with our best list of consequences further down the line.”

Middle school is a time of development

Advocates say discipline should be done with the intent to teach, not punish.

This may be especially true in middle school.

Students experience rapid physical, mental, and psychological development during the middle grades, said Katie Powell, director for middle level programs at the Association for Middle Level Education. They have new and unique social emotional needs educators should be aware of when it comes to discipline.

“So much of our development as human beings is taking place in early adolescence,” Powell said. “We can have healthier high schoolers and adult citizens if we have healthy and successful middle schoolers.”

They begin to realize that not everyone in their class is their friend, Powell said. But they may not yet have the skills to properly navigate these changing social situations.

“It’s hard to solve systems of equations when your best friend said ‘I’m not your best friend anymore,’” Powell said. “Until students feel safe, until students feel included, they’re not going to see academic growth.”

All the changes of adolescence are in full force in sixth to eighth grade, said Shelburn, when students find themselves in larger schools with more freedom and responsibility. While some misbehavior is expected, it crosses the line when it begins to impact others, he added.

Alternative middle schools like J.W.R. can create positive school communities for students who need them, Powell said.

The J.W.R. program runs quarterly and serves as an alternative to expulsion for many students.

Most students and their parents accept the offer to attend J.W.R., Shelburn said. There’s only one chance to attend — students who get in trouble again complete a separate, virtual program. Students who are on the verge of expulsion participate in the morning class, while the afternoon class includes students with various disciplinary issues.

Throughout the quarter, students work solo and in groups in the woodshop, earning badges as they master tools and skills. While the birdhouses are a signature project, students have also made windchimes for Perry staffers who have lost a loved one.

This year, through grants by the Perry Township Education Foundation, they proposed and executed their own philanthropic projects. Students made funding presentations to the foundation and then purchased materials for their work.

The initial ideas were lofty, like curing cancer, said Shelburn, the school’s director. Teachers helped them set more realistic goals. They fixed drywall and lunchroom seats in elementary schools, filled backpacks with supplies, and volunteered at a district Shop with Cops event.

All of these initiatives serve to put the students in leadership roles, said Shelburn, and lead to a sense of investment in their education, which in turn improves behavior.

“There’s a difference between doing things because they want to and because it’ll make their teachers happy,” he said.

‘Embrace them for who they are’

The semester at J.W.R. ends with student presentations to their parents, teachers, and the larger community on what they’ve learned, which Shelburn said provides a much-needed sense of achievement for students who struggle to get to the finish line.

Speaking at the December graduation, Janmel said she saw the school as a second chance to be a better student. The teachers had helped her understand what to do when she felt angry. They taught her to have goals and work hard.

After nine weeks at J.W.R., Janmel’s mother, Janjai Roberts, said the middle schooler was happier and in better control of her emotions.

“It helps the kids be who they are and be successful,” Roberts said. “That’s what I want for my kids.”

Every student sees growth from the time they first set foot in the school to when they graduate at the end of the semester, but the change is different for every student, said teacher Rodney Claiborne.

Remember to stay calm, he told Janmel as she said goodbye — no running or screaming when things get tough.

J.W.R. teachers and staff often see their graduates again when they visit Perry high schools to reaffirm to students that they’re still in their corner, Shelburn said.

While middle school can present challenges, it’s also an ideal time to address behavior issues before such problems get harder to remedy.

“Rather than try to fix them, we need to embrace them for who they are,” he said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill allowing chaplains in public schools advances despite constitutional concerns

2024-01-24T21:43:36+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Indiana lawmakers advanced two bills on Wednesday that could further blur the lines between religious instruction and public schools, despite concerns that they might put schools in legal jeopardy.

Senate Bill 50 would allow schools to bring in chaplains as volunteers or employees to provide counseling to students and educators, while House Bill 1137 would require principals to let students leave campus for religious instruction under certain conditions.

Both bills passed their respective chambers’ education committees Wednesday despite questions about whether they maintain appropriate boundaries with respect to religion in public schools. Proponents say that neither bill requires students to receive religious instruction.

Under Senate Bill 50, school chaplains could provide only secular counseling unless the students or their parents gave permission for nonsecular guidance — prompting concerns from the ACLU of Indiana about violations of students’ constitutional rights.

Sen. Stacey Donato, a Logansport Republican who wrote the bill, described the proposal as another tool to address students’ social-emotional needs while alleviating the workload on the state’s school counselors. Indiana has one school counselor for every 694 students, according to one report from last year from the American School Counselor Association, which recommends a ratio of one for every 250 students.

The bill, which passed along party lines, received support from education groups, including the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana School Counselors Association, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, who all said the bill provided clear guidelines for chaplain positions.

Last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation allowing unlicensed chaplains to work in state public schools. Donato’s legislation says the chaplains must have master’s degrees and at least two years of counseling experience under the provisions of the bill, and would have to pass a criminal background check.

Their communication with students would be confidential, though Donato said she will amend the bill to require that they report child abuse or neglect.

The ACLU of Indiana raised concerns about violations of the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion. Similar concerns were echoed by Democratic lawmakers.

They also raised several questions, such as whether the chaplains would be school employees, what would happen if a student practiced a different religion from the chaplain, and what would happen if a student’s parent requested that they receive religious counseling against the student’s wishes.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat, also said the bill didn’t specify how a parent would be notified if a student gave permission on their own for the chaplain to provide religious instruction — a departure from lawmakers’ recent efforts to ensure schools notify parents when students request to use different names or pronouns.

Republican lawmakers defeated an amendment to require parental permission for religious counseling, as well as another to require that the religious counseling be nonsecular.

Clergy members did not immediately throw their support behind the bill.

Chaplains may not have training in child development and psychology, and may not be qualified to act as counselors, said Gray Lesesne, dean and rector at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, who opposed the bill. And the provision protecting communication between a student and school chaplain as confidential could violate boundaries, he said.

“Even if I were to dispense secular advice to a young person as a chaplain, they would have a difficult time separating me from my role and calling and could interpret that as religious counseling whether I intend it to be or not,” he said.

Bill would change off-campus religious instruction rules

House Bill 1137, meanwhile, would bolster an existing Indiana law that allows students to leave school grounds for religious instruction for up to 120 minutes per week, subject to their principals’ discretion.

Under the bill, principals would be required to allow students to leave. The principals would work to determine an appropriate time to do so in collaboration with parents and religious organizations. In order to leave for religious instruction, students must not be listed as chronically absent.

The bill received broad support from lawmakers and advocates for religious instruction, who said many parents wanted to provide students religious teaching during the school day.

While the bill passed unanimously out of committee, Democratic lawmakers and representatives of public school organizations raised concerns about its impact on student absenteeism and academics.

With several religious organizations potentially pulling students out of the school day, the bill takes away principals’ discretion to keep academic time intact, said Christopher Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association.

Furthermore, Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, said it empowered religious organizations to pressure public schools into allowing students to leave — and put schools at risk of lawsuits.

Still, advocates for the bill said releasing students for religious instruction — a concept protected under U.S. law — allowed students to take religious lessons during times that didn’t conflict with academic courses or after-school extracurricular activities.

“A lot of parents want the ability to send a message to their students, this is how important it is to our family that you have religious instruction,” said Joel Penton, founder of LifeWise Academy, a national organization that provides Bible-based education to public school students off-campus during the school day.

Dennis Gutwein, a board member at the West Central School Corporation, said students at his district took LifeWise classes during library hours, but that the librarian allowed them to visit at other times during the day, like during study hall.

Committee members also added an unrelated amendment to House Bill 1137 that seeks to bolster civic education in the state by creating a seal to recognize excellence in civics for students, teachers, and schools.

Both HB 1137 and SB 50 will advance to their respective chambers.

You can track HB 1137 and SB 50 on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school funding bill would give money to families to create ‘a la carte’ education

2024-01-18T23:19:24+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A school funding bill heard in Indiana’s legislature Thursday proposes to radically reshape the state’s education system by allowing families to use state money to pay for a wide range of services and effectively customize their children’s education.

The bill, Senate Bill 255, is on hold until next year, when lawmakers take up issues tied to the state budget. But its backers say it’s the start of a conversation about expanding school choice in the state, far beyond the scope of existing voucher programs.

For now, few details are available about how the program would work. But depending on how it takes shape and how many students participate, it could have a major impact on K-12 schools, graduation requirements and postgraduate paths, and give Indiana one of the most relaxed school choice policies in the country. And it would add to the financial pressures on public school systems that already stand to lose funding to voucher programs, while they try to improve low reading scores and college-going rates.

Lawmakers have already made nearly all Indiana children eligible for private school vouchers, on the premise that parents should be empowered to determine how educational dollars are spent.

But critics say these voucher programs aren’t reaching the students they were originally intended to help — those from low-income backgrounds who are attending failing schools.

Families could choose programs a la carte

Indiana’s existing voucher programs allow students to use state funding for private school, or for special education services outside of public school. A new program also allocates funding for career training.

Under the new proposal, those programs would be combined into a new program, with relaxed requirements that allow families to use state funding to purchase classes and services a la carte from schools, tutors, and other approved organizations.

So a student could take a chemistry class at a public school, a math class at a private school, and music lessons with a professional musician, said Indiana State Treasurer Daniel Elliott, who spoke in support of the bill at the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday.

Lawmakers at Thursday’s hearing listened to concerns about the bill from a wide array of groups, including the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana Association of School Principals, the Indiana Catholic Conference, and home-schooling advocates.

The bill’s fiscal note estimates that state expenditures would increase by $46 million just for the cost of migrating students from the existing voucher programs to the new funding pool.

Author Sen. Ryan Mishler, a Republican from Mishawaka, said he wanted to begin the conversation about the proposal this year and expects it to continue through the summer.

Mishler notably voiced opposition to last year’s expansion of the school voucher program, citing concerns about a lack of accountability at private schools. In introducing the bill, he said he hoped to offer even more flexibility to Indiana parents.

Elliott agreed.

“If we really want to make a difference, we need to give parents more than two choices,” said Elliott. “We need to give them the option to create their child’s unique educational pathway.”

How the money would move

The grant program in Senate Bill 255 would function like an expanded version of the existing Education Scholarship Account program, which allows families of students with disabilities to use funds on services outside their schools. It would replace the education scholarships, the state voucher program, and the new Career Scholarship Accounts established last year.

Under the bill, students enrolled in a public school could receive 50% of the foundation grant amount — around $3,000 in 2023 — to spend on services outside of their school’s jurisdiction, likely making an impact on their school’s funding. Students enrolled in private school would receive 90% of the foundation grant amount.

They could use the funds to pay for expenses like tuition and fees at a private school, services for a disability, extracurricular activities provided by a school, apprenticeships, and transportation.

While home-schooled students were included in the bill draft, Mishler and Elliott said they would change the bill to exclude them from the funding and the accompanying requirements of state oversight.

Lawmakers raised questions about the additional cost, as well as the increased workload for the treasurer’s office, which would administer the combined program.

Schools may need to price their classes at a credit hour rate, according to Elliott. And parents would be responsible for transporting their children to different schools and classes.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, a Bloomington Democrat, said the transportation issue raised concerns about equity, as parents who can’t drive their children to different schools likely wouldn’t be able to benefit from the program.

Elliott said that it’s likely very few families would take advantage of the program.

Currently around 90,000 students attend private schools in Indiana, compared with over 1 million students who attend public schools. Recent data shows that voucher use grew by 30% over last year, compared with a 5% increase in private school enrollment, suggesting that most of the beneficiaries of vouchers are families whose children are already in private schools.

For the career scholarship accounts, just over 200 students received vouchers in the first year. The program, which offers students state funding to take career training courses outside their schools, is a centerpiece of GOP lawmakers’ plans to “reinvent high school” in 2023.

Senate Bill 255 is not expected to be heard again in the 2024 session.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers advance bill to hold back more third graders who don’t pass reading test

2024-01-17T22:44:34+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A bill to hold back and provide more support to third graders who can’t read proficiently passed the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday along party lines.

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.

Under the provisions of the bill, schools would also need to track students’ reading skills beyond third grade, and provide reading instruction rooted in the principles of the science of reading through eighth grade.

The legislation continues the state’s recent focus on improving students’ literacy and reading instruction. Last year, Indiana lawmakers enacted a law requiring schools to adopt research-backed curriculum based in the science of reading. The state also prohibited schools from using a reading instruction method known as three-cueing.

Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican from Granger who authored the bill along with 30 other GOP lawmakers, denied that her proposal amounted to a “retention bill.” She said that retention would continue to be a last resort after other intervention methods — like early identification and summer school for young students who lack key reading skills — have been exhausted.

Still, Rogers called retention a “necessary policy” for students who can’t read by third grade, and who don’t have a qualifying exemption like a disability.

“While some may say that retention is not good for a child, what really isn’t good is to move that student on without foundational reading skills,” Rogers said.

Details of the legislation surfaced last week. In 2023, out of 13,840 students who did not pass the third grade reading exam (known as the IREAD), just 412 stayed in third grade for another year.

The bill has support from GOP policymakers as well as several statewide education advocacy groups like RISE Indy and the Indiana School Boards Association. Advocates said the measures are necessary to address Indiana’s stagnating literacy rates. Around 1 in 5 students did not pass the IREAD in 2023 — a number that has remained about the same for three years.

But teachers, parents, and other education experts expressed skepticism about increased retention, saying that it would negatively affect students’ social-emotional well-being and long-term outcomes.

“Painting with broad strokes is dangerous,” said Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, who told lawmakers Wednesday that mandatory retention would have harmed her daughter. “She just needed more time, and it didn’t need to be in third grade.”

How retention and remediation would work

If the bill passes, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, students would have three attempts to pass the test — in second grade, third grade, and the summer after third grade. Those who don’t pass would be eligible for summer school focused on literacy, and their parents would be notified of their skill level, as well as any interventions needed.

Students who don’t pass the IREAD in third grade, or don’t have an exemption, would repeat a year. Qualified exemptions under the bill include having a disability or an individualized education program that specifies that retention is not appropriate; being an English learner who has received less than two years of language services; and passing the statewide math test — though these students would receive extra support in reading in fourth grade.

A repeated year must look different than a student’s first year of third grade, said Kymyona Burk, former state literacy director at the Mississippi Department of Education who spoke at the hearing. (Mississippi has attracted attention for its dramatic gains on national tests, including reading assessments.) Students should be placed with teachers who have a proven record of teaching reading, and need intensive literacy interventions throughout the year.

Burk noted that data from Mississippi showed that among students who were on the borderline of passing the statewide test, students who were retained performed higher in the long-term than those who moved on to fourth grade instead.

“We can prevent reading difficulty in children. We have to make sure that we are identifying them early and providing them with support much earlier than third grade,” Burk said.

A long-term decline in literacy

In testimony supporting the bill, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said literacy has declined in Indiana for over a decade. But retention rates have also declined, as the state softened its policy on holding students back and allowed for “social promotion.”

“This was not just a COVID challenge. It would almost be easier if it was purely due to COVID,” Jenner said.

Asked why students are struggling to learn to read, Jenner pointed to absenteeism as one possible cause. Of the 20% of students who did not pass the IREAD in 2023, nearly one-quarter were considered chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more days of school. Among students who passed, chronic absenteeism was around 9%, she said.

“We can invest all the dollars we want but if you’re missing school, then your teachers can only do so much to get you there,” Jenner said.

Without a clear understanding of the reasons for the decline, some speakers said lawmakers should refrain from adopting any sweeping solutions.

“In order to prescribe a solution to the problem we need to understand what caused the problem in the first place,” said Joel Hand, speaking on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers Indiana and the Indiana Coalition for Public Education.

Concerns about student well-being

Public testimony in opposition to the bill focused on concerns that a broad mandate would supersede local control and parental input on when and how a student should be retained.

Other speakers expressed concern that a retention mandate would disproportionately affect students who are learning English, and thus exacerbate existing disparities.

Studies on retention frequently find positive academic outcomes among students who have been held back, but mixed or negative social and emotional effects, including more behavioral issues and higher dropout rates

State policy should focus on solutions proven to be most effective, said Vincent Edwards, who authored a Ball State University analysis on retention that found a slight positive effect for retained students. More effective solutions could include additional staffing or early learning programs.

“We need to focus on what we feel really confident about instead of what is at best marginally positive,” Edwards told lawmakers.

The committee rejected an amendment by Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat, to delay the implementation of the bill until the 2025-26 school year.

Committee members discussed but did not yet vote on Senate Bill 6, a companion bill by GOP Sen. Jeff Raatz to identify older students who can’t read proficiently.

Senate Bill 1 will now head to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s what’s in Indiana lawmakers’ proposal to hold back more third graders

2024-01-12T19:09:34+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Starting next school year, thousands of Indiana third graders could be held back if they don’t demonstrate key reading skills under a new bill from GOP lawmakers.

Senate Bill 1 — authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, Sen. Jeff Raatz, and Sen. Brian Buchanan, along with 28 Republican co-authors — seeks to bolster the state’s retention policy and is the centerpiece of GOP lawmakers’ education agenda this year. It’s the newest phase of an ongoing effort to improve the state’s early literacy rates. Last year, lawmakers passed a sweeping new law requiring reading instruction to be based on methods rooted in the science of reading that have gained traction nationwide.

Around 80% of Indiana third graders passed the statewide reading test, known as the IREAD-3, in 2023 — a number that has remained stubbornly flat since the pandemic. The Indiana Department of Education wants 95% of third graders to pass the reading test by 2027.

While third grade retention has been part of Indiana policy for over a decade, schools have increasingly avoided actually holding students back, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education, especially since the pandemic. Guidance from the department in 2021 encouraged schools to consider a student’s “overall academic performance” in determining whether retention is necessary.

In 2023, of the 13,840 third graders who did not pass the IREAD, just 412 stayed in third grade for another year, while the rest moved on to fourth grade.

The state has offered “good cause exemptions” for students with disabilities or those who are English language learners that let students who don’t pass the IREAD. But recent state data showed that most students who moved on to fourth grade did not have an exemption, and were instead “socially promoted” to the next grade.

Of those third graders who moved on to fourth grade in 2023, around 5,500 received such exemptions, and nearly 8,000 did not.

The GOP bill would remove language from statute that students “might require retention as a last resort.” Instead, it would require that students repeat third grade if they don’t demonstrate proficiency on the IREAD or meet one of a few exceptions.

It would also require schools to identify and remediate students who are at risk of not passing the test by offering summer school, as well as science of reading-based instruction through eighth grade. Schools would also need to monitor students who fail the IREAD beyond third grade and retest them until they reach proficiency or move into seventh grade.

Students with disabilities and those who are English language learners would still be exempt under the bill, which would add a new exemption for those who demonstrate proficiency in math. Those who have already been retained once would not be retained again.

Around 72% of students who did not pass the IREAD in 2023 came from low-income families. Approximately 43% are white, 25% are Hispanic, and 24% are Black, according to department of education data.

In an email Friday, Secretary of Education Katie Jenner indicated the education department supported the measures outlined in Senate Bill 1, including “creating a strong definition of retention for the first time to ensure significantly fewer third grade students who cannot read are promoted to fourth grade.”

But the retention proposal has encountered skepticism from teachers, education advocates, and Democratic lawmakers, who say the state should focus on non-punitive measures and individualized support for students.

In a panel Thursday hosted by the Indiana State Teachers Association, literacy researchers said improving early education, including preschool and kindergarten, play a significant role in improving literacy. Also key, they said, is ensuring that schools have sufficient resources, teachers, and time for quality reading instruction.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Few students signed up for career scholarships, as lawmakers look to expand the law

2024-01-10T19:19:06+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

Just over 200 Indiana students received state funding for job training in the first year of the state’s Career Scholarship Accounts program, state officials said Wednesday, as lawmakers consider expanding the allowed uses for the money to include paying to get a driver license.

These accounts were the centerpiece of Republican lawmakers’ plans to “reinvent high school,” during the last legislative session, and allowed students to access state funding for workforce training outside of their schools. Advocates said the law would open more doors for students whose schools didn’t offer certain training programs, while critics said it lacked transparency, and could affect funding for high schools’ career and technical education programs.

State officials anticipated that 1,000 students in grades 10-12 would participate in the program during its first year, with each one eligible to receive up to $5,000 for job training and related expenses. Lawmakers appropriated $15 million over two years for the scholarship accounts.

While 574 students applied for the program, around 40% were rejected because they did not have job training lined up, said representatives from the Indiana Treasurer’s Office during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Wednesday. The program is jointly administered by the treasurer, the Indiana Department of Education, and the Commission on Higher Education.

The 234 students who were approved for scholarship accounts received an average of $3,200 each for curriculum and course material, they said, for a total allocation of $1.17 million.

A total of 30 organizations have been approved as providers for job training, including Indiana University, Ball State, and Ivy Tech, according to the higher education commission.

Lawmakers are considering a bill during this year’s session that would make changes to the law, including allowing students to use the funding to obtain driver’s licenses so they can commute to job training — something that advocates say would encourage participation.

House Bill 1001, authored by Chuck Goodrich, a Noblesville Republican, also seeks to allow students to use scholarships earmarked for attending college after high school for job training instead — a proposal that was rejected last year.

Proponents of the driver’s license provision said that allowing students to use the funding for licenses would open the program to those who otherwise could not get to work sites. The original career scholarship bill provided funding for transportation, but did not specify driver’s licenses.

“Driver’s licenses are a big barrier to growing the program. Kids couldn’t get to where they needed to get,” said Abhi Reddy, legislative counsel at the Treasurer’s Office.

However, Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, noted that offering funding for driver’s licenses through one program might motivate students to drop academic paths in favor of pursuing a job training scholarship.

The education committee rejected DeLaney’s amendment to remove the provision allowing students to use college scholarship funds — like the 21st Century Scholarship aimed at low-income students — for job training.

It also turned down a separate amendment authored by DeLaney that would’ve required that students be paid for the work they do during their job training opportunities.

“The potential for abuse is all through this bill, and this is one example where the abuse would directly affect the student,” DeLaney said.

HB 1001 passed the education committee and will move to the House.

You can track this bill on the General Assembly’s website.

This story has been updated with a total allocation for career scholarship accounts from the treasurer’s office.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Private school enrollment grew in Indiana this year, but vouchers are growing faster

2024-01-04T17:29:56+00:00

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Private school enrollment in Indiana continued to grow steadily this school year, though the number of students using vouchers grew at a faster rate, new data from the Indiana Department of Education shows.

The number of students in public schools, meanwhile, has remained virtually unchanged since 2020-21, declining by just a fraction of a percentage point each year. Over 1 million Hoosier students attend public schools.

But private school enrollment — 92,000 students this school year — has set another record following Indiana’s expansion last year of Choice Scholarships that made the voucher program available to nearly every Indiana family. The revised Choice Scholarships program raised the income threshold for eligibility and eliminated other requirements. Supporters say the change extends more opportunities to more children and families. Critics say Indiana and other states are increasingly subsidizing relatively wealthy families who can afford private schools without vouchers.

Enrollment at private schools increased by around 4,600 students this year. These schools can be secular or religious, independent or affiliated with a diocese. Enrollment in private schools has grown by around 5% each year over the last three years.

Meanwhile, the state education department approved over 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program this year. That’s an increase of about 16,000, or 30%, from the over 53,000 applications it approved for the previous year.

This disparity could indicate that many of the families using the vouchers aren’t new to private schools. Critics have said expanding the income requirements for the program would not primarily benefit children living in poverty and attending failing public schools — the stated goal of many voucher programs.

“It validates what we were concerned about once they lifted the income requirements, that this is an entitlement program for the wealthy,” said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, which advocated against the voucher expansion during the 2023 legislative session.

Directing state funding to private schools also raises issues of accountability for public dollars, and leaves less for public schools that legislators are obligated to fund, Fuentes-Rohwer added.

But school choice supporters say Indiana should be commended for offering families more flexibility. If, for example, a family received a voucher for a student who was already enrolled in private school, they may now be able to afford to send a sibling to private school as well, said Paul DiPerna, vice president of research and innovation at EdChoice, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that advocates for school choice.

“It’s leveling the playing field and the access and opportunity for families, not just from family to family but within families,” DiPerna said.

There’s likely more than one reason private schooling is growing in Indiana, DiPerna said, including families’ preferences for personalized attention and learning. The effects of the state’s choice-friendly laws need closer study, he added.

This year’s data on who uses vouchers and which schools they’re used at will be available in the spring, according to the state education department.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Text with Chalkbeat for updates on the 2024 legislative session in Indiana

2024-01-04T17:28:02+00:00

The 2024 legislative session is about to begin in Indiana, and lawmakers are looking to address literacy, absenteeism, cell phones in schools, and more. And Chalkbeat Indiana has a new way to keep you updated about all that and more.

We’re launching Session Syllabus, a texting service that helps you stay in the know on big education issues and laws moving through the legislature this year.

Over the last two years, Indiana lawmakers have discussed and passed sweeping laws on what students learn and how their teachers teach — and education is once again likely to be at the top of the agenda.

Sign up by submitting your phone number in the form below to get texts about once per week from Chalkbeat with updates on key legislation affecting schools and students. Or you can text the word SESSION to (317) 648-5331 to sign up. You can also text us back with your questions about bills, issues, and the legislative process and we’ll try and track down the answer for you.

We also offer text updates from Indianapolis Public Schools meetings — sign up for those here.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Bill would restrict charter authorizing powers in Marion County

2024-01-03T23:07:31+00:00

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Update: The Indiana legislative session ended on March 8, 2024. Here are the education bills that did and didn’t pass.

A proposed bill would restrict the power to approve and oversee new charter schools in Indianapolis to two government authorizers: the Indiana Charter School Board and the Indianapolis Charter School Board.

Under the legislation pitched by Democratic state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a former Indianapolis Public Schools principal, several other authorizers that are active in the state would no longer be allowed to approve charter schools in Marion County.

Authorizers are institutions that have the power to approve or reject charters for new schools, and provide oversight that an elected school board would for traditional public schools. In Indiana, they can be tied to school boards, the state and Indianapolis charter boards, or certain universities.

Authorizers outside of Marion County don’t fully understand the city’s landscape, Hunley said, and are not sufficiently accountable to the city’s constituents or families. Restricting authorizing power to the city and state charter boards, she argued, would provide more local accountability, while also allowing Indianapolis charter schools to choose from more than one authorizer.

Most charter schools in Indianapolis are authorized by the Indianapolis Charter School Board, which is part of the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. But the city’s charter schools have also historically been authorized by the state charter board, by Ball State University’s Office of Charter Schools in Muncie, and by Education One, the authorizing arm of Trine University in Angola.

Hunley cites questions about accountability

Chalkbeat’s analysis found that at least three of the schools that closed since 2001 had sought and won approval from a different authorizer, after they or a sister school faced scrutiny from their initial authorizer. Those schools received their second approval from either Ball State University or Education One.

Hunley said the Chalkbeat report raises questions about whether authorizers are providing adequate oversight and quality control in Indianapolis.

“It’s really a problematic process that’s been allowed to happen,” Hunley said. “I think now we’re seeing the reality of how damaging, destabilizing that can be for kids.”

Last year, two Indianapolis charter schools closed in the middle of the school year, sending parents and students suddenly searching for other school options. One was authorized by the Indiana Charter School Board and another by Ball State.

Other schools have been approved by one authorizer after being rejected by another in the application phase. Last year, for example, Education One granted Purdue Polytechnic approval to operate a third campus in Indianapolis after the Indianapolis Charter School Board rejected the charter amid intense local public pushback.

Under Hunley’s bill, charter school operators throughout the state seeking authorization from higher education institutions would also be required to meet with school district leaders in the area where the proposed charter school would operate to discuss their proposal, their financial stability, previous performance of any current schools in the operator’s portfolio, and capacity for growth.

School districts would then make a nonbinding recommendation to the authorizer on whether to approve the school.

The bill would protect charter schools as a whole by ensuring that only high-quality schools are opened, Hunley argued. Some charter schools in her district are doing well, she said, but the general image of charter schools suffers when some close due to mismanagement, underenrollment, or other reasons.

“We don’t want to say in any way all charter schools are bad,” she said. “They aren’t.”

Charter proponents oppose bill

Advocates for charter schools defended the sector’s record of accountability and quality.

Lindsay Omlor, executive director of Education One, said in an email that the authorizer is highly present in all 15 of its charter schools. Staff conduct routine site visits and attend all school board meetings, Omlor said, and annual stakeholder survey results show a satisfaction rate of at least 95% over the last seven years.

“We already follow all statutory requirements for notifying districts and conducting a public hearing, etc. when we are considering an application for a new charter school,” Omlor said. “Point being, we are doing this work in accordance with the law, and based on the feedback we receive from our stakeholders, we know we are doing it well.”

The Indiana Charter School Network, which represents the state’s charter schools, is also opposed to the bill.

“We do not support any limitation on authorizer options in Marion or any county,” Marcie Brown-Carter, the group’s executive director, said in an email. “We do not support placing additional steps into the authorization process for school districts when they are already free to participate in public hearings, and many times do.”

The mayor’s Office of Education Innovation said through a spokesperson that it’s too early to comment on the proposed legislation but that it plans to follow the issue closely. Ball State University and the Mind Trust, which has helped spread charter schools throughout Indianapolis, also declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

The legislative session begins on Jan. 8.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Literacy, vouchers, and IPS: Indiana education issues we’re watching in 2024

2023-12-21T12:00:00+00:00

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It may be a new year on the calendar, but January marks the halfway point of the school year and the start of the legislative session in Indiana. And there’s no shortage of education news and issues to watch.

Here’s five topics we’re watching in 2024:

How students learn to read

No surprise here, but reading will likely get a lot of attention, just like in 2023.

Lawmakers passed a new state law in 2023 that requires school districts to adopt a curriculum that’s aligned with the science of reading. The law also specifies that districts are no longer allowed to use literacy curriculum that rely mostly on the three-cueing model, in which students use context clues and pictures.

The new law grew out of concerns held by lawmakers and education officials about students’ reading ability, and our story about what it means for students, teachers and schools was our most-read story of 2023.

When discussing next year’s legislative session, lawmakers said they want to continue to address literacy by looking into Indiana’s third grade retention laws for students who don’t pass the state reading exam, the IREAD-3.

2024 elections feature gubernatorial, IPS school board races

The new year means that it’s a big election year — and not just because there’s a race for the White House.

Here in Indiana, there’s an election for governor with no incumbent, since term limits prohibit Gov. Eric Holcomb from running again. There are multiple candidates on the Republican side and former Indiana Superintendent of Education Jennifer McCormick on the Democratic side.

At the local level, four of the seven seats on the IPS Board of Commissioners are up for election in November, plus there will be school board elections across the state.

Rebuilding Stronger becomes reality for IPS

Approved by the Indianapolis Public Schools board in fall of 2022, Rebuilding Stronger is the district’s sweeping overhaul that aims to address pressing challenges of declining enrollment and educational inequities for students of color.

The Rebuilding Stronger rollout started this school year with the closure of several schools. But the bigger piece begins in the 2024-25 school year, when grade reconfigurations at the elementary and middle schools start, along with expanded academic programs and enrollment zones.

The district is working hard to make sure families know their options for the coming year with an invitation for families to “Choose your IPS.”

The enrollment period is underway, and IPS reported in early December that applications were up from the same time last year by about 470 families.

The future of old IPS school buildings

Per state law, school districts must offer closed school buildings to charter schools to buy or lease for $1. But the law comes with exemptions, including one added this year for districts that share funds from voter-approved property tax increases for operating or safety expenses with an “applicable charter school.”

What that new exemption means is the focus of a legal dispute between IPS and the state that will likely continue into the new year. The outcome will determine whether the district can sell the buildings or must essentially give them to charter schools that could enroll former IPS students.

IPS filed a lawsuit in August against Attorney General Todd Rokita and state board of education officials, arguing that the school district is exempt from the state law. A Marion County judge sided with the district, and Rokita appealed the ruling. In the meantime, the IPS has paused the sale of closed buildings, but the district plans to lease one of the facilities (which it previously voted to sell to a nonprofit) while the court battle plays out.

More students using vouchers

Earlier this year, lawmakers expanded the state’s voucher program to make nearly all students eligible to receive public money to attend private school. Indiana was one of several Republican-led states to do so recently.

Roughly 97% of students now qualify, and state projections show that participation could increase by nearly 42,000 students within two years. And in November, we had our first glimpse into what the participation looks like.

More than 69,000 Choice Scholarship applications were approved during the first round of the program for the 2023-24 school year, per the Indiana Department of Education. That’s a record number. And it’s likely to rise after the second application period, which closes in January.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporters Amelia Pak-Harvey and Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana legislators may turn to law enforcement to reduce absences. Some schools have other ideas.

2023-12-19T12:00:00+00:00

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As the clock ticked down to the start of the school day at 8:05 a.m, Courtney Smith kept an eye out for the couple of students who were often absent.

Every morning last school year, Smith — the assistant principal at Pleasant Run Elementary in Warren Township schools — would call their parents, sometimes waking them up, to tell them that school was about to start. Eventually, Smith said, they began to expect her call. And in the end, their children’s attendance improved.

“They knew we cared,” she said. “They will show up, maybe late, but they’re still here.”

Pleasant Run is part of an all-hands effort that began last school year at the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township to improve student attendance and curb chronic absenteeism, which has spiked across Indiana and the nation in the wake of the pandemic.

Indiana policymakers have indicated that during the upcoming legislative session they may seek to reinforce existing laws on absenteeism, which can include punitive measures for excessive absences. These allow local prosecutor’s offices to take parents and teens to court, and make students ineligible for drivers’ licenses.

“We just want to make sure it’s a focus again, because anything good we do in the education system, for those kids who aren’t there, they’re not going to have success,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, a Republican.

Yet education officials and experts say family engagement at the school level is more effective at curbing absenteeism. Punitive approaches, they argue, don’t solve the core issues that lead students to miss school.

Data for Marion County from statewide and local agencies show that officials rarely used enforcement measures prior to the pandemic, and in some cases they’ve become even less common since then as officials aim for an approach that doesn’t send families to the justice system.

Nationwide, schools have cited a long list of reasons that absenteeism hasn’t fallen to pre-pandemic levels. These include confusion over when to keep sick kids home; ongoing mental health concerns and students’ own unwillingness to attend class; and greater socioeconomic needs in some areas. Transportation, childcare, and work schedules have also presented obstacles for some families, advocates say.

Warren Township schools can point to proof that its approach is working. Out of all the Marion County school districts, it’s had the biggest drop in what the Indiana Department of Education calculates as chronic absenteeism, from 63.5% of students missing 18 or more days of school due to excused or unexcused absences in 2020-21, to roughly 26% last school year. Pleasant Run Elementary’s rate declined from 37.2% to 15.1%, according to state records.

An attendance sign alerts students and staff of daily statistics in February at the front office of Eastridge Elementary in the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township. The district has prioritized boosting attendance post-pandemic.

What’s made the most difference is a focus on communicating with parents about attendance, school officials said, an effort spearheaded by the district’s new parent liaisons and supported by a new attendance system — all of which require resources, they added.

“We’re not there to attack them with attendance, we’re there to help and support,” Smith said.

Attendance enforcement drops in Marion County

State law provides several enforcement measures for students who are “habitually” absent, or parents of younger children who routinely fail to bring them to school. A “habitual truant” is defined in the law as a student who accrues more than 10 days of unexcused absences in the school year.

School officials must report a child who is habitually absent to the Department of Child Services, which handles cases of educational neglect on behalf of a parent, or juvenile court, which addresses the failure of older students to bring themselves to school.

State law also requires school officials to file affidavits in local courts against parents, who may then be prosecuted.

But even prior to the pandemic, the Marion County prosecutor’s office rarely filed cases against parents, and the current administration has revamped a diversion program to address root causes of absenteeism and keep families out of the court system. Only 29 criminal cases were filed from January 2014 to October 2016, for example, according to data from the office. Two resulted in misdemeanor convictions — resulting in a few days in jail, and in one case a bond of $145. The rest were dismissed.

Schools often refer students who miss around 20 to 30 days of school to the diversion program, said Jake Brosius, the youth programming coordinator with the prosecutor’s office. Brosius — a social worker by trade — calls families to understand why they’re missing school.

Sending families to court does not address the root cause of absenteeism, Brosius said.

“If they attend a court hearing, they can’t go to work that day,” he said. “And a lot of the families we work with are in those kinds of positions where each and every day can be a struggle.”

There were 11 referrals to the diversion program in the 2020-21 school year, then 30 in 2021-22, and 19 last school year. As of Oct. 31 this year, there has been one.

Data across other agencies also show a decline in punitive measures for absenteeism, which some officials say is a result of schools adopting alternative responses.

The Marion Superior Court Probation Department, which receives referrals from schools dealing with older truant students, received 47 referrals in 2021 and 20 in 2022. As of early December of this year, the department had received none. After an investigation into the alleged absences, those referrals are forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for a decision on whether to prosecute.

Marion County Chief Probation Officer Christine Kerl said many school districts are responding in ways that indicate their belief that “the court may not be the best response.”

“I think that does play into why we see so fewer truancy referrals than we did 10 years ago,” she said.

State law even allows school districts to list habitual truants age 15-17 as ineligible for a driver’s license with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Figures from the BMV show that since 2019, that figure peaked in 2020 at 32 students, then fell to 28 in 2021 and seven in 2022, before rising to 14 as of Oct. 31 of this year.

Still, Marion County absenteeism rates remain higher than the statewide average.

Lawmakers and state board of education members have recently raised alarms about these statistics, linking high rates of absenteeism to declining test scores. They’ve also called for more action focused on parents, whether through enforcement or awareness.

“I don’t know what can be done, but there has to be, in my opinion, a way to hold parents of minors accountable for those students not coming to school,” said State Board of Education member William Durham at an October meeting.

Legislative leaders have already confirmed that they’ll pursue a bill related to absenteeism in the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January.

Bray, the Senate president pro tempore, said at a November legislative preview event that lawmakers would look to existing enforcement measures provided by the Department of Child Services and other agencies, rather than create a new system to address absenteeism.

House Speaker Todd Huston added that existing laws needed to be reinforced.

Lawmakers could update state code to give a clearer picture of the reasons that students are absent, said Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, a professor at Indiana University who worked with Warren on improving attendance. She said doing so would shine a light on instances of “school withdrawal,” for example, where students are missing school because of instances like waiting for a repairman because their parents are at work.

Schools could then target their support, she said: A child who has ‘school refusal’ isn’t going to school due to challenges like bullying and anxiety, and needs a different type of intervention than a child experiencing school withdrawal.

How a trophy and stickers can improve student attendance

But there’s a gap between what some officials want and what research says may work best in reducing absenteeism.

Illinois schools that had strong family engagement prior to the pandemic had a chronic absenteeism rate that was 39% less than similar schools with weak engagement, according to a study released in October from the Learning Heroes nonprofit and The New Teacher Project.

Families understand the importance of education and want to send their children to school, said Kate Roelecke, director of strategy and operations at the Marion County Commission on Youth. But they may face obstacles like their work schedules, or a lack of transportation and child care that force older children to be responsible for younger siblings, for example.

Roelecke said the commission hopes to work with lawmakers on solutions that connect families to community resources. She said she’d rather see lawmakers study the issue of absenteeism this summer than address it in a rush during this session.

“We all want the same thing, we want kids to be getting a great education and we know being in school is a key piece of that,” she said. “I don’t think we’re going to accomplish that by putting parents, students, and schools on the defensive.”

At Pleasant Run Elementary, a five-foot trophy towers in Yvette Glenn’s office, waiting to be awarded to the classroom with the best attendance of the week. Glenn is the school’s family engagement liaison — a position funded by tax increases recently approved by voters — and is constantly coming up with creative ways to entice students to school.

Pleasant Run Elementary students who were at school on time the day before earned a "H.O.T." ticket that allowed them to wear pajamas the next day on Dec. 7.

“Our kids really want to be here too. They’re not asking their parents to stay home,” said Smith, the assistant principal.

Warren schools also adopted last year a new district-wide attendance system called RaaWee K12 that automates many aspects of tracking absenteeism. It flags which students need a call home, a letter home, or even a parent meeting after a certain number of days missed.

In the past, letters sent home about attendance were impersonal and made little improvement, Smith said. What’s different now is that calls and letters home come from teachers and staff seeking to understand why a student has been absent, and offering help with finding a solution.

“We’re learning a lot more about our families in a positive way,” Smith said. “Not due to the fact that they’re absent 15 days and we’re saying, ‘hey, where are you?’ We’re hitting that early on, and they’re able to share what their needs are.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How the delayed FAFSA is impacting a new mandate for Indiana students

2023-12-07T11:00:00+00:00

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It’s the first school year that Indiana students are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA. But they still don’t have access to the form.

The FAFSA is typically released in October. But this year, its release has been delayed as the federal government works on a new version that’s supposed to be easier and quicker to fill out. It’s now expected to be out by the end of the month.

All that change means it’s even more important for resources to reach every student individually, school leaders said.

The FAFSA is how students are considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans and scholarships as well as some aid from states and individual colleges. Students can also access funds for a Next Level Jobs Workforce Ready Grant for a short- or long-term credential by filling out the form.

The new statewide requirement, which has some exceptions, is part of an effort by state leaders to boost Indiana’s college-going rate, which stood at about 53% for the Class of 2021, the latest data available. That’s roughly the same percentage as for the Class of 2020, although it declined for several years before that.

Filling out the FAFSA is considered an indicator of college-going, and nearly 48% of students in Indiana’s high school Class of 2023 completed the form, per a state dashboard. But the FAFSA delay could create a time crunch; of those students who completed the FAFSA, roughly 60% filled out the form by Dec. 31.

What families need to prepare for the FAFSA

One big change is when students and parents create their Federal Student Aid ID, which serves as a digital signature students need for the FAFSA

As part of creating the ID, they submit personal information to be verified, and the ID can take one to three days, said Bill Wozniak, vice president of communications and student services for INvestEd, which provides free FAFSA help in-person and via phone.

In the past, students and parents could create their FSA ID before sitting down to fill out the FAFSA or at the same time, but the latter is no longer an option, Wozniak said. So families need to have the ID ready before they start the form.

“It really launches the whole process,” said Rebecca Daugherty-Saunders, director of college and career readiness for the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township.

School leaders and others are telling students to create their FSA IDs now. Otherwise, for example, families might come to a FAFSA event in the spring expecting to complete the FAFSA there with experts to help them, but won’t be able to because they don’t have an ID ready to go.

How sports and free dinners help schools boost FAFSA completion

In years past, Wozniak said INvestEd would hold roughly half of its FAFSA events before the new year, in part because there’s typically a group of students who wanted to fill out the form around the time when college applications are due.

Plus, College Goal Sunday, a free event to help families fill out the FAFSA at locations across the state, is typically in October and in February. But this school year, it’s only on Feb. 25, 2024, said Wozniak, who serves as the event’s co-chairperson.

Still, INvestED has more than 900 events scheduled this year at high schools across the state, including ones this semester about the FSA ID and general information.

And districts including Warren and Wayne townships received the College Matters grant to increase college enrollment in Marion County; they are using it to help students fill out the FAFSA.

Both Ben Davis and Warren Central have added experts and support staff from universities and community groups to answer questions and work with students and families on the FAFSA. District leaders said they are looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for families.

At Warren, that means having people available to help before and during the school day at the district’s community resource center, in addition to the evening sessions for filling out the FAFSA.

It also means ensuring there is FAFSA information at events families attend, such as athletic competitions, said Laura Butgereit, coordinator for college and career readiness, school counseling, and family engagement for the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township.

At Ben Davis, the Indianapolis Urban League is providing hot meals for families during the FAFSA nights. That makes it easier for families to attend, Daugherty-Saunders said: “We’re taking time away from families outside of school. It’s their dinner time.”

Reaching all students can be difficult in a high school as big as Ben Davis, but it’s crucial, Daugherty-Saunders said. She added that teachers and counselors both work to reach seniors about their postsecondary plans.

Butgereit agreed that reaching each student is crucial to the new FAFSA mandate’s success.

“It’s going to come down to our counselors [and] support people working through all the seniors,” she said.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers: Bills on absenteeism, third grade retention will mark 2024 session

2023-11-21T22:51:06+00:00

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Indiana lawmakers want to catch their breath.

After two consecutive sessions of headline-grabbing legislation that put the state in the national spotlight for trying to restrict what could be taught in classrooms, and expanding vouchers to nearly every student, legislative leaders say the public should expect a more measured approach to the 2024 session, which begins Jan. 8.

Without a budget to put together during the short session, which ends in March, lawmakers will instead “build on recent achievements,” like last year’s sweeping expansion of work-based learning for high schoolers, House Speaker Todd Huston said on Organization Day Tuesday, when lawmakers preview the upcoming session.

Lawmakers also intend to further tackle literacy issues — after passing a law last year to require the science of reading — specifically by addressing Indiana’s third grade retention laws. Currently, Indiana requires retaining students who don’t pass the state reading test unless they meet certain criteria.

“Passing them along is a terrible disservice to the student,” Huston said in his Tuesday remarks.

Lawmakers will also consider a proposal to address antisemitism on college campuses, Huston said.

While leadership aims to have a quieter “transition year,” there’s no guarantee that the controversial social issues that have marked the last two sessions will take a backseat in 2024. Indeed, without a budget to pass, lawmakers may have more time to bring forward bills like the “divisive concepts” bill that headlined the last short session in 2022.

Next year’s elections will also factor into lawmakers’ decisions. All 100 seats in the Indiana House of Representatives and half the seats in the state Senate will be up for election. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.

“Lots of bills will be filed,” Huston said at an Indiana Chamber of Commerce event Monday.

Here’s what lawmakers have said to expect on education policy next year.

Literacy, careers, and absenteeism in the spotlight

Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray each said this week that their caucuses would focus on addressing literacy. Last year, the legislature passed landmark laws mandating curriculum and teacher training based in the science of reading, and forbidding instruction that uses models like “three-cueing.”

Huston and Bray indicated that legislation this year would focus on keeping students who don’t pass the state reading exam in third grade. Current Indiana law requires schools to retain those students unless they’ve been retained twice before, or if they’re English learners or have disabilities and receive approval from their educators to advance to the fourth grade.

Lawmakers will also look to expand last year’s laws on work-based learning, which allow students to receive Career Scholarship Accounts for workforce training outside of their schools. Huston said his caucus would once again push to allow students to use state scholarships earmarked for postsecondary education for work-based training as well.

Further tweaks to allow for more applied learning and apprenticeships could be coming as well.

At a legislative preview event Monday hosted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Huston and Bray also highlighted the need to address chronic absenteeism, which remains higher than before the pandemic.

“Anything good we do in the education system, for those kids who aren’t there, they’re not going to have success,” Bray said.

Bills about divisive social issues could return

In recent years, Indiana lawmakers have attracted national attention for a series of controversial education-related bills, including one to ban the teaching of “divisive concepts” related to race that failed in 2022, and another that banned “harmful materials” from school libraries that passed in 2023.

Lawmakers have also passed legislation aimed at transgender youth, including one that prohibits transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in 2022, and another that bans health care providers from providing gender-affirming services to anyone under 18 in 2023.

Leaders of the Democratic caucus said lawmakers should leave such issues alone during the 2024 session.

“We don’t need to bog down this session with [critical race theory] and how we feel about affirmative action,” said Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat.

One piece of controversial legislation likely to make a comeback is the push to make school board elections partisan. Previous versions of the bill have divided lawmakers and drawn public backlash, but momentum for the idea grew between 2022 and this year.

Chamber calls for more action on child care

In a legislative preview event Monday, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce called for the state to once again focus on access to child care as an avenue toward economic development.

Lawmakers passed several laws on child care last year, including expanding eligibility for the On My Way Pre-K program and approving a third-party review of child care regulations, with the intent to streamline administrative burdens on providers.

The Chamber of Commerce called for an acceleration of this review, as well as other changes, like allowing child care workers to automatically qualify for child care vouchers.

This summer, the interim committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services also approved a draft report of recommendations centered on testimony from child care providers who raised concerns about the affordability and access.

Bray referenced this report Monday when discussing how the Senate may tackle the child care question in 2024.

Lawmakers can begin filing bills now before reconvening in January.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Growth in Indiana college enrollment marks largest increase in 13 years

2023-10-18T18:29:57+00:00

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More students are going to Indiana’s colleges and universities this fall, and the share of students earning degrees on schedule has also grown in the last few years, the state announced Wednesday.

Data released by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education showed that enrollment this fall increased by roughly 4,700 students from a year ago. That marks the largest year-over-year increase in 13 years, per the state. The commission reported that there are about 244,600 students enrolled in Indiana institutions of higher education this fall.

The new state data shows a move in a positive direction for state leaders, who are aiming to increase the state’s college attainment after years of declining college-going rates. That includes several efforts aimed at college access enacted earlier this year by state lawmakers.

Per the state, the number of undergraduate students increased by nearly 3% over last year; the number of graduate students declined by less than 1%.

The enrollment increase includes roughly 2,500 students from Indiana, a nearly 2% bump for in-state enrollment.

Enrollment increased at both two-year and four-year institutions. For students from Indiana, enrollment in two-year schools is up by roughly 3,200, and enrollment in four-year institutions is down by roughly 700.

The commission also said that more students are completing degrees on time, with a 9% increase over the last five years.

Earlier this year, the state also reported that Indiana’s college-going rate is about 53% for the Class of 2021, the latest data available. That’s about the same as the rate for the Class of 2020; the college-going percentage fell for several years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The changes approved by state lawmakers this year to improve college access include automatically enrolling students into 21st Century Scholars, which covers tuition for qualifying students; requiring all students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to access more funds; and preventing state and for-profit private colleges and universities from refusing transcripts to current or former students who still owe money to the institution.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

A teachers union wanted to bargain over pay. Its president ended up barred from the classroom.

2023-10-16T11:00:00+00:00

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What started as an Indiana district’s proposal to retain teachers has led to allegations of unfair labor practices, public anger at school board members, and officials’ decision to bar the teachers union president from the classroom.

In May, Richmond schools announced one-time bonuses for teachers in an effort to staunch turnover rates of more than 25% in some buildings. All teachers in good standing would receive supplemental payments of $525. The district targeted additional money at mid-career teachers whose compensation hadn’t increased in line with their experience.

But the Richmond Education Association argued that the plan affected compensation, and thus would need to be discussed during the fall bargaining season that began Sept. 15, per Indiana law. It filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the district.

In the months that followed, the union said the district retaliated by disinviting its representatives from a back-to-school event before eventually placing president and longtime educator Kelley McDermott on leave and threatening to cancel her teaching contract. Union representatives also say teachers have been instructed to inform the superintendent if they want to speak to school board members.

The situation in Richmond is unfolding against a long history of the winnowing of teachers’ collective bargaining rights in Indiana, in addition to an ongoing shortage of educators in certain fields and classroom subjects. Over roughly the past decade, the number of people entering the teaching profession has dipped in Indiana, while the number of people leaving it has risen, the state reported last year; enrollment also fell over the same period. And across the nation, more teachers than usual left the profession after the 2021-22 school year, a Chalkbeat analysis showed.

A state law enacted this year and sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican, nixed a requirement for school districts to discuss changes to working conditions with union representatives at monthly meetings. Advocates said the change would reduce red tape — observers say it has hurt teacher morale. (Raatz did not respond to a request for comment.)

Representatives of Richmond schools did not respond to Chalkbeat’s requests for comment on the situation. Both the district and the union have said they want to keep classrooms staffed by experienced teachers — but they remain at an impasse on the best way to do so as bargaining officially begins.

What must school districts negotiate with teachers unions?

Lawmakers stripped Indiana teachers of the right to collectively bargain over working conditions like class sizes and schedules under a 2011 law. The topics that teachers can bargain over during the fall bargaining window are salaries, wages, and benefits, including pay increases.

That put Richmond’s compensation plan squarely in the union’s territory, representatives said.

The district’s plan delineated the amount teachers would receive in one-time supplemental pay on top of the $525 bonus based on their current salary, their years of experience, and their education. For example, a teacher with eight years of teaching experience and a bachelor’s degree whose base salary is $44,000 would receive a supplemental payment of $4,750.

But the union said that passing this plan to boost the pay of around 60% of teachers left less district funding to negotiate raises for the remaining teachers when bargaining began in the fall. Moreover, the board approved the plan without talking to the union, representatives said.

“We’re not opposed to fixing this problem,” McDermott said to the board. “What we are opposed to is stripping the association of its collective bargaining rights, which are legally protected.”

Board members argued that Indiana law also gave them the flexibility to offer supplemental pay in order to retain teachers, or to reduce the difference between minimum and average salaries in the district, without input from the Richmond Education Association.

“It has been a problem without a solution for a very long time,” board President Nicole Stults said at the May board meeting. “This does provide us with a solution that addresses the immediate bleed, so to speak, the immediate retention issue that we have.”

District representatives said offering supplemental pay was critical in order to stop losing teachers to neighboring districts. Data indicated that Richmond teachers have to work for 13 years in order to make the starting salary of a neighboring district.

“The consistency that students see is important, those relationships that students build with their teachers is critical to academic success, so the retention of teachers is critical to their academic success,” board member Pete Zaleski said in May.

‘This will lead to educators leaving the profession’

A September board meeting drew a large crowd of union members and supporters outraged over how the district has handled the pay issue and McDermott’s teaching contract.

By keeping McDermott out of the classroom, the district has left her students without a consistent teacher, speakers said — the opposite of its stated goal.

“Look at how many teachers are leaving and how many teaching openings there are each year. Please think this through and return the teacher to her teaching position, where she is needed to teach the youth of Richmond,” one speaker said. “Make this again a place to be proud to teach, not a temporary step along the way.”

McDermott could not be reached for comment. She remains on administrative leave after the district announced it would consider canceling her teaching contract, according to union Vice President Jay Lee.

Lee said that talks with the district have never been so contentious in the past.

The union opted to wait to begin bargaining until after Oct. 2, when schools will tally up how many students they’re educating in the fall semester — an event known as Count Day — in order to understand how much funding would be available.

“This is a Band-Aid,” Lee said of the district’s pay plan.

In a video posted to the district’s YouTube channel after the September board meeting, Richmond board president Stults said neither the district nor the board could comment on the personnel situation regarding McDermott. She said that apart from that issue, “relationships among the board, administration, and teachers are quite positive and stronger than they have been in recent years.”

She cited positive feedback from teachers regarding the supplemental pay, as well as a series of meetings throughout the year between district employees and upper administration.

Finally, she said the district has tried to implement the new law ending monthly discussions between administrators and union members positively, “allowing for a more focused approach to building level issues.”

Jennifer Smith-Margraf, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said it’s not clear why Richmond schools did not do what it did in previous years and wait for the bargaining season to discuss compensation this year.

But the cumulative effect of the unilateral changes to pay and the new law that lets districts avoid discussing working conditions with unions have made the situation worse, she said.

“The two main reasons people leave education are low pay and benefits, and not having their voices heard,” she said. “In the long run, this will lead to educators leaving the profession.”

It’s not clear if lawmakers will make further changes next session — but Smith-Margraf said the union supports the right to bargaining and discussion.

“Places that do both bargaining and discussion are doing a much better job of retaining educators,” Smith-Margraf said. “Where there is a clear indication that my voice doesn’t matter causes people to leave and go other places.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana law on student names and pronouns leaves tough decisions to families and schools

2023-08-24T18:49:26+00:00

Uncertainty, a growing patchwork of policies, and virtual silence from state leaders have marked the rollout of an Indiana law requiring schools to disclose students’ requests to use new names and pronouns to their parents.

Under HEA 1608, which took effect for this school year, schools must notify at least one parent in writing if their student requests to change their name, pronoun, title, or other identifying word.

But there’s little guidance in the law or from state agencies about various issues, including how districts should notify parents. That vagueness has left students and educators on their own to figure things out.

At least one district is going beyond the law by requiring parental permission to use students’ new names — a mandate that was dropped from the original legislative proposal over concerns it might sow conflict within families. But leaders of another district who oppose the law said it has spurred them to enhance protections from harassment for students who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Different policies could leave parents unhappy regardless of what’s tried. For example, some parents might argue their districts aren’t doing enough to ensure they know about students’ requests, said Andy Downs, director emeritus of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics. Yet others, he said, might believe their districts are going overboard if they send letters, schedule meetings, and repeatedly follow up with families.

With transgender rights firmly in focus on the national political scene, local school leaders searching for the right approach could spark an uproar at already contentious school board meetings.

Still, some advocates do see a silver lining in the fragmented way the law is being carried out: a chance to shape, or even challenge, how it’s applied in their local schools.

“The right thing to do is to fight the mandate,” said Barbara Dennis, a volunteer with Kaleidoscope, a Bloomington-based and youth-led LGBTQ advocacy group whose members have discussed ways to subvert the law. “But we also need to survive the moment.”

What the new law on students’ pronouns does

HEA 1608 was one of several laws Indiana legislators passed this year aimed at restricting how and when transgender youth could transition socially and medically. Proponents say it gives parents more information about their children at school — part of an argument for increased parental oversight in education that has swept conservative states.

“We’re going to fight for the right of parents to handle the upbringing of their children,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita at a recent press conference in reference to such laws.

But opponents of the new law said outing transgender students to their parents could put some at risk of physical harm or homelessness if their families aren’t supportive. (The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana challenged HEA 1608 in court by focusing on another aspect of the law that prohibits teaching human sexuality in grades K-3.)

The law does not prescribe details like what a written notification to parents about their students’ name requests should contain, nor whether schools are required to send follow-up notices.

By contrast, another law passed this year on student surveys specifies that schools should send parents two notifications before they can administer certain surveys, that the notifications can be electronic, and that each should summarize the content of the survey in question.

The Indiana Department of Education does not plan to issue guidance on how schools should implement HEA 1608. A spokesperson said implementing the law “comes down to a local decision by the school districts.”

The department did provide guidance on a dozen or so other laws from the 2023 legislative session.

Rep. Michelle Davis, a Whiteland Republican and author of the law on student pronouns, declined to comment on how she intended it to be enforced, citing the ongoing litigation.

Downs said that some laws are written to offer as many details as possible in order to remove any doubt about compliance, while others offer leeway to the people who have to implement them.

If there are enough complaints about the law’s lack of clarity, legislators will likely take notice, Downs said.

“They may pay an awful lot of attention if constituents say they weren’t informed properly,” he said. “They may say, ‘Ok you had your chance, schools, to do this properly and you did not. So now we will.’”

Downs said that ideally, legislators would see how HEA 1608 affects schools and students, before considering whether to expand it. He also noted that some issues fade from the public eye over time, and that schools sometimes keep procedures on the books without enforcing them.

But given the emotionally charged debate around the topic, Downs said it’s most likely that legislators will revisit HEA 1608 soon.

Becoming ‘better parents for LGBTQ kids’

Speaking at a Monroe County school board meeting Tuesday night, a student told board members that they considered submitting a name change request every day in order to “maliciously comply” with the law — but reconsidered after realizing the burden it would create for teachers.

“The school board should be the ones fighting for us students,” the student said. “I shouldn’t have to fight for the right to my name.”

Dennis, the Kaleidoscope volunteer, also said it’s ultimately up to school districts to file lawsuits challenging the enforcement of the law. Complying puts youth at risk, and damages schools’ ability to support students.

“A main tactic in bullying is pointing at kids and telling them who they are,” Dennis said. “Under this law, educators will be forced to enact bullying.”

The student at the Monroe meeting addressed a board that previously criticized the law in strong terms. In March, board members approved a resolution condemning HEA 1608 and stating that the district would work on a policy that prohibits the bullying or harassment of LGBTQIA+ students.

In an August statement, the district described the law as “Trojan horse legislation,” but said its schools will comply and notify parents. It will also communicate the new requirement to students and families, according to the statement.

Work on an anti-harassment policy will continue through a series of community engagement meetings this fall, the district said. Monroe district leaders also said in its August statement they’re “confident that the new state legislation does not prevent the important work related to our local resolution to support more fully our LGBTQIA+ population. As a matter of fact, with legislation, such as Indiana HEA 1608, this work is more important than ever.”

Other districts have already announced their approaches for notifying parents. Many are designating one person at each school to notify families of their students’ requests, or having their counseling staff do the job. Some are relying on their student information portals; others are sending written notifications encouraging parents to ask questions.

Hamilton Southeastern schools — which last year elected a slate of candidates running on a parental rights platform — has gone a step beyond the law and will require approval from a parent or guardian before the district will use a student’s requested name.

“Hamilton Southeastern Schools has no desire to make student name changes to which a parent objects,” a statement from the district said, adding that federal and state law require parents and schools “to work collaboratively.”

The student members of Kaleidoscope have brainstormed other ways to push back against the law without violating it, like by using class nicknames, placards, or last names instead of students’ legal first names. But some of these approaches wouldn’t allow students to publicly claim their own identity, said Dennis.

Working under the confines of the law, districts could also interpret the mandate to “notify” parents to mean setting up a conference between schools and parents to discuss their students’ requests and how best to support them.

“If the goal is to be better parents, maybe we can take this as an educational moment to become better parents for LGBTQ kids, and foster areas where kids feel safer,” she said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

COVID aid ends, science of reading, vouchers: 5 things to watch as Indiana’s school year begins

2023-07-25T11:00:00+00:00

The first Indiana school districts head back to school this week amid a spate of new laws and policies that will affect what happens in the classroom.

Recovering from the pandemic’s effects on student performance remains a top priority for schools, as state testing scores indicate that learning has stagnated. But new laws will also expand schools’ focus beyond postsecondary education, and more toward career exploration.

For younger students, Indiana is prioritizing reading instruction through new laws requiring curriculum and teacher training based on the science of reading, an approach to literacy that emphasizes phonics, fluency, and other principles.. Meanwhile, for middle and high schoolers, preparation for postsecondary life is the priority, with new funds earmarked for workforce training.

Public schools are also grappling with the potential impacts of an expanded voucher program, as well as laws aimed at students’ identities and school library books.

Here are five things to watch for as the school year begins.

New standards and approaches to reading

Fresh off the latest statewide testing results showing a decline in students’ reading proficiency, Indiana is continuing a push to make sure schools teach reading through evidence-based practices known as the science of reading. Several new laws and policies will shape how students learn to read this year.

Districts will be evaluating their reading curriculum materials this year to ensure they’re in line with the science of reading practices. They must adopt an approved curriculum by the 2024-25 school year.

Literacy coaches will be coming to schools where fewer than 70% of students passed the state reading assessment, as well as schools that opt in to the Indiana Department of Education’s initiative to place more of these coaches in schools.

Meanwhile, new standards in four core subjects adopted in June will also streamline what students must learn in each grade level. Officials hope this move will allow teachers to focus on the most essential skills in their lessons.

A push toward college and career

While literacy is the emphasis for younger students, middle and high schoolers will see several new initiatives aimed at preparing them for postsecondary training.

All high school seniors will have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid next spring due to a new law meant to increase Indiana’s college-going rate.

High schoolers will also have access to the state’s new career scholarship accounts, which provide grants for workforce training that they can use outside of traditional high school programs. As part of that new law, students will also attend career fairs throughout the year.

Eligible middle school students, meanwhile, will be automatically enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars program, which covers tuition and fees at an in-state college or university.

A near-universal choice program

Indiana opened its private school voucher program to nearly all students during this year’s legislative session, offering public funding for students to attend private schools and potentially leading to major changes in the state’s enrollment landscape.

It’s not immediately clear how many more students will participate in the program, or whether new participants will primarily be students who are already enrolled in private schools. But declines in enrollment at public schools could create instability in district budgets and affect the students who remain.

The approaching end of ESSER spending

Districts are facing final deadlines to commit the second and third rounds of federal COVID funding — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER — in September 2023 and September 2024, respectively.

With Indiana no longer allowed to charge families for textbooks and devices, some districts could use federal funds to provide these course materials. Conversely, districts that relied on federal funding for long-term costs like staffing may face a crunch as they figure out how to fold those positions into their budgets.

The state education department’s spending tracker shows that the state has reimbursed schools for around 84% of ESSER II dollars and 46% of ESSER III dollars as of July 17, though these figures don’t represent schools’ expenditures in real time.

The effects of laws aimed at students’ identity

The Indiana legislature this year passed several laws that seek to control how sex and gender are discussed and dealt with in schools.

Among them is a requirement for schools to notify parents if their children request to change their names or pronouns, passed over LGBTQ advocates’ concerns that it could put youth at risk at home. The law also bans sex education lessons in preschool to third grade.

Districts will also grapple with a law that requires them to publish their library catalogs and create procedures for parents and others to request the removal of books. Supporters of the law said it was meant to keep obscene material out of kids’ hands, while librarians said such material isn’t in their libraries to begin with.

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Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana families will no longer be charged textbooks fees. Here’s what to expect.

2023-07-05T11:00:00+00:00

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For years, a small district of 1,100 students just east of Indianapolis aimed to ditch the fees that had created barriers for students and burdens for their families.

But officials at Charles A. Beard Memorial schools knew if they took on the costs, they’d have to sustain them long term, said Superintendent Jediah Behny. So they started small — first eliminating entrance fees for students to school sports events — before eventually dropping the fees for textbooks and materials in 2020.

“We wanted to eliminate the likelihood that some kids were getting something that others weren’t,” Behny said.

Beginning this school year, after a law passed in the 2023 legislative session, all Indiana schools will be required to follow the district’s example and stop charging families for curricular materials, including textbooks, iPads, and Chromebooks.

The change, championed by Gov. Eric Holcomb, is meant to lighten the load on Hoosier families, who reported paying hundreds of dollars every year for their students’ course materials. Indiana had been among the last handful of states that still allowed schools to charge these fees.

The law provides $160 million for curricular materials, but a per-student amount has yet to be determined, Indiana Department of Education officials said. The department will calculate this number by dividing the total amount that all schools report for curriculum costs by how many students are enrolled at each public school, and how many qualify based on socioeconomic status at each private school.

Education advocates agree the change benefits families, but say the state must support schools with the financial burden.

With a new school year rapidly approaching, they say more guidance is needed on how much schools will receive to make purchasing decisions and also on what counts as curricular materials under the new law, which broadly includes books, computer software, digital content, and hardware that will be consumed by a student over the course of a year.

Only time will tell if the total allocation is sufficient, said Denny Costerison of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. It’ll be up to the General Assembly to increase the funding if necessary, which likely won’t happen until the next biennial budget session in 2025.

Schools will receive funding as a lump sum in December, according to an FAQ issued by the department.

“Textbooks don’t get cheaper, they get more expensive,” said Terry Spradlin of the Indiana School Boards Association. He noted that when Indiana first considered dropping textbook fees in the 1990s, the cost estimate was around $100 million.

The state already covers the cost of textbooks for students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals at a cost of around $39 million per year.

For all students, a per-pupil figure of about $162 would likely cover most districts’ elementary and middle school costs, said Spradlin, but fall far short of the costs for high school courses. Spradlin said that example amount came from an IDOE memo, but the department didn’t confirm.

Any excess from the lower grades could be used to pay for secondary school courses, but schools may also need to turn to their education fund dollars to cover shortages, he said. Federal emergency dollars are also an option, albeit one that expires in September 2024.

It’s important to remember that general funds must also cover the bulk of schools’ operating and personnel costs, said Keith Gambill of the Indiana State Teachers Association.

“You need to be able to provide the funding they need to operate and make sure those programs are fully realized without jeopardizing important items, which includes salaries,” Gambill said. “That’s where things can get tricky, especially for schools on a leaner budget.”

According to the FAQ, curricular materials include materials in advanced placement, dual credit, and career technical education courses, but not dual enrollment courses. Schools are allowed to charge families for lost or damaged items, and can offer insurance for technology.

Some additional guidance might be needed for items like parking passes and student identification cards, said Spradlin, as well as for co-curricular programs. Performing arts, for example, can include a variety of costs for instruments and their upkeep, as well as attire and transportation to school events.

If the course is required, or if students receive a grade for it, then it’s likely considered a course that schools can’t charge for, said Costerison. The education department’s FAQ directs schools to consult with their legal counsel for further questions about what counts as curricular material.

Charles A. Beard Memorial schools will be able to offer fee-free music programs to students this year after building a stock of instruments over the last several years, said Behny, the superintendent.

He said the new law will provide the final nudge for the district to drop the last of its fees for its cooperative programs, but added that the new funding alone may not be enough for districts just starting to eliminate fees.

Covering textbook fees cost his district around $87,000 in the first year of the program. This year, they spent around $110,000 to cover fees for 1,100 students, money saved through attrition and watching supply costs.

“It was much easier to do than I thought it would be,” he said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools could now have an easier path to acquiring district buildings

2023-06-11T12:00:00+00:00

A change to state law this year could make it easier for Indiana’s charter schools to acquire buildings from school districts by targeting those that are losing students and have schools that are nearly half empty.

The change means that the Indiana Department of Education can now force school districts that have lost at least 10% of their enrollment in the past five years to close schools that have been operating at less than 60% capacity and sell or lease them to charter schools for $1.

Lawmakers approved the revision to the state’s so-called “$1 law,” which has been on the books for years and requires school districts to make certain buildings previously used for classroom instruction available to charter schools at next to no cost. It’s the state’s latest attempt to provide help for charter schools that frequently have problems finding buildings to use. But some charters might not have much time to take advantage of it.

The previous version of the law, which deemed “vacant” or “unused” classroom buildings available for purchase, largely did not prove successful for charters. School districts argued that they were still using or planning to use the buildings they had closed for instruction. The attorney general’s office ruled in favor of districts eight out of the nine times it investigated allegations that districts were violating the $1 law.

The new version of the law targets districts with declining enrollment like the South Bend Community School Corporation and Indianapolis Public Schools, which had an average building utilization rate of 60% in 2021-22.

It’s unclear how many charter schools may take advantage of the new law, or how districts will respond. IPS, for example, said in a statement that it’s still examining the new law to understand its impact.

Republican Sen. Linda Rogers, who wrote the language in Senate Enrolled Act 391 that changed the $1 law, said she believes the change will bolster fiscal responsibility.

“Trying to be understanding and create a balance between traditional publics and charter schools is my goal,” she said. “The taxpayers paid for these buildings to educate the community’s children.”

Districts with declining enrollments must also review the utilization rates of their buildings and share it with the state department of education annually. Charter schools must work with districts to try to reach a deal to acquire or lease a building.

Buildings targeted for closure must meet certain criteria

Schools that could be closed by the Indiana Department of Education and made available for charters to buy or lease for $1 under a revised state law must first meet a number of criteria to be classified as underutilized.

Eligible buildings must be located in a school district that has lost at least 10% of its population in the past five years that also has more than one building serving the same grade level as the school targeted for closure.
Eligible buildings must have previously been used for classroom instruction.
Eligible buildings must have operated with an average capacity of less than 60% for the current school year and the past two school years. If the building’s capacity is unknown, it is determined by the average maximum full-time equivalent enrollment in any of the last 25 years.
Districts must have another school building with sufficient capacity to take students in from the closing building that is no more than 20 minutes away by car from the school slated to close.

Districts can still claim that a building is in use and exempt from closure if:

They use at least 30% of the building’s capacity for a special student population, such as those in an alternative education program.
They use at least 50% of the square footage of the building for office space, so long as the cost is not more than other available office space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for storage, so long as the cost is lower than other available storage space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for a combination of office space and storage that does not cost more than other space available for such uses.

Source: Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 391

If they can’t reach a deal within 45 days, a charter school can petition the department to determine whether the building meets the criteria for closure. The department can order a school to close, and if needed, the department can request the attorney general to enforce the order to close the school.

Rogers, however, noted that the department can consider a school’s unique circumstances when deciding whether it must be sold or leased.

The department could soon release guidance to school districts about the revised law’s impact.

However, school districts that share revenue from property tax increases for operating or safety costs, which voters would pass through a ballot question, are also exempt from the law.

That exemption could significantly reduce the impact of the new $1 law in Lake, Marion, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties. That’s because, under a separate change to state law enacted this year, districts in those counties must share such tax revenues from future ballot questions.

All of that means charters in these four counties might have a limited window of time to acquire underused buildings. In other words, once a district with declining enrollment in those counties gets a ballot measure passed for operating or safety costs, they’ll no longer have to make underused buildings available to charters under the $1 law.

In January, the IPS school board tabled its plan to ask voters for a tax increase this year to fund its Rebuilding Stronger revitalization plan for academics and grade reconfigurations. It remains to be seen if IPS will revive that plan.

Districts like IPS and South Bend aren’t the only ones that could be affected by the new $1 law.

Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart County, for example, has lost 12% of its student population from 2018 to 2023, according to state data. And Brown County School Corporation has lost 17% of its enrollment from 2018 to 2023. Now, those districts will be required to report the usage rates of each of their buildings, information that charters looking for space could find useful.

Charter schools, districts examine new law

Charter schools aren’t necessarily leaping at the change to try to take control of buildings under the new $1 law.

Tommy Reddicks, the CEO of Paramount Schools, which has three locations in Indianapolis and is opening another in South Bend in a former district elementary school building, said the charter network does not have an interest in taking advantage of the new law just yet.

“We’ll likely keep an eye on it and see how it is utilized in the coming years,” Reddicks said in an email.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district has six or seven buildings that may fall under the law’s definition of underutilized. But South Bend, like IPS, is undergoing a massive reorganization to address a loss of enrollment that he said will close some schools but lead others to operate at closer to full capacity.

He said he doesn’t expect the new law to result in any forced closures. Instead, he said, the new law — and the requirement for South Bend to share future referendum dollars with charter schools — could foster increased collaboration between the district and charters.

“Should the district pursue another referendum after the expiration of our current operating referendum, we’re certainly hopeful that we can work together with other public schools in the area,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Reported graduation rates for Indiana schools could dip after change to state law

2023-06-06T12:00:00+00:00

Schools across Indiana could see a dip in their reported graduation rates after a change to state law requiring districts to limit the portion of students who graduate with waivers from the calculation.

Students who graduate with a waiver — an exemption from certain graduation requirements — can account for no more than 9% of the total graduating class in reported graduation rates for the 2023-24 school year. That percentage declines to 6% in 2024-25 and 3% for each year after.

The changes could have a large effect on publicized graduation rates, which are often used as a measure of success for school leaders and can be a key metric parents use to determine the quality of their child’s education. In Marion County schools, the 84.2% graduation rate for the 2021 student cohort dips to 73.1% when students with waivers are excluded, according to an analysis of state data by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.

Beginning with the Class of 2023, students in Indiana must choose from one of several graduation pathways to graduate, and also must pass a competency requirement of some sort. Prior to that class, districts could choose whether to offer the new graduation pathways requirements or offer old graduation requirements, which included passing the old ISTEP state exam.

But state law allows schools to grant graduation waivers to students who try but fail to pass the competency requirement, which can include the SAT, ACT, and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) used for entrance into the military. Those districts that operated under the old graduation requirements could also issue waivers to students who tried but failed to pass the ISTEP test for 10th graders.

The change to the law does not restrict the number of waivers districts can grant. Instead, proponents argue, it will add transparency to graduation rates that they said were previously inflated.

“My hope is that greater transparency into the number of students who are graduating from high school with a high school diploma will lead to productive dialogue between parents, school principals, school superintendents, policymakers and others to improve not only our high school school graduation rate, but the number of students that are entering into postsecondary education,” said Jason Kloth, president and CEO of Ascend Indiana. The waiver recommendation was part of a report Ascend Indiana conducted with Business Equity for Indy.

School leaders argue that waivers are a valuable tool for students facing extenuating circumstances, such as those who transfer into a new school for their junior or senior year.

“When you as a school have a new student who starts in their senior year with you, and … they don’t already have those pathways, it’s certainly a challenge,” Samantha Goldsmith, principal of the online Hoosier College and Career Academy charter school, previously told us. “And our goal is to help them graduate.”

In Marion County, schools with the highest percentage of waiver graduates for the 2022 student cohort included Ben Davis High School in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, the Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy charter school, and the GEO Next Generation Academy charter school.

At Ben Davis High School, roughly 31% of the 2022 cohort graduated with waivers, or nearly 37% of the 863 students who graduated, according to state data. If the new law had gone into effect last year, it would have meant the school could only count 77 of its 317 waiver graduates in its 2022 graduation rate.

The Wayne school district did not respond to a request for comment about the new law’s impact.

The law, House Enrolled Act 1635, also requires students who use the ASVAB as a competency requirement to submit documentation that demonstrates their intent to enlist in the military.

That change was also prompted by concerns that too many students are using the test as an easier way to graduate — without actually intending to enroll in the military. Just 2% of Indiana students who took the ASVAB from August 2022 to February 2023 tried to use their score for military consideration, according to data from the Indianapolis Military Entrance Processing Station.

The score required to pass the ASVAB as a graduation requirement is set at 31, which is lower than what some branches of the military require if military candidates do not have a high school diploma. The State Board of Education voted in April to maintain that score.

Correction, June 6, 2023: A previous version of this story included an incorrect description of the Ascend Indiana group. Ascend Indiana is a separate entity from Business Equity for Indy.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school librarians worry new law banning ‘obscene’ books will harm their work and students

2023-06-05T12:00:00+00:00

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“Pornographer.”

That’s the insult Chad Heck remembers, hurled by the people behind him as he testified in the state legislature earlier this year.

Like other Indiana school librarians who spoke against legislation seeking to restrict school bookshelves this session, Heck tried to dispel the notion that he and his colleagues were peddlers of porn — and found himself part of the national culture wars that have pitted some parents who mistrust public education against school leaders and staff.

Ultimately, lawmakers passed a bill that forbids books deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors” on school library shelves, following hours of heated public comment. House Enrolled Act 1447 also requires school districts to establish procedures to publish their school library catalogs, and to set up a process for a parent or community member to request removal of obscene or harmful material.

Now, Heck and other librarians with the Indiana Library Federation (ILF) who fought against the legislation are learning to live with the law, but they are still trying to clarify misconceptions about it. They stress that the law is not an outright book ban. They also say many districts already post their catalogs online, and already have procedures for challenging books.

School librarians say that contrary to what some might think, they don’t have obscene or harmful material in their collections. Instead, they worry the law will create what amounts to self-censorship among school librarians — who for the past few years have been the target of public scorn and scrutiny over what, exactly, is on their shelves.

“It contributes to this culture of fear that many librarians are operating under, which does have a chilling effect on our collections,” said Heck, the advocacy co-chair of ILF, which has a subgroup known as the Association of Indiana School Library Educators (AISLE). “And I’m concerned about this.”

In his office, Republican Sen. Jim Tomes — who has tried to pass some version of the new law for years — keeps six books he says are examples of pornography in schools. These include “This Book Is Gay” and “Gender Queer,” both of which are among the top 13 most challenged books in the country, according to the American Library Association. Parents across the state, he said, have reported to him that they’ve found these books in school libraries.

Some of the books offer advice for young LGBTQ adults navigating their sexuality, or serve as a sexual education guide for teens. But Tomes, who co-authored a variation of the bill language that eventually became law, says they show that school libraries have a problem.

“This was raw, 100 percent pornography,” he said. “The wording, the stories, and also the pictures in the books, the illustrations. If this is not pornography, then I don’t know what you could call it.”

Backlash against libraries is worst some have seen

Censorship battles in schools have existed for decades and have origins on the political left and right, librarians say.

How Indiana law defines material school libraries must remove

House Enrolled Act 1447 requires schools to remove library books and other materials that are “obscene” or “harmful to minors.” A key element of the law is how it defines those terms.

Here’s how the law defines obscene material:

“1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, finds that the dominant theme of the matter or performance, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex;

2) the matter or performance depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; and

3) the matter or performance, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Here’s how the law defines material that’s harmful to minors:

“(1) it describes or represents, in any form, nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse;

2) considered as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors;

3) it is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable matter for or performance before minors; and

4) considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”

Source: Indiana Code 35-49-2-1 and 35-49-2-2

But school librarians say they’ve seen an increase in concerns over what’s on their shelves in the past three years, as mistrust of public schools grew in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And some say the anger they’re facing now is the worst pushback against their profession they’ve ever seen.

The outrage has come from groups such as the Indiana chapter of Purple for Parents, which rails against the dangers of social-emotional learning and critical race theory in the classroom. Like Tomes, Purple for Parents insists that there is porn in Indiana schools.

An Indiana version of the “Mary in the Library” Facebook page, which features passages from what it deems to be “naughty children’s books,” has also escalated the controversy surrounding the issue.

But just as those inflammatory social media posts don’t necessarily tell the whole story, Heck said that people involved in discussions of the new law would “just point out one passage in a book” while missing important context.

While the new law prohibits schools from providing students with material deemed “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” it also requires that the material in question lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. In addition, the material must be considered as a whole by readers.

Some school librarians say they don’t have materials in their libraries that meet the statutory definitions of material that libraries must pull from their shelves. And the books in Tomes’ office illustrate how differently both sides view the content.

With the exception of one book he was not familiar with — “Dead End” by Jason Myers — Heck argued that none of the books Tomes kept in his office would fit the statutory definition of obscene or harmful to minors.

Among those books, “Let’s Talk About It” is a guide for teens on sex and relationships that has depictions of sexual organs and sex. “This Book Is Gay” bills itself as an instruction manual for young adults trying to understand their sexuality and “what it’s like to grow up LGBTQIA+.”

And “Gender Queer” is a memoir about the author’s journey in identifying as nonbinary and asexual, described on its back cover as a “much-needed, useful, and touching guide.”

Tomes argued that such books are so inappropriate that he refuses to keep them in his house. But Heck countered that those books do so much more than appeal to an interest in sex, and must be read in their entirety to appreciate their intention. They discuss common issues LGBTQ people face, he said.

Librarians also argue that the process of adding materials to their collection requires careful consideration that includes consulting professional sources, like Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, to determine what is age-appropriate.

“There’s a lot of thought and effort and time put into having the books in the collection,” said Diane Rogers, vice president of the Indiana Library Federation who’s a librarian at the Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township. “I don’t purchase books on a whim, just like I won’t remove books on a whim.”

But as challenges to books and school libraries have intensified, critics of laws like Indiana’s have worried that groups will target books serving underserved communities — such as LGBTQ youth — for censorship or restrictions, increasing those students’ feeling of isolation.

“Right now, I am more concerned about librarians removing materials that meet the needs of our communities because they’re worried about backlash, or worried about being personally attacked,” Heck said. “And that is having a huge impact on libraries in our state.”

These books in the office of Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, are some of the books that Tomes called pornographic. But librarians argue the content in books must be considered as a whole.

And even though the text of the law targets books that lack artistic or other merits, the prospect of ongoing and intense arguments over what is actually “obscene” or “harmful to minors” has some librarians worried that their colleagues may start preemptively pulling material from their shelves just to avoid a fight.

“There are people who are asking themselves: Is it worth it for me?” said Rogers. “There’s librarians who are asking questions because their administration is coming to them and asking them to pull certain titles, you know, usually in an abundance of caution.”

Librarian leaders hope focus can return to kids

Just how much the law will change school districts’ handling of book challenges may vary when it takes effect Jan. 1.

In Marion County, at least three of the 11 school districts told Chalkbeat they already have some sort of procedure for challenging books or requesting that they be removed. Those include Wayne, Perry, and Indianapolis Public Schools.

The new law requires school districts to hear requests to remove materials during public school board meetings. At least six of the 11 Marion County districts told Chalkbeat that they did not receive any formal challenges to books in the past year.

Tomes did not say whether he had personally seen the books that he keeps in his office in schools; he stressed that parents reported to him that these books were in school libraries. He said it’s great that some school districts and librarians already comply with parts of the new law.

“I’m glad that they are already doing that,” he said. “Not everybody was.”

The law also tweaked the various defenses individuals can claim as protection from prosecution for disseminating material harmful to minors — classified as a felony under state law.

The new law removes the previous defenses that allowed sharing such material if it was done for an educational purpose or shared by a school. However, librarians with ILF and the Indiana State Library maintain that school employees can still claim a defense from prosecution under the law if they are acting within the scope of their employment.

“Whether or not this is intentional or will be changed in some sort of future clean-up action remains to be seen,” the Indiana State Library said in a legal memo it sent to school libraries in May.

As school districts statewide adapt to the new law, librarians with ILF are urging colleagues to lean on each other and embrace a collection method informed by research and professional book reviews.

Mainly, though, they hope the intense public scrutiny aimed at them in recent years will soon end.

“I’m hoping that this is just a storm that we’ll be able to weather, and it’ll pass,” said Emily Wilt, chair of the AISLE group. “And we’ll be able to turn our attentions and our energies more fully back toward the reasons we all got into this profession, which [is] serving our kids.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s new ‘science of reading’ law requires districts to adopt research-backed curriculum

2023-05-25T21:01:35+00:00

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Indiana has joined a growing number of states that require schools to use curriculum materials that emphasize phonetic instruction when teaching children how to read.

A new state law, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on May 4, requires school districts to adopt a curriculum that’s aligned with what’s commonly called the science of reading.

Districts are also forbidden from adopting curriculum that relies primarily on using context clues and pictures for literacy instruction, an approach known as the three-cueing model. In addition, teachers licensed after June 2025 to teach a content area involving literacy instruction in prekindergarten through fifth grade must earn a new literacy endorsement to prove they are proficient in the science of reading standards.

The new law comes amid concern from lawmakers and education officials in Indiana and nationwide about elementary school students’ reading ability — an issue exacerbated by the pandemic. Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said last year that literacy instruction and the use of phonics varies from classroom to classroom. Elsewhere, New York City recently required elementary schools to adopt a phonics-based reading program, and Illinois advocates said students there have struggled to read because schools haven’t relied on the science of reading.

Below, we break down how Indiana defines the science of reading, what the new law actually says, and what it all means for students, teachers, and schools.

What is the science of reading?

The new state statute defines the science of reading as a “vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research” that requires the “explicit, systematic” use of five elements in literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Phonemic awareness means being able to understand that different sounds form words, said Brandon Sherman, a research project manager in the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Education. Phonics is the ability to break down that word into its different phonemes, or sounds.

State law defines “science of reading” as research that also has a record of success and increases competency in those five elements, as well as oral language skills, writing, and spelling. The research also informs how proficient reading and writing develop, why some students may have difficulty with reading, and how to effectively teach reading to all students.

But the term itself has different meanings to different people, Sherman said.

Do Indiana students struggle with reading?

Just 33% of Indiana’s fourth graders were proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year, while 31% of eighth graders were proficient in reading. Those scores were roughly in line with the national average. Eighth grade reading scores dropped from their pre-pandemic level in 2019, although the fourth grade scores were statistically about the same as in 2019.

Last year, 81.6% of third graders were proficient on the state’s IREAD exam in 2019; schools may hold back students who don’t pass the test. That’s a decline from pre-pandemic scores. In 2019, for example, 87.3% of students were proficient on the IREAD.

But many students of color have scored much lower on the IREAD than the statewide average. In Indiana, 64.1% of Black students and 69.6% of Hispanic students were proficient on the 2022 IREAD.

What does Indiana’s science of reading law do?

The law requires school districts and charter schools to adopt curriculum or supplemental materials that are aligned with the science of reading by the 2024-25 school year. The state board of education must also develop academic standards for reading based on the science of reading by 2024-25.

It forbids districts from adopting curriculum that is primarily based using context, pictures, or syntax clues to teach students to read.

The law also requires teachers who teach literacy in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to receive a literacy endorsement through the state if they receive their teaching license after June 30, 2025. School districts are required to offer extra pay for teachers who have the literacy endorsement. The amount of additional pay is up to the district.

The endorsement requires 80 hours of professional development aligned with the science of reading, plus a written exam to demonstrate that educators are proficient in “scientifically based reading instruction skills.”

The state board will adopt the exam, and will establish the procedure for current teachers who wish to add the literacy endorsement to their license.

Teacher preparation programs in Indiana must also use a curriculum that instructs teaching candidates on the science of reading by July 2024. The state education department will develop guidelines for this requirement, and will conduct a review of all accredited teacher programs to ensure the programs adhere to this requirement.

What will change about students’ reading lessons?

This depends on the district.

For example, some districts reported using a curriculum that aligns with the Orton-Gillingham approach, which has systematic lessons on phonics, according to its website.

Others report using the Into Reading curriculum by HMH, which lists phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension as among the components of reading instruction.

The state education department will provide a list of curriculums that are based on the science of reading for districts to consider when reviewing whether their current curriculum complies with the law.

In Marion County, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township says it does not believe it needs to change its curriculum, which includes the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum, but is awaiting state education department guidance.

Perry Township, which uses the HMH Into Reading curriculum, said its own investigation concluded that all components of science of reading were heavily supported in the curriculum, although there was less use of phonemic awareness in grades 3-5.

“We have reinforced this area through additional training of our teachers in Orton-Gillingham and through the focus of The Science of Reading components during our Professional Development (cluster) time,” a Perry Township spokesperson said in a statement.

The Metropolitan School District of Pike Township did not specify which curriculum the district uses, but said it provided K-2 educators the opportunity to participate in training in LETRS, a professional development tool that says it is based on the science of reading on its website. A spokesperson said the district will provide professional development to ensure its curriculum aligns with science of reading principles.

“When we go through our next curriculum adoption process, we will intentionally select materials that meet the needs of our learners, while adhering to all IDOE [Indiana Department of Education] criteria,” a Pike Township spokesperson said in a statement.

Will Indiana provide new funding for science of reading and literacy?

The state’s biennial budget for 2024-25 allows up to $20 million to fund science of reading initiatives from the state education department each year.

The department can distribute this money to districts for literacy coaches to train teachers in the science of reading, or to use for efforts that increase instructional time, such as summer literacy programs or high-dosage tutoring for struggling readers. Districts can also use this funding to cover the cost of teachers to obtain the new literacy endorsement.

The state’s budget also provides up to $10 million each fiscal year for literacy achievement grants to school districts and charter schools.

This funding is in addition to the $111 million the state announced it would use to train teachers in the science of reading last year.

What’s driven recent interest in literacy instruction?

The so-called “reading wars” over the best approach to teaching literacy date back to at least the 1920s, Sherman said. Some researchers say the debate in the U.S. originated more than 200 years ago.

But the issue became more prominent in recent years due to reporting by American Public Media about school districts’ use of disproven methods of literacy instruction; its coverage of literacy includes the “Sold a Story” podcast. Mississippi also brought attention to the science of reading after embracing the approach and increasing its reading scores in a turnaround effort deemed “the Mississippi miracle.”

The reemergence of literacy instruction as a major issue has also highlighted disagreements between supporters of different teaching methods. For example, researchers and advocates frequently contrast the science of reading with “whole language” instruction, which emphasizes contextual clues to help students learn to read.

Sherman says that historically in the U.S., the popularity of different instructional methods for literacy has waxed and waned.

“We see that again focusing on systematic phonics is the emphasis,” he said. “And then the pendulum kind of goes the other way. And this is where we see whole language. And then the pendulum goes again and we see phonics come back in.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s new flexible ‘scholarship accounts’ for career and technical education divide opinion

2023-05-22T11:00:00+00:00

Loriann Beckner can’t imagine the idea of going to nursing school without her internship.

A senior at Southwestern High School in Shelbyville, Beckner interns at a hospital, Major Health Partners, through the work-based learning program at Blue River Career Programs. Working with Blue River instructor Ray Schebler, she’s learned about financial literacy and career development skills that she says she would not have learned otherwise, in addition to what she learns at the hospital.

“He’s taught me how to do interviews and so [much] workplace learning stuff that my high school never would’ve taken the opportunity to teach me,” Beckner said. “I just think without my internship, I’d be super scared.”

But the future of Blue River — one of 52 career centers across the state that offers high schoolers academic credits, industry certifications, and more — has been thrown into doubt this year after Indiana lawmakers enacted a law that creates Career Scholarship Accounts. These will provide funding for students to pay for internships and apprenticeships with local employers without necessarily relying on current career and technical education programs.

GOP lawmakers said the law, which Republicans said would be a top priority this year, will help “reinvent” high school in response to declining college enrollment and evolving employer needs. They also say the accounts will make career training more accessible. Critics worry these new accounts will hurt programs like Blue River and the public schools that partner with them to provide career and technical training, without truly providing new or additional benefits.

The Career Scholarship Accounts are part of a push by state leaders to shift some authority and funding away from traditional public schools and educators to constituencies like parents and the business community.

During this year’s legislative session, the state also dramatically expanded its voucher program by making nearly every student eligible to receive public money to attend private schools. Such moves, combined with other measures passed to restrict how educators address divisive social issues, could ultimately shift traditional public schools closer to the periphery of policymaking and influence over education.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1002, which lawmakers passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, on May 5. The bill was authored by Rep. Chuck Goodrich, R-Noblesville.

Each CSA account will receive $5,000 each year the account is active. Indiana’s 2024-25 state budget appropriates $5 million for CSA accounts for the first fiscal year, and $10 million for the second year. The bill also creates seven funding streams, focused on key aspects such as career coaching, to help students connect with employers.

“Giving students hands-on, applied learning opportunities and the ability to earn a credential before graduation is a game changer, not only for the student, not only for the family, but for Indiana,” Goodrich said during a House Education and Career Development committee discussion March 29.

Since a Career Scholarship Account (CSA) relies on creating a more direct connection between students and employers, Ray Schebler — Beckner’s instructor at Blue River — said he worries the private sector won’t provide adequate and multi-faceted support for students in their transitions from high school to the workforce.

“If it helps industry, that’s fine,” he said. “I’m a teacher. I want to see how it helps my students more than it would help a corporation.”

Debating what a quality career education means

Lawmakers have said their goal is to have between 5,000 and 10,000 students participate in the accounts in the next fiscal year.

A legislative fiscal analysis stated the program is likely to grow over time, and the law also specifies a CSA can be used to pay for postsecondary education and training, which could significantly increase participation as courses are approved.

It’s unclear exactly which businesses will participate, and whether businesses will eventually reach capacity limits.

Many of the 52 established career centers across the state, like Blue River, already offer career-focused training and credentials. Blue River, for example, offers three hours of high school credit per year, in addition to industry-recognized certifications. Plus, students can join extracurricular, career-focused programs not offered at traditional high schools, like business leadership and health industry organizations.

At Blue River, which offers 12 career programs, students in grades 10 and 11 can take instructional and career development courses for half of their regular school day, and spend the other half at their high school taking traditional courses. Seniors who attend the center take courses two days a week while also working at local businesses and worksites.

“We don’t pay employers now, but they’re calling here weekly, regularly,” said Steve Shaw, Blue Center’s director. “They want students to work. I’m not sure why they would have to be paid when there’s such demand for students to be out on the job site.”

But Jason Bearce, vice president of education and workforce development at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said he is pleased with the new Career Scholarship Accounts. One motivation behind Goodrich’s bill was a concern that career centers and their resources aren’t equally available everywhere across Indiana, he said. The new law looks to fill some of those gaps.

Bearce said the Chamber of Commerce supports the law, but still thinks lawmakers could be more clear about how the seven funding streams will cover expenses such as transportation and safety equipment.

However, he said the dedicated stream of funding for career coaching in the bill could lighten the loads on school counselors, who already juggle many tasks at once like test administration, scheduling, and lunchroom duty.

Bearce said many first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds may not be aware of their high school and postsecondary options.

“The more we can provide direct exposure to those types of opportunities, the more it’s going to bring a sharper focus for students [on] what they’re interested in and how it relates to what they’re learning in school, and ultimately just put them on a better trajectory for success,” said Bearce.

Shaw acknowledged that there are some students who might benefit from the proposed career scholarships whose current options are limited, such as those who are home-schooled.

Flexible career options for students a key issue

The law creating Career Scholarship Accounts gives funding to “intermediaries” — organizations that connect individuals with companies looking for new workers.

Under Goodrich’s bill, students do not qualify for scholarship accounts if they are already enrolled in a CTE program. While CTE centers at public schools can become scholarship account providers, schools are not given CTE grants for students with scholarship accounts.

John Hurley, a career and technical education teacher at South Spencer High School in Rockport, said that lost funding will have consequences.

“The local schools would end up not being able to offer much of the introductory classes that get students interested,” he said, speaking before Goodrich’s bill became law. “Then, you’ve not helped solve a problem — you’ve actually created a problem by not having those students be interested in the first place.”

There are also concerns about whether the accounts will provide sufficient support for students with disabilities and mental health issues, as well as worries about how easily students could change their minds about career training if they use Career Savings Accounts.

At Blue River, students can switch programs within the first two weeks of school or at the end of their first year.

“It’s good that students learn at that age, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do construction,’ instead of going out here once you graduate high school and thinking ‘I want to do construction,’ and then get hired and quit within two weeks,” Shaw said.

Striking the right balance between career exploration at school and career exploration on the job is important to many students.

Maggie Lutes, a graduating senior at Morristown High School, said the in-class time she gets at Blue River as part of her work-based learning program is crucial to her learning. Lutes works as a wastewater technician at Ryobi Die Casting in Shelbyville.

In Schebler’s class, she said, students prepare for job interviews, create resumes, learn how to file taxes, and develop entrepreneurial skills. This has helped prepare her for after graduation, when she’ll go to a four-year school for chemical engineering.

“If you’re going just straight into the workforce, you’re going to lose a lot of information that you could really gain from a class like work-based learning,” she said.

Contact Chalkbeat Indiana at in.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools get state funding boost with help from influential voucher supporters

2023-05-17T21:24:25+00:00

The argument in the video was simple.

Two fictional students, Andy and Anna, both go to a public school — but Andy’s school receives less state funding because it is a charter school. The ad from the Indiana Student Funding Alliance prompted viewers to ask: Shouldn’t Indiana lawmakers close this unfair funding gap between charters and traditional public schools?

The message reached voters throughout Indiana just as state lawmakers convened for this year’s legislative session. The roughly $500,000 ad campaign was the latest in a years-long push to direct more state and local funding to charters with the help of the alliance, an influential group of charter backers and nonprofits.

As the session began, charter schools and their backers had particularly pressing reasons to step up their lobbying and marketing efforts. Indianapolis Public Schools, the state’s largest district, planned on seeking roughly $413 million in new property taxes through a 2023 ballot measure. And charter schools were frustrated with the prospect of getting a relatively small slice of that money; some charters wouldn’t get any of it. Additionally, property values in general were rising, sending extra funding to some local school districts but not to charters.

Although the alliance had existed informally for a few years, last year its members organized the group under a formal name. It got support for its marketing campaign from groups like the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit — which also has a political action committee that has donated nearly $1 million to lawmakers in the last three years alone and supports school choice of various kinds.

The Indiana Student Funding Alliance’s campaign paid off. After lawmakers enacted several changes this year, charter schools scored one of their biggest wins since they started in Indiana over 20 years ago: a modified state funding system that gives them more money. The changes, combined with a nearly universal voucher system lawmakers passed this year, mark a critical milestone for an Indiana education landscape that favors school choice now more than ever.

Education interest groups and PACs have long lobbied state lawmakers and tried to sway public opinion. The Indiana Political Action Committee for Education, for example, is the political arm of the Indiana State Teachers Association that consistently gives money to lawmakers’ campaigns.

But the changes this year represent a critical juncture for school funding in Indiana. In addition to increasing the state’s per-student charter funding, school districts in Marion County and three other counties now must not only share referendum funds for operating expenses with charters, but also future property tax increases as well.

Even with the Republican supermajority’s strong support for school choice in general, it was important for advocates like the Indiana Student Funding Alliance to highlight charter schools’ funding challenges, said Scott Bess, the executive director of Purdue Polytechnic High School, an Indianapolis charter that is part of the alliance. The group had existed loosely for years, he noted, but the IPS referendum — and charters’ inability in general to tap local property tax revenue — elicited a more organized response.

“Those two things happening at the same time really sent home the message that if we don’t do something and do something more aggressively, these gaps are going to get to a point where it’s not financially sustainable,” Bess said.

Rep. Ed Delaney, a Democrat on the House education committee who has consistently opposed charter schools and vouchers, sees lobbying by the alliance and similar efforts as the work of an “education industrial complex.”

“I think they’ve reached a point of excessive power,” he said. “And what comes with that is greed and a lack of judgment.”

Charter school backers turn to Facebook ads

How these changes will affect traditional public schools’ budgets is unknown, given fluctuating property values among other factors.

The Mind Trust, a powerful Indianapolis nonprofit that advocates for charter-friendly policies and which joined the Indiana Student Funding Alliance, estimates those changes will ultimately provide an additional $2,259 per student for charter schools within IPS.

Changes to Indiana charter school funding

The new laws for charter funding stem from two bills, one from the Senate and the state’s budget legislation from the House. The laws:

Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share revenue increases from rising property valuations with charter schools, beginning in 2025. This would apply to charters located in the same county that enroll students living in those districts. The provision means that altogether, school districts in those counties will lose $9.3 million in 2025 and $12.5 million in 2026 to charter schools, according to the fiscal analysis from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA).
Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share additional property tax revenues from any operating or school safety referendum passed by voters after May 10 with charter schools that enroll a student living in that district. Virtual and adult high schools do not receive this funding. The LSA estimates that if the law were applicable in 2022, school districts in these four counties would have distributed about $23.9 million of $210.1 million collected in referendum funding to charters.
Increase the annual charter school grant amount from $1,250 per student to $1,400 per student for operational costs. Statewide, the funding is set at $52.6 million in fiscal 2024 and 2025.
Provide $25 million in fiscal 2024 statewide to charter schools for facility needs.
Allow charter schools to access loans through the state Common School Fund for facility and technology needs. All charters may also now access loans for large projects — such as new buildings — through the Indiana Bond Bank at a low interest rate.

Members of the alliance are celebrating these changes as wins.

The alliance is made up of partners such as the Indiana Charter School Network and the Walton Education Coalition, an education advocacy group, said Betsy Wiley, president of the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit that helped fund the alliance’s campaign. (The Walton Family Foundation, which is legally separate from the Walton Education Coalition, is a funder of Chalkbeat.)

Hoosiers for Quality Education also has a political action committee that has received funding from wealthy donors and groups frequently associated with education reform efforts such as charter schools and vouchers.

Together, the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit and the related Institute for Quality Education nonprofit — which distributes private school tuition support as a scholarship granting organization — paid for at least $49,000 in Facebook ads, such as the one featuring Andy and Anna that promoted more funding for charters, according to Facebook’s Ad Library. Those ads ran from September 2022 to the end of the session in April.

“This year was different in that a group of folks who strongly believe that public charter school students deserve the same funding as their traditional district student peers came together in a more coordinated fashion,” Wiley said in an email.

Rep. Bob Behning, the Indianapolis Republican who was chairman of the House education committee in the 2023 session, had previously pushed for school districts to share referendum revenues with charters. But this year, he said, the IPS referendum elevated the issue’s importance in his mind. (IPS ultimately nixed its plan to put the referendum on the May primary ballot, although the district may revive the proposal in some form.)

The advertisements by charter backers indicated a general motivation to push for “some level of parity” for charter school funding, he said.

Lawmakers did also approve a $312 million increase for traditional public schools right before the end of this year’s legislative session. But critics such as Delaney argue the push to increase funding for charters is just part of a bigger agenda to dismantle the traditional public school system.

“The fundamental truth is they are not interested in traditional public education,” he said. “They do not support it, they do not believe in it, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and say” that traditional public schools should close.

What increased funding means to charters

Anna and Andy used in the Indiana Student Funding Alliance ads may be fictional, but Dwayne Sullivan and his mother, Susan Sargeant, are very much real.

Dwayne is in the first class due to graduate next year from the Rooted School, an Indianapolis charter school with grades 7-12 that opened in 2020.

Even though her son will graduate soon, Sargeant is hopeful the additional funding enabled by the changes to state law will support higher teacher salaries to attract high-quality teachers to Rooted.

“That’s a big, big, big deal, especially for a charter school that’s starting out,” she said.

Jack Langlois, a junior at Purdue Polytechnic High School’s north campus in Indianapolis, helped start a cafe run by students at a cost of $5,000. School officials hope more funding for charters will help cover the cost of materials for projects at the school, which emphasizes project-based learning.

At Purdue Polytechnic High School, which has two campuses in Indianapolis, extra operating revenue will also help cover the cost of materials needed for the experiential learning that the school emphasizes through robotics, woodshop, and even a coffee shop that students recently opened at the Englewood campus of Broad Ripple High School.

Both charter school and traditional public school advocates see the referendum sharing requirement as an opportunity to collaborate to convince voters to pass future property tax increases for schools.

Still, some school district officials are worried about the net effect of sharing incremental property tax revenues with charters.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district is grateful for the $2.1 million in additional yearly revenue it’s getting due to the last-minute change made by lawmakers. And he said each funding change favoring charters on its own is probably manageable.

“But we are concerned in particular about the precedent that some of these are setting, and the sort of underlying motivations and rationales behind them,” he said.

Meanwhile, pro-charter groups are stressing that this year’s policy changes don’t meet all their long-term goals.

“Our goal remains the same, the same that it’s been for many, many years, which is parity in funding for public charter school students,” Wiley said. “And we’re not there yet.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Scholarships, FAFSA, and transcripts: Three new laws aim to help Hoosier students reach college

2023-05-15T20:15:27+00:00

With an eye to addressing Indiana’s low college-going rate and the perception that college is too expensive, Indiana leaders approved three new laws aimed at improving college access.

The new laws aim to strengthen a state scholarship program, provide more information about financial aid, and limit colleges’ power to withhold transcripts from those who still owe money to institutions.

In 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, the state’s college-going rate dropped to 53%, a decline of 12 percentage points from five years before. And there’s been a similar decline in adults who are looking for postsecondary opportunities, per the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Improving college-going is about the “removal of barriers,” said Alison Bell, chancellor at Western Governors University Indiana. “There are a lot of complicated reasons why the college going rate is low.”

Plus, the state is coming up on its 2025 deadline to have at least 60% of Hoosiers with a credential beyond high school. When state leaders set that goal in 2009, that number was 33%, said Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Chris Lowery in his 2023 State of Higher Education address. It now sits at 54%, but that includes the addition of certificates that were not originally counted, according to the commission.

Higher education leaders and advocates for these bills stressed that finances are a particularly big barrier for students when they don’t know what’s available to them to help them pay for college.

Here what you need to know about three new laws:

21st Century Scholars program expands

The 21s Century Scholars program offers up to the equivalent of four years tuition and regular fees at an in-state public university or college to students who meet income and residency eligibility, and follow requirements outlined in a scholar pledge.

Previously, students had to sign up for the scholarship in middle school, before a no-exceptions deadline of June 30 after eighth grade.

But with the new law, eligible students will automatically become part of the program. After that, students and their families can decide if they want to continue to meet requirements to stay in it. State data showed that 48% of eligible students enrolled.

“It expedites the process,” said Vincent Isom, director of 21st Century Scholars at Indiana University Bloomington, referring to the new law. He said that students and their parents are no longer dependent on finding out about an application and submitting it.

Students required to seek out financial aid options

Indiana students, with some exceptions, are now required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA.

Advocates of the change said that millions of dollars in aid were being left on the table. Requiring the form would allow students to see their school funding options, they argued, and perhaps convince more students to enroll in postsecondary education.

The form is what students need to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans, and scholarships. Completing the form is also considered a leading indicator of college-going.

States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs.

Colleges can’t withhold transcripts

State and for-profit private colleges and universities can no longer refuse to provide transcripts to current or former students who still owe money — including fees and student loans — to the institution. They also can’t can’t charge a higher fee for the document for those who owe money.

This change removes a barrier for adult learners who want to finish their degrees, but still have payments to make. It often takes months for someone who is thinking about going back to school to make a decision, and not having access to a transcript can derail them, Bell said.

“When a student learns something, they’ve learned it,” said Bell, who advocated in favor of the change. “Withholding a transcript only removes the university’s verification that they’ve learned it.”

Improvements in college access, but more needed

While higher education experts agree these changes are a big step forward, they said that having the money to go to college is only one piece of access.

Access means having information and resources, not only as students are entering college, but also as a college student, said Maurice Shirley, an assistant professor in higher education and student affairs at IU.

He said that includes knowing things like what applications to fill out and where to find them, housing options, and what is needed for a major or to switch majors. And the information to students needs to be targeted and easy to find, said Shirley, given that there can be an information overload.

The change to automatically sign up students for 21st Century Scholars, the change isn’t a “magic wand,” Isom noted. But he said the new law will allow him and others to work with students to spend more time on benchmarks and staying successful in college, instead of on the scholarship application.

And the information to students needs to be targeted and direct, said Shirley who said there is information overload, so the easier it is to find answers to questions, the better.

Both Isom and Shirley agreed finances is an area that they want to see more improvement.

Isom said that students need to be prepared to handle their finances both during and after college.

Shirley said costs of college still need to be lower. One option is addressing tuition costs. But a second way, he said, is decreasing or providing aid for the fees that come with the tuition bill, from activity fees and housing to general living expenses like groceries, health care and so on, he said.

Gone are the days that a student could afford to pay their way through college by working a summer job and using that money during the school year, he added.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat Indiana partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

More students, steeper costs: Indiana, South Carolina are latest states to vastly expand school vouchers

2023-05-10T16:24:57+00:00

On private school choice, more states are going big and bold.

In Indiana, the Republican-controlled legislature last month approved a massive expansion of the state’s voucher program, making nearly every student eligible to receive public money to attend private school. Just days later, South Carolina followed suit, creating a taxpayer-funded program to cover private school tuition and expenses for thousands of students.

They join four other Republican-led states — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, and Utah — that have established or expanded private school choice programs just this year. Now, more than 30 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, give students public money to attend private school — a number that could keep growing as state lawmakers push dozens more bills to subsidize the cost of private education.

But it isn’t just the number of bills that’s ballooning — it’s also their scope. Unlike past programs, which often targeted low-income families or students with disabilities, the newest ones are open to almost everyone and often allow parents to use the tax dollars for private school or home-school expenses.

Indiana’s newly expanded program is a prime example. Higher-income families can now participate, and students no longer must meet other need-based criteria. As a result, roughly 97% of students will now qualify for private school subsidies, and the state projects that participation could soar by nearly 42,000 additional students within two years.

Bigger programs mean steeper costs. In Indiana, the program’s price tag is expected to nearly double over the next two years.

Private school choice laws surged during the pandemic as conservative lawmakers seized on many parents’ frustration with school shutdowns and mask mandates. Republicans have also used “parents’ rights” rhetoric to justify the laws, arguing that they empower families who are dissatisfied with the public school system to opt out.

Critics have been alarmed by the wave of legislation, which they say deprives public schools of much-needed resources and could promote discrimination against LGBTQ students or those with disabilities, who have fewer protections in private schools, the majority of which are religious. Plus, experts said they wonder about the segregation that could occur among students when it comes to race, income levels, and academic ability.

But school choice advocates are celebrating the bills as the culmination of a decades-long campaign to give every student the option of a publicly funded private education.

“We hailed 2021 as the year of educational choice,” Robert Enlow, CEO of the Indianapolis-based EdChoice, a school choice advocacy group, said in a statement. “Now we are celebrating 2023 as the year of universal choice.”

As these programs proliferate, here’s what to know about eligibility and costs:

New school choice laws vastly expand voucher eligibility

The latest voucher programs are open to nearly every student.

The move toward universal eligibility reflects a sweeping new rationale for private school choice. Once pitched as a lifeline for students whose needs weren’t being met by traditional schools or whose families couldn’t afford private tuition, proponents increasingly argue that every parent should decide how to spend the tax dollars allotted for their children’s education.

It becomes a “universal entitlement program,” said Joseph Waddington, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky at College of Education and Martin School Public Policy and Administration. Rather than target the neediest students, he added, the new programs are “just putting the money in kids’ backpacks” and letting parents decide how to spend it.

John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, argued that the shift is part of a “re-thinking of how we fund education in general.”

“For the first time in the history of American education policy, states are embracing the ‘money follows the child’ model of education funding that has long been the dream of parental-choice advocates,” Nicole Stelle Garnett and Richard W. Garnett wrote in an article in the right-leaning City Journal this year.

Arizona put this new philosophy into practice last year when it made every parent eligible to receive about $7,000 in state funds, or 90% of the cost to educate a student without disabilities in a public school, to use for private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling.

This year, six more states made all or most students eligible to attend private school at taxpayer expense. (West Virginia established a near-universal program in 2021.)

In Indiana, a family of four with an income of up to $220,000 now will qualify for taxpayer-funded tuition assistance. Lawmakers also eliminated other restrictions, including rules that voucher recipients have a disability or are in foster care.

But it’s hard to say if the voucher expansion will lead to large numbers of new students enrolling in private schools. In both Iowa and Indiana, analysts expect that nearly 90% of voucher recipients will be current private school students or kindergarteners entering private school.

“I don’t know if we are going to see a rapid expansion,” said Christopher Lubienski, professor at the Indiana University School of Education and director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.

Plus there are limitations on enrollment, such as the capacity of non-public schools and tuition that exceeds the stipends parents receive, as well as students’ access to private schools in rural areas.

Critics, including many Democrats and teachers unions, say the new universal voucher programs amount to a giveaway for families who already can afford private school.

Costs will soar as the programs expand

As newly eligible families apply for vouchers, costs will surge. But by how much, no one knows.

One reason for the uncertainty: Universal vouchers are, in effect, a grand experiment states are conducting in real time. Budget analysts have scrambled to predict the programs’ eventual price tags, but they can only guess at how many freshly eligible families will participate.

Another complication is that lawmakers in some states scrapped enrollment caps when they expanded eligibility, turning the cost ceiling into a question mark.

The uncertainty has led to wildly divergent estimates. In Florida, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the universal voucher bill pegged the program’s expected cost at about $210 million, while the left-leaning Florida Policy Institute put it at $4 billion. Later, the Florida Senate came up with its own cost estimate: $646 million.

One big point of contention is what percentage of families who currently pay for private school will start using vouchers to cover tuition. The bill’s sponsor guessed that only 50% will apply, which critics called a wild under-estimate. By contrast, the Florida Policy Institute assumed that 100% of eligible private school families will apply.

In Arizona, participation — and price — have far exceeded expectations.

Last June, the legislature estimated that the expanded voucher program would cost about $33 million this school year. But six months later, after applications from newly eligible families flooded in, the expected cost had soared to $276 million — more than eight times the original estimate. The cost has continued to rise as even more students enroll.

As in other states, a large share of the voucher recipients already attend private school or home-school. (When Arizona expanded access last year, 75% of the first wave of applicants had never attended a public school.) For those students, the state cannot simply transfer funds from public to private schools — it must find a whole new pot of money to cover tuition that parents previously paid for.

Now, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is looking to scale back the program, which she warned “will likely bankrupt this state.”

In Indiana, the state previously set aside $240 million annually for private school vouchers. But with the move to near-universal eligibility, the cost is expected to swell to more than $600 million by 2025.

That amount is eye-opening, said Lubienski, who added that it also follows a pattern of shifting costs to taxpayers. While Indiana lawmakers did increase funding for traditional public schools in this year’s legislative session, the lion’s share of attention and largest funding increases went to voucher and charter programs, he said.

School choice advocates stressed that the cost depends on how many students enroll, but others argued that the money allocated to vouchers amounts to the state endorsing private education.

In the wake of her state’s voucher expansion, Indiana state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat, said she worries about having enough money for the majority of Indiana’s students who attend public schools, especially those who are English language learners, in special education, and from low-income backgrounds.

“Our kids can’t wait to be properly resourced,” she said.

Patrick Wall is a senior reporter covering national education issues. Contact him at pwall@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Pronouns, libraries, and textbook fees: The K-12 policy changes Indiana lawmakers made this year

2023-05-01T21:45:29+00:00

State legislators have introduced more than 100 new education bills and bills impacting schools and students during Indiana’s 2023 legislative session. For the latest Indiana education news, sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free newsletter here.

This article was originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle. It has been edited by Chalkbeat Indiana to only include education and student-focused legislation.

Indiana’s Republican-controlled General Assembly convened for 110 days, during which education, health care, and taxes dominated much of the discourse.

The highlight, however, was the passage of Indiana’s $44 billion biennial budget plan.

Here’s a recap of the education issues — some big, some small — and a look at what prevailed and what didn’t quite come together before the 2023 session came to a close early Friday morning.

Holcomb agenda achieves success

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s 2023 legislative agenda highlighted proposals for several major funding increases in the next two-year state budget, including paying for all K-12 textbooks, salary increases for state police troopers, and millions more for public health services in all 92 counties.

A massive private school voucher expansion was the sticking point in the final hours of the session — although vouchers weren’t part of Holcomb’s priorities.

Still, the governor got most of what he wanted — saying he will “gladly sign” the final budget draft — and praised lawmakers for their work an hour after the session’s end.

Indiana families shielded from K-12 textbook fees

Indiana’s governor rallied hard to eliminate textbook and curricular fees for Hoosier kids. Figuring out how to fund the ask proved less straightforward, though.

Holcomb’s proposed budget explicitly included a line item for textbook fees — separate from the school funding formula — directing funds to the state education department, which would then be responsible for dishing out textbook dollars to schools.

But House budget writers originally took a different approach, seeking to require schools to dip into their foundational funding to fully pay students’ curricular materials costs.

Pushback from public school officials prompted changes to that funding mechanism in the final budget plan.

Now, a $160 million annual line item — added by Senate Republicans — ensures that Hoosier families will not have to pay student textbook fees in K-12 public schools. Private school students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch will also see their textbook fees waived, according to the budget.

Grant program for college access gets a boost

The Holcomb administration’s push to get more Hoosiers educated included a move to automatically enroll eligible Hoosier students into Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars Program, a statewide grant program that helps students from low-income backgrounds attend two- and four-year schools.

A bill doing just that advanced to the governor’s desk last week.

House Bill 1449 requires the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to work with the state education department to identify kids who qualify for the program, and then notify students and parents about their eligibility. Students must agree to participate in 21st Century Scholars and can opt out at any time.

Funding for Martin University increases

Also part of Holcomb’s agenda was a proposed $10 million for Martin University — the state’s only predominantly black institution — specifically to help the students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and adult-learner populations served by the university.

The House GOP budget plan matched that request, but Senate Republicans opted to give every higher education institution in Indiana access to that $10 million over the biennium for students of color, as well as first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds.

The final budget landed somewhere in between, appropriating $5 million to Martin University, and creating another $5 million pot for all other Hoosier colleges and universities.

Feat of imagination: more kids reading

Country music icon Dolly Parton’s book program mails over two million books monthly to children across the country — and elsewhere — monthly, according to its website. Now, the Imagination Library is set to be available statewide in Indiana.

Launching the program was a priority for Holcomb, as well as some lawmakers, and they saw success in the final version of the state’s two-year, $44.5 billion budget. It’s one line item in the 249-page document: a $6 million appropriation.

Lawmakers address pronoun changes in classrooms

A controversial bill mandating that Indiana schools notify parents when a student asks for name or pronoun changes is now awaiting a signature from the governor.

House Bill 1608 also bans human sexuality instruction to the youngest Hoosier students.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

But critics of the bill — which was pared down in its final iteration — have argued that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBTQ+ people and their families.” More specifically, they say that the legislation could put transgender children at risk of harm if they’re outed to unsupportive or abusive parents.

New process to govern school library book grievances

In the final hours of the legislative session, Republican state lawmakers resurrected a much-debated ban on materials deemed “obscene “or “harmful to minors” in school and public libraries.

The bill requires school libraries to publicly post lists of books in their collection and create a formal grievance process for parents and community members who live in the district to object to certain materials in circulation.

As part of that process, school boards must review those challenges at their next public meeting. An appeals process must also be established if officials don’t agree with the request.

Language in House Bill 1447 also removes “educational purposes” as a reason that schools or district board members could claim legal protection for sharing “harmful material” with underage students.

Public libraries would not be affected, however, despite other proposals debated earlier in the session that would have expanded the language’s reach. The bill only applies to public and charter schools, not private schools.

Bills on partisan school boards, child care fall short

Republican lawmakers touted big wins across the board at the conclusion of the legislative session, but several big-ticket items didn’t make it across the finish line.

Many of the measures are expected to be reworked and introduced again next year.

A bill that would have let Hoosier communities decide if local school board elections should be partisan died in the House in February.

That means school board races will stay nonpartisan, at least for now. Similar bills have circulated around the Statehouse in years past, and GOP leadership said others are likely to come up again in the future.

With this year’s House Bill 1428, specifically, Republican lawmakers could not find consensus over whether school board candidates should have to be nominated by party primaries or only be listed by political party on the November general election ballot.

Something that didn’t get too much attention through the 2023 session was child care and early childhood education. Though legislators expanded eligibility for On My Way Pre-K from 127% to 150% of the federal poverty limit, roughly $41,625 annually for a family of four, they didn’t add more funding.

Leaders said that current expenditures left money behind, including in the Child Care Development Fund. However, families and businesses alike bemoan the shortage of quality child care available in communities, saying it hampers economic growth.

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Indiana public schools get $312 million increase in state budget after voucher backlash

2023-04-28T13:57:26+00:00

Indiana’s 2023 legislative session is under way, and state legislators have introduced more than 100 new education bills and bills impacting schools and students. For the latest Indiana education news, sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free newsletter here.

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Outrage from public school officials over dismal funding in the next two-year state budget prompted lawmakers to add a twelfth-hour K-12 spending boost in Indiana’s spending plan in a chaotic final day that yielded several so-called ‘final’ draft budgets.

Even as rumors circulated for hours midday, Republican leadership declined to identify the hold-up, not publicizing the last version’s release until 9 p.m. — with the General Assembly fielding calls and emails into the early hours of Friday morning.

Under pressure from their members, Republican leaders opted to decrease the amount dedicated to paying down the Pre-1996 Teacher Retirement Fund — the state’s only unfunded debt obligation. Rather than the $1 billion previously allotted, that fund will now receive an additional $700 million in the coming biennium.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said issues with the final budget came when trying to combine the Senate and House versions of the budget, which took different approaches to education funding.

“The bottom line is that there was a misunderstanding in the way we had it drafted and so when we took a look at the school runs, it wasn’t what we intended to have happen,” Bray said. “There wasn’t as much money in there for the traditional public schools and so we had to start over.”

The budget advanced on a 70-27 vote in the House, with one Democrat — Rep. Rita Fleming, D-Jeffersonville — joining Republicans to pass the measure.

Across the Statehouse, the diversion of school funding to vouchers is what prompted Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, to vote against the budget. Another Republican senator, the embattled Mike Young, announced from the podium that he wouldn’t be staying to vote and left just before 1:30 a.m.

Even without their votes, the budget passed the Senate on a 39-10 vote, with Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, voting yes.

“It’s not just your average ordinary typical two-year budget. It’s a generational impact budget,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb at a 3 a.m. press conference. “Its policies and plans can be viewed as we do as a blueprint for growth.”

What’s in it for education?

Republican budget writers announced Wednesday they would earmark more than $1 billion for a major school voucher expansion. With that move, GOP leaders touted an 8% increase in overall K-12 tuition support formula over the biennium but voucher funding would grow 69% the first year and 14% the second year.

That prompted a flurry of pressure from public school officials Wednesday night. Denny Costerison, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle those school funding projections showed that about 75% of Hoosier school districts would receive funding increases of less than 2% in the budget’s second year.

Here is how spending breaks down by category in the newest biennial budget.

Late Thursday, legislative leaders announced a last-minute change to the budget, however, in an effort to ease backlash. Multiple lawmakers were also reportedly unhappy to learn that their school districts received so little money after the voucher expansion.

Now, those per student funding increases have improved somewhat to 5.3% in the first year, and then to 1.8% the next. With the change, schools will see $8.84 billion for tuition support in fiscal year 2024, and $9.03 billion in fiscal year 2025.

That’s $312.1 million more over the biennium — an additional $148 million in year one of the budget, and $164 million the second — compared to the earlier draft of the budget. Since vouchers get a portion of this funding, their spending also increased.

At his own local schools in Fort Wayne, House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta said school funding increased by 1.6% the first year and actually decreased by 0.6% in the second year.

“Last week, we find out we have $1.5 billion extra and my school district is losing money. Even with the additional funds [the second year is] negative 0.4%,” GiaQuinta said. “There’s no doubt that played a part into some of the last-minute scrambling over extra dollars.”

What about that pay raise?

But the state’s highest offices still got a significant pay raise in the latest version of the budget — even though the language never got any public vetting during the chaotic final hours.

“We wanted to put them on par with the other leaders in government, like the Chief Justice,” Huston said. “I think the (Attorney General) salary ends up being comparable to a prosecutor salary and … the Senate brought the language and we agreed it probably needed to be changed and this was the opportunity to change it.”

Huston said the Senate had previously discussed salary increases but hadn’t quite settled on language before senators introduced their version of the budget a few weeks ago.

“I think there’s been a lot of conversation over the years about the disproportionate pay of our elected officials,” Huston said.

The salary of the state’s highest court is currently at $198,513.

The budget also includes Gov. Eric Holcomb’s compensation package to increase pay for the typical state employee by 5%. And a separate provision increases starting salaries for state troopers to $70,000 per year.

But not everyone was happy with the pay raise language.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, whose office would get a 60% bump, signaled her disapproval for the process, which didn’t receive any public vetting.

“If it’s something that’s important to do, and if the work we do really reflects a higher salary — which I’m not arguing against — it should be part of the process,” Crouch said. “It should be … discussed and vetted and people should be able to weigh in.”

Crouch is running for governor in 2024, an office that will get a 48% raise. The raises go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025 at the end of the current term.

Bray said that those offices were “woefully underpaid” in comparison to other states.

“Not a one of them asked for it,” Bray said. “Frankly, it was a fairly easy decision.”

Indiana lawmakers suggest a likely revival of ‘obscene and harmful’ library materials ban

2023-04-21T16:36:13+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana lawmakers are largely mum about the revival of a much-debated ban on materials deemed “harmful to minors” in school and public libraries.

A bill with such language advanced from the Senate but died in the House earlier this session without a hearing. The House Education Committee instead seemed intent on reinserting similar language from that measure — Senate Bill 12 — into another bill.

Although House legislators heard more than four hours of mostly-oppositional testimony on the amendment, a vote was never held. That has left the library provision abandoned from any moving legislation — so far.

But Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said Thursday his caucus is still considering a last-minute addition in conference committee.

“I think we’ll talk about that early next week,” he said of the harmful material language. “But I think … if you want to do it, you’ve got to find the right bill, where it’s appropriate.”

The stage is already set for that to happen in House Bill 1447, which addresses third-party surveys and evaluations given to K-12 students.

Rep. Donna Schaibley, R-Carmel, was removed last week as the conferee on the bill and replaced with Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne. He sits on the House Education Committee and has supported similar legislation in the past.

Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, who authored Senate Bill 12, along with Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond — chair of the Senate Education Committee — were added as bill advisors.

The switches are part of end-of-session politics that play out during conference committee negotiations. Those temporary committees are formed in relation to a specific bill and tasked with negotiating a proposal that can be agreed to by both chambers.

GOP Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said lawmakers aren’t intending to be secretive about their plans, noting that — should they decide to revive the library language — “it’s going to be like everything else.”

“It’ll come out, and there will be a conference committee report, if that happens. It certainly is a conversation to try and bring that forward. And then the House and the Senate will both debate it and vote on it publicly,” Bray said.

Still, Tomes did not respond to a request for comment.

House Education Committee chairman Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, also did not comment about the library language when asked Thursday by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. He said last week that the issue “is not done yet.”

Hours of testimony — but no House committee vote

The proposed amendment that stalled earlier this month in the House Education Committee intended to create a new process for parents to request the removal of books alleged to be obscene or harmful to minors from school and public libraries.

Language in the amendment would have additionally removed “educational purposes” as a reason that public schools and libraries could claim legal protection for sharing “harmful material” with underage students.

School officials and librarians pushed back against the proposal, arguing that such a policy would open them up to criminal charges and create a “chilling effect” on book selections.

Democrats echoed those concerns, saying the amendment could lead to the removal of anything one parent deems to be unsuitable over the objection of other parents.

Proponents of such language pointed to Hoosier parents who say their local school boards have rejected their challenges of certain materials — leaving books some deem to be “obscene” and “objectionable” accessible to kids in school libraries.

Republican lawmakers agreed, saying the book removal process “isn’t working” at the local level and now warrants statewide legislative action to require “transparency between schools, libraries and communities.”

A years-long debate on ‘harmful materials’

But there was no GOP push on the House floor to bring any part of the amendment back after the underlying bill advanced from the education committee without any library provisions.

Bray said last week that lawmakers have tried “several iterations” to “find a space” for the language.

“Right now, it’s probably palatable for our caucus. So there’s a good possibility to see that find a home somewhere,” he said. “This issue has come up for a few years now, and there is some will to try and find a way to resolve it.”

Tomes has filed similar bills in years past to take away schools’ defense to the state’s “harmful materials” law. A similar proposal failed in the 2022 session after K-12 librarians and educators argued they would be unfairly criminalized.

The senator said his bills are about “parents, their children, and books — really, really, really bad books.” He maintained he wants to eradicate “raw pornography” from school libraries.

FAFSA will be required for Indiana students starting next school year

2023-04-20T17:52:54+00:00

Starting next school year, Indiana students will be required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The requirement was approved by both the Indiana Senate and House and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday. It applies to all students, with some exceptions, but is not a requirement for high school graduation.

The new law makes filling out the form, known as the FAFSA, a conscious choice instead of happenstance, advocates said. They added that students would also have a better picture of the money available to them for college, and perhaps convince more students to enroll in postsecondary education, at a time when Indiana officials are concerned about the number of students who enroll in college. In the Class of 2020, 53% of students went on to college, according to state data.

The FAFSA is the form that students need to file to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans, and scholarships, and completion is also considered a leading indicator of college-going.

States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs. The new law would require students to submit the FAFSA by April 15 of their senior year, which is the deadline to be eligible for state aid in addition to federal aid.

And the money isn’t just for two- and four-year institutions. Filling out the FAFSA can also provide funds for students who want to use a Next Level Jobs Workforce Ready Grant for a short- or long-term credential.

The new law comes at a time when officials said students are leaving nearly $70 million in Pell Grants on the table, amid perceptions that higher education is unaffordable.

A state dashboard of FAFSA completion shows that about 44% of this year’s high school seniors in Indiana have completed a FAFSA.

Lawmakers have tried for years to pass this FAFSA requirement, and it was increasing the number of exceptions that got the bill the widespread support it needed to pass.

The exceptions are for students at certain nonpublic schools, and for students who have a parent sign a waiver (emancipated minors can also sign it for themselves) to decline to complete the form. A school principal or counselor can also waive the requirement if they are unable to reach the student’s parent or guardian by April 15 after “at least two reasonable attempts.”

Additionally, the requirement expires in 10 years, so lawmakers can reevaluate it. Indiana joined at least eight other states who have such a law.

This year, the deadline for state aid was extended to May 15 for students in the seven counties under a disaster emergency declaration due to recent storms: Benton, Johnson, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullian, and White.

‘I need a plan.’ As NRA convention begins, Indianapolis teens share fears about gun violence.

2023-04-14T16:59:48+00:00

Raina Maiga looked out her school’s windows from the second floor on Thursday, trying to imagine what she would do in a school shooting.

“I’m hopeless. I can’t jump out the window,” said Maiga, a sophomore at Purdue Polytechnic High School’s Englewood campus on Indianapolis’ east side. “There’s nothing to do. Our school is exposed with windows. If someone walked in here with a gun, I mean, it’s over.”

These are the conversations that Raina and her classmates have on an almost weekly basis.

But this week, those conversations are happening with the backdrop of the National Rifle Association’s three-day annual convention, which is expected to bring tens of thousands of attendees to downtown Indianapolis beginning Friday.

The convention for the powerful lobbying organization — and the warm reception from some Indiana lawmakers — feels tone deaf to Indianapolis-area teens who say gun violence in their schools and communities is their reality and fills them with anxiety on a regular basis.

Ryan Evans, a Purdue Polytechnic junior, remembers the day in 2013 that his sister survived the Arapahoe High School shooting in Colorado. His classmate Huma Moghul recalls the night she heard gunfire in her neighborhood and woke up to a bullet hole in her living room wall. And they all remember the lockdowns they have experienced this year — anxious moments that they try to ease with dark humor about whether they’d survive if a shooter was outside their door.

So far this year, eight people age 18 and under in Indianapolis have been killed by a firearm, per the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Sixteen people age 18 and under in the city died by firearms in 2022, up from 14 in 2021.

Among those who died was a 17-year-old Purdue Polytechnic High School student James Johnson III, who was killed in February.

“Nobody ever thinks that it’s going to happen to them,” said Evans. “And I definitely think that James Johnson didn’t think that as well. Because it’s not a thought that somebody should have.”

Students prepare for school shootings

The NRA annual meeting comes roughly three weeks after a person shot and killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville. Their deaths sparked outrage during Tennessee’s legislative session, and students rallied for tougher gun laws at the Tennessee State Capitol.

Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill to provide state funding for firearms training for teachers. Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican from Seymour and the bill’s author, said in February his legislation is a response to mass school shootings across the U.S., according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

But to students like Evans and Maiga, that legislation is not the solution. Instead, they say, legislators should stop and think about how the situation is affecting students in schools.

And the onus should not be on schools to arm teachers, or transform buildings into iron fortresses, some students argue.

“We shouldn’t have to be wanding children into schools to prevent guns from entering schools or teaching them how to evacuate to mobile bomb shelters that can be built in schools,” said Evans.

(The convention also starts on the same day that dozens of Indiana school districts received a bomb threat, prompting the closure of school buildings.)

Katie Bolduc, a freshman at Westfield High School, said she’s only known a world with gun violence in schools, where active shooter drills are as commonplace as fire and tornado drills.

“There’s a lot of complacency, it’s something that’s normal and accepted that you have to prepare for,” she said.

But it leaves her feeling unsafe.

“There are weapons that can cause mass casualties in a few minutes, and all I have is a pencil pouch or a water bottle to throw at the shooter, best-case scenario,” Bolduc said.

Lucy Rutter, a junior at Burris Laboratory School in Muncie, said she first started to hear about school shootings in middle school. At that time, it seemed like it wouldn’t happen to her. That’s changed.

“The more I see it, the more I feel like it is going to happen to me, and I need a plan,” she said. “It’s so hard to hear about it in the news every day and feel like I can’t do anything about it.”

NRA convention in town prompts disappointment from students

Having the NRA convention in their backyard only exacerbates the disconnect between lawmakers and the students who spoke to us.

“I do wonder what the conversations are like when talking about actually caring about the lives of people, but then choosing to be a public face at this convention,” said Maiga, who lamented the scheduled presence of Gov. Eric Holcomb and former Vice President Mike Pence at the convention.

Students said that having the convention so close to home is a reminder of how tense and politically charged the topic of gun violence prevention is — and of the sway of organizations like the NRA.

Salsabil Qaddoura, a North Central High School sophomore, leads her school’s chapter of Students Demand Action, a national group of high school and college students that aims to end gun violence and is affiliated with Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.

She said the NRA convention has her thinking about gun industry accountability, and how it can profit off of young people. The access to guns is there, she said.

“It’s disgusting and insensitive,” she said of the NRA coming to Indianapolis.

The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.

Students consider how to change views on guns

Being a high schooler means having pressures to fit a certain standard, Qaddoura said. That means students are influenced by what they surround themselves with, and there’s a thought of “if you have guns you have that tough-person persona,” she said.

Students said they want to shift the narrative around guns with their classmates to make having a gun less of a status symbol, and to know that it’s OK to ask for help and to talk about gun-violence prevention.

In all the years of doing active shooter drills, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a teacher or school officer talk about how we feel, get under the desk and find what you’re going to throw and prepare,” Bolduc said.

She hopes to start a Students Demand Action chapter to change that.

As leaders of their own Students Demand Action chapters, Qaddoura and Rutter have worked to start a discussion about gun violence. They’ve registered voters, signed petitions, and attended protests and other events.

“A lot of people assume that my only goal is to ban guns, but there are so many other solutions besides banning guns outright,” Rutter said, listing gun safety education, safe storage, background checks, and red flag laws.

Students at Purdue Polytechnic, meanwhile, are organizing a walkout for April 20, the 24th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

Students said they know change can be slow.

“I always hear that change is gradual,” Qaddoura said. But she added that when it comes to gun violence prevention, “We can’t wait.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana Senate strikes parental consent requirement from bill targeting student pronouns in schools

2023-04-07T15:15:24+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A controversial “parental rights” bill was pared down by Indiana senators on Thursday to remove a provision that would have required schools get consent from parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns.

The amended version of House Bill 1608 now stipulates that parents only must be notified within five business days about a requested name or pronoun change.

“It started out coming out of committee as (requiring) consent, and that’s important,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said of the chamber’s decision to scale back the bill.

“It can be challenging, though, as you play that out,” he continued. “When you start talking about getting consent from a parent, or parents, and there’s lots of divorce situations out there where that can be contentious, and we thought, well, notification advises the parents of what’s going on, and they can then meet and engage in the school, and that’s a satisfactory result.”

An amendment adopted to the bill on Thursday also deletes language that would have protected teachers who refuse to use a name or pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s legal name and biological sex.

Lawmakers update proposal around names, pronouns

Bray said his caucus has had “lengthy communication” with House Republicans about the changes to the bill — which is why it stalled on the chamber calendar for more than a week before it was called down for amendments.

The Senate leader said he expects the House to approve the changes, assuming the bill advances in a Senate floor vote that could come as early as next week.

“It’s a tricky issue. And there’s reasonable people who come down on both sides of that … it didn’t go necessarily along party lines,” Bray said. “There was some question out there about why are we engaging in this space at all? A number of schools wanted some guidance from the state on this because they’re all grappling with it. It’s a pretty challenging issue on the school board level, as well. So, it’s just a very difficult issue to handle and get on top of.”

The latest draft of the amended bill requires schools to inform parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns for any reason — including to a nickname.

Although an earlier version of the bill would have blocked adherence to the student’s request without a parent’s explicit consent, bill sponsor Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, said teachers could now grant a student’s request as long as notice has already been given to a parent.

Previous language would have additionally prevented schools from disciplining teachers that still use a child’s old name or pronouns — even with parental permission to use the new, preferred versions — if the employee or staff member does so out of a “religious conviction.” That part of the bill is gone, too.

The bill retains language that would also prohibit instruction on “human sexuality” for students in prekindergarten through 3rd grade, although sexual education typically does not start until the fourth or sixth grades under existing state standards.

Private schools are exempted from the language restricting “human sexuality.”

Democrats’ proposed amendments fall short

Three separate amendments offered by Democrats failed, however.

One proposed change would have given students a chance to rescind their name or pronoun change request in an attempt to give them more time to consider whether or not they want their parents to be notified.

Another would have ensured that school psychologists, social workers, nurses, and counselors would not be forced to violate their professional codes of conduct and ethics to adhere to the bill’s provisions. The bill already says that school staff are not required to break federal laws in order to be compliant.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, suggested that — if lawmakers are going to regulate pronouns — they should crack down on words like “mankind” and “manmade,” or phrases like, “Hey, guys,” when addressing groups of students.

“If this is such an issue, when referring to people by their biological sex, then I think language must matter, and we should cease from doing it,” Yoder said. The amendment failed in a voice vote.

Still, Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said he was “surprised” the GOP caucus supported the changes made to the bill.

“I don’t understand it … it’s causing problems,” Taylor said of the bill overall. “Young people have to make the hard decision to even come out and express how they feel. Then we’re going to make it even harder by saying, ‘If you tell me in confidence, and I’m somebody you trust, I have no choice but to inform your parents.’ Now why would a child tell their teacher first before they tell their parents if they really believe that their parent was going to be accepting?”

Bill author Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, maintains that her proposal intends to “empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children.”

Critics of the bill have argued that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBTQ+ people and their families.” Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

Indiana lawmakers battle over bill that could criminalize librarians for objectionable books

2023-04-06T14:36:16+00:00

This article originally published on WFYI.

The House Education Committee heard hours of testimony Wednesday from school employees, librarians, and others across Indiana who expressed opposition to a proposed amendment to a bill that would strip these employees of a legal defense against charges they distributed material harmful to minors.

The hearing was the latest evolution in a months-long legislative process driven by concerns among some parents that pornography is rampant in schools. While lawmakers have drafted legislation to address these concerns, they’ve presented little evidence to suggest it’s a widespread problem. The latest iteration of the legislation also targets public libraries.

Rep. Becky Cash (R-Zionsville), who crafted the amendment, said she’s heard from “thousands” of parents who have lodged complaints with their schools over books they believed were objectionable.

“Parents have testified in school board meetings and come to me, and many members of this committee and assembly many, many times over the last couple of years saying that the system did not work for them,” Cash said.

She explained that the amendment mandates schools and public libraries lay out a transparent process for parents and residents to lodge complaints.

But several Democratic members of the committee expressed concern that the bill would empower some parents and disempower others by creating a system in which some parents could control access to books for all children. They also expressed opposition to a portion of the amendment that strips librarians and school employees from a legal defense.

“We are not the court of appeals from parents who are unhappy with school board decisions,” said Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis). “But if we were the Court of Appeals, we would want evidence. What parent? What school? What book? What hearing? What process? Not this vague discontent.”

Changes to the language made

An amendment to Senate Bill 380 incorporates some of the language included in Senate Bill 12 — which was passed by lawmakers in that chamber in late February. SB12 would have mandated schools adopt a procedure that would allow parents and guardians to submit complaints that a book included in the school library is inappropriate. The legislation laid out a specific procedure and an appeals process.

In contrast, an amendment to SB 380, crafted by Cash, would require schools to adopt and publicly post a procedure that would allow district residents, parents and guardians to submit a request for removal of material that is classified as obscene or harmful to minors as defined by existing state law, as well as an appeals process.

The amendment would also require:

Public libraries to adopt and publicly post a procedure that would allow community members, as well as parents and guardians of minors within their community, to submit a request to relocate material that falls under the definition of obscene or harmful to minors — as defined in current law — to a section of the library not designated for minors.
Both schools and libraries must adopt a procedure to respond quickly to these requests and allow for an appeal. And the procedure they adopt must require school and library boards to review the relocation request at their next public meeting.
Prosecutors consider whether residents, parents or guardians have exhausted these procedures before filing charges against a school or library employee for disseminating material harmful to minors.
School and public libraries make all available book titles publicly available in an online catalog.

Bill would eliminate statutory defense

Under the amendment to SB 380, if a prosecutor charged a school or public library employee with disseminating material that is harmful to minors, the employees would be unable to defend themselves on the basis that the material had educational value.

The amendment also appears to bar school and library employees from using the defense that the material was disseminated while acting within the scope of their employment.

Few people testified in favor of the amendment in its entirety. And while many of the librarians who testified said they supported the portion of the legislation that mandated a procedure for requesting removals or relocation of books, they all opposed the language that removes the criminal defense against prosecution.

“Criminalizing librarians, library workers and teachers is not the answer, “said Heather Rayl, a librarian at the Vigo County Public Library. “What is right for my daughter may not be right for your daughter or son or niece or nephew, even if they’re the same age. Parents know best it is their right to choose. Not the government.”

Zach Stock, with the Indiana Public Defender Council, also spoke out against removing legal defenses for school and library employees. He emphasized the need to protect legitimate expression.

“We can’t all agree on what is harmful. None of us in this room are going to agree to that. There’s no bright line,” Stock said. “The public defender counsel asks that you leave the criminal code out of it. A felony jury trial is no place to conduct education policy.”

Disagreements persist over what constitutes harmful material

Librarians and others also expressed concern that regardless of whether the change in law results in prosecutions, it could still have a chilling effect on the types of materials librarians choose to put in school and public library collections — particularly when it comes to books that deal with racism, gender, sexuality and those that feature individuals from marginalized communities.

Specifically, lawmakers and those who testified sparred over the appropriateness of the book, “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe, that recounts the author’s exploration of their gender identity.

Austin Rawlins, a 22-year-old, spoke out against the amendment on behalf of his mother, Stephanie Rawlins, director of the Pike County Public Library. He said he found more value in the book “Gender Queer” than he did in much of the sex education content he was exposed to in school, like images of sexually transmitted diseases and video of someone giving birth.

Rep. Martin Carbaugh (R-Fort Wayne) acknowledged that he hadn’t read “Gender Queer” in its entirety. But he challenged Rawlins for comparing the book’s “depictions of fellatio and many other acts” to sex education.

“I don’t even know how periods work. I don’t know what’s going on in a woman’s body, because it’s never [been] taught to me. It never is, it’s never discussed,” Rawlins said about topics not covered in his sex education courses. “And these books are honestly the first time that I’ve seen it in a relatively educational way or life experience way.So I find value in that.”

Carbaugh responded by saying he disagreed.

Katie Blair, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ACLU of Indiana, said the amendment would infringe on student’s rights to read and learn freely. She said the language could be used to target books that are about or by people of color, LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized people.

“A person can decide that they don’t want to read a certain book, a person can decide they don’t want their child to read that book, but a person can’t decide an entire school or an entire town can read that book,” Blair said

Rep. Jake Teshka (R-South Bend) questioned how the language in the amendment about obscene material would apply to books about communities of color.

“What we also know is that there’s still a lot of room for interpretation. And so what I would say is that this will be used as that because those books, unfortunately, are usually under much higher scrutiny,” Blair said. “And so I know that this is what that will be used for.”

Rhonda Miller was one of the very small number of people who testified in support of the measures included in the amendment. But Miller, who presides over a group called Purple for Parents Indiana that traffics in conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, expressed disappointment that the language had been included in SB 380 rather than being heard as a standalone bill under SB 12.

“I want everybody to know that this battle is far from over. And we will continue the fight,” Miller said.

The House Education Committee did not vote on the amendment. April 17 is the last day for Senate bills to be approved by the full House.

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Push to change Indiana property taxes to benefit charter schools triggers alarm in IPS

2023-04-06T11:00:00+00:00

Republican lawmakers are advancing major changes to the state’s school funding system to benefit charter schools and districts with relatively low property tax values.

The proposed Republican House budget, along with a newly amended GOP Senate bill, would rework Indiana’s property tax system to pump more funding into charters and level what lawmakers say is an unfair playing field for charters and traditional public schools. Lawmakers also might create a dedicated funding stream for charters’ capital expenses that would replace the so-called “$1 law.”

But the proposals have been sharply criticized by Democrats and traditional public school leaders, who argued that the changes would come at the expense of thousands of students in traditional public schools.

The bills channel issues at the heart of a recent dispute over tax revenue in Indianapolis Public Schools. The district withdrew its plan to ask voters for new property taxes on the May ballot, amid criticism from charter school supporters that the draft ballot measure did not provide charters enough money. If the proposals become law, they could change the long-term balance of fiscal power within the state’s public education system.

Together, House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 391 would do the following to boost funding for charters and school districts with low property values:

Provide $1,400 per charter school student from the state in fiscal year 2024 and $1,500 in fiscal year 2025, replacing a state program that provides $1,250 per student to compensate for a lack of property tax revenue.
Provide $20 million in next year’s budget for charter schools’ capital needs.
Require school districts in Marion, Lake, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties to share with charter schools any revenues from ballot measures passed to support operating or school safety expenses after June 30, 2023. Virtual charters and adult high school charter schools would not receive such funding. A fiscal analysis says the revenue would be shared “proportionally.”
Provide state funding for school districts that are unable to raise at least $1,400 per pupil from its operating fund in 2024 and $1,500 in 2025. The funding would supplement existing property taxes to get to those baselines each year.

In addition, the budget bill would require traditional school districts to reduce their maximum tax rate for operation expenses to 40 cents per $100 of net assessed value by 2031.

Unlike Indiana’s traditional public schools, charters generally do not receive property tax revenues. The one exception is for those considered part of Indianapolis Public Schools, which has opted to share some property tax revenue with its affiliated charters.

Nevertheless, Indianapolis charter school leaders have repeatedly said that the gap between funding for traditional school students and charter students is over $7,000 per student.

“What the House is trying to do is trying to look at charters in parity with the other public schools,” Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican leader of the House education committee, told Chalkbeat. “How do we get them closer to parity with the traditional public schools in terms of funding?”

The proposals would mean significant changes for IPS, where there are over 25 charter schools in the district’s Innovation network and just over 30 other independent charters within district boundaries.

Indianapolis Public Schools would lose $30 million over the next three years under the proposals, IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson told lawmakers last week at a hearing on Senate Bill 391. That loss would increase to $220 million by 2031, equivalent to about 500 teaching positions, she said.

Johnson testified that it would harm taxpayers “whose schools will see less dollars as a result of the passed House budget, and who ultimately will be asked to take on an even greater tax obligation on behalf of even more schools because of the system that this state has created.”

Most Marion County districts, including IPS, have an operating tax rate of more than 40 cents that officials would need to cut by 2031.

Charter proponents support sharing

Janet McNeal, president of the Herron Classical Schools charter network, said Senate Bill 391 would alleviate costs that its schools currently face.

When Herron High School moved into the Herron School of Art building, the network had to cut expenses “in every way we could” to prepare the building’s interior, McNeal told the House education committee last week. Nearly two decades later, the school is facing millions of dollars worth of badly needed upgrades to its roof and HVAC system.

“We can’t afford it — we just can’t,” she said. “Thus, we are forced to continue patching the roof, which leaks into our classrooms during heavy rains, and continue to make repairs on our HVAC system — and the repairs are, individually, costly.”

But Democrats in the statehouse say charter backers want more money without the responsibility that should come with it.

“We have groups that don’t want the authority of the school board,” Rep. Ed DeLaney told Chalkbeat. “They don’t want to be tied to the district where the property is located, but they want the money.”

Operating tax rate capped

The Republican budget also caps the rate at which school districts may tax property for operating expenses.

That means four Marion County school districts would collect less than they are currently projected for 2024, according to projections from the Indiana Legislative Services Agency.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, would receive $2.5 million less in property tax revenues in 2024, and by 2026, it would receive $16.5 million less.

At the same time, the proposed budget gradually reduces the amount of property tax revenue that is restricted under the state’s property tax cap. This would allow districts to collect more in property taxes each year.

Lawmakers ‘give up’ on $1 law

The Senate bill would also eliminate the state’s $1 law by July 2025.

The law requires school districts to offer “vacant or unused” school buildings to charter schools or state educational institutions for the sale or annual lease price of $1. Enacted in 2005, it was meant to provide charter schools easier access to buildings without the support of property tax revenue.

But the law’s vague wording has led to legal battles between charter schools that want those buildings and traditional school districts that argue they are still in use.

The state attorney general’s office, which is responsible for investigating claims that school districts are not following the $1 law, has ruled against traditional school districts in just one of the nine individual complaints publicly documented so far.

Behning said he does not think the law has worked as anticipated.

“I’m saying I give up,” he said at the House education committee meeting last week. “You are seeing a white flag.”

Instead, the budget bill includes a $20 million fund that would support capital needs for charter schools.

The proposed House budget is making its way through the Senate. Senate Bill 391 is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How literacy and the ‘science of reading’ get a big lift from bus drivers at an Indiana school

2023-03-27T11:00:00+00:00

On a recent Thursday morning at KIPP Indy Unite Elementary in Indianapolis, a bus driver doubling as a tutor held up a flashcard to two elementary school students.

“What is this?” she asked.

The flashcard featured an illustration of a table. The students, a boy and a girl, piped up with answers.

“A door,” the girl said.

“No, that’s a table,” said the boy, earning a nod of approval. The tutor asked the pair another question: What letter does the word “table” start with, and what sound does it make?

The students quickly identified the letter. But taking its sound out of context proved more challenging. The tutor gave the students a few moments to guess before articulating the word herself.

“T-t-table,” she said, emphasizing the phoneme. The students repeated after her, connecting the letter “T’ with its sound.

At KIPP Indy Public Schools in Indianapolis, using bus drivers as tutors was an unusual idea spurred by the pandemic. In October 2022, when struggles with reading among K-3 students prompted the school to find solutions, KIPP started the program. Each morning, students are pulled out of class into the hallway for 10 to 20 minutes to practice literacy skills such as sight words and phonics.

It’s one approach to teaching using the science of reading, a body of research about how children learn to read. While some reading programs teach students to read by guessing a word based on a picture or using context clues, schools in Indiana and across the country are increasingly adopting curriculum that directly teaches the relationship between sounds, letters, and words.

In 2022, national reading and math exams showed only 33% of Indiana fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders were proficient in reading. These scores are similar to nationwide scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which revealed 37% of students performed below NAEP’s basic standard. The results underscore students’ struggles in reading that educators and lawmakers say is partially due to inadequate, outdated methods of teaching.

The consequences of flawed reading instruction go beyond test scores. Third graders who are not proficient in reading are four times more likely to not graduate high school on time or drop out completely, according to the Indiana State Board of Education’s Indiana Student Achievement Report.

Educators and lawmakers alike want to counter such trends. A major financial investment and a series of bills in the Indiana statehouse look to provide science of reading instruction to teachers, and some support mandating the science of reading within the state.

Science of reading emphasis grows in Indiana

Since 2011, Indiana has largely allowed school districts to decide which core reading program to use.

But one teaching method has been the target of significant criticism recently. The “three-cueing model,” which encourages students to make educated guesses at words using context clues, has been largely disproven by cognitive scientists but is still widely used by schools around the country.

Andrea Setmeyer, national chapter coordinator for The Reading League Indiana, said schools have traditionally failed to separate word recognition and reading comprehension.

“We’ve relied on strategies like guessing or looking at the first letter and thinking ‘what would make sense here?’ and those strategies are not what skilled readers do,” Setmeyer said. “What we need to do is look at those as two separate components that we’re building simultaneously.”

Karrianne Polk-Meek, director of the Literacy Center at the Indiana Department of Education, said the science of reading focuses on five key elements: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

“Over time, some curriculum that has been used or different structures that have been used really reinforced some of the elements, but not necessarily all five,” she said.

Several states have already implemented or are looking to implement the science of reading in schools, many of which have shown significant improvements in reading rates.

Nearly a decade ago, Mississippi fourth graders ranked 49th in the nation for reading proficiency. But after the state hired literacy coaches and focused instruction around the science of reading, it was ranked first in the nation for reading gains by 2019.

While the research behind the science of reading has been around for decades, Setmeyer said such knowledge has often been confined to fields like cognitive psychology and linguistics, rather than education, where teachers could benefit from it.

But following encouraging results from states like Mississippi — and American Public Media’s “Sold a Story” podcast, which investigated authors who push disproven teaching methods — the science of reading is gaining traction.

Last August, Indiana announced a $111 million investment in literacy through a partnership with the Lilly Endowment. The investment — the state’s largest-ever commitment to literacy development — supports training educators in science of reading instruction, and incorporating science of reading methods into undergraduate teacher preparation programs.

The Indiana Department of Education also launched a partnership to place reading coaches in 54 schools across the state to support K-2 teachers as they lead instruction rooted in the science of reading. Currently, 43 schools are participating in the pilot program, and more are being recruited for the 2023-24 cohort, Polk-Meek said. (KIPP is not part of the program.)

Indiana mulls changes to teacher prep and licensing

Lawmakers are considering whether to go a step further.

Senate Bill 402, authored by GOP Sen. Aaron Freeman, would prohibit schools from using the three-cueing model and require them to adopt curriculum based on the science of reading. The bill would also require people to pass foundational reading exams to get a teaching license.

Freeman, who has two children under 13, said he was inspired to write the bill after seeing the struggles students like his own faced when it comes to reading.

“These kids are not going to learn by guessing,” he said. “They’re only going to learn if they have phonemic awareness, if they’re able to sound words out, break words down.”

If Freeman’s legislation, which has passed the Senate, becomes law, it would go into effect for the 2024-25 school year.

Other proposed bills also address the science of reading: House Bill 1558 creates a science of reading grant fund, while House Bill 1590 includes teacher preparation and licensing requirements for the approach.

The second bill underscores that putting the science of reading into practice across the state would mean not only a shift in how students learn, but how teachers learn, too.

Kelly Williams, an assistant professor of special education at Indiana University-Bloomington, said she was taught outdated research during her training in the mid-2000s.

“There was kind of this general consensus of, if you expose kids to enough books and find what they’re interested in, you’ll be able to get them reading,” Williams said. “That’s really problematic — we’ve got teachers coming out who are not being trained in what best practices are or what research actually supports.”

Williams said there should be an emphasis on language comprehension, not just knowing what a word is. Reading is not fully natural, she said — students must be taught to read.

KIPP began using the science of reading in 2021 after assessing pandemic-related academic gaps.

Ruth Wells, foundational literacy manager at KIPP, said the science of reading makes education cohesive by tying together how language is developed in the brain and how students learn words and sounds.

“That gives teachers the ability to, one, pinpoint where their students may have gaps, but also a spoken sequence to follow to make sure they are teaching what they know their students need,” Wells said.

To truly comprehend text, Wells said, students must be able to decode words, not just identify which word might fit using only context clues.

Data from KIPP showed 74% of kindergartners have met mid-year goals after being taught using science of reading-based practices — an 8% increase from before the program. Among first graders who received that instruction, 70% met the goals, a 21% increase, and 46% of second graders met them, marking an 11% increase.

Teachers and drivers join forces to teach science of reading

Each summer, teachers at KIPP participate in training where they learn why the science of reading is important. During the training sessions, they can practice portions of their lessons to receive real-time feedback from other educators.

“Our teachers are learning to be experts and we do a lot of development with our teachers, but again, there are different levels to kiddos,” she said. “Our tier–1 instruction can be as strong as anything, but if a kiddo comes to us and needs that extra support, we need to be able to supply it.”

Bus driver Tracie Johnson has been with the tutoring program since its start. In addition to tutoring Monday through Thursday, Johnson gives her students a test each Friday to gauge their growth and identify areas of progress or struggle earlier than formal state tests can provide results.

This also gives teachers more time to teach the actual curriculum rather than worry about testing, which can take hours.

Using data from state literacy tests such as IREAD along with weekly classroom tests, teachers identify students who could benefit from extra review. From there, bus drivers build activities with the help of teachers based on the specific skills each student needs to practice. These activities often include using flashcards, coloring sight words, and trying to beat the clock in fluency races.

Each grade level is given a benchmark per year — 100 sight words for kindergarteners, 200-300 for first graders and 500 for second graders.

“If a student is a kindergartener and he’s still struggling with letter names or letter sounds, our bus drivers would be working with those particular students who didn’t get it the first round and maybe the classroom instruction has moved forward,” Wells said.

At a time when hiring bus drivers and other school staff has been difficult, the tutoring program has also helped the school retain drivers, thanks to the increased connection they feel with students, Wells said. Plus, they clock in for the role, earning more money in addition to what they get for their regular routes.

KIPP’s strategy would not be guaranteed to work for every school for a variety of reasons. Union rules that could affect such instruction differ among districts and states, for example. And participation could depend upon whether drivers receive pay increases.

Eight drivers are currently participating in the KIPP program, with many more undergoing training. There has been over 300 hours of tutoring in the program so far.

Johnson enjoys working with the students, and it’s particularly rewarding when they finally get a word or concept correct, she said. Before the program, many of her students could not even spell basic words like “the,” she said.

Now, those students speak up to offer correct answers to her questions.

The best part of the job, Johnson said, is connecting with her students for longer than a bus ride. When they run to her each morning to give her a hug, she’s reminded of the difference she’s making in their education.

“That’s the highlight of my day,” she said.

Contact Chalkbeat Indiana at in.tips@chalkbeat.org.

To improve college scholarship program’s impact, Indiana might enroll students automatically

2023-03-24T11:00:00+00:00

The tables were covered in Creston Middle School green, and topped with neat rows of snacks and cans of pop.

Another table was covered in brochures and paper applications. Laptops were scattered on tables around the room.

Because of the pandemic, it had been four years since an information session about 21st Century Scholars was in person at Creston Intermediate and Middle School, and organizers were doing all they could to entice families to attend the early March session and apply before their students reach high school and the deadline has passed.

The scholarship program offers up to the equivalent of four years tuition and regular fees at an in-state public university or college to students who meet income and residency eligibility, and follow requirements outlined in a scholar pledge.

Despite success with enrollees and its more than 30-year track record, the scholarship program has struggled to attract students to enroll in the program that has helped more than 50,000 Hoosiers earn college degrees. There’s also a no-exceptions deadline of June 30 after eighth grade for students to sign up.

But legislation at the statehouse aims to change that by auto-enrolling all eligible students into the scholarship program. This move is yet another effort to increase awareness of postsecondary options at a time when Indiana’s college-going rate is low, and higher education has the perception of being too expensive.

The bill, House Bill 1449, was approved by the Indiana House and has since advanced out of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee. But even with support from lawmakers, educators, and business leaders, the legislation still faces several votes before it could become law.

Talking to families about qualifying for scholarships

Berenice Tenorio travels Marion County, meeting with students and families to talk about postsecondary options as an outreach coordinator for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

“My goal isn’t that everyone goes to a four-year school,” she said.

21st Century Scholars

Who is eligible?

Students who:

are a resident of Indiana.
enrolled in 7th or 8th grade.
are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens.
meet the income eligibility criteria.

What are the income guidelines for 2022-23?

For a household of two, a maximum annual income of $33,874.
For a household of three, a maximum annual income of $42,606.
For a household of four, a maximum annual income of $51,338.
For a household of five, a maximum annual income of $60,070.
For a household of six, a maximum annual income of $68,802.

For each additional person, add $8,732.

What do families need to apply?

Student’s Social Security number, birth date, and address.
Parent’s or guardian’s Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number (if applicable).
2022 gross income amounts for all members of the household.
A valid email address.

Apply here.

Source: learnmoreindiana.org

She likened postsecondary options to a door, saying that students can avoid the door and asking questions about it if the path is dark. So, her goal is to light up the door and allow students to feel comfortable asking questions to help them make informed decisions about higher education.

One way she does that is through sessions for families about 21st Century Scholars, like the one at Creston.

The first challenge is making sure parents know about the scholarship and see it as worthwhile to attend the session she said. Once they are there, she said it’s about filling out the application to see if they qualify.

“I know that middle school students, they don’t see the price tag for college every single day like I do,” Tenorio said, adding that college can feel “so far away” to students and families.

In her presentation at Creston, she speaks in English and then in Spanish for each slide, going over what the scholarship is and isn’t and the requirements.

Yes, she tells people, the scholarship is usable for both public and private schools, but only covers up to the cost of tuition at public schools. Yes, students can take a gap year and still use the funds. Yes, students would need to complete the FAFSA as well as not drink alcohol before 21 and not do drugs.

Tenorio urges families who are unsure if they qualify to just apply, and tells them the income verification that’s part of the process may take a while.

Eventually, nearly three dozen people filled the room to listen and talk to Tenorio, who walked around to each family to answer questions and pick up applications.

Several families attended because the scholarship had become a family tradition after their older children enrolled. That was the case for Erika Rodriguenz, who said she learned about the program from a family member and thought it was a good opportunity for her middle school daughters.

She said she stresses to them the importance of studying now so they’ll be prepared for college down the road.

“The first time was hard, but this time not so much,” she said of the application.

Scholars see success, but graduation rates are low

Created in 1990, 21st Century Scholars can point to multiple successes.

More than 80% of students in the program enroll in college – that’s compared to 53% of all students statewide and 30% of students in the state from low-income backgrounds who are not in the program. And 75% of scholars stay in Indiana after graduating.

Despite these stats, the program has struggled to get the word out.

Although four in 10 Indiana students are eligible for 21st Century Scholars, only half of the eligible students apply. And a recent survey from the Indiana Department of Education shows that awareness of the scholarship is inconsistent: Just 64%of parents know about the program.

Berenice Tenorio speaks to families at a 21st Century Scholars enrollment night at Creston Intermediate and Middle School. More than three dozen people including students and their families attended the event.

There’s also widespread pessimism about higher education’s price tag in general. Only 27% of parents think education beyond high school is affordable for Indiana students, the department’s survey found.

And not all of the data about 21st Century Scholars looks rosy. Just 37% of 21st Century Scholars graduate on time, compared to 44% of students statewide. However, their on-time graduation rate is still higher than the 27% for students from low-income backgrounds.

Indiana’s Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery said the scholars’ graduation rate is something the commission is aware of and working on, in part by meeting with university and college presidents to share best practices and services they provide for scholars.

But that relatively low graduation rate for the program could harm efforts to expand it for the foreseeable future.

During an Indiana Commission for Higher Education presentation to the Senate Appropriations Committee about the state budget, lawmakers pressed Lowery about the program’s graduation rate. Some noted that students need to be ready for college when they attend, not just attend because it’s paid for.

That committee is where a Senate bill that was the same as the advancing House bill died earlier this legislative session. It’s also the House bill’s next step.

Auto-enrollment could make the program more effective

If the bill passes, the commission for higher education would work with IDOE to notify eligible students and their parents or guardians. To participate, students would still have to agree to the conditions of the scholar pledge, and they could opt out of the program at any time. Students would be identified before starting high school as they are now. And other key programming details wouldn’t change.

“It continues the momentum and removes barriers to the program,” Lowery told lawmakers during a Senate committee meeting this month.

In addition to support from the commission for higher education, the bill has backing from multiple education and economic groups including associations representing school principals and superintendents, the Indiana State Teachers Association, and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Lowery added that if 21st Century Scholars enrolls students automatically, the commission would be able to shift program resources from a focus on scholarship enrollment to student success.

That possibility is what excites Tenorio, who would have more time to check in with students.

“Right now, the responsibility is on the parents to be all knowing, and this takes the pressure and responsibility off of them,” she said. “It allows us to say, ‘You’re already eligible, all you have to do is say yes and take advantage of this.’”

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat Indiana partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Senators advance bill targeting student pronoun changes in Indiana schools

2023-03-23T13:55:05+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana senators made multiple amendments on the fly Wednesday to a controversial “parental rights” bill that seeks to restrict pronoun usage of transgender children and instruction about “human sexuality” in schools.

Critics of the bill argue that it’s part of a nationwide wave of legislation “singling out LGBT people and their families.” Supporters say parents have the “right” and “responsibility” to control what their children learn — and are called — when at school.

House Bill 1608 would require schools to inform parents if a student requests to change their name or pronouns for any reason — including to a nickname — and block adherence to the student’s request without a parent’s explicit consent.

It would also prohibit instruction on “human sexuality” for students in pre-K through 3rd grade. Sexual education typically does not start until the fourth or sixth grades under existing state standards, however.

The proposal is reminiscent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that has been described by some as one of the most “hateful” pieces of legislation in the country.

The measure advanced 9-4 Wednesday from the Senate Education Committee after three hours of debate — much of which included passionate testimony in opposition of the bill. Loud chants, cheers and booing echoed outside of the Senate chamber and through the Statehouse hallways amid the discourse.

“If you pass this bill … expect the youth homeless population to rise, expect the teen suicide rate to rise, expect the incidence of violence against LGBTQ+ people to rise,” said Quinn Mackenzie, a nonbinary Hoosier who spoke before the committee. “There are those who want you to believe that this bill protects children. As a parent with genuine religious conviction, I understand that — I want the best for my children, too and I want to protect them. But trans and queerness is not something that children need to be protected from.”

Notifying parents about nicknames

An amendment filed by bill sponsor Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, stipulates that teachers have to seek consent from a parent — not just notify them — to call a student by a different name.

Multiple other spontaneous amendments to that amendment followed, too. Democrats on the Senate committee asked to hold off on the changes and a vote on the underlying bill because of the confusion, but were turned down.

Although the latest version of the bill would apply to all Hoosier K-12 schools, private schools are exempted from the language restricting “human sexuality.”

Provisions about requested name changes require teachers to obtain parental consent within five business days, regardless of whether the name matches a student’s assigned-sex, according to the bill.

Although not specified in the bill, that teacher-parent communication could come in the form of a phone call, text message, email, or physical letter, according to Republican state lawmakers.

“A school should tell parents about any student requests to change their names, pronouns or etcetera, regardless of whether it has anything to do with the gender transition,” Donato said, nothing that if a student wanted to change their name from Stacy to Susan, for example, the school would need to notify parents and get consent to go ahead with the request.

“It’s easier for schools to administer, because they won’t have to decide if a name change is masculine or feminine. If a student wants to change the name, you just tell the parents, period,” Donato continued. “Secondly, with this language … I believe that if a previous transgender student asks their school to change their name back to something that matches their sex at birth, parents would want to know about that, as well.”

Another provision additionally prevents schools from disciplining teachers that still use a child’s old name or pronouns — even with parental permission to use the new, preferred versions — if the employee or staff member does so out of a “religious conviction.”

Bill author Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, maintained that her proposal intends to “empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to their children.”

“I believe that parents know their children best, and their authority should not be superseded by teachers and or school administrators,” she said.

“By allowing our schools to instruct our young elementary students in human sexuality, and allowing students to decide on different identities without their parents’ knowledge and consent, creates an unacceptable intrusion into the parent-child relationship and would be inconsistent with our traditional presumption of parental competence and good intention,” Davis continued. “Engaging in any type of sexual relationship discussions in schools — especially for pre-K through third graders — is inappropriate.

Opposition mounts against ‘anti-trans’ legislation

State lawmakers have directed intense legislative focus toward transgender Hoosiers this session — much of which has centered on school-age children.

Melanie Davis, a transgender mom from Bloomington, said language in this bill and others reflects old, “harmful” stereotypes about transgender people. She emphasized that House Bill 1608 is dangerous to LGBTQ children and protects “abusive” school faculty who refuse to use preferred pronouns.

“We have moved on. We have grown up as a nation. … These kids are living in a world where they can actually be themselves for the first time in our history as a nation,” Davis said. “Now, you’re invalidating — you’re stripping this away from their future.”

Katie Blair with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, added that “vague language” in the bill “could create serious, unforeseen consequences for schools, teachers and families.”

She said the bill, if passed, would make “age appropriate and clearly school appropriate conversations” illegal in Indiana classrooms.

“LGBTQ teachers could find themselves in violation of the law simply for acknowledging that they are married within the context of the school. Teachers who happen to be transgender could lose jobs just for existing. Children of same sex couples should be allowed to bring their dads or their moms on school trips and visits just like any other child,” Blair said. “But it’s easy to see that this bill would significantly chill a school’s ability to be welcoming for those kids. “We need to stop forcing teachers to be gender police and from making personal, subjective judgments about whether or not a student may be showing signs that they are transgender and to report on them.”

Donato said the amended bill does not stop schools from providing “age appropriate instruction on sexual abuse.”

Rep. Davis declined to give specific examples but claimed that parents in her district have reported “human sexuality” instruction in their young children’s schools.

Still, the definition of “human sexuality” remains vague. Davis describes it as “just the way people experience and express themselves sexually,” but conceded that “everything is open to interpretation.”

She said an amendment to the bill to clarify what teachers can and can not talk about is “definitely something” lawmakers should consider on the Senate floor, “that way, teachers know exactly what they can and cannot do in the classroom.”

The bill is likely to be up for discussion in the full chamber next week.

Graduation waivers for Indiana students targeted by lawmakers who worry they’re overused

2023-03-21T23:42:57+00:00

Two bills in the legislature aim to discourage the overuse of waivers that exempt high school students from certain graduation requirements, a move that could ultimately bring down graduation rates for Indiana’s districts.

Senate Bill 380 and House Bill 1635 would require schools to leave out a large portion of those students that graduate with a waiver when calculating their graduation rates, a change that supporters say would add more transparency to a metric often used as a measure of a school’s success.

In Indiana, schools can grant waivers to students who try but fail to pass a competency requirement in order to graduate. That can prove helpful for students facing extenuating circumstances, such as those who transfer into a school during their senior year, school leaders said.

HB 1635 also seeks to add a military requirement for students using the military entrance exam — known as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, or ASVAB — in order to graduate.

The legislation comes amid concerns that such waivers can inflate graduation rates, since those rates include students who’ve received a waiver from completing a competency requirement.

GOP Rep. Bob Behning, author of HB 1635 and chair of the House education committee, also voiced concern that many students are using the ASVAB as a relatively easy route to meeting a graduation testing requirement, without intending to enroll in the military.

Only 2% of students statewide who took the ASVAB from August 2022 to February 2023 attempted to use their score for military consideration, according to data from the Indianapolis Military Entrance Processing Station.

Statewide, the percentage of Indiana students graduating with waivers increased from the 2013-14 school year to 2018-19. But those figures gradually decreased in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can as a state that students are prepared not only for life, but to go into the economic cycle and thrive,” said Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Republican who’s the chair of the Senate education committee and an author of SB 380.

Since the state’s new graduation pathways framework became optional for students in 2018, a higher percentage of students have also been choosing the ASVAB to graduate, according to Indiana Department of Education data. Of all the students who received a diploma in 2021 — regardless of their designated cohort — roughly 19% graduated using the ASVAB as a testing requirement in 2021.

But the measure limiting ASVAB usage has sparked concern from education groups, who argue the test is also used as a career exploration tool as part of the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.

“The goal of the ASVAB CEP is to empower students with tools to explore a variety of careers related to their skills and interests, rather than limit their exploration by telling them what they can or should do,” Nathaniel Grandberry, program manager for the ASVAB CEP in Indiana, argued in a letter to lawmakers.

Bills seek to limit graduation waiver usage

SB 380 requires that students graduating with waivers account for no more than 10% of the total graduating class in the school’s reported graduation rate before July 2027. After June 2027, waiver students could account for no more than 5%.

HB 1635 mandates lower figures, allowing waiver students to be counted in the reported graduation rate if they are no more than 6% of the total graduating cohort before July 2027, and no more than 3% after June 2027.

The exemptions from testing requirements existed before the state adopted its new graduation pathways framework, which became optional beginning in the Class of 2018 and will now be mandatory for the Class of 2023.

State law allows students to choose from one of several graduation pathways, but it does require students to complete a competency requirement. That can mean reaching certain scores on the SAT exam, for example, or graduating with an academic or technical honors diploma that requires 47 credits rather than the baseline of 40.

But the law also allows waivers for students that do not complete such competency requirements in certain situations, including if a student tried and failed three times to do so. Students who transfer from out of state or from certain non-accredited, non-public schools can also receive a waiver if they’ve tried to pass at least one competency requirement.

Students granted waivers must still maintain a C average and have an attendance rate of at least 95%.

Prior to the Class of 2023, students could choose whether to graduate using the new pathways system or whether to do so under the old graduation requirements. Those students could also receive waivers for not passing the statewide 10th grade exam known as the ISTEP.

Marion County schools that gave out the highest percentage of waivers for the graduating 2022 cohort include Achieve Virtual Education Academy in Wayne Township, the GEO Next Generation Academy charter school, and Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy, a virtual charter school launched amid the pandemic, according to preliminary state graduation data.

Traditional high schools within Indianapolis Public Schools, however, graduated relatively few or no students with waivers, according to state data.

But some schools with high waiver rates argue that waivers are helpful for students who transfer into a school late in their high school careers.

Kevin Teasley, founder of GEO Academies, said three of the six waiver students at GEO Next Generation Academy enrolled in the school as seniors. Three others enrolled in the school as juniors in need of credit recovery.

The Class of 2022 was the school’s first graduating class, Teasley noted, but he hopes to lower the proportion of students receiving waivers in future graduating classes.

Samantha Goldsmith, principal of the online Hoosier College and Career Academy charter school that was also among the Marion County schools with the highest waiver rates, said many of the students that graduated with waivers were new to the school.

The school has taken steps to make sure there are fewer waivers moving forward, she noted. But Goldsmith also said there’s a reason those waivers are used.

“When you as a school have a new student who starts in their senior year with you, and … they don’t already have those pathways, it’s certainly a challenge,” Goldsmith said. “And our goal is to help them graduate.”

Wayne Township Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Walters also encouraged lawmakers to explain the intent of their proposals.

“Is their intent to illuminate presumed failings of the public school, or is the intent to reveal where traditionally more marginalized populations continue to navigate inequities in the system as yet another indication of the weight of those inequities?” Walters asked.

Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Supporters of changing the graduation rate calculation, such as the coalition of groups known as Business Equity for Indy, argue that waiver usage can mislead families about the success of a school district.

Waiver usage has historically been highest among Black and Latino students, according to a Business Equity for Indy report that analyzed waiver rates from 2009-10 to 2018-19. In 2018-19, 22% of Black graduates in Marion County and 18% of Latino graduates used a waiver, compared to 14% of white graduates.

But speaking to the Senate Education and Career Development Committee last week, Tim McRoberts, associate executive director of the Indiana Association of School Principals, said the new graduation pathways system — which allows students to choose from one of nine competency requirements — should naturally reduce the proportion of students graduating with waivers. (McRoberts also spoke to the committee on behalf of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents.)

Many students use military entrance exam to graduate

Under HB 1635, students who pass the ASVAB test to complete their competency requirement must enlist in the military in order to graduate. If they do not, Behning said, they should choose another graduation pathway.

The intent of the graduation pathways was to make sure students had a path for their next step in life, Behning said. If they don’t intend to go into the military, he said, using the ASVAB as a testing requirement makes no sense.

“It appears that a lot of our schools are using it as a pathway because it’s a very easy benchmark to hit,” he said.

The state’s current ASVAB passing score of 31 is also lower than what students for some branches of the military are expected to achieve if they did not have a high school diploma but had a GED instead, Behning noted. That means the state is accepting a score to graduate from high school that’s lower than what the military accepts from someone who does not, he argued. (Some branches, however, will accept a lower score than 31, Grandberry said.)

Grandberry argued in his letter that the bill would cause many schools to drop the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.

The Indiana School Counselors Association, meanwhile, argued that the high number of students taking the ASVAB is a data problem.

Overworked school counselors may indicate in records that a student passed the ASVAB earlier in their high school careers, completing the graduation testing requirement, the group noted. But those students may later on fulfill other testing requirements, such as the SAT.

“It’s possible we’re checking that box and we’re not always returning back to that box,” said Scott Carr of Catalyst Public Affairs, who testified in the Senate committee on behalf of the group.

Both bills have passed their respective chambers and are awaiting action from the committees in the other chamber.

Correction, June 5, 2023: A previous version of this story included an incorrect description of the way bills in the House and Senate would limit the extent to which students graduating with waivers can factor into schools’ reported graduation rate. The bills limited the percentage of students who could account for a school’s total graduating class and had received waivers.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

A FAFSA requirement for Indiana students is one step closer to becoming law

2023-03-15T19:04:03+00:00

Indiana students could soon be required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a shift that supporters say could give students more money to go to college and convince more of them to enroll in higher education in the first place.

The Indiana House Education Committee voted 11-1 Wednesday to advance Senate Bill 167, which would create the requirement starting with the 2023-24 school year, although there would be several exceptions. Lawmakers also amended the bill Wednesday to have the requirement expire in 10 years.

“This money is going to be spent somewhere, when we have a chance to put our hand out, let’s take advantage of it,” state Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican and one of the bill’s authors, told fellow lawmakers last week.

If the bill becomes law, Indiana would join at least eight other states who have this law.

The FAFSA is the form that students need to file to be considered for federal financial aid such as grants, loans and scholarships. States and colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their respective aid programs.

By not filing out the form, students in Indiana are leaving $69 million in Pell Grants on the table, Leising said last week.

“That doesn’t even count the [other] scholarships, we don’t even have an idea of that money that’s lost,” she added. “We have got to do something about this.”

The legislation would require all high schoolers to complete and submit the FAFSA by April 15 of their senior year, which is the deadline to be eligible for state aid in addition to federal aid.

The bill includes exceptions for students at certain nonpublic schools, and for students who have a parent sign a waiver (emancipated minors can also sign it for themselves) to decline to complete the form. A school principal or counselor can also waive the requirement if they are unable to reach the student’s parent or guardian by April 15 after “at least two reasonable attempts.”

There was some concern about the bill during committee meetings. Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a Democrat, said during the vote that while she was supporting the bill, she still had concerns about the burdens on school counselors and wanted to work on that.

However, the exception in the bill to limit the attempts to reach families has eased that concern for others. And it could give the bill crucial support, after years of unsuccessful attempts to require students to fill out the FAFSA.

What FAFSA says about Indiana’s college attendance

Completion of the FAFSA is considered a leading indicator of college-going.

Just 53% of students in Indiana’s Class of 2020 went on to college, and many Hoosiers see college as too expensive. In a statewide survey by the Indiana Department of Education, only 27% of parents said postsecondary education is affordable.

A state dashboard of FAFSA completion shows that about 36% of Indiana’s high school seniors have completed a FAFSA.

It’s not that there aren’t efforts to get the word out from the state and other groups. Indiana has had College Goal Sunday, an in-person event to help families sign up, for more than 30 years.

But that doesn’t mean every student or family knows about the form or if it’s for them. And schools with higher rates of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch tend to have the lower completion rates, said Josh Garrison, associate commissioner for public policy for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, in a previous House education committee meeting.

The legislation would make sure that filing out or not filling out the FAFSA is a choice, not happenstance of who found out about it, advocates of the bill said.

They added that filling out the form can also help reduce student debt. FAFSA qualifies students for government loans that have lower interest rates than the private loans that they would get without the form, Garrison said.

The committee meeting last week about the bill featured a show of support from organizations representing school boards, principals, and counselors, as well as public, private and community colleges in the state, and the Indiana and Indy chambers.

Bill to ban ‘bad’ books, strip protections from teachers, librarians passes Indiana Senate

2023-03-01T16:56:13+00:00

This article originally published on WFYI.

Senate lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would strip teachers and school librarians of a legal defense against charges that they distributed harmful material to minors.

Senators debated the legislation for roughly two hours, with supporters of the bill arguing that it closes a loophole, and opponents expressing fear that it will criminalize teachers and librarians and have a chilling effect on the types of books available in schools.

Under Senate Bill 12, if a prosecutor charged a teacher or school librarian with disseminating material that is harmful to minors, the school teacher or librarian would not be able to argue that the material had educational value as a defense. The measure also establishes a process for parents to file complaints over inappropriate materials.

Sen. James Tomes (R-Wadesville) authored the bill in response to concerns from parents who claim that pornography is rampant in schools. Tomes wrote similar legislation in recent years that failed to pass.

When asked by Sen. J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) about what school corporations had pornographic material on their shelves, Tomes could not provide specifics. Neither Tomes, nor the bill’s second author Sen. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), named specific titles of books that were both found in schools and obscene in nature. They encouraged lawmakers to visit them at their Statehouse desks if they wanted to see examples of such material.

Sen. Michael Young (R-Indianapolis), a co-author of SB 12, described the unidentified books at Tomes’ desk as “really bad, sickening — no one in this room would show this to their young child and feel it was a good thing to do.”

Tomes said parents provided research to him about pornographic materials found in local schools. He named the far right Northern Indiana group, Purple for Parents — an organization that promotes conspiracy theories and believes schools are teaching LGBTQ identities and sexualizing children.

Tomes said he hadn’t personally found any such books in schools.

The bill passed the Senate in a 37-12 vote largely along party lines. All Democrats who were present voted against the bill, with three Republican Senators — Ron Alting, Jon Ford and Veneta Becker — joining them in opposition.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

‘A chilling effect’ on materials for students

When asked by Ford if he believes LGBTQ material is harmful to children, Tomes did not answer the question directly.

“That’s a broad statement, because if you’re talking about maybe explaining the lifestyle is one thing, but the books I’m talking about, Senator Ford, these books are just full bore graphic pictures and illustrations,” Tomes said.

Ford also asked Tomes if he believed this bill could have a chilling effect on the types of material students can access.

If schools are providing harmful materials, “I hope it does have a chilling effect,” Tomes said, “I hope it’s enough of a chilling effect that they will come to their senses.”

Ford referred to a recent survey of Indiana parents conducted by Gallup that indicated that most are satisfied with the subject matter taught in their schools. Tomes countered that he believes many parents don’t know what happens inside their schools.

Senator Rodney Pol (D-Chesterton) criticized the legislation for allowing parents to file complaints over material that is “inappropriate,” which could lead to a flood of politically motivated grievances. He also criticized the bill for not requiring parents to complete the complaint procedure before attempting to file criminal charges.

Pol said current law already makes it illegal to provide minors harmful or obscene material. He said he agrees with the intent to create a process for parents to file complaints. But he said the word “inappropriate” is not defined.

Pol said removing “educational” from the statutory defense allowed for teachers and school librarians will have a negative impact on what materials schools offer.

“That’s about as un-American as it gets. We’re going to chill you into doing what we want. This is about moving the cultural and political war to the libraries,” Pol said. “This is about telling the librarian if you don’t get rid of those books that I don’t like, I’m gonna see if I can get you put in jail.”

Sen. Scott Baldwin (R-Noblesville) said that while many schools may not make pornographic materials available to students, “some of them do have a problem.” He said the intent is not to target libraries, but to close a legal loophole.

“You could take something that would be illegal to hand to a child on the street — I would go to jail if I handed this to a child on the street — but if I was in a school building or in a library, it would not be illegal,” Baldwin said. “And that’s what this bill is trying to do, is try to correct that loophole.”

Baldwin said the complaint process in the bill would give parents a means to have their concerns heard by school administrators and school board members.

Sen. Andrea Hunley (D-Indianapolis), a former principal, said she supports parents having a voice, but she has concerns over the process outlined in the legislation.

“I think that the complaint process that we already have in place is working,” she said. She also questioned why the legislation allows parents to file complaints over “inappropriate” materials, instead of “pornographic.”

Because librarians and other school staff members may fear that a certain book could be construed as inappropriate by some parents, they may avoid stocking libraries with or teaching texts dealing with historical issues like slavery, Jim Crow laws and the Holocaust.

“And then we also have to think about our books that are dealing with tough modern issues, you know, racism, and sexism and mental illness and suicide and even assault, these books are more likely to be axed,” Hunley said. “We know this because we’re seeing it.”

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Bill to make school board races in Indiana partisan dies in the House

2023-02-27T21:52:03+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

A bill that would have let Hoosier communities decide if local school board elections should be partisan died in the Indiana House after lawmakers failed to vote on the measure by Monday’s deadline.

That means school board races will stay nonpartisan — at least for now. Language from the bill could still crop up in others before the end of the current legislative session.

House Bill 1428, authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, sought to add political party identifications to what are now nonpartisan school board elections throughout the state. The legislation was the first to extend “local control” over the issue.

Monday was the deadline for House bills to pass out of the chamber. Prescott did not call the bill for a full chamber vote, however, likely indicating a lack of support from the House Republican caucus.

GOP House Speaker Todd Huston expressed support for optional partisan school board races earlier this month, but noted that members of his caucus are “all across the spectrum” on Prescott’s proposal — “This is one of those bills that doesn’t split along party lines,” Huston said.

Multiple other versions of the bill circulated through the Indiana Statehouse this year and last, to no avail.

A separate proposal that died earlier in the current session would have instead created a blanket requirement for school board candidates to identify as a Republican, Democrat or Independent.

Currently, Indiana is among 41 states where local school board elections are held without any party identification on the ballot for candidates.

The move for partisan school boards bubbled up after local fights over COVID-19 protocols, race issues and book bans.

Latest version of the bill

The latest version of the bill would have given Hoosier communities two options to trigger a referendum vote.

One provision said sitting school board members could decide on their own to vote for their seats to become partisan. But local voters still get the final say. According to the bill, school boards could have taken that action as early as Jan. 1, 2024.

Another option would have permitted the decision to be made through a petition process requiring signatures of 500 voters or 5% of voters in the district, whichever is lesser. A successful petition would put the question on the ballot.

But locals also had the option to do nothing at all, meaning school board elections in a particular district would remain nonpartisan. That was the default option laid out in the bill.

Updated language in the bill clarified that Libertarians and other third-party candidates could run, as long as they declare their party affiliation.

Voters would also have been required to choose, individually, school board members on ballots — a straight-ticket option wouldn’t be available.

Whether through a school board vote or voter-led public question, school board candidates would have had to run in partisan primaries in order to be nominated for the general election, or forgo a primary altogether but have to use a partisan label in the general election.

To claim a party, school board candidates further must have voted that way in the last two primaries in which that person voted.

Candidates for school board additionally could not work for that school corporation, according to the bill.

A school board or community would have been forced to wait 10 years between any public questions if they later changed their minds and wanted to opt-out of partisan school board races.