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The online schools that partner with a small, rural Indiana district targeted for closure by lawmakers have found a new district partner.
The Indiana Digital Learning School and the Indiana Digital Alternative School will add Beech Grove Schools as their second district partner while the Union School Corporation continues a legal battle against the state and Gov. Mike Braun to stop the forced closure of the district in 2027.
The provision to close Union schools was added last minute to a sweeping property tax reform bill during the 2025 session.
If Union schools loses its legal fight, it will close its brick and mortar campuses that serve around 292 students as of 2025. But it’s been unclear until now what would happen to the 7,500 or so students statewide who take classes through the two online schools, which are operated by the for-profit company Stride/K12 in partnership with the district.
One possibility is that they will transfer to Beech Grove, said Liz Slinger, executive director for the two virtual schools.
But for now, the company’s contract with Union is active and it will continue to serve those students, Slinger said. New virtual students from around the state will be enrolled in Beech Grove schools for the foreseeable future, unless they express a preference for Union.
Slinger said the two virtual schools will provide Beech Grove students with full services in grades K-12, including dual enrollment classes and the Indiana College Core through Ivy Tech, as well as a credit recovery program.
“Beech Grove is an innovative district, interested in the different ways of serving students,” Slinger said. “Their approach aligns well with ours.”
Beech Grove schools Superintendent Laura Hammack said the district has been exploring online programs for its own community after seeing an “explosion” of enrollment in virtual programs outside the district.
She said the virtual schools’ synchronous curriculum was a draw.
“My bias is that being in school all day every day, that is normal and usual, but … I’ve been needing to better listen to our school community,” Hammack said. She added that families had sought virtual options for medical and mental health reasons.
Hammock said the district was aware of the legal battle that Union was facing, but that leaders spent time learning about the virtual program at Clarksville schools, which is also operated by Stride/K12.
Union schools’ case against the state and Braun is ongoing. Secretary of Education Katie Jenner was recently dismissed from the suit, but a Randolph County Court judge declined to dismiss Braun.
In legal filings, the district has argued that the wording of the provision in the new property tax law forcing it to close actually prevented it from operating beginning with the 2025 school year, because it could not enter into the agreements necessary to hire staff and provide services. But a court decision in July said the district could operate as normal until 2027 while Union’s case proceeds.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
