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Indiana has submitted its plan to use hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education funds with fewer restrictions to the U.S. Department of Education, state officials said Monday.
If approved, the plan would allow Indiana to merge several federal Title programs — funds currently earmarked for certain programs and groups of students — into a block grant. The state would then be able to spend that block grant on other priorities permissible under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the main federal K-12 law.
The controversial proposal, which the state submitted Friday, would also allow districts to spend their federal funding in the same way.
Doing so would reduce the administrative burden associated with federal funding, the state has said, and free up more staff to work directly with students. But advocates have expressed concern that the plan would cut funding for certain groups of students, like English learners and rural students.
Other aspects of the plan would substitute federal accountability standards for the state’s A-F school accountability model — the latest version of which is currently in development.
The plan would also redirect a fund meant for low-performing schools to other nearby schools, even if those schools are not low-performing.
This aspect of the plan has drawn criticism from education advocates who say that students who can’t transfer to another school would be hurt by the loss of School Improvement Grants. The state has denied that redirecting the funds would amount to abandoning low-performing schools.
The priorities of the plan as submitted are largely unchanged from the first draft the state presented in July.
Indiana’s proposal is similar to waiver proposals submitted by Iowa and Oklahoma after a call by the Trump administration to “return education to states.” Indiana officials have heeded that call.
“Indiana continues to lead the nation in education and innovation,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement Monday. “We can best support Hoosier students when we return education to the states, empower parents with high-quality educational options, get red tape out of the way for educators, and focus on improvement for every student.”
The U.S. Department of Education has 120 days to respond to Indiana’s request, according to the state. If approved, the plan would go into effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
