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Indiana lawmakers have passed a bill that would reshape public education in Indianapolis, and reduce the power of the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board.
The sweeping changes in HB 1423 create an appointed board that would take control of transportation and buildings for Indianapolis district and charter schools, as well as certain aspects of school accountability.
On Wednesday, House lawmakers concurred with the changes that Senate lawmakers previously made to the bill, and sent the bill to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.
HB 1423 would establish the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a nine-member board appointed by the mayor and charged with drawing up a new transportation plan for schools in the area, as well as a system of accountability that could be used to decide which schools are closed.
The corporation board would also manage facilities for public schools in the area, though amendments to the bill’s original version allow both charter and district schools to opt out of this provision. It would have the authority to levy and distribute property taxes used for school operations.
Senators added an amendment this week to prescribe language for an IPS operating referendum that IPEC could put on the ballot this year. Earlier in the session, they also added a provision allowing IPS schools to opt out of facilities management after the House gave charter schools permission to do so.
HB 1423 would exempt IPS from the state’s so-called $1 law, which requires school corporations to make underused or shuttered school buildings available to charter schools for $1.
Beginning April 1, the bill limits 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.
Proponents of the bill — originally authored by Rep. Bob Behning, the GOP chair of the House Education Committee — have hailed it as a step forward in directing more resources to charter schools, including helping charter school students access transportation.
But Democratic lawmakers and advocates for traditional public schools have opposed the legislation, particularly because it would reduce the power of the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board in favor of an appointed board.
The Indianapolis mayor would be required to appoint members to the corporation board by March 31, 2026. The board would assume key powers over budgets and referendums beginning this year, and would begin managing school property and transportation in 2028.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
