Indiana School Choice Program to Return Millions Back to State’s Schools

Parents deserve educational choices, not excuses. And, one of the biggest excuses from the “anti-school choice” crowd is the claim that school choice drains funds from public education. However, new data indicates that Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program could save the state millions of dollars, all while providing parents with the opportunity to choose the best school for their child. 

Check out this article by TheStateHouseFile.com’s Megan Banta below for more info on how this school choice program is helping students and saving money:

“Indiana’s voucher program could return just under $5 million to the state’s schools this year – nearly $800,000 more than last year, the state’s top school finance officer said Wednesday.

“Melissa Ambre, director of the Indiana Department of Education’s office of school finance, told the State Budget Committee that the voucher program will result in a maximum of $4.9 million in redistributed savings statewide this year…”

“…School vouchers only cover up to 90 percent of the cost of a student’s private school education, the state gets back at least 10 percent of the per-pupil education funds set aside for those students that use vouchers. That remaining money is then pumped back into the statewide school funding formula.

“This year’s $4.9 million is more than the amount distributed last year, when the state distributed between $4.1 million and $4.2 million in savings to 292 public schools and 63 charter schools.”

Indiana Supreme Court Decides in Favor of Families

In a 5-0 vote, the Indiana State Supreme Court voted in favor of upholding the state’s school voucher program yesterday. 

The Supreme Court decision ended a two-year legal review of the Choice Scholarship Program.  When the program became law in July 2011, the Indiana State Teachers’ Association along with the National Education Association filed suit, challenging the constitutionality of the program.  (Follow the program’s legal journey here: November 2012,  December 2011, August 2011, and the program's passage and original legal challenge in July 2011.) 

The monumental decision allows thousands of Indiana students to continue to receive the education of their parent’s choice, ensuring all students are given same opportunities, no matter their parent’s income or their zip code. 

Currently, more than 9,300 low- and middle-income students receive scholarships to attend one of 289 participating schools through the Choice Scholarship Program.  To be eligible for the program, students qualifying for the federal free-and-reduced lunch program ($42,643 for a family of four) can receive a scholarship worth up to 90 percent of the state tuition amount. Children from families who earn up to 150 percent of the free-and-reduced lunch eligibility ($63,964 for a family of four) are eligible for a scholarship for up to 50 percent of the tuition amount.

 

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, KMS