Indiana

Bill tracker: Lawmakers approve I-465 speed limit change, Braun signs property tax relief

Published

11 months ago

April 21, 2025

Bill tracker: Lawmakers approve I-465 speed limit change, Braun signs property tax relief

The General Assembly had a big week. Lawmakers handed off multiple marquee bills to Gov. Mike Braun, from property tax reform to Medicaid changes.

That’s because we’re in the home stretch. Lawmakers intend to wrap up by the end of this week, though it’s possible they’ll need until April 29 ― the deadline dictated by law ― to sort out how to cut $2 billion from the budget following a dismal revenue forecast last week.

IndyStar is tracking the prominent bills that are moving through the legislative process and that would impact a wide variety of Hoosiers.

Here are some of the major bills that have advanced, and what happened to them last week.

House Bill 1001: State budget

Lead author: Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton

What it does: This bill funds Indiana’s government, health care programs like Medicaid, public K-12 schools and colleges for the next two years. The Senate Republicans recently pitched their version, which is broadly similar to the House’s proposal but does not remove the income cap for private school vouchers and contains some transparency requirements of their elected colleagues in the executive branch.

Status: The bill passed the Senate by a 40-9 vote on April 15. The House disagreed with the Senate’s version, so they will negotiate a final budget in a conference committee

Senate Bill 2: Medicaid eligibility

Lead author: Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka

What it does: The bill adds far more stringent and regular government reviews of the eligibility of Medicaid recipients and adds work requirements in order for someone to be eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state Medicaid expansion plan. In addition, if the federal government allows, it limits enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan.

Status: The Senate gave final approval to the bill on April 17 by a 37-10 vote. It now heads to Braun’s desk.

House Bill 1004: Price-controlling hospitals

Lead author: Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: This is one of the key bills seeking to control health care costs in Indiana. This bill does it by penalizing hospitals if they charge prices higher than a certain benchmark. While the House wanted this benchmarking to start right away, the Senate’s version of the bill begins with a two-year price freeze. Both chambers’ versions of the bill eventually threaten to strip hospitals’ nonprofit status for overcharging, but the Senate’s version invokes this threat years down the line.

Status: The Senate approved the bill on April 15 by a 29-19 vote. The House disagreed with the Senate’s version, so they will negotiate a final budget in a conference committee.

House Bill 1461: Road funding and I-465 speed limit

Lead author: Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie

What it does: The bill offers a platter of tools local governments could use to beef up their road budgets. The bill also makes it easier for the state to establish more toll roads, and increases the speed limit on I-465 from 55 to 65 miles per hour.

Status: The House voted 68-17 to agree to the Senate’s changes to the bill. It now heads to Braun’s desk.

House Bill 1393: Illegal immigration notices

Lead author: Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg

What it does: The bill requires county jails to report individuals to their county sheriff if the person is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor and there is probable cause to believe the person lacks permanent legal status. It then requires county sheriffs to report the person to proper authorities.

Status: The House gave final approval to the bill by a 58-19 vote on April 16. It now heads to Braun’s desk.

Senate Bill 289: Banning DEI

Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville

What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — from trainings to diverse hiring initiatives — at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards.

Status: The bill passed the House by a 67-27 vote on April 15. The Senate then disagreed with the House’s version, so they will negotiate a final budget in a conference committee.

House Bill 1006: Prosecutors

Lead author: Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers

What it does: The bill creates a prosecutor review board to investigate complaints against prosecutors that have publicly refused to prosecute certain criminal laws. The Senate amended the bill on April 8 to remove language that would have allowed “noncompliant” prosecutors to be denied funds previously available under a House version of the bill, which Democrats saw as an attack on Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

Status: The House gave final approval to the bill by a 61-21 vote on April 17. The bill now heads to Braun’s desk.

House Bill 1002: Education deregulation

Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis

What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements.

Status: The Senate passed the bill by a 31-18 vote on April 15. The House then disagreed with the Senate’s version, so they will negotiate a final budget in a conference committee.

House Bill 1008: Illinois-Indiana boundary commission

Lead author: House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers

What it does: The bill creates a bipartisan group that would explore how Illinois counties could effectively secede from their state and join Indiana by redrawing state lines.

Status: The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 36-13 on April 16 and the House voted 64-23 to agree to the Senate’s changes on April 17. The bill now heads to Braun’s desk.

Senate Bill 482: Chronic absenteeism

Lead author: Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport

What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a student’s absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism.

Status: The bill passed the House by an 82-15 vote on April 15. The Senate then disagreed with the House’s version, so they will negotiate a final budget in a conference committee.

Senate Bill 516: IEDC transparency changes

Lead author: Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon

What it does: The bill would require the Indiana Economic Development Corporation make mandatory notifications to local governments if the quasi-government agency seeks to purchase 100 acres or more in a community and provide annual reports on Innovation Development Districts, like the LEAP project in Boone County. Additionally, the bill creates a new entrepreneurship and innovation office and a new role of president of the IEDC.

Status: The Senate unanimously gave final approval to the bill on April 16. The bill now heads to Braun’s desk.

House Bill 1007: Small nuclear reactors

Lead author: Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso

What it does: The bill provides a state tax credit for expenses incurred in manufacturing small modular nuclear reactors in Indiana. The bill could result in costs shifted to utility customers to pay back project expenses before construction starts.

Status: The bill passed the Senate by a 36-13 vote on April 15. It now goes back to the House, which will decide whether to agree to the changes.

The following bills have either been signed by the governor or finished the legislative process.

Senate Bill 1: Property taxes

Lead author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle

What it does: The bill saw a massive overhaul when it passed the House and now includes local government finance reforms in addition to property tax relief. Senate Bill 1 limits how much local governments can raise their property taxes, provides new property tax credits for Hoosier homeowners and allows most cities and towns to establish their own local income tax rates. It also requires school districts to share tax dollars with certain charter schools.

Status: Braun signed the bill into law April 15 after the Senate voted 27-22 to agree with the House’s changes.

Senate Bill 10: Student voter ID

Lead author: Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen

What it does: The bill bans college students from being able to use their student IDs as a form of acceptable voter identification at the ballot box.

Status: Braun signed the bill into law on April 16. It goes into effect July 1.

House Bill 1041: Transgender athlete ban

Lead author: Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland

What it does: This is virtually the same bill lawmakers passed in 2022, which banned transgender girls from participating in girls’ K-12 sports. This year’s bill extends that ban to collegiate athletics.

Status: Braun signed the bill into law on April 16. It goes into effect July 1.

Senate Bill 451: Income tax cut

Lead Author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle

What it does: The bill would further decrease Indiana’s individual income tax rate if state revenues grow by more than 3.5% compared to previous years.

Status: Braun signed the bill into law on April 16. It goes into effect July 1.

House Bill 1208: Sheriff’s commissary fund

Lead author: Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon

What it does: The bill would tighten oversight of commissary funds of county jails, requiring more stringent reporting and training. The bill comes in the wake of the scandal involving former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, who last year was sentenced to 15 years in prison related to taking improper payments from the fund.

Status: Braun signed the bill into law on April 10. It goes into effect July 1.

House Bill 1137: Red Flag expungement

Lead author: Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn

What it does: The bill would allow for a judge to seal and expunge someone’s “red flag” record if a court determines the person to no longer be dangerous. It would only allow a law enforcement officer acting within their job duties to see the sealed record. Currently, if a person’s weapons are seized and a court determines they are not dangerous the case remains public, which advocates say has cost people jobs and other opportunities.

Status: Gov. Braun signed the bill into law on April 3. It goes into effect July 1.

Senate Joint Resolution 21: Constitutional Convention

Lead author: Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington

What it does: The resolution is part of a multi-state effort to compell the U.S. Congress to call a convention to amend the U.S. constitution, specifically to enact term limits for people who serve in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate. However, any aspect of the constitution could potentially be amended under such a convention.

Status: The resolution passed the Indiana House on March 17 by a 66-30 vote after being passed earlier in the session by the Indiana Senate. It goes into effect immediately because resolutions do not require the signature of Gov. Mike Braun.

There was no movement on the following bills last week.

Senate Bill 475: Physician noncompetes

Lead author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: Lawmakers tried in 2023 to outlaw noncompete agreements for Indiana doctors — contracts that prevent doctors from taking jobs at competing hospitals within a certain radius. The compromise that year was to only apply this to family doctors. This year, Senate Bill 475 attempts the ban for all physicians, again, hoping it will encourage competition and reduce prices in the health care market.

Status: The bill passed the House on April 9 by a 71-23 vote, but then on April 10, the bill’s author disagreed with the House’s changes. The bill will go to conference committee.

Senate Bill 143: Parental rights

Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne

What it does: The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest.

Status: The Senate officially agreed to the House’s changes on April 8. The bill is now on Braun’s desk.

Senate Bill 4: Water pipeline oversight

Lead author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford

What it does: The bill prohibits the construction, operation, purchase, sale and lease of a long-haul water pipeline unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signs off on it. However, the Citizens deal to provide water to the LEAP district in Lebanon is exempted from those rules.

Status: The Senate agreed to the House’s changes by a 45-2 vote on April 8. The bill is now on Braun’s desk.

The following bills are now dead.

House Bill 1531: Immigration enforcement penalties

Lead author: Rep. JD Prescott, R-Union City

What it does: The bill gives the governor power to withhold funding from local governments if the attorney general determines the entity does not comply with federal immigration enforcement. It says federal immigration law can be enforced by local, state and federal officials. The bill also prohibits employers from knowingly hiring someone who is not legally allowed in the U.S.

Status: This bill died after it failed to receive a hearing in the Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary. Republican Sen. Liz Brown, who leads that committee, released a statement on March 31 in which she expressed reservations about how to enforce the bill.

Senate Bill 11: Social media for minors

Lead author: Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores

What it does: The bill requires parental consent for social media use for people under age 16, and allows Indiana’s attorney general to sue social media operators that don’t comply.

Status: This bill died in the House after it failed to receive a hearing before the deadline for bills to pass legislative committees on April 10.

Senate Bill 523: Chaplains in public schools

Lead author: Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport

What it does: The bill would allow public schools to hire or bring in on a volunteer basis religious chaplains, with an eye toward alleviating the burden on school counselors.

Status: This bill died in the House after it failed to receive a hearing before the deadline for bills to pass legislative committees on April 10.

Senate Bill 13: Spinning

Lead author: Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville

What it does: The bill makes intentional and reckless skidding while driving, known as “spinning”, a Class B misdemeanor and increases the penalties further if the spinning endangers, injures or kills another person. If the bill becomes law, a person found spinning could have their vehicle seized in a civil forfeiture.

Status: This bill died in the House after it failed to receive a hearing before the deadline for bills to pass legislative committees on April 10.

Senate Bill 518: Sharing property tax dollars with charter schools

Lead author: Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger

What it does: The bill would require all traditional public-school districts, including Indianapolis Public Schools, to share property tax revenue with charter schools in their attendance boundaries, if 100 or more kids leave the traditional district for charter schools, starting in 2028.

Status: The language from Senate Bill 518 was amended into Senate Bill 1, the signature property tax relief bill.

Senate Bill 284: Shrinking early voting

Lead author: Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville

What it does: The bill would have shrunk Indiana’s period for early in-person voting from 28 days to 14 days. It died on Feb. 19 after Byrne said he did not have the support to advance the bill.

Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline.

Senate Bill 201: Closing Indiana’s primaries

Lead author: Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton

What it does: By requiring voters to register with a political party in order to vote in that party’s primary, this bill would have made Indiana a closed-primary state. It died on Feb. 19 after Gaskill said he did not have the support to advance the bill.

Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline.

House Bill 1432: Online gambling

Lead author: Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport

What it does: The bill would have allowed people to play online poker and other casino games virtually and allow the Hoosier Lottery to operate virtually as well.

Status: The bill died after not receiving a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee before the Feb. 17 deadline.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com.

Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, by IndyStar political and government reporters.

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Indiana

Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Indiana basketball vs. Minnesota score, updates tonight: Start time, where to watch

The Indiana Hoosiers have lost four straight games and are scrambling to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are trying to reach .500 for the season. They beat IU in a Big Ten opener in December.

Indiana (17-12, 8-10 Big Ten) has no room for air as it hosts Minnesota (14-15, 7-11). The Hoosiers have lost four in a row, leaving them on the NCAA Tournament bubble, while the Golden Gophers have won three of their last four. Minnesota beat IU in a conference opener.

We will have score updates and highlights, so remember to refresh.

What time does Indiana basketball play Minnesota tonight, March 4? Start time for Minnesota basketball vs Indiana on Wednesday, March 4, 2026

The Indiana-Minnesota game is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

Where to watch Indiana vs. Minnesota tonight, March 4? What channel is the Minnesota-Indiana on college basketball game today?

Watch college basketball with a free Fubo trial

Indiana vs. Minnesota predictions tonight, March 4

Zach Osterman, IndyStar: Indiana 75-69
“Indiana is on the ropes. Minnesota has nothing to lose. Gophers already beat IU once this year. So picking Minnesota here is going to be trendy. Too trendy. The Ohio State game is tougher to forecast, but the Hoosiers win here.”
Michael Niziolek, Herald-Times: Indiana 78-70
“Can Minnesota spoil IU’s Senior Night? The Gophers upended Indiana in Darian DeVries’ Big Ten debut earlier this season and have been a tough out in conference play. They are just 7-11, but six of those losses are by single digits and two of those came in overtime. The Hoosiers need to do a better job of locking down the perimeter while getting a more balanced scoring effort. Indiana should be able to pull this one out and keep its NCAA Tournament chances alive for another night.”

Where to listen to Indiana vs. Minnesota tonight, March 4, 2026

How much are Indiana vs. Minnesota tickets tonight, March 4, 2026?

IU basketball tickets on StubHub

Basketball rankings college: Indiana vs. Minnesota

As of March 2

(all times ET; with date, day of week, location and opponent, time, TV)

0, Jasai Miles
1, Reed Bailey
2, Jason Drake
3, Lamar Wilkerson
4, Sam Alexis
5, Conor Enright
6, Tayton Conerway
7, Nick Dorn
10, Josh Harris
11, Trent Sisley
12, Tucker DeVries
13, Aleksa Ristic
15, Andrej Acimovic

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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Trump can’t carry Mike Braun, Indiana Republicans anymore | Opinion

Published

16 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Trump can’t carry Mike Braun, Indiana Republicans anymore | Opinion

On Iran, as on everything else, Gov. Mike Braun is letting Trump think for him.

Gov. Mike Braun might end up being the last person in MAGAland to realize it, but he and his copartisans are adrift. Braun will be a one-term governor unless he can think for himself and start serving Indiana without regard for what’s best for President Donald Trump.

Braun doesn’t get it yet. His robotic support for Trump’s war with Iran — “decisive leadership on the world stage,” he told reporters March 2 — shows his brain is cryogenically frozen in 2018 even as the world turns toward an unsettling future with a worsening economy and artificial intelligence-guided military operations.

You can almost sympathize with Braun’s unwillingness to put down the MAGA playbook. Braun is among countless political figures who’ve risen to power over the past decade by genuflecting to Trump and embracing his shamelessness.

Amoral populism launched careers, but it won’t sustain weak leaders through tumultuous times.

Iran is dividing MAGA

Voters are looking for substance — and, in Indiana, they’re seeing vacuous men who’ve let go of principles so they can cling to Trump like a talisman for their political careers. That goes for Braun, chief among them, but also for a host of other Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Sen. Jim Banks, Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales, whose temporary claims to power will be forgotten by the next generation.

This MAGA cast of characters achieved success by outsourcing their thinking to a political nerve center. For years, they’ve only had to agree with whatever Trump happened to say today, even if it contradicted what Trump said the day before. Trump’s popularity among conservative voters rewarded groupthink and punished independence.

But Trump’s Iran war adds a critical layer to Americans’ anxieties — including overaggressive immigration enforcement, affordability and a softening job market — which are scrambling U.S. politics and severing the connection between Trump’s stream of consciousness and voter approval.

Some of the savviest MAGA influencers are hedging their bets. Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson and other voices whose personal wealth depends on harnessing the hearts and minds of the right are breaking with Trump on Iran — or, perhaps, using Iran as an opportune moment to create distance from a president whose popularity is falling.

MAGA is a declining brand

It’s too soon to say with certainty what’s signal and what’s noise. But we have increasing evidence that the American public (though not necessarily Republican primary voters) are breaking with Trump-aligned Republicans.

Democrats have been out-performing Kamala Harris’ 2024 results by double digits and they have a 7-point lead over Republicans in congressional midterm polling. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s military strikes on Iran, per Politico.

The winds of change are blowing in Indiana. Republicans who carried water for Trump’s early redistricting push suffered an embarrassing loss in December. Braun, the Indiana face of early redistricting, has a 25% approval rating, according to a Public Policy Polling survey.

Braun’s path out of office runs in multiple directions: He could simply decline to run again, as he did in the Senate; a primary challenger could exploit his 43% approval rating among Republicans; or a Democrat could capitalize on the kind of hometown unpopularity that produces a 16% approval rating in Jasper.

Morales faces the same reckoning. His reelection bid for secretary of state is in deep trouble.

Some Indiana Republicans are more adaptable than others. Banks, for example, is an adept shape-shifter who could likely adopt a sober, statesmanlike persona if he perceived an evolving market demand.

Braun’s internal software does not seem to update so easily. He has time to change, having served just over one year as governor. The next three years will test Braun’s capacity to be something more than he’s been since winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2018.

Braun and his fellow Indiana Republican travelers have sailed as far as Trump’s tailwinds can take them. We’re about to see how they perform when they have to find their own ways.

Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X at @JamesEBriggs.

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Are microschools a solution to falling public school enrollment? One Indiana district thinks so

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Are microschools a solution to falling public school enrollment? One Indiana district thinks so

GREENFIELD, Ind. — Seventh grader Taitym Lynch plans most of her school day herself, mapping out a schedule each morning on her school laptop. She typically starts with math when her brain is sharpest, logging into an online platform her school uses for math lessons. Next she often tackles science with her “class guide,” a teaching assistant who walks her though topics like animal food chains. Lynch chooses to have lunch around noon, and finds time to take breaks in the woods that surround her school, Nature’s Gift.

Lynch, 13, came to Nature’s Gift this fall after years in a traditional public school. She kept trying to adapt, but her anxiety made it difficult. “Honestly, I had problems with school,” Lynch said. “I didn’t feel like going every day.” She also had a brief stint in virtual school.

So far, Lynch is happy at Nature’s Gift. She feels comfortable asking questions of teachers and likes the small size. There are just 64 kids in grades kindergarten through 12th, taught by three licensed teachers and several class guides who provide extra support.

Lynch is the sort of student George Philhower had in mind when he helped start Nature’s Gift — one of a small but growing number of public “microschools” across the country.

Philhower is the superintendent of Eastern Hancock Community Schools, a rural district of 1,200 students about 30 miles east of Indianapolis. He’d worried for years about the district’s financial health as more families whose kids didn’t thrive in public school considered homeschooling.

Around the same time, the concept of microschooling was gaining traction nationally. Microschools offer multiage learning environments that focus on personalized, often less-regulated instruction. Popularity grew during the pandemic when families sought learning alternatives in online, hybrid and pod options; an estimated 750,000 to 2 million students now attend the schools.

The schools are typically privately run, but Philhower saw a role for them in his small district. Last year, he won approval from the state’s charter school board to establish the Indiana Microschool Collaborative, which he says will incubate a network of microschools statewide. They will operate as charter schools, meaning they are public but have more flexibility in terms of curricula and other operations than traditional public schools.

Zach Dobson / The Hechinger Report

The Hechinger Report

Nature’s Gift is located on a 12-acre youth camp surrounded by woods.

Nature’s Gift, the first such school, received so many applications for its original 50 spots that it twice added additional seats and still has a waiting list. Philhower hopes that by 2030, the network will add at least 10 more schools and enroll some 6,000 students statewide. Word is spreading: He said he’s received inquiries about the model from school district leaders and education organizations from elsewhere in the state and beyond.

“The interest has been higher than we ever imagined,” Philhower said.

While some government and education leaders praise the public microschool model as an innovative way to allow more personalized approaches to learning, it’s far too soon to know the extent to which they can succeed in effectively educating students or stemming falling enrollment. Some experts also worry that the innovation that has defined microschools may be lost as the model expands.

“American education is populated with fads and failed reforms and that type of thing, things that don’t work out, and it’s hard to start a school and sustain it,” said Christopher Lubienski, director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University. Still, he said the collaborative model in Indiana could give the schools a strong shot at succeeding.

Don Soifer, CEO of the National Microschooling Center, an industry nonprofit that works to grow the microschool movement, estimates that only about 5 percent of the country’s microschools are public charter schools. But his organization hears from public school superintendents in states with school choice who are curious about the model, he said. “They’re losing some of their best teachers and families to microschools, and they want to get out in front of that.”

According to a 2025 analysis of more than 800 microschools his group conducted, more than 40 percent of students previously attended district-operated schools or were homeschooled before enrolling in a microschool.

Indiana’s public schools, meanwhile, have been losing enrollment since 2008. Just over 1 million students attend them, while about 70,000 students receive school vouchers for private schools through the state’s voucher program, started in 2011. An estimated 8 percent homeschool, above the national average.

Scott Bess, a board member for the Indiana Microschool Collaborative, said he thinks Philhower has found a middle ground for some rural families who chose to homeschool only because they didn’t have other non-public options such as nearby private schools. “It’s going to feel like a small private school, but it’s public,” Bess said.

Philhower said he understands that some people might question why a public school superintendent is embracing and growing charter schools, but that’s what his community asked of him. “School choice isn’t going anywhere, especially in Indiana,” he said.

Eastern Hancock Superintendent George Philhower walks the grounds at Nature's Gift Microschool. — Eastern Hancock Superintendent George Philhower walks the grounds at Nature’s Gift Microschool.

Indeed, the state’s Republican governor, Mike Braun, is an advocate of choice and microschools, and promoted them during a July visit to the state from Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Indiana is going to offer microschool options to parents so “they can educate their kids in a way that they think makes sense,” he has said.

At Nature’s Gift — located at a 12-acre youth camp surrounded by woods that includes four barn-red cabins and a main building leased by the school — learning is personalized, with many of the middle and high schoolers managing parts of their daily schedule. Students advance by displaying ability or showing interest in a subject, not by grade level, testing or age alone.

Most students also participate in hybrid learning and are homeschooled half the time.

Erin Wolski, lead educator of Nature’s Gift, helps with classes for elementary through high school students, while running day-to-day operations. At any given time, she might be leading group math work, hopping on a walkie-talkie to answer a teacher’s question or taking kids on a nature hike.

Before joining Nature’s Gift, Wolski spent more than 16 years in traditional public schools, most recently in the Eastern Hancock district, her alma mater. In early 2025, she approached Philhower about wanting a change, and he told her about his plans for Nature’s Gift. Together, they started the school. Most of its budget revenue comes from state per-pupil spending and some state grants, like one for qualifying charter schools that funds up to $1,400 per student.

Another Nature’s Gift teacher, Christina Grandstaff, also taught in traditional public schools for years. She said she prefers how responsive Nature’s Gift can be to individual students’ needs. “We’re still doing all the things that you need to do for public school, but we have the flexibility,” she said. “We’re outside more, or we can learn outside, or we have kids that move from that group up to this level.”

The school has a very different relationship with parents than traditional public schools.

Christina Grandstaff is one of three licensed teachers at Nature's Gift. — Christina Grandstaff is one of three licensed teachers at Nature’s Gift.

Danielle Maroska enrolled her daughter, Kinzie, in Nature’s Gift after homeschooling her for years. She initially chose homeschooling in part to accommodate Kinzie’s athletic schedule: The 11-year-old is a gymnast who spends 16 hours a week practicing.

“Covid really opened the doors for homeschooling to be enough,” Maroska said. “Most of her gymnast friends are homeschooled, so we went that route, and we did that for a couple years.”

But Kinzie began to miss having a sense of community. This fall, she began attending Nature’s Gift full days on Mondays and half days the rest of the week. Her mother homeschools her those afternoons when she’s not at the gym. Maroska describes herself as a “co-captain” in her daughter’s education, with Wolski being the captain.

Since attending Nature’s Gift, Maroska said she’s noticed her daughter’s approach to learning change. She used to hate reading, Maroska said, but now she regularly curls up with a book, even ahead of pickup time in early December.

“I feel like this is kind of how college is, in a sense,” Maroska said. “It’s making them take initiative to guide their own learning.”

Still, Maroska said Nature’s Gift isn’t right for all kids. Her two sons, in the second and eighth grades, are thriving at a traditional public school in Eastern Hancock, she said, and she would never pull them from that school unless something changed.

By contrast, mother Jen Shipley said she was initially skeptical of Nature’s Gift, never having seriously considered public education for her homeschooled 9-year-old. But like Maroska, she appreciates the flexibility and close relationships with teachers. Her daughter, Elliana, attends the school roughly three days a week and is homeschooled the other two.

“We feel like partners in her education, versus I’m just handing her over and I just have to deal,” Shipley said.

A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with The Hechinger Report’s free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.

As a public charter school, Nature’s Gift must take state tests, unlike private microschools that do not. So far, the results have been mixed. On state benchmark tests in November, the majority of students, 70 percent, scored below proficient in math while only 10 students, or 30 percent, scored below proficient in English and language arts, according to Wolski.

Teacher Emma Kersey is embraced by her daughter Baylor during lessons. Kersey says one of the benefits of teaching at this school is that her preschool-aged daughter is able to attend a year early.

She said it’s too soon to use student test scores to evaluate the school since it’s been open less than a year. She noted too that her students were educated in a variety of settings before joining the school.

Only one-third of microschools affiliated with the National Microschooling Center take state tests, according to the Las Vegas-based nonprofit, so data on their performance overall is limited.

Some microschool researchers worry that as public microschools are increasingly evaluated based on state tests, they could become more beholden to that accountability framework and some of what makes them innovative could disappear. “If that high-stakes accountability piece is there, it is inevitable that schools will have to change their operations to lean more towards performing on those metrics,” said Lauren Covelli, an associate policy researcher at Rand, a research organization, who studies microschools.

She added: “With so many school choice options in Indiana, specifically, if families don’t want their child to be taking a standardized test, it’s probably not the choice for them.”

For families and educators who have chosen Nature’s Gift, the future seems encouraging. “This is sustainable, because so many parents are seeking something different,” said Wolski, the teacher and co-founder. “They have more access to things now than they ever did before.”

As 3 p.m. neared on a recent weekday, Grandstaff wrapped up a lesson and sent some students to the main building for pickup, then checked on a student who was studying at his laptop outside in the 20-degree weather. “He prefers it,” the teacher said.

Wolski said she doesn’t want to be part of undoing what’s happening in traditional schools but, rather, building more options into the public school system. “Families want different things,” she said. “Kids want different things.”

Nature’s Gift still has a long way to go, she said, but she is motivated to keep building it.

“Parents are happy. Kids are happy,” Wolski said. “So we’re going to keep going.”

Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or on email at preston@hechingerreport.org.

This story about microschools was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

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