Indiana
New report highlights Indiana's Choice Scholarships as vouchers increase nationwide • Indiana Capital Chronicle
As Indiana’s private school voucher system continues to grow, a new report suggests other states are taking notice and boosting public dollars for private education, too.
FutureEd, an education research nonprofit at Georgetown University, studied eight states — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia — where 569,000 students are participating in “school choice” programs at a cost to taxpayers of $4 billion in 2023-24.
Researchers also looked at programs in North Carolina and Utah that started this school year, as well as programs in Alabama and Louisiana that are set to begin in 2025-26.
After widening Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program in 2022, state lawmakers further expanded the voucher system in 2023 to be nearly universal and open to almost all Hoosier families.
Since the changes took effect, eligibility for the scholarships — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools — have expanded to include households with incomes up to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000.
Never in the history of American public education has so much money been available to parents to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses
When state lawmakers crafted the current two-year state budget during the 2023 session, Republican budget writers additionally baked in more than $1 billion for a major private school voucher expansion, which grew Indiana’s Choice Scholarship funding by 69% the first year and 14% the second year.
The state’s latest voucher report showed private school voucher program enrollment jumped about 32% in the 2023-24 school year, marking a historic single-year jump.
“Never in the history of American public education has so much money been available to parents to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses,” FutureEd researchers said in the report, released earlier this month.
And there could be more to come in the Hoosier state.
During the most recent 2024 legislative session, budget leader Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, previewed his own proposal to completely overhaul Indiana’s private school vouchers with a grant program that would allow all Hoosier families — regardless of income — to choose where their students get educated.
Although the bill did not advance, discussion at the Statehouse previewed likely legislative momentum in 2025. Several Republicans running for governor and the state legislature have promised to make vouchers universal.
How funding is allocated
Indiana’s state-funded program enrolled a record 70,095 students in 2023-2024, costing taxpayers $439 million — which is around 40% higher than the $311 million spent on vouchers in the year prior.
Had all Hoosier voucher users attended their traditional public schools, however, the state would have paid around $516 million in education expenses. That’s because vouchers are paid at a lower amount than public school funding.
Still, the ways private school choice programs are funded vary significantly from state to state.
Some states impose budget or enrollment caps, according to the FutureEd report. Some prioritize funding based on need, or provide more dollars to lower-income families.
That includes Utah’s new universal education scholarship (ESA) program, launching this school year, which gives preference to students from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty line ($62,400 for a family of four). Due to high demand and limited seats, all students awarded ESAs to date fall within that income group, according to FutureEd.
Indiana private school voucher participation sees historic boost, according to new report
Indiana does neither; household income must only stay below 400% ceiling tied to federal free or reduced price lunch program qualification.
Others, like Florida and Arizona, cover all applicants irrespective of family means, without caps on the number of students funded or the amount awarded.
In states where private school choice providers receive state education aid, they typically get the equivalent of about 90% of a state’s per-pupil funding of public schools and the funding that public schools receive from local property taxes does not follow students to private schools, FutureEd researchers continued.
Vouchers in Indiana provide 90% of the amount of state-funding a public school corporation receives for each student, or covers all tuition and fees, whichever is lesser. The average award amount during the 2023-24 academic year was $6,264 in Indiana, and the average tuition and fees at a private school was $7,749.
That’s on par with Arizona, where most vouchers are valued between $7,000 and $8,000, and Arkansas, where the average award is $6,672. Florida, Iowa and West Virginia, on the other hand, fund each pupil the same as their public school counterparts.
Oklahoma and Ohio’s programs tier amounts by a family’s income. Ohio additionally increases award amounts for high school students, up to $8,407.
The majority of funds were used for tuition. Indiana and Ohio pay tuition directly to schools. Iowa mandates that ESA dollars be spent on tuition before other approved educational expenses, such as tutoring or textbooks. Arkansas restricts funds to tuition, supplies, uniforms, or other school-required expenses, and most are spent on tuition. Though Arizona gives families the widest spending latitude, 85% of funds were spent on tuition, tutoring, curricular materials, or textbooks in 2023-24.
“This marks a major change in K12 education policy,” FutureEd Director Thomas Toch said in a statement. “It’s the first time this level of public funding has been available to parents in the U.S. to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. And it looks likely to expand further. Enrollment continues to increase where programs are offered; several additional states have legislative proposals in the works; and advocacy organizations continue to push aggressively for expansion.”
Which students are using vouchers?
In Indiana — where 90% or more of students in 178 private schools are attending with public funding — the 357 schools accepting public dollars are mostly concentrated in metropolitan and suburban areas.
“Interestingly, in Indiana most students who attend private schools do so within the boundaries of their local public school system,” researchers noted. “This may be due to the state’s relatively large number of participating private schools or a preference for geographical convenience.”
The FutureEd report pointed to a 2024 survey published by EdChoice, an Indiana-based school choice advocacy group, which showed that 19% of parents ranked proximity to home as one of their top-three reasons for selecting their children’s private schools. A larger percentage of parents cited academic quality, safe environment, and morals/character instruction as their top reasons for selecting private schools.
While Ohio and Indiana currently make racial and ethnic data available on private school choice participation across years, “there has been an increase in the participation of white students in those states as eligibility has expanded,” researchers noted.
In Ohio, the share of white students receiving public funding for private schooling in the universal program increased from 66% to 82% after the program’s expansion, with almost 90% of new participants identifying as white, while the percentages of Black and Hispanic students decreased. Prior to Ohio’s expansion of the program, the racial makeup of students more closely mirrored the composition of public-school students, the FutureEd report highlighted.
In Indiana, the proportion of white students also increased but much less than in Ohio, growing from 62% to 64% after the Hoosier program expanded. There were slight declines in Hispanic and Black student participation. In 2023-24, Black students made up 9% of choice students and 13% of public-school students.
Grade-level data additionally reveals that kindergarten students have typically shown the highest rates of participation in the newly established universal programs. That could be because the availability of private school seats is also likely highest in kindergarten, researchers said.
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In Iowa and Arkansas, respectively, 21% and 31% of private school funding recipients were entering kindergarten. Indiana saw its kindergarten enrollment more than double after expansion, and Arizona experienced an eightfold increase in voucher participation among kindergartners immediately after expansion.
Private school choice programs predominantly serve lower- and middle-income households, per the FutureEd report. But researchers found that participation among higher-income families increased in 2023-24 in every state where eligibility expanded and income information was available.
In Florida, nearly half of the state’s new private school funding recipients came from families earning over 400% of the federal poverty level (about $125,000 for a family of four), while a third came from families eligible for free or reduced lunch, after the program expanded in 2023-24 to include all families in the state.
Indiana’s share of higher-income families also grew, with 6% of voucher recipients living in households earning more than $200,000, and 55% earning less than $100,000. Before the program’s expansion, those figures were 1% and 66%.
In Ohio, 67% of families in the state’s universal private school choice program were low-income before the program was expanded to include all families. After the expansion, the figure dropped to 17%, in 2023-24.
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From the moment the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, a debate raged over who was and wasn’t included in the field.
Should SMU, despite a loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game, have earned the final at-large berth over Alabama? Was Indiana, even with a gaudy 11-1 record, worthy of a spot despite what ended up being a softer-than-expected schedule in the Big Ten?
The start of playoff games this week didn’t end those arguments. If anything, it only intensified them.
The Hoosiers and Mustangs both suffered double-digit, largely lopsided road losses in the first round of the playoff. On Friday night, No. 10 seed Indiana fell to No. 7 seed Notre Dame 27-17 in a game it trailed by 24 with two minutes remaining while No. 11 seed SMU was drubbed by No. 6 Penn State 38-10 Saturday afternoon.
People from across the country who follow the sport — broadcasters, writers, analysts and even coaches — reacted to the results, with some using them as a justification for their belief that the playoff selection committee made mistakes on who it allowed in the field. Many of the loudest complaints came from the SEC, which had the second-most teams in the field, with three, but had three three-loss teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — among the first teams left out of the playoff.
Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Indiana and SMU’s CFP losses:
Social media reacts to Indiana, SMU College Football Playoff losses
Indiana and SMU losing their College Football Playoff games by a combined 38 points in dominant fashion raised a variety of opinions, with some believing it to be an indictment of the playoff committee for selecting the Hoosiers and Mustangs for the final two at-large spots.
Others, though, countered with an argument that Indiana and SMU had pieced together playoff-worthy resumes and deserved to make the field, regardless of how they fared in their games this week.
Lane Kiffin trolls CFP committee
The loudest, or at least most prominent, voice piling on Indiana and SMU’s struggles was Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, whose squad was the third team left out of the playoff.
Many, however, rightfully pointed out that Kiffin’s 9-3 Rebels team could have made the playoff had it simply won at home against a 4-8 Kentucky team that managed only one victory in SEC play this season.
“Don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash.”
My mom once told me that growing up. Can’t quite remember why. Somebody should probably tell that to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, who did a lot of talking all season long just to get demoralized in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Way back when Cignetti got hired in November 2023 after a successful run with James Madison University, he was asked about how he plans on getting recruits to come to an Indiana program that appeared to be rebuilding.
“Google me,” Cignetti said. “I win.”
Cignetti backed that statement up. He landed starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke in December and running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton.
The season could not have started any better for Cignetti’s Hoosiers, as their unbeaten 10-0 record had the attention of the nation before getting curb stomped 38-15 by Ohio State.
Before his first real test against the Buckeyes, Cignetti said, “Ohio State sucks,” at halftime of an Indiana basketball game. Bulletin board material? Sure seemed that was as Ohio State quarterback Will Howard went viral for “putting out the cig” celebration after thrashing the Hoosiers in Columbus.
That should have been Cignetti’s first lesson: to keep his yap shut. He did not learn.
Indiana bounced back from that loss with a 66-0 rout of the Purdue Boilermakers. Despite Purdue’s hapless 1-11 record, that victory put the wind right back in Cignetti’s sails before their College Football Playoff matchup with Notre Dame.
“We don’t just beat top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of them.”
That’s what Cignetti actually said on the set of ESPN’s College Game Day just hours before the Hoosiers kicked off with the Fighting Irish. It’s important to note that despite Cignetti’s impressive 11-1 record in his first year coaching Indiana, literally none of those victories came against Top 25 teams.
To make things even more hilarious, No. 5 Notre Dame completely embarrassed Indiana in a game where the Hoosiers looked like they did not belong on that same stage.
It’s a friendly reminder for the new coach of Indiana to just keep his mouth shut. Every time he opened it this year, he paid the price. It’s part of what made Indiana a story for a little while, but when the lights were the brightest, Cignetti’s team wasn’t as bold as his comments to the media.
That’s never a good thing.
Indiana
What Aiden Fisher, Jailin Walker, James Carpenter Said After Indiana’s 27-17 Loss at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana suffered a season-ending 27-17 loss at Notre Dame Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Here’s everything Indiana defensive lineman James Carpenter and linebackers Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker said in their postgame press conference.
On Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run…
Fisher: “Just a misfit on the front seven really. We knew what we were going to get. We played it a little too aggressive. Some guys jumped out of their gaps. I’ll take the fall for that one. We have to play our gaps better and play more disciplined.”
On his late hit penalty, blocked field goal and emotions in the second half…
Carpenter: “It was disappointing. Obviously I can’t be doing that. It was full speed, kind of bang, bang play. But as a senior leader I can’t be doing that. But this team, we don’t quit. That’s what we’re built on. And, yeah, I mean, we’re going to fight until the end.”
On Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard’s ability to keep plays alive…
Carpenter: “One of our main focuses going into this game was to limit him on the ground. When the play breaks down we know he can get out. He’s super athletic and super fast. It’s a big part of his game. We didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight. You really have to be sound when it comes to that. It’s on the front four, just good lanes, good pass rush lanes, stuff like that. And we just didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight.”
On if Indiana set the foundation for a better future…
Fisher: “Yeah, for sure. You look at the track that Indiana football is on previously before we got here. Then you look now, it’s kind of a full 180. I think we’ve laid a foundation of what Indiana football can be and what it is now, and I expect to be right back here next year.”
On how much of Indiana’s defensive identity can be retained next season when they’re gone…
Walker: “100 percent. That’s the image of the defense being fast, physical, relentless. When me and James are leaving, we still have Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara. We still have leaders on this team that’s been with the system. It will still keep going. We’re not letting up.”
Carpenter: “He said it well. It’s kind of our identity of the defense, play fast, get up field, make plays in the backfield. That’s kind of what this defense is built on, and I know Coach Haines will keep that going.”
On what separates Notre Dame and Ohio State from Indiana…
Fisher: “Definitely two great teams. They definitely played a great football game today, as did Ohio State when we played them. I would just say we made a lot of critical errors that was hard to play two teams – playing against yourself and playing against the opposing team. A lot of things I think we could control and we kind of let it affect us a lot. Just looking back on it, just two great teams. I’m not really going to compare them. But they’ll both be making a run here in the playoffs. So good for them. They deserved to win today. They played a better game today than we did.”
On what he’ll remember about this season and what people should remember about this team…
Carpenter: “I could go on and on for that question. Coming into this year, no one thought we’d be here. A lot of doubters, a lot of haters. For us to kind of make this run, get to this point, it’s been surreal. It’s been unbelievable. Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. These guys up here, the rest of the guys on the team, they’ll be at my wedding, brothers for life. That’s the kind of bond we have. And this program is only going up. Coach Cig is just getting started here. He wins. He’s going to get it done and this program’s on the right track.”
On why Indiana was successful defensively this year and how they can maintain that…
Fisher: “First, you start with the scheme. We had a really good scheme. Coach Haines puts us in, he puts us in positions to succeed. We’re a fast defense. A lot of people look at our defense, you know, we’re not the biggest guys. But we do have speed, which kind of combats a lot of the things that these offenses do. And then moving forward, I would just say we’ve got to stay disciplined. You look at the two losses we had last year, we’re just getting outleveraged in angles. One guy just trying to do a little too much and he doesn’t need to. We got to this point just being ourselves and playing the way that we play, and in these big games you can’t defer from that, you’ve got to just play your game and just be disciplined in the way you play, and just things like that, just the little things that ultimately amounted to the big things tonight.”
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