Indiana
School funding debate hits the Statehouse • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Funding nearly every Hoosier child’s K-12 education appears to be the goal of the Indiana state legislature. While this may be an admirable effort, the question is, should we? More importantly, can we afford it?
What is the state’s responsibility?
Under Article 8, Section 1 of Indiana’s state constitution, all children are guaranteed the right to “a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.” Instead of focusing on this duty and funding public education, our state legislature has been pursuing what it calls “school choice.” Hoosiers have always had the choice to go to private schools, but now, thanks to legislation, the public pays for much of it. The public never voted for school choice.
Open to all?
Public schools serve every child who walks through their doors–regardless of background or ability. Nearly 90% of Hoosier families choose public schools. Yet, Indiana is now seen by “school choice” advocates as a model state with public tax dollars siphoned away to privately managed schools. Indiana’s families now have over 300 private schools to choose from in which public funds can be used to help pay for tuition. However, these various “choices” do not actually allow all families to do the choosing. Many private schools can and do deny students based on gender, developmental ability, religion, LGBTQIA+ status or entrance exams. Even if “the money follows the child” in Indiana, the student’s rights (under federal law) do not always do so. Is this “equally open to all?”
Separate but equal?
Originally sold to the public as a means by which children in poverty could “escape failing public schools,” the Indiana Choice Scholarship or voucher program is now nearly universal. A Choice Scholarship — the largest voucher program in Indiana — is around $6,000+ per child.
The average voucher student is now a white, elementary-aged girl who lives in a metropolitan area and comes from a household of around 4.7 people making around $100,000, according to an IDOE report. The legislators’ plan to remove all income requirements will transform the voucher program into something unrecognizable from its 2011 origins and what was first sold to the public. This shift is evident in the numerous schools where 100% of students now use vouchers to help pay for tuition. We Hoosiers are funding two separate K-12 school systems (three, if you include charter schools). Small rural communities are particularly burdened by this effort by paying for “choice” with their tax dollars when there actually is no choice other than their public schools in their communities.
Who pays?
Despite educating significantly more students in hundreds more schools than in 2010, Indiana’s inflation-adjusted education funding has decreased dramatically. One researcher estimates a $603 million reduction on a per student basis. This has resulted in program cuts, an overreliance on grants, public school closures (some replaced by charter schools, which don’t improve the financial picture), teacher salaries lower than those in neighboring states, and repeated property tax referenda. The resulting disparity of programming and offerings for students is not a uniform system–nor is it fair to Hoosier children. Indiana’s ranking has dropped to 37th nationally in per-pupil funding. Furthermore, from 2002 to 2020, Indiana had the second-lowest inflation-adjusted increase in education spending nationwide at a mere 1.9%. This underinvestment in education will have lasting consequences for Indiana’s future.
A budget reflects our priorities.
The first iteration of the state’s budget bill (HB 1001) estimates the cost of universal vouchers at nearly $100 million more per year, pushing the expense closer to $600 million annually. Meanwhile, a handful of tax-cut bills threaten the budgets of our public schools. Is it fair to force communities to raise taxes for education through referendums while simultaneously diverting public funds to private school vouchers? What about communities that are unable to do so? The Indiana legislature has a constitutional duty to fund public education. Laws pertaining to our public schools ensure that they are accountable and transparent with Hoosier tax dollars. There are no such laws for voucher schools.
Every child deserves a school that is fully funded and provides them with all they need to thrive. An entitlement program for the wealthy to pay private school tuition should not come at the cost of our most vulnerable children. When it comes to our kids’ future, we can’t afford it.
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MONROE COUNTY, Ind. – The ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit over what it calls “unconstitutional conditions” at the Monroe County Jail.
This comes after the advocacy group previously suggested it would take legal action to resolve a lengthy dispute over the facility’s safety.
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of two individuals currently incarcerated at the jail. It cites chronic overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure, unsafe living conditions and the county’s inability to remedy the problems.
The dispute originally flared in 2008, when the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit challenging conditions at the jail. That led to a 2009 settlement in which county officials promised a long-term solution. Over the years, the deadline for improvements has been extended multiple times.
While the county appeared to embrace a brand-new justice complex near I-69 and State Road 46, those plans stalled when the county council voted down the project due to cost concerns.
The ACLU said the settlement has expired and the original lawsuit has been dismissed, necessitating the filing of a new one. The lawsuit claims conditions at the jail violate the 14th Amendment rights of people awaiting trial and 8th Amendment rights of people held after conviction.
The lawsuit names the Monroe County Council, Monroe County commissioners and Monroe County sheriff as defendants.
In a news release, the ACLU cited several problems at the jail, ranging from overcrowding to “extreme temperatures, broken plumbing, mold, crumbling walls, limited disability access, and failures to safely separate people with different medical and security needs.”
Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, said officials have had long enough to fix the numerous issues.
“They have had nearly two decades to find a lasting solution, yet people are still being held in unconstitutional conditions that threaten their health and safety,” Falk said in a statement. “Studies have documented that the jail is dangerous and inadequate, and the sheriff has been candid about its many problems. However, the sheriff’s role under Indiana law is limited, and the county officials who could solve this problem have not listened.”
The ACLU is asking the court to certify the case as a class action and seeks a permanent injunction “requiring defendants to take all steps necessary to ensure that the conditions of confinement at the Monroe County Jail comply with the United States Constitution,” among other relief.
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office regarding this lawsuit. Officials with the office stated that they are “declining to comment on pending litigation.”
Read the full complaint here.
Coal ash pollution in the Town of Pines Part 2
Town of pines residents Cathi Murray and Retired EPA Scientist Larry Jensen take us on a tour of pollution in the Town of Pines Ind.
Indiana has more than 100 coal ash sites − more than any other state − and state officials are looking to create a permitting program for the hazardous waste just as the federal government is proposing to roll back cleanup requirements.
The program would be one of the few in the country mandating utilities apply for a permit to dispose of and manage coal combustion residuals in what are known as impoundments or ponds.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management on June 26 applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, asking for approval to oversee disposal and management of the waste power plants create after they burn coal to produce electricity.
Coal ash contains pollutants such as arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury and other heavy metals linked to cancer, heart disease and reproductive failure. These hazardous substances can contaminate groundwater and blow around as dust if utilities do not properly dispose of them.
Since 2015, the EPA has set federal requirements for proper disposal and management of coal ash, adding regulations in 2024. IDEM’s application would shift oversight responsibility for coal ash dumps from the federal government to the state.
But as the request wends its way through the approval process, questions remain about how protective a program would be as the Trump administration rolls back safeguards for human health and the environment near coal ash disposal sites.
Indiana to be early adopter of coal ash permits
Gov. Mike Braun said in a news release dated June 30 that Indiana is taking early and decisive action to create the permitting program.
Only five other states (Georgia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming) have created coal ash permit programs of their own. Two others (Virginia and Louisiana) have similar applications pending with the EPA.
Brian Wolff, the assistant commissioner for IDEM’s Office of Land Quality, said he and others at the state agency have worked with staff at EPA to help ensure the application’s success.
“We are not flying blind,” Wolff said, “we are fairly confident within three months we will at least have a notification the application is complete and accepted and put up for public comment.”
The program, if accepted, would be the largest in the country due to the sheer number of coal ash sites in Indiana, Wolff said.
“We have a lot of coal facilities but then a lot of them have multiple impoundments. And each one has to get its own permit issuance for closure,” Wolff said.
If the application proves successful, the permitting program will have nine full-time employees with support from other branches within the department. Fees for the coal ash site permits and other certifications will fund the program, according to IDEM’s application.
Federal changes concern local advocates
The process to get the application completed began with a 2021 bill requiring IDEM to make rules around coal ash permitting in the state. IDEM’s Environmental Rules Board gave the green light in December 2025 and the department sent its application at the end of June 2026.
Indra Frank, coal ash advisor with the Hoosier Environmental Council, has been following the process from the beginning and has some concerns.
Frank said she is keeping an eye on the federal changes EPA is proposing to coal ash requirements that could affect Indiana’s program.
Indiana law says IDEM cannot create rules for coal ash that are more stringent than federal rules. Federal law doesn’t allow states to create rules less stringent than federal regulations, so the potential state-run program will follow EPA’s guidance.
“Right now, the federal rule is in good shape: it has provisions in place that protect human health and environment,” Frank said. “The problem will come as EPA has proposed some really lousy provisions to the rule and if they go ahead and move forward, then Indiana will also have those provisions.”
The specifics of how federal changes might affect a state program are still unclear.
Federal change could create a weird patchwork of regulations for a while before the situation solidifies, which may frustrate residents near these coal ash sites who are eager for intervention, said Gavin Kearney, an attorney with the national advocacy group Earthjustice.
“Imagine a concerned community trying to figure out what a permit is actually trying to do and who is responsible for it,” Kearney said. “It adds up to a lot of confusion and makes it hard for folks to understand if their water is being protected and what to do to address those concerns.”
IDEM’s Wolff said if EPA approves the state program, the permits will offer some stability even if federal rules change once more in the future.
“Once we issue permits for closures (of a coal ash site), it’s kind of locked in to conform to the requirements within the permit,” Wolff said. “That kind of takes you away from the shifting winds of politics however it swings.”
IDEM would likely have to adopt a rule change if certain federal proposals do move forward, said agency spokesperson Allen Carter. That would be a routine process and would not interrupt the permitting program while changes are under review.
Public still has opportunity to provide input
The EPA has up to 180 days to review IDEM’s application. If approved, it will go through a hearing process with public comment.
Earthjustice’s Kearney said the EPA has shown an interest in expediting state-run coal ash permitting programs and the process is likely to move quickly.
IDEM’s Wolff also was optimistic EPA would turnaround the application quickly, estimating a decision could come early next year since the state agency worked closely with EPA to provide all the necessary information.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky or Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Twyla Jo Sprunger, 76, of Berne, Indiana, passed away Sunday morning, July 12, 2026, at Swiss Village in Berne, Indiana.
She was born on February 12, 1950, in Decatur, Indiana, to the late David W. and Verna Louise (Nussbaum) Sprunger.
Twyla was a member of the First Mennonite Church in Berne, Indiana, where she helped in the Children’s Church and in the Chancel Choir.
Twyla was a 1969 graduate of South Adams High School. She began her working career with Adams Wells Training Center in Vera Cruz, then Berco in Berne, EP Graphics for 23 years, DRG for 5 years, and the Edelweiss Flower Shop for 15 years.
In her spare time, she loved reading and completing cross-stitching. Twyla truly cherished spending time with family and friends.
Survivors include her sister, Ruth (Von) Bixler of Decatur, Indiana; sister, Judie (Terry) Fralick of Convoy, Ohio; sister, Jean Sprunger of Berne, Indiana; brother, Rick (Sue) Sprunger of Berne, Indiana; seven nieces and nephews, Bobbi (Robert) Reichhart, Kristina (Phil) Kunes, Nathan Sprunger, Amanda (Andrew) Caffee, Loree (Kyle) Sprunger, Tim (Katie) Fralick, and Jon (Amanda) Fralick; and twelve great-nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by an infant brother, Wayne Sprunger.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 16, 2026, in the chapel at the First Mennonite Church in Berne, Indiana, with Pastor Jim Schwartz officiating. Burial will follow in M.R.E. Cemetery in Berne.
Family and friends will be received one hour prior to service at the church.
Preferred memorials may be given to The Hope Clinic or Stillwater Hospice.
Arrangements by Zwick & Jahn Funeral Homes, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel of Berne, Indiana
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