US Education Department Oks Indiana Waiver To ‘Streamline’ Education Spending

By Mackenzi Klemann
Indiana Capital Chronicle

PLAINFIELD — Indiana K-12 educators will soon have less paperwork following the U.S. Department of Education’s approval of a waiver exempting the state from provisions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The state applied for the waiver in December to streamline education spending and align its new A-F accountability measures with federal law.

The waiver consolidates federal funding from portions of Titles I, II, III and IV – grants used to support things like low-income students, teacher training, English language learners and school safety – totaling $50 million over the next four years.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who visited Plainfield High School Tuesday for a ceremonial signing of the waiver, said the change frees $20 million in state and local funds from “bureaucratic red tape” so schools can reallocate money to the classroom.

The waiver also OKs the use of college and career readiness metrics like work-based learning and credentials toward high school accountability scores, a crucial component of Indiana’s new A-F system.

“President Trump told me I’d be successful in my job when I fired myself or worked myself out of a job,” McMahon said, “but his vision isn’t about me or one position. It’s about breaking up the education bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., a system that too often enriches adults while stifling progress for kids and empowering states to drive a new era of excellence for students across the country.”

She added, “We must breathe innovation into education, not suffocate it with top-down mandates, because we certainly know that one size does not fit all in education.”

Indiana is the third state approved for the waiver, nicknamed “Return Education to the States,” following Iowa and Louisiana.

States already control educational standards, curriculum and assessments. The waivers grant states greater control over how to spend federal K-12 funding too.

Indiana’s waiver consolidates funding for various education programs, which McMahon likened to a block grant, so schools no longer need to meet separate reporting requirements for each grant.

“At the heart of all this there is a simple, urgent belief: We must focus our time and energy on the work that propels us forward,” Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said. “We work to serve students, not to serve bureaucratic, outdated processes and paperwork.”

Less Paperwork, More Classroom Time

Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner leads a discussion about the state’s new federal education waiver. Photo by Mackenzi Klemann, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Educators in attendance Tuesday praised what they see as a move away from bureaucracy.

“Too often these programs had differing goals and really specific requirements that might have been at odds with one another,” said Betsy Wiley, president and CEO of the Institute for Quality Education.

“There’s just no proof that, that extra bureaucracy is leading to higher standard achievements,” said Keeanna Warren, chief executive officer of Purdue Polytechnic High School.

Plainfield Community Schools Superintendent Andy Allen said he anticipates significant savings as the district will be able to redeploy office staff, many of whom are trained educators, to the classroom due to the reduction in compliance paperwork.

“Just because we have less compliance (paperwork) doesn’t mean we just do less,” he said. “Now we get back out in the buildings, we get back in front of kids, we get back in front of teachers, get connected with our community to make sure we have our best voices leading work for our kids and our community.”

The waiver could also benefit outside programs like the Boys and Girls Club’s summer learning labs.

Duane Wilson, chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club for the northern Indiana corridor, said the organization serves 5,800 Hoosier students throughout the state, but with additional funding the club could reach 10,000 Hoosier children next year.

The club is “moving the needle for kids,” Jenner said, but its rapid growth exceeded what the state could provide. “We’re seeing it in the short-term assessments. We’re seeing it in our state assessments.”