State schools chief says nearly half of vouchers remain

Indiana's state school superintendent says parents have sought just over half of the school vouchers available for the program's first year.

Superintendent Tony Bennett told the governor's Education Roundtable on Tuesday that parents have applied for 3,685 of the vouchers that use public school money to help pay for students to attend private schools.

WISH-TV Channel 8 and WRTV-TV Channel 6 report Bennett says most of the students receiving vouchers come from households whose incomes qualify the students for free or reduced lunches and breakfasts. He says 15 percent of the vouchers are going to students in small towns and rural areas.

When the Legislature approved the voucher program, it set a cap of 7,500 students for the first year.

A group of educators and religious leaders are challenging the voucher program in court.