Indiana legislative leaders leaders are already thinking about how they could replicate the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s proposal in other parts of the state.
The new corporation would have the power to impose property taxes, which it would distribute to both charter and IPS schools.
The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is scheduled to vote Wednesday night on final recommendations about the future of the city’s district and charter schools.
The proposed step came on the eve of of a scheduled Wednesday vote by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance that could result in major changes to IPS and charter schools.
The lawsuit claims that district policies supporting undocumented students violate state law.
In a breakout group during the session that focused on the best structure for governing schools, supporters of both IPS and charter schools said either option could result in more bureaucracy.
The grants will support a wide range of initiatives like new student programming, teacher training, and updated STEM and performing arts spaces.
The 4 governance options unveiled at the group’s recent meeting range from a fully elected IPS school board to a fully appointed one.
If done today, reducing the boundaries of Indianapolis Public Schools to only include Center Township would remove 47 district and charter schools from IPS borders.
The raises come at an increasingly precarious time for IPS, which faces a funding cliff. The district is projected to end 2026 with an estimated $44 million deficit, according to cash flow projections from September.
As the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance considers changes to the city’s education landscape, supporters of charters and traditional public schools have indicated support for a universal school-rating system.
The lawsuit alleges Indianapolis Public Schools maintains policies that violate Indiana’s anti-sanctuary statute.
The sale of a 16-acre portion of the 40-acre John Marshall campus at 10101 E. 38th St. marks the end of the district’s history with the school, which first opened in 1967.
The transition was meant to ensure “that every student has what they need to be successful, regardless of their identity,” the district said in a statement Wednesday.
The deal is contingent on whether the district can successfully petition the city to rezone the property for special commercial use.
Many of the pieces of art, which date from the 1890s through the 1970s, once hung in IPS schools that are now closed, according to the district.
In a letter of requests to the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, the IPS board reiterated previous calls to keep the school board democratically elected.
A 2020 building study commissioned by the district concluded that the brick building—built in 1938—had the lowest overall facility quality in the district.
The program has behavior specialists assigned to each classroom, as well as two social workers and a psychiatrist to provide oversight for students with medication.
Charter schools have grown in student enrollment and political clout since coming to Indiana in 2001. Will recent changes finally push IPS into becoming an all-charter system?
