Our Indiana public schools have been doing double duty to try to meet the diverse and complicated needs of educating the children of our community during a pandemic. Legislators have told schools that they want to provide schools certainty. Legislators say they understand schools had to adapt quickly to ensure learning continues in the face of an unprecedented public health crisis. Instead, the Indiana General Assembly is diverting crucial public funding away from the 93% of Indiana’s students who attend traditional community public schools and sending those desperately needed public funds to private schools.     

The Indiana General Assembly is considering HB 1001 and other bills that dramatically expand the largest private school voucher program in the nation and create a new private school debit-card program (ESAs). We know this legislation does not give choice to families, but gives choice to private schools, as private schools can choose who they admit and educate. Public funds should only be used for education that is open and inclusive to all Indiana students.   

Indiana’s own constitution obligates the state to fund a uniform system of schools where tuition shall be free. Voucher funding to private schools is impairing our state’s ability to meet its constitutional obligation. Private schools are not accountable to taxpayers. Private schools are exempt from an extraordinary array of federal and state mandates that are imposed on public schools. Private schools are not even required to employ licensed teachers.   

We have been and continue to face a teacher shortage in Indiana.  Indiana’s Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission found that to move Hoosier educators to just the middle of the pack of 2019 salaries would cost upwards of $600 million. That number doesn’t account for increases needed for education support personnel. The proposed budget for Indiana will not allow public schools to make the needed pay improvements that educators were led to believe this session would move forward in school funding to support teacher pay. It won’t even keep up with rising insurance costs. Keep your promise to address teacher pay!

The most recent Indiana budget forecast shows an increase of two billion dollars in state revenue. Our children and their futures depend on Indiana legislators fully funding our traditional community public schools. 

• We urge legislators to demand for and pass legislation now that fully funds our traditional community public schools.  Legislators must do what is right for the 93% of Indiana’s students who attend traditional community public schools.
• We urge legislators to keep their promise to address teacher pay now.  If not now, when?  Indiana can’t afford to delay any longer with the increase in teacher shortage and number of teachers leaving the profession.
• We strongly oppose the further expansion of private school vouchers and ESAs, and we urge legislators to oppose any legislation that further directs funding away from Indiana public schools.