Dear Friends,

We need your voice. Today.

Indiana’s legislative session is in its final week and your representatives will be deciding between the House and Senate budget proposals, both of which include an expansion to Indiana’s Choice Scholarship (voucher) Program. Ask your elected officials to please support the broader choice expansion language in the House version of the budget (HB 1001).

Personalize your email and explain why your ability to afford a school or the education environment of your choice is so important to you.

The House version expands the existing voucher program in three ways and adds a new type of program.

  • HB 1001 extends income eligibility from 150% of the federal reduced lunch program threshold ($71,456 for a family of 4) to 225% ($107,185) in the coming year, and then 300% ($142,912) by July 2022.  This will give much needed assistance to the middle class families who typically receive little to no assistance who are struggling to afford choice, especially if they have multiple children.
  • HB 1001 increases and streamlines the scholarship amount that a voucher student receives in a school year. Rather than scholarship tiers of 50%, 70%, and 90% of state tuition (e.g. South Bend 50% = $3,443.67  70%  = $4,821.14  90% = $6,198.60), the bill sets the scholarship amount at 90% for all voucher-receiving children. This streamlining will be of greatest assistance to families with high school students where costs and tuitions are typically higher.
  • HB 1001 also creates an Education Savings Account (ESA) program for children with special needs, children in foster care, and children of military families. ESAs allow parents to take control of their child’s education and customize their student’s educational experience by receiving their student’s tuition support funding through a government-authorized savings account. These funds can be used for pre-approved educational expenses only, such as therapies, private tutoring, tuition and fees at approved private schools. Students with special needs often need services and therapies over and above what they can receive during a normal school day. An ESA could provide that additional assistance.

The Senate Appropriations Committee amended the choice expansion in their budget amendment. They reduced the voucher financial eligibility proposed by the House to 200% and 225%. Their slight increase would not go into effect until the second year of the budget. The 90% voucher tier was included, but it would not go into effect until December 31, 2023. The Appropriations Committee’s amendment also stripped back the proposed ESA. Their proposal suggests that only students with special needs would be eligible, and they would only be eligible to receive state special education dollars (not state tuition support) and there would be a financial eligibility cutoff similar to the voucher.

Ask your elected officials to adopt the school choice language in the House version.