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Indianapolis Public Schools enrollment has dropped by roughly 3.7% in schools it manages directly since last school year.
The decline of roughly 800 students was driven almost entirely by falling middle school enrollment. IPS enrollment in the district’s non-charter schools now stands at 21,055, according to state data released last month. In grades 6-8, the decline was 778 students.
Enrollment in charter schools that are part of the district’s Innovation Network of autonomous schools grew by 717 students, shoring up the district’s total enrollment across all school types. Yet total enrollment including Innovation charters still dropped slightly, from 32,212 to 32,126.
The enrollment loss turns up the pressure on IPS in several ways. It means less per-pupil state funding for a district already facing a challenging future. IPS already grapples with a robust school choice environment that is only growing. It faces a fiscal cliff once additional property taxes from the 2018 operating referendum expire in 2026. The decline could draw more scrutiny of the district’s Rebuilding Stronger reorganization that relies heavily on changes to middle schools.
And as the state’s legislative session begins, charter advocates and lawmakers are calling for changes that could wreck the district financially — or even force the district to dissolve entirely, as one bill calls for. The school board, meanwhile, has been meeting regularly in executive session to discuss school consolidation since November.
Still, the district said in a statement that it believes middle school enrollment will rebound, just as high school enrollment has increased to a higher figure than before the 2018 closure and consolidation of several high schools.
And while the district said it expected a decrease in the number of middle school students due to the creation of standalone middle schools, it said middle school enrollment has been trending upward since the statewide count day in October. The data released last month comes from data from count day, the day when schools must record enrollment under state law.
“We’re going to be working very hard to make sure our families continue to see the value of what those middle schools are offering,” said Deputy Superintendent Andrew Strope.
IPS hopes to examine middle schooler departures
Even before the pandemic that exacerbated enrollment declines nationwide, IPS steadily lost students annually at rates of around 3% to 4% from 2016 to 2020.
The district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan adopted in 2022 represents an attempt to right-size the district and spread resources more equitably amid enrollment declines. It includes breaking up K-6 and K-8 schools to once again create standard middle schools for grades 6-8.
But the reconfiguration sparked opposition, particularly from parents of the district’s choice magnet schools who favored the K-8 model. The middle school configuration had a rocky rollout this year — most notably at Broad Ripple Middle School, where over 100 students left after parents complained of an unsafe environment, a lack of communication, and general disorganization.
Still, officials consider Rebuilding Stronger’s expansion of popular academic programs and extracurricular offerings a positive change.
“It is difficult that we lost that many students,” said Patrick Herrell, the district’s director of enrollment. “But in my mind, it is much more important that now all students get this opportunity, and we can build on that success and start growing our numbers.”
At district-run schools, there was a net gain of six students at the elementary school level from last year, in part due to growth in prekindergarten. IPS lost 24 students at the high school level.
The district also considers enrollment at its Innovation Network charter schools as a positive. The district counts the enrollment and test scores at these schools as part of its own, although the Indiana Department of Education separates the two.
IPS said in its statement that schools are increasing recruitment and retention efforts for rising middle school students, including field trips to potential schools for fifth graders.
“Middle school principals have been meeting with families at 5th grade feeder schools, and the district is following up with all middle school families who left the district to better understand their experiences and ensure the improvements we make address families’ needs and concerns as we try to bring families back into IPS,” the district said.
Charter school enrollment is stagnant
Enrollment at charter schools not affiliated with IPS changed minimally, dropping by 46 students from 2023-24. The figure includes charters in IPS borders or those outside of the district that still enroll a majority of IPS students. It excludes adult high schools and blended or virtual schools.
The demographics between charter schools and traditional IPS schools continue to differ slightly. IPS educates a lower percentage of Black students and students receiving free or reduced-price meals than the charter sector, but has a higher rate of students with disabilities.
Upcoming legislative session could pose threat to IPS
Several proposals in the state legislature could compound the district’s problems.
A bill from Republican Rep. Jake Teshka of North Liberty would require districts in which more than half of students living within the district boundaries enroll in a school not operated by the district to dissolve. It would also require those districts’ schools to transition into charter schools. The bill, HB 1136, would in practice dissolve IPS and four other districts statewide, according to its latest fiscal impact statement.
And a new charter advocacy group, the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, will push for charters to receive the same amount of funding from property taxes as traditional district schools receive. IPS is already required to share a portion of property tax revenue with charters — a cost previously estimated at $4 million for this school year — but the proposal would reduce the district’s operating revenue even further.
School board members decried the bill to dissolve the district, saying in a statement on Tuesday that it would destabilize the district’s financial foundation and jeopardize the education of tens of thousands of students.
Teshka’s bill “threatens to cause massive disruption to our public school system, diverting attention and resources away from the vital education and support our students need to succeed,” Board President Angelia Moore said at the meeting.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
