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Indiana lawmakers have revived a proposal that could lead to Indianapolis Public Schools sharing its school buildings and transportation systems with local charter schools.
The plan creates a nine-member Indianapolis Local Education Alliance (ILEA) made up of district, charter, and city leaders who would be charged with creating a school facility and transportation plan for the city.
The recommendations made by the body would not be binding. But they could be far-reaching, as members would be tasked with developing strategies related to facility use and transportation, including any “structural changes necessary … for a collaborative system of schools that can serve all students within the geographic boundaries of the school city fairly,” the amendment says.
Only IPS would be required to participate in such a group. Other districts could opt into pilot programs that would create independent boards to oversee school facilities and transportation systems, including by authorizing property tax referendums.
The proposal has been significantly pared down since the original version, House Bill 1501, did not move through the chamber before a mandatory deadline.
Author Rep. Bob Behning said last week he would add the language to another bill, and did so with an amendment on Wednesday to Senate Bill 373, a broad education matters bill.
The ILEA would begin meeting in July 2025 and submit its recommendations to lawmakers and the state education secretary by December 2025 under the bill.
The plan is the latest version of a push by Indiana lawmakers this year to exert control over Indianapolis schools and direct more resources to the city’s charter schools. In addition to HB 1501, lawmakers are also moving to require the district to share more local revenue with charter schools. On the extreme end, House Bill 1136 would have dissolved the district completely and replaced it with charter schools, but it didn’t advance this session.
The moves have drawn strong condemnation from IPS leaders and triggered public infighting between charter advocacy groups and those critical of their work.
During Wednesday testimony on the amended Senate bill, IPS board member Allissa Impink acknowledged the changes to Behning’s original proposal that would reduce the bill’s mandates.
The original version would have required any district where more than 50% of students were enrolled in schools not operated by the district — such as charter schools — to participate in boards that would oversee their facilities and transportation. The districts would have been required to eventually turn over control of their facilities and transportation to the newly-created boards, which would also have the ability to pass property tax referendums.
In addition to IPS, this included Gary Community School Corporation, Union School Corporation, Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation, and Cannelton City Schools.
Under the amended senate bill, school districts other than IPS could opt in to participate in these boards. But like the original proposal, the new boards would have the power to approve or deny property tax referendums beginning in 2026. Beginning in 2028, the boards would take control of participating school boards’ facilities and could impose property tax levies.
Impink said the amendment needed further changes to ensure that the ILEA would not be a “quasi-government entity,” and that its authority would be advisory only.
“Please consider centering local leadership, respecting our democratic governance and making a commitment to a process that invites — not overrides — our public input,” Impink said.
Behning said he would work with Impink on some of her recommendations.
In a statement, IPS said the district first proposed the idea of the ILEA to act as an advisory board that would report to the IPS Board of School Commissioners “for the purpose of solving educational complexities that exist within the IPS boundary.”
The district said the current proposal is “more heavy-handed bureaucratic oversight” that would reduce local decision making around all students’ “access to good schools, transportation and facilities.”
Critics of the plan said the newest proposal still represented a state overreach into local authority.
They blasted lawmakers for reviving the proposal as an amendment to an unrelated education bill, while IPS is on spring break. Others pointed out that only IPS had been singled out for a mandatory advisory group.
“You can’t name a school district in the entire state that offers more school choice than IPS already does,” said Adrea McCloud, an IPS teacher. “This level of school choice and options is proof that our democratically elected school board is fully competent and able to do the job we elected them to do.”
Portions of Behning’s plan to create voluntary consolidated transportation boards received support from charter and private school choice advocates and parents. They said a lack of transportation prevented students from attending the schools of their choice.
Christina Cockrell, a charter school teacher, told lawmakers she purchased a van to provide school transportation. She said one of her students took two buses and 90 minutes to get to school on time.
Indianapolis school choice advocates from The Mind Trust and Stand for Children also called for IPS and charter schools to collaborate through the proposed ILEA.
Nationwide, enrollment declines are leaving some districts with an “overabundance of school buildings and structural financial challenges,” said Katie Beth Mueller, senior director of policy at The Mind Trust.
“The educational landscape has changed, and our policies must adapt to support the needs of students and families,” she said.
Lawmakers did not vote on SB 373, although they could hear it again in the Senate education committee as early as next week.
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of IPS board member Allissa Impink’s name.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
