School Choice Indiana

Thanks to Indiana’s state leaders, education reformers and Hoosier families joining forces last year, the Hoosier state is home to the nation’s biggest first-year voucher program. With 3,919 students approved for participation, families from every corner of the state are applauding state leaders for allowing them to choose a school that best meets their child’s individual learning needs.

Nearly 85 percent, or 3,326, of voucher recipients are on the free and reduced lunch program. Fifty-three percent of program participants represent minority families, including 24 percent African-American and 19 percent Hispanic.

According to the Department of Education (DOE), 69 percent of students approved for vouchers are from metropolitan areas, 16 percent are from suburban areas, and 15 percent are from rural and town areas. Children from 185 Indiana school districts are participating in the program, with no school district accounting for more than 17 percent of the total scholarship recipients. The largest number of voucher approvals by city includes: 644 students from Indianapolis, 393 from Fort Wayne, 374 from South Bend, 139 from Anderson, 131 from Gary, and 121 from Evansville.

The final participation numbers from the first year of the program demonstrate the high demand in Indiana for such a program, and exceed all other first year choice programs nationwide. For example, a similar program in Ohio brought in roughly 2,713 participants in its first year of 2007. The next highest first-year voucher participation rate came from the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program wherein 1997 a total of 1,994 students participated in the program.

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