In response to proposals advanced by the Mayor and IPS leadership for ILEA, ICIC offers a student-centered perspective on equity, funding, and governance, and outlines principles for policies that better serve Indianapolis students.
The Indiana Charter Innovation Center appreciates the commitment that leaders across Indianapolis are bringing to the future of public education. Families deserve a system that is fair, fully funded, transparent, and designed to support every student. We agree that transportation access, high-quality facilities, and strong services for students with the greatest needs must be priorities for our city.
At the same time, the recommendations recently outlined by Mayor Hogsett and Superintendent Johnson move Indianapolis in a direction that creates new inequities that fall hardest on students whose families already face the most barriers to access rather than resolving old ones.
Our concerns do not rest on disagreement with the goals they name. In fact, we share many of those goals. The challenge is that the proposals put forward would place significant burdens on charter schools without providing funding, would reverse major legislative progress, and would create a structure that pulls decision-making farther from the schools and families most affected.
For example, the expectation that all public schools must provide transportation or lose operational funding is not possible under current law or with current resources. It applies almost exclusively to charter schools and creates an unfunded mandate that no other public schools in Indiana face. A transportation strategy should be developed statewide with appropriate funding and consistent expectations so that every school and every student benefits.
We are also concerned that proposals to limit authorizers and exempt certain schools from statewide facilities law would shift focus toward regulation rather than results. Without clear evidence that these changes would improve student outcomes, they risk reducing innovation, limiting family options, and creating inconsistent expectations across public schools. Indianapolis students deserve a system that applies policy and funding fairly, regardless of school type.
Finally, routing all operational dollars into a new independent authority would undermine the progress made through SEA 1 and weaken the principle that money should follow students to their school. Schools are the best stewards of these resources because they understand their students, staff, and community needs firsthand. Operational dollars support essential functions like staffing, academic programming, and daily operations, and keeping those decisions at the school level ensures funds are used where they have the greatest impact. Centralizing these dollars would reduce flexibility, add administrative costs, and ultimately result in fewer resources reaching students.
Despite these concerns, ICIC believes strongly that Indianapolis has a real opportunity to design a system that works better for all students and educators. We remain committed to offering feedback and support for policies that advance equity, protect recent progress, and put students first. We support coordinated, citywide planning for facilities and transportation. We believe collaboration across sectors is not only possible but necessary. And we are prepared to work toward solutions that help schools share services where it makes sense and improve access for students who need it most.
We believe the next step should be an approach that respects state law, protects recent progress in funding equity, and builds structures that serve all public schools fairly. That means a transportation strategy that is funded and statewide. It means facilities policies that remain consistent and equitable. And it means keeping operational dollars in the hands of schools so they can serve students well.
ICIC remains committed to a stronger and more unified public education system in Indianapolis. We stand ready to collaborate with ILEA, IPS, city leaders, charter leaders, and state policymakers to create a model where students benefit from coordination without sacrificing equity or school autonomy.
We all want better outcomes for children. The path to get there must be fair, fully funded, and grounded in what already works. Indianapolis has an opportunity to build a system that truly serves every student. That requires solutions that lift schools up, not policies that weaken the public options families rely on.
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