You will likely hear a lot about universal vouchers when legislators return next week. Republicans who support school choice are all lining up to support it.
But I caution you to not be distracted by this effort. Indiana essentially already has universal vouchers, and this final step is actually very small. There are other education policies that do deserve your attention, though.
How did we get here
Lawmakers in 2023 expanded Indiana’s voucher program, which provides thousands of dollars to pay private school tuition, by raising the income ceiling to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program, equal to about $220,000.
At the time, we quoted Betsy Wiley, president and CEO of the Institute for Quality Education, as saying early number-crunching showed that only 3.5% of Hoosier families with school-aged kids would not qualify for vouchers under the new income limits.
“We would say it’s universal,” Wiley told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Lawmakers use the 400% of reduced lunch threshold, while other entitlement programs in the state use federal poverty level to determine eligibility. The current eligibility guidelines equate to about 740% of the federal poverty level.
So, when you hear universal vouchers, they mean they will remove all income eligibility. The richest of the rich will now get state dollars to send their children to a private school. It will cost the state more. Though, given the behemoth price tag of the program already — about $600 million in fiscal year 2025 — it’s not much.
More important debates
I believe there are more important debates to focused on for education stakeholders, starting with how much money is put toward tuition support for traditional public schools.
Every budget in recent years has spent more on education, and Republicans often ask Democrats what amount will be enough. In fiscal year 2025, the estimate for tuition support is $9 billion.
I don’t know what that amount is, but I do know that schools face rising costs every year so there isn’t likely a magic number. And teachers expect a raise each year to care for their own families.
A good beginning would be to give schools funding increases that exceed inflation. That hasn’t been the case in some recent years. And it will be very hard to do this year as Indiana’s tax revenues are expected to grow in the first year but remain flat in the second year.
Another key focus should be properly funding Indiana’s pre-K program. Lawmakers expanded it statewide but didn’t add funding to the pot. That has contributed to a waitlist for the program — though officials said last month a waitlist would have occurred even without expanded eligibility.
And did I mention that the eligibility for that program is limited to 150% of the federal poverty level? That’s about $46,800 for a family of four. If that’s not an inequity compared to vouchers, I don’t know what is.
Private school vouchers are a way of life in Indiana and aren’t going anywhere. It’s time for opponents to focus on other policy decisions that will help children in public schools. I gave you a few to begin with.