Indy Moms, it’s time to speak up! You might have heard by now that a new bill has been introduced in the Indiana House of Representatives. House Bill 1136 says that if on October 1, 2024 (the last time Indiana schools counted their official enrollment numbers), more than 50% of the school-age kids who live within a district’s boundaries attended a charter school or other school not under district control, the entire school district must be dissolved.
Under this bill, the following Indiana school districts must be dissolved: Cannelton City Schools, Gary Community Schools, Tri-Township Schools, Union School Corporation, and, closest to home, Indianapolis Public Schools.
For many years, the Indiana government has promoted a “school choice” agenda, but as many have argued, “school choice” in Indiana has been a thinly-veiled attempt to privatize public education. After years of promoting charter schools and vouchers, the legislature is now punishing the very school districts whose policies have undermined them every step of the way.
My three children attend an IPS neighborhood school. It is not an innovation school, a charter school, or a magnet school–it’s just a community-based, neighborhood-focused, diverse, and successful school. My kids have been enrolled there since 2019, and they have thrived under the expertise and dedication of their teachers. And now, this amazing school would be forced to dissolve and be reorganized under a charter.
Even if your children do not attend one of the schools whose existence is threatened by this bill, you should be paying attention. Here’s why:
- This bill would require closing or reorganizing 50 IPS schools. If the 20,000 students who attend those schools need to find new places to go, that means rising class sizes and additional demands/strains on every other school within Marion County and beyond.
- They are not just going after “failing” or struggling schools. Tri-Township Schools, for example, had a 100% high school graduation rate last year. IPS is the only school district in Marion County with a majority of students achieving at or above pre-pandemic academic performance. Even the schools that everyone touts as IPS’ best (like Sidener, CFI 2, and the Butler Lab schools) would be forced to reorganize as charter schools under the provisions of HB1136.
- Which means they can come for your school or your district next. This year, it’s a 50% threshold. What is to stop them from moving to 25% in the next legislative session or to create any other arbitrary rule that forces great schools to reorganize for no good reason?
This bill was authored by Republican Jake Teshka, who, surprise surprise, does not live in nor represent Hoosiers in any of the school districts that would be shut down. Though I can’t say for sure, I sincerely doubt Teshka has visited a single one of the schools he is threatening. Teshka is a parent, so I’m going to make a generous assumption and say he’s probably at least stepped into a school since being elected in 2020, I couldn’t find a single news story or social media post indicating that he’s spoken to any teachers, administrators, or educational experts about this bill or any other.
I am not making the argument that all IPS schools are awesome. I do not want to diminish the very real ways the district has struggled over time. Navigating the challenges of a complex school system with many options and community needs is not easy. But none of that makes HB1136 logical, productive, or valuable.
This bill is nothing but extreme government overreach. It unfairly targets children of color and rural communities. It undermines the voices of parents in choosing educational models that work for children, and it completely ignores the academic and educational realities of the 5 school districts it threatens.
At the time I’m writing this, HB1136 sits with the House Education Committee. Please reach out to the members of the Education Committee, whose contact info is below.
Indy Moms, it’s time to speak up. On behalf of my children and all Hoosier families, please contact our representatives and ask them to oppose HB1136.