Universal school choice among ICC’s priorities for Indiana families

As the 2025 legislative session reaches its midpoint, the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) and other advocates are striving to make this the year that school choice is extended to every Hoosier family without exception.

A provision in the draft versions of the state budget proposed by Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana House of Representatives would remove the income cap on Indiana’s current Choice Scholarship Program, more commonly known as the voucher program. Under House Bill 1001, every Indiana family would be able to take the portion of the state’s budget allotted for their children to attend their local public school and apply it to tuition at a non-public school if they choose.

In the last budget year, 2023, the Indiana General Assembly expanded school choice eligibility to 97 percent of families statewide. Now, advocates want to see Indiana join the 10 states that have already passed universal school choice legislation.

“For many years, the General Assembly has said that we fund students, not systems,” said John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association (INPEA). “That certainly implies all students. It is simply not equitable to think we would leave a small percentage of Hoosiers behind in this vision of school choice for all. If all Hoosiers are taxpayers, why can't all Hoosiers use a small percentage of their state tax dollars to exercise private school choice?”

While advocates hailed near-universal school choice as a major advance for Indiana two years ago, they point to the administrative burden that has remained for both families and schools to determine income eligibility for participating in school choice. Often, they say, the process is most daunting for those with the fewest financial resources.

Lawmakers recently heard testimony about those challenges from numerous parents and private school administrators, including Jenni Crain, principal of St. Adalbert Catholic School in South Bend.

Crain told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that her small school serves 230 students, most living below the poverty line. She explained that many complications – from multiple generations living under one roof to parents’ lack of understanding of government forms due to educational or language barriers – often make proving a family’s income eligibility an overwhelming task.

“It is a substantial burden on under-resourced schools like mine who choose with intentionality to serve children and families on the margin,” Crain told committee members at a Feb. 6 hearing on the state budget.

Housing insecurity – which Crain said that many of her school families face – is only one factor adding to the necessary documentation for proving eligibility for school choice.

“If you move, that’s extra papers, and if you move multiple times, that’s even more,” Crain said. “If you live in situation where a multi-generational family is required for you to survive, then you have to get paperwork filed for every single one of those people. I have an entire staff member devoting almost half of the year (to the income verification process), taking away from a very small team, and taking away from the things I need to be doing – being in classrooms, building relationships, advocating for students.

“I represent today a large group of Indiana educators who are doing their best,” Crain continued. “We’re asking you to consider alleviating the burden of income verification and making universal school choice available for all Hoosiers.”

Christa Wynk, an administrator at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, shared with lawmakers other examples of students who do not qualify for vouchers – or who lose eligibility for a multitude of factors due to changing circumstances within a family or household.

“There are so many reasons that are out of the control of the family for why they lose that Choice Scholarship,” said Wynk, adding that she is the staff member who must share that news with those affected. “Families should not be denied for any reason. Those dollars are designed to educate their children.”

As a mother of three children who have attended both public and Catholic schools, Wynk brings a unique perspective to the matter.

“This has nothing to do with taking away from what the public school system offers,” Wynk said after the committee hearing. “My kids have been in public school. We took them out of Catholic school and put them into public school for a while because that best served them at that stage of life.

“They needed something the public school offered that the private school didn’t at that time, and we made that choice,” she continued. “Just like we turned around and chose to send them to private high school. We thought that was best for them, and as parents we get to make that choice. Our tax dollars should follow that choice.”

Alexander Mingus, executive director of the ICC, notes that the Catholic Church has supported school choice for decades.

“We believe in parental choice in education,” Mingus said in a recent ICC podcast. “It’s a fundamental right that parents have, and the Church has had this understanding for much longer than our modern debates over school choice. Equally so, we also want public schools to thrive because we know that there are countless Catholic and non-Catholic students alike who go to public schools. That’s most of the students in Indiana.”

The ICC is supporting other legislation involving families, including a measure that would provide extra help in the first year after a child’s birth. Senate Bill 497 would establish a $500 refundable tax credit for parents with newborn children, including those who are adopted.

“We know there is a lot of additional cost to bringing a child into this world,” said Sen. Greg Walker (R-Columbus), one of the primary authors of the bill. “As Hoosier families are healthier, as they’re better fed, as they’re able to meet child care costs, $500 is just a start. But this could keep a family from tipping over to a point of stress in their lives when it’s most critical.”

Sen. Walker was speaking before the Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy on Feb. 11, which then passed the bill on a 14-0 vote. 

The bipartisan, unanimous vote is a hopeful sign that the measure will continue to advance at the Statehouse, according to Roarke LaCoursiere, associate director of the ICC.

“This is obviously something that both parties and all Hoosiers alike can agree would be helpful for families,” LaCoursiere said. “It’s encouraging to have the state recognize and reward families when they continue to grow, and to acknowledge that the parental role is incredibly important in making our society a better place.”

The ICC will continue to monitor important legislation as it makes its way through the Statehouse in this budget year. In partnership with longtime allies like the INPEA, school choice will remain among the top priorities.

“We’re so blessed in Indiana to have a diverse array of quality non-public school options available for families, and our General Assembly has shown great leadership in ensuring that these high-quality options are accessible to Hoosier families,” said the INPEA’s Elcesser, whose organization represents the state’s more than 400 non-public schools, including Indiana’s 175 Catholic schools. “Now is the time to get universal choice across the finish line.”

To get involved in the advocacy efforts of the INPEA, visit www.inpea.org. The website includes access to podcasts, research data, position papers, a legislative action center and other information concerning non-public schools and their mission.

To follow priority legislation of the ICC, visit www.indianacc.org. This website includes access to ICAN, the Indiana Catholic Action Network, which offers the Church’s position on key issues. Those who sign up for ICAN receive alerts on legislation moving forward and ways to contact their elected representatives.