Institute for Quality Education

School choice has the momentum.

School choice is winning. It’s time to double down In the 1990s, I asked Milton Friedman how I should approach charitable giving. His answer was to invest in school choice, a concept he had invented decades earlier. At the time, school choice barely existed. Now, it’s exploding. Friedman’s advice was right on — my bet has paid off. Now, it is ...

Evolution of a National Model: In 2011, Indiana launched the Choice Scholarship Program as a targeted pilot serving just under 4,000 students. Fifteen years later, it evolved into a universal framework serving more than 76,000 Hoosier children.

Look at how the landscape of educational freedom has matured:

2011: 3,900 students | Restricted to low-income households | Required prior public-school attendance.

2023: 70,000+ students | Eligibility expanded to 400% of the Free/Reduced Lunch threshold | "Pathways" streamlined to empower more families.

2026-2027 School Year: Universal Eligibility | Open to 100% of Hoosier K-12 families | Parents are trusted as the ultimate decision-makers, regardless of income.

Thanks to $500,000 in state grant funding, Indiana is expanding University of Cambridge-backed STEM courses to more public, charter, and private high schools.

A little AP, a little IB: A new-to-Indiana advanced curriculum expands Grant funding could allow more high schools to offer Cambridge STEM courses, and in turn, give students another way to earn advanced diplomas.

True impact can be found in the lives you’ve changed.

🎧 Discover how innovative leadership is changing lives in Northern Indiana!

Hear from Duane Wilson, President & CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Indiana Corridor, as he shares powerful stories of resilience, growth, and what it means to build true community partnerships.
🏫✨ Learn how after-school programs are evolving, how families are empowered, and why supporting our youth today matters more than ever.

🚀 Listen to the full episode now: https://bit.ly/4dKDlTs

Happy Memorial Day!

Charter schools show gains after COVID.

How have Indiana charters and traditional public schools fared after COVID? A new study offers insights. Researchers who looked at the two types of schools accounted for demographics, chronic absenteeism, and the type of instruction schools gave post-COVID. Those factors still don’t explain the difference between charters and traditional public schools in Indiana, they found.

EdChoice Director of National Research, Mike McShane, penned a letter in the Wall Street Journal addressing the benefits of school choice for low-income students. Choice programs open doors to students who may not have otherwise been able to access a life-changing education.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/school-choice-benefits-low-income-families-37bb8381

May your futures be bright and your opportunities be endless. Congratulations, graduates!

Let's talk about the future of fair school funding in Indiana.

Did you know that public charter schools receive significantly less funding than traditional district schools? Even though they are tuition-free public schools, charters do not receive equal access to local property tax dollars and cannot seek local referendums on their own.

In Marion County, that gap is massive—amounting to roughly $8,000 less per student for charters compared to Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). This means charter schools often have to divert crucial classroom dollars just to pay for their school buildings.

Charter schools have been changing the way we think about public education in Indiana since 2001.

How Charter Schools Can Help Strengthen K-12 Public Education for the Future Manno: For National Charter Schools Week, 5 ideas for fixing failing schools, rethinking measures of success, focusing on career ed and using facilities.