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Report from corporate education reform group wants Indiana private voucher schools to have less accountability
08/27/2014

 

vouchers.jpgA new report out today by a Washington DC corporate education reform group praises Indiana’s private school voucher program, ranking it top in the nation. However, the group is highly critical of Indiana’s decision to make private voucher schools somewhat accountable and incredibly criticizes the most basic civic curriculum being required at these schools that are receiving taxpayer dollars.

 

According to the Center for Education Reform:

 

(Indiana) is the second-worst in the country on infringing on private school autonomy, mandating such things as course content and insisting on allowing government observation of classes

 

The report continues to chastise Indiana for requiring private voucher schools to “provide civic and character education and to display historical documents.”

 

It is both unbelievable and sad that corporate education reform groups who claim to be concerned with educating our children would be dismayed by students being exposed to historically relevant documents such as the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, etc.

 

Attempts were made last legislative session to allow private voucher schools to bypass accountability and not use ISTEP, as well as prohibiting the Department of Education from reporting most data from those schools. However, the bill thankfully died in the Senate.

 

Indiana has one of the nation’s largest and broadest private school voucher programs -- it gives public tax dollars to private schools, of which 96% are affiliated with a religion. Just last year, $81 million in tax dollars was siphoned off of money that otherwise would have been available to public school students. But instead went to private voucher schools.

 

A report published in June from the Department of Education found that despite promises made that Indiana’s voucher program was going to save taxpayer dollars, the program has in fact cost $16 million.

 

 

Read more: How much money has your school lost to school vouchers?