Vouchers: How Many Students From Your District Have Left For Private School

Kyle Stokes / StateImpact Indiana

Gov. Mitch Daniels talks to students at Our Lady of Hungary in South Bend last fall. The school benefited from a boost in enrollment last year from the state's voucher program.

The number of Indiana students participating in the state’s voucher program more than doubled in the program’s second year.

Some 9,324 students are attending private schools using state-funded vouchers this year. That’s up from 3,919 in 2011-12, making Indiana’s program the fastest growing in the country. Next year there’s no limit on the number of vouchers the state can award.

Forty-eight schools who didn’t participate in the program last year are now included on the list of institutions that accept vouchers, bringing the total to 289.

(You can find out how many students from your school corporation are participating in the voucher program after the jump.)

Indianapolis Star reporter Scott Elliott posted a great breakdown of the numbers on his blog. He also does a nice job of explaining why Indiana’s program is growing so much faster than a similar program in nearby Ohio:

Indiana’s big numbers are due in large part to the design of the program, which is less limited than those in other states. Ohio is the only other state that has a statewide program, but it restricts vouchers to communities with failing schools. Wisconsin and Louisiana each limit them to one city — Milwaukee and New Orleans, respectively.

Indiana’s program is open to any student meeting the income guidelines — anywhere in the state. … Eligibility for vouchers depends on family income and size. A family of four that earns less than $42,000 annually can receive up to 90 percent of the state aid for a child’s public school education. Families of four making $42,000 to $62,000 can receive 50 percent of the state aid amount.

The majority of students participating for the 2012-13 school year are receiving the maximum voucher amount for their school corporation. The other 1,741 students are receiving the partial, 50 percent aid amount. We’ve included those voucher amounts in our sortable table below:

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Source: Indiana Department of Education