Indiana opens enrollment for expanded school choice program

Enrollment is open for Indiana’s newly expanded school choice program, which provides scholarships for eligible students to access private schools and other resources.

“As school choice parents, my family knows firsthand the importance of being able [to] choose what’s best for your child’s educational experience,” Indiana Treasurer Daniel Elliot said in a news release, according to the AP. “Our Indiana Education Scholarship Account gives parents with children who have their own ways of learning the ability to find the tools to best fit their needs.”

Created in 2021, Indiana’s ESA program was expanded by legislation to raise eligible household income limits and remove other requirements for eligibility, opening up the program to more students.

According to the Department of Education website, eligible students must have an “Individualized Education Program (IEP), service plan (SP), or Choice Special Education Plan (CSEP)” and a household income not exceeding 400% of the Federal Free or Reduced School Meals threshold.

“My team and I believe that the future of education is not forcing a child to fit into the system but giving parents the instruments to build around the individual needs of the child,” Elliot said. “Our ESA program is guided by that principle, and we believe in [that] mission.”

Applications will be accepted until September 1. Lawmakers who supported the expansion said their goal is to get 5,000 to 10,000 students to participate in the next fiscal year.