School choice booming in Indiana, even in rural areas

The Christian Academy of Indiana draws students from 56 ZIP codes in the southern part of the state, Chalkbeat reports, with some parents traveling as far as 30 miles because their counties lack private schools.

The school’s enrollment has risen from 700 in 2021 to more than 1,200 today, and many students are using Choice Scholarships, the state’s main school choice program. The scholarships have expanded in recent years and will become fully universal in 2026.

School choice is highly popular, but some critics say it disproportionately benefits urban and suburban students. A Chalkbeat analysis found 30% of the state’s counties do not have a registered private school.

That number, however, may not include homeschool co-ops and microschools, where students often register as homeschoolers but meet together one or more times per week for learning and activities.

Microschools are exploding

Microschools have grown rapidly, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, when shutdowns prompted families, both religious and nonreligious, to form smaller “learning pods.”

These schools, which typically meet in a church, home or local business, serve families that want private education but lack access to a traditional private school, or prefer the scale and flexibility of smaller groups.

Microschools have become so successful that one Indiana public school district is starting its own.

The Eastern Hancock School Corp., about 30 miles east of Indianapolis, plans to create multiple schools of 20 to 75 students in partnership with the new Indiana Microschool Collaborative.

“Your child deserves something smaller, more personalized, and built around real relationships,” the collaborative’s website says. “At Indiana Microschool Collaborative, your child isn’t one of hundreds. They’re deeply known, supported, and given the freedom to learn in ways that work best for them.”

District Superintendent George Philhower, who created the collaborative, said parents increasingly want schools tailored to their children’s needs.

“Our vision is that every kid should get to go to a school that feels like it was designed just for them,” Philhower said. “We think we can create that.”

Indiana has the third-most microschools in the country after Arizona and Florida, which lead nationally in school choice. In both states, roughly half of students are educated outside their zoned public schools. Many choice options there are public, including charter schools, open enrollment and specialized public-school programs, joining the many private school choice options.

School choice in rural areas

Some critics question how useful school choice is for rural residents without nearby schools. But Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa and others show choice can foster an ecosystem that benefits all students, supporters say.

Indeed, school choice is spreading rapidly, including to states such as Idaho and Wyoming that have a large number of students in rural areas.

The more parents are empowered to choose their children’s school, advocates argue, the more options will emerge to compete for their enrollment and funding.

Indiana provides school choice participants about $8,100, which can be used for tuition, homeschooling or other education-related expenses.

All parents want choices, advocates say, and supply rises to meet demand.

Lawmakers have already created a voluntary pilot program that allows public or private schools to open in various locations, which could boost the number of new schools started.

The nonprofit Drexel Fund also reports “an explosion of interest from potential new private schools” after Indiana expanded its school choice program in 2023.

Programs such as SchoolBox of the Herzog Foundation, publisher of the Lion, have helped launch hundreds of Christian schools, microschools and homeschool co-ops in the last three years. Some launch in a matter of months; others take a year or more to plan and start.

While some warn public schools could close if enrollment falls, Alli Aldis of school choice advocate EdChoice argues more options are better for everyone.

“If people have stronger educational options, more choices, that only strengthens the community,” she said.