Indianapolis Public Schools Board Commissioners and many IPS community members Tuesday night condemned a recently proposed bill that would dissolve the district and turn all its schools into charter schools.
During the IPS board’s reorganization meeting, where board members elected this year’s board leadership, Board President Angelia Moore began the criticism by reading a statement on behalf of the board strongly opposing HB 1136.
“HB 1136, as currently proposed, threatens to cause massive disruption to our public school system, diverting attention and resources away from the vital education and support our students need to succeed,” Moore said. “This legislation is not student-focused and fails to reflect the community's input on how they envision their public schools thriving. Instead of fostering growth and innovation, HB 1136 risks dismantling the very foundation that supports student success and community collaboration.”
The bill authored by Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, proposes dissolving any school district in which more than 50% of the students attend a non-district school. Under the bill, all the district's schools would transition to charter schools.
The bill would also remove an affected district's elected school board, putting an appointed board in its place.
An estimated 50,000 students live within IPS boundaries and just under two thirds of them attend a school not directly managed by IPS. That number also includes the district's innovation charter schools in which a charter organizer partner with IPS, a relationship that can lead to the use of IPS buildings and resources such as transportation.
Teshka said that he wrote the bill to ensure that students receive the best education possible and as a solution for districts where "the current governance is failing its students.”
In her statement Tuesday night, Moore said the district has already made a concerted effort to collaborate with charter schools in the city, pointing to the district’s innovation network which partners with 24 charter schools.
“IPS has collaborated with stakeholders in recent years to achieve significant milestones that reflect our dedication to student success, staff stability, and innovative educational opportunities,” Moore said. “These accomplishments underscore our commitment to thoughtful collaboration and partnership. IPS now proudly partners with 30 innovation schools, many of which provide additional choices and programming for our families.”
Other IPS community members, including many concerned parents, also spoke out strongly against HB 1136 Tuesday evening, encouraging the IPS board to be loud in opposition to the bill.
In recent years, IPS has shuttered six schools and reconfigured most of its K-8 schools as part of its Rebuilding Stronger plan in an attempt to create more equitable campuses. Parents said further instability after that major overhaul would not benefit kids.
“These communities have generational wealth, and they stand to be shattered in the wake of this legislation,” said IPS School 87 parent Krista Phair. “Please understand that our families are still reeling from the aftermath of Rebuilding Stronger. We’ve been reorganized and promises were made. Rebuilding Stronger shut down schools, the loss of those communities felt cannot be overstated. Don’t let their loss be in vain.”
Even those who have been pushing the district to expand collaborations with charter schools, like Kim Graham, executive director of EmpowerED Families, a parent advocacy group, urged board members to do everything they can to kill the bill.
HB 1136 “represents a significant and potentially disruptive and drastic step to take,” Graham said.
While Graham said she does not want to see the state take over IPS, she noted that 61% of students living within the IPS boundary choose to attend a non-IPS-run school.
“IPS should adopt a proactive leadership approach to respond to the increasing demand for educational choice within the district,” Graham said. “The families of Indianapolis have played an integral role in reshaping our public system, and it is now imperative that the IPS board redesign this system to meet their needs more efficiently.”
Some individual board members also gave brief comments Tuesday night, including newly elected member Gayle Cosby who quoted Indianapolis City-County Council Member Jesse Brown.
“We had to fight to establish free public education, and we're going to have to fight to keep it,” Cosby said. “The public schools are under attack since the inception of this massively popular program. Right-leaning politicians and the lobbyists who pay them have been working to chip away at this public provision of public goods.”
Keep up with school news:Sign up for Study Hall, IndyStar's free weekly education newsletter.
Moore concluded her statement on Tuesday by saying that state legislators need to partner with the district to improve the education system in Indianapolis.
“Imposing solutions without local input undermines the progress and years of collaboration that have propelled our city forward,” Moore said. “Urban education systems face complex, nuanced challenges that may be unfamiliar to some policymakers. We invite legislators who are genuinely invested in public education to visit our district, gain firsthand insight into our unique mission and vision, and work alongside us to ensure sustainable and meaningful outcomes for students, educators, and families.”
While IPS supporters decried the bill, there's no guarantee it will make it into law. House Education Committee Chair Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, said in an emailed statement that he has not decided which bills filed this session will receive a hearing, a necessary first step in a bill's long journey to become a law.
The legislative session starts Wednesday.
Contact IndyStar K-12 education reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter (X): @CarolineB_Indy.