ESA Is Not OK Advocacy Campaign Toolkit
Ask Indiana Lawmakers to Vote NO on ESAs and Voucher Expansion!
Toolkit Resources
Voucher Talking Points Handout
ESA Talking Points Handout
Appendix to Talking Points
Model School Board Resolution Opposing ESAs and Voucher Expansion
Find and contact your legislator by phone or email
Impact of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program research paper
Press Release: ISBA announces ESA Is Not OK Advocacy Campaign Toolkit
Press Release: ISBA calculates price tag for ESAs, voucher expansion
Press Release: Fact Sheet on Vouchers, ESAs
School Choice Reality Check
ESA Is Not OK!
Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) give selected parents who withdraw their child from public school the equivalent of a taxpayer-funded debit card loaded with 90% of the per-pupil funding that would otherwise go to the local public school district.
Participating parents receive an estimated $5,000 to $7,000 per child per year to spend at their discretion on private school, home school, online courses, tutoring, camps, transportation, textbooks, or any number of private education products and services.
Oppose Voucher Expansion
Indiana lawmakers also want to spend more money on the school voucher program to allow even more families, including some in the upper class, to send their children to private school at taxpayer expense.
Income eligibility would expand to 300% of the federal reduced price lunch threshold, allowing families making more than double and even triple the state's median household income ($57,603) to qualify for a voucher. These high-income families likely already have the means to pay for a private education. Legislation would also make the program more generous by increasing the value of a voucher from 50% to 90% of the state per-pupil funding.
Urge Legislators to Vote No on ESAs and Vouchers!
- Given the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, now is not the time to create a new entitlement program that will drain needed resources away from public schools. Indiana ranked 39th in the U.S. in K-12 public per-pupil spending in 2018, down from 20th among states in 2005.
- Private schools and home schools lack financial transparency and taxpayer accountability. All schools that receive public funds should play by the same rules.
- Peer-reviewed research published in 2018 and 2019 by professors at the University of Notre Dame and University of Kentucky found Indiana's voucher program has not improved student achievement.
- Lawmakers should build on the good budget for public education passed in 2019 by continuing to address the teacher pay gap and funding a tuition support increase that keeps pace with, or exceeds, inflation.
- Public funds should fund public schools, which are open to all children and fulfill a state constitutional duty.
- Choice is already an option for Indiana parents. The state has spent more than $1 billion over the past 10 years on vouchers for children to attend private schools and currently funds more than 100 charter schools. More than 170,000 students take advantage of Indiana's family-friendly public school transfer laws to enroll in a public school district outside their district of residence. Indiana already ensures that Hoosier children are not limited by Zip code.
News & Testimonials
Indy Star: More than half of Indiana school boards oppose choice expansion
Associated Press: School boards push back on voucher expansions
Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education: ESAs risk significant harm to students
Compelling House Education Committee testimony from Carla Schmid, a mother of two, in opposition to HB 1005
Letter from veteran schools attorney Dennis Harrold on why lawmakers must vote NO on education savings accounts
Terre Haute Tribune-Star editorial: House education bill is out of step with Hoosiers
KPC News letter to the editor: Choice bills will have large negative impacts on public education
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette editorial: Choice bill lavishes more money on favored private schools
Terre Haute Tribune-Star editorial: If put to a voter referendum, voucher expansion would never pass
KPC News editorial board: Lawmakers need to choose 'schools' over 'school choice'
Evansville Courier and Press letter to the editor: Choice bills will hurt economy by damaging access to quality education
ISBA President Dr. Robert Stwalley letter to the editor: Who benefits from school choice?
ISBA Executive Director Terry Spradlin letter to the editor: The case against school choice expansion
Approved School Board Resolutions
Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation
Warsaw Community Schools
Fort Wayne Community Schools
Greater Clark County Schools
Paoli Community School Corporation
Lakeland School Corporation
Fairfield Community School Corporation
Silver Creek School Corporation
Jennings County School Corporation
Fremont Community Schools
Lake Central School Corporation
M.S.D. of Warren Township
Zionsville Community Schools
Whitko Community School Corporation
Delphi Community School Corporation
Covington Community School Corporation
Northeast Dubois County School Corporation
Goshen Community Schools
Hamilton Southeastern Schools
M.S.D. of Washington Township
Monroe County Community School Corporation
Wa-Nee Community Schools
Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation
Lafayette School Corporation
Pioneer Regional School Corporation
Jay School Corporation
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation
Clarksville Community School Corporation
Monroe Central School Corporation
Richmond Community Schools
Tippecanoe School Corporation
Randolph Central School Corporation
Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corporation
Anderson Community School Corporation
Rochester Community School Corporation
Kokomo School Corporation
North Harrison Community Schools
Franklin County Community School Corporation
Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation
School City of East Chicago
Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Avon Community School Corporation
Oak Hill United School Corporation
Wes-Del Community Schools
Perry Central Community School Corporation
Kankakee Valley School Corporation
Washington Community Schools
Franklin Township Community School Corporation
Carroll Consolidated School Corporation
Triton School Corporation
Warrick County School Corporation
New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation
Merrillville Community School Corporation
North Spencer County School Corporation
North Newton School Corporation
Alexandria Community School Corporation
Logansport Community School Corporation
Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation
Baugo Community Schools
Cloverdale Community School Corporation
Danville Community School Corporation
M.S.D. of North Posey County
Portage Township Schools
Elkhart Community Schools
Tell City-Troy Township School Corporation
South Adams Schools
Eastern Howard School Corporation
Fayette County School Corporation
Community Schools of Frankfort
Mill Creek Community School Corporation
River Forest Community School Corporation
Wawasee Community School Corporation
Rising Sun-Ohio County Community Schools
Plainfield Community School Corporation
Randolph Southern School Corporation
Area 30 Career Center
South Montgomery Community School Corporation
Cowan Community School Corporation
Smith-Green Community Schools
Madison Consolidated Schools
Sunman-Dearborn Community School Corporation
West Lafayette Community School Corporation
Lanesville Community Schools
Tri-County School Corporation
North White School Corporation
Benton Community School Corporation
Bremen Public Schools
White River Valley School District
North Miami Community Schools
M.S.D. of Mt. Vernon
Westfield Washington School Corporation
South Vermillion Community School Corporation
Mississinewa Community Schools
Yorktown Community Schools
Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation
Clinton Prairie School Corporation
Lebanon Community School Corporation
Greenwood Community School Corporation
Center Grove Community School Corporation
Springs Valley Community School Corporation
Culver Community Schools Corporation
North Gibson School Corporation
Lake Station Community Schools
Garrett-Keyser-Butler Community School District
Decatur County Community Schools
M.S.D. of Bluffton-Harrison
Northwestern School Corporation
Spencer-Owen Community Schools
Scott County School District 2
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation
Madison-Grant United School Corporation
Bloomfield School District
Northern Wells Community Schools
Northwest Allen County Schools
M.S.D. of Wayne Township
Plymouth Community School Corporation
Southwestern Jefferson County Consolidated School Corporation
Union County/College Corner Joint School District
North West Hendricks School Corporation
Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation
North Putnam Community Schools
School Board Letters
Southern Hancock County Community School Corporation
Crawfordsville, North Montgomery, South Montgomery school corporations
Noblesville Schools
Greencastle Community School Corporation
North Adams Community Schools
M.S.D. of Lawrence Township
Indy Star: More than half of Indiana school boards oppose choice expansion
Associated Press: School boards push back on voucher expansions
Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education: ESAs risk significant harm to students
Compelling House Education Committee testimony from Carla Schmid, a mother of two, in opposition to HB 1005
Letter from veteran schools attorney Dennis Harrold on why lawmakers must vote NO on education savings accounts
Terre Haute Tribune-Star editorial: House education bill is out of step with Hoosiers
KPC News letter to the editor: Choice bills will have large negative impacts on public education
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette editorial: Choice bill lavishes more money on favored private schools
Terre Haute Tribune-Star editorial: If put to a voter referendum, voucher expansion would never pass
KPC News editorial board: Lawmakers need to choose 'schools' over 'school choice'
Evansville Courier and Press letter to the editor: Choice bills will hurt economy by damaging access to quality education
ISBA President Dr. Robert Stwalley letter to the editor: Who benefits from school choice?
ISBA Executive Director Terry Spradlin letter to the editor: The case against school choice expansion
Approved School Board Resolutions
Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation
Warsaw Community Schools
Fort Wayne Community Schools
Greater Clark County Schools
Paoli Community School Corporation
Lakeland School Corporation
Fairfield Community School Corporation
Silver Creek School Corporation
Jennings County School Corporation
Fremont Community Schools
Lake Central School Corporation
M.S.D. of Warren Township
Zionsville Community Schools
Whitko Community School Corporation
Delphi Community School Corporation
Covington Community School Corporation
Northeast Dubois County School Corporation
Goshen Community Schools
Hamilton Southeastern Schools
M.S.D. of Washington Township
Monroe County Community School Corporation
Wa-Nee Community Schools
Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation
Lafayette School Corporation
Pioneer Regional School Corporation
Jay School Corporation
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation
Clarksville Community School Corporation
Monroe Central School Corporation
Richmond Community Schools
Tippecanoe School Corporation
Randolph Central School Corporation
Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corporation
Anderson Community School Corporation
Rochester Community School Corporation
Kokomo School Corporation
North Harrison Community Schools
Franklin County Community School Corporation
Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation
School City of East Chicago
Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Avon Community School Corporation
Oak Hill United School Corporation
Wes-Del Community Schools
Perry Central Community School Corporation
Kankakee Valley School Corporation
Washington Community Schools
Franklin Township Community School Corporation
Carroll Consolidated School Corporation
Triton School Corporation
Warrick County School Corporation
New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation
Merrillville Community School Corporation
North Spencer County School Corporation
North Newton School Corporation
Alexandria Community School Corporation
Logansport Community School Corporation
Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation
Baugo Community Schools
Cloverdale Community School Corporation
Danville Community School Corporation
M.S.D. of North Posey County
Portage Township Schools
Elkhart Community Schools
Tell City-Troy Township School Corporation
South Adams Schools
Eastern Howard School Corporation
Fayette County School Corporation
Community Schools of Frankfort
Mill Creek Community School Corporation
River Forest Community School Corporation
Wawasee Community School Corporation
Rising Sun-Ohio County Community Schools
Plainfield Community School Corporation
Randolph Southern School Corporation
Area 30 Career Center
South Montgomery Community School Corporation
Cowan Community School Corporation
Smith-Green Community Schools
Madison Consolidated Schools
Sunman-Dearborn Community School Corporation
West Lafayette Community School Corporation
Lanesville Community Schools
Tri-County School Corporation
North White School Corporation
Benton Community School Corporation
Bremen Public Schools
White River Valley School District
North Miami Community Schools
M.S.D. of Mt. Vernon
Westfield Washington School Corporation
South Vermillion Community School Corporation
Mississinewa Community Schools
Yorktown Community Schools
Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation
Clinton Prairie School Corporation
Lebanon Community School Corporation
Greenwood Community School Corporation
Center Grove Community School Corporation
Springs Valley Community School Corporation
Culver Community Schools Corporation
North Gibson School Corporation
Lake Station Community Schools
Garrett-Keyser-Butler Community School District
Decatur County Community Schools
M.S.D. of Bluffton-Harrison
Northwestern School Corporation
Spencer-Owen Community Schools
Scott County School District 2
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation
Madison-Grant United School Corporation
Bloomfield School District
Northern Wells Community Schools
Northwest Allen County Schools
M.S.D. of Wayne Township
Plymouth Community School Corporation
Southwestern Jefferson County Consolidated School Corporation
Union County/College Corner Joint School District
North West Hendricks School Corporation
Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation
North Putnam Community Schools
School Board Letters
Southern Hancock County Community School Corporation
Crawfordsville, North Montgomery, South Montgomery school corporations
Noblesville Schools
Greencastle Community School Corporation
North Adams Community Schools
M.S.D. of Lawrence Township
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