For months, IPS school board members have remained somewhat quiet about their personal views for what changes they think a new group should make to Indianapolis education.
This month, however, board members have begun to show signs of where they stand as the trustees consider drafting recommendations for the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance to review.
The alliance was created by state lawmakers this year to explore ways to improve access to public schools, including charter schools, within IPS boundaries. The group, led by Mayor Joe Hogsett, is expected to bring recommendations for policy changes to state and local officials by the end of the year.
IPS trustees discussed their stances in a public board meeting Tuesday, Sept. 23. Their conversation came less than a week after Scott Bess, leader of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, penned a column for IndyStar calling for a restructured IPS district where all schools are charter schools.
Bess, who also sits on the Indiana State Board of Education, suggested every school should be run by nonprofits and governed by their own school board with IPS’ involvement lessened to coordination of transportation and facilities.
It’s a model similar to that of New Orleans’ public school system — the first city in the nation to move to a network of entirely charter schools. The district there only operates one of its own schools directly today.
While Bess’ column didn’t address what role the IPS Board of Commissioners should play, a majority of the nine-member board expressed an interest in preserving an elected school board to oversee Indianapolis schools.
Commissioner Deandra Thompson, however, said she would be open to establishing appointed positions with legal or financial expertise to serve alongside elected members. (Charter school boards in Indiana are generally appointed and not decided by voters.)
Four IPS trustees said they’d prefer some consolidation of charter school authorizers — the groups responsible for academic and fiscal oversight of charter schools. Most charter schools in Indianapolis are overseen by one of three authorizers: the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, the Indiana Charter School Board or Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
And, two IPS board members — Nicole Carey and Hope Duke Star — said they’d like to see a pause on opening new charter schools at least in the near term as public officials consider changes to Indianapolis schools.
“We talk about facilities that are underutilized, but we also have (situations like) opening some schools and another school closes,” Star said during the board’s meeting. “I don’t feel like the adults who are all supposed to be taking care of these kids are being accountable to that conversation.”
Different views for the future IPS
Those comments came following an extensive discussion by the board during a mid-September work session. IPS officials have also given schools tours this month to several prominent Republican lawmakers, including Indiana Senate President Pro-Tempore Rod Bray and Rep. Jake Teshka — the education committee member from northern Indiana who authored legislation this year aiming to dissolve IPS.
Thank you to Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore, Rodric Bray, for his visit to @IPSPotter74 and @harshman_ms today! We enjoyed the opportunity to share about the great things happening in our schools! pic.twitter.com/d32TlurZxK
— IPS (@IPSSchools) September 24, 2025
Thank you to Representative @jaketeshka for spending time and learning more about IPS schools today. We were pleased to host him at @Nicholson96IPS and @EnlaceAcademy. pic.twitter.com/b6ko88Px3b
— IPS (@IPSSchools) September 16, 2025
Meanwhile, at the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s September meeting, advocates with the charter-friendly group Stand for Children presented a petition with more than 2,000 signatures backing their nonprofit’s vision for IPS’ future.
Stand’s plan calls for a governance model with a streamlined central office and separate boards for every school. A partially elected IPS board would serve as the city’s only charter school authorizer.
RISE INDY and EmpowerED Families — two other education nonprofits that have supported charter school families — also attended the alliance’s Sept. 24 meeting. Their representatives spoke specifically to the challenges parents face getting their kids to school every day.
What to know about the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance:
- Indy is home to dozens of traditional public and charter schools. Some have advocated for years for a simplified system.
- State lawmakers threatened to step in this year. One wanted to dissolve IPS and convert the district into charter schools.
- IPS advocates pushed back and compromised with the creation of the new group. It will study facilities, transportation and finance. Recommendations are expected by the end of the year.
Some called on the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance to consider a new transportation sharing pilot program that has the support of 50 Indy private and charter schools.
“Transportation should never stand in the way of a student attending the right school for them,” said Alma Estrada who attended with EmpowerED Families. “This complex issue requires a collaborative approach to achieve practical solutions.”
Indianapolis Local Education Alliance work picking up
This all comes at a time when the alliance’s work is picking up.
Michael O’Connor, a consultant with Bose Public Affairs hired to provide project management services to the alliance, announced the creation of two task forces this week — one for transportation and one for facilities.
The task forces will be made up of alliance members and are expected to meet in October. Those meetings will now be open to the public, O’Connor said.
The consultant expects each task force will report back to the full Indianapolis Local Education Alliance during a public meeting in November.
That meeting has yet to be scheduled, O’Connor told Mirror Indy this week. But, it’ll come in addition to the alliance’s previously scheduled Nov. 19 meeting. By statute, the alliance must present its final recommendations by Dec. 31.
See the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s website for more information about upcoming public meeting dates.
An update was made on Sept. 26, 2025: This story has been updated to add comments made by Commissioner Deandra Thompson during a Sept. 25 school board meeting.
A correction was made on Sept. 29, 2025: A photo caption has been updated to correctly state Tobin McClamroch’s position as partner of the firm Dentons.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
