Amy Noel chose Indianapolis Public Schools last year.
Her youngest son has ADHD and receives special services to help with his learning. Noel said she found that the staff at Merle Sidener Academy 59 understood her son’s needs better than the teachers at his former school in a nearby township district.
So when she heard about a legislative proposal to dissolve IPS, she was scared about what that would mean for her son. He had just settled into his new school.
“There is so much uncertainty,” Noel told Mirror Indy. “What happens to schools? Are some of them going to close? Is my kid going to have to move to a different school?”
She’s one of the dozens of parents who have crowded meetings to testify in support of their kids’ schools amid a flurry of legislation that would drastically change IPS. One bill would have converted IPS’ buildings to charter schools. Another seeks to reduce school funding to lower property taxes. And a third could require districts like IPS to share property tax collections with charter schools.
Some lawmakers said the proposal to dissolve IPS was only a bargaining chip to get the district to come around on property taxes sharing. Advocates for the change say it would bring fair funding to charter schools for building maintenance and transportation needs.
But all of the legislation has hit IPS parents like a political tetherball — spreading uncertainty at a time when families were just settling into changes brought by a recent redistricting plan. The IPS effort, called Rebuilding Stronger, closed some schools and redistributed programs in an attempt to grow access to arts, athletics and academic offerings. Now, those very programs could be at risk.
Parents aren’t the only ones concerned. A coalition of Black business owners and community leaders have also pushed for answers to questions about how IPS and charter-friendly organizations had talked about the proposals outside the Statehouse.
Windi Hornsby, an IPS parent, worries her kids’ dual language immersion program at Theodore Potter School 74 could go away if state lawmakers continue advancing some of the legislation.
“It’s terrifying for us,” Hornsby said. “We know that there are kids thriving there and doing well. It’s just really scary.”
Windi Hornsby, the parent of an IPS student, testifies in opposition to SB 518. Credit: Photos by Jenna Watson/Mirror Indy 
JaVaughn Hardaway testifies in opposition to SB 518. 
Chelsey Thompson, principal at William Penn Middle School, testifies in opposition to SB 518. 
Chelsea Humble testifies during a meeting of the Indiana Senate committee on tax and fiscal policy. 
Danielle Shockey, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, speaks during a meeting of the Indiana Senate committee on tax and fiscal policy. 
Mind Trust CEO Brandon Brown testifies in support of SB 518.
Parents feel caught in the middle
Thousands of parents like Hornsby are now left wondering whether their school will be among those that IPS officials say they might need to close if a bill authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, passes.
Rogers’ bill proposes dividing property taxes between school districts and the charter schools in their boundaries. IPS officials testified that legislation introduced this year, along with other incremental sharing of funds, could cost the district $174 million.
That could lead to school closures, transportation cuts and staff reductions, according to IPS officials.
“This legislation forces IPS, already operating on tight budgets, to spread resources even thinner,” IPS Commissioner Allissa Impink testified in February. “While supporting all schools is a noble goal, this bill does not create new funding. It simply divides existing resources, leaving many of our schools with less.”
There were signs ahead of this legislative session that lawmakers may push school districts like IPS to share money with charter schools.
At the urging of charter school supporters, the IPS board of commissioners passed a resolution last summer saying it would collaborate with all types of schools, including charters.
Charter school parents also have spoken regularly at IPS school board meetings and have asked the district to work together in ways that would support their children’s transportation needs. (Some charter schools provide transportation. Others do not.)
But the proposal to convert all IPS schools to charters came as a shock to many. And further rhetoric — including an opinion column titled “Let Indianapolis Public Schools die” written by a major donor of the charter friendly nonprofit, RISE INDY — has created confusion and anger among IPS families.
RISE INDY leaders have distanced the organization from that donor, writing in a public statement that they were surprised by the column and that it doesn’t reflect the nonprofit’s beliefs.
Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, who carried the dissolution bill, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews sent through a spokesperson.
IPS appears to be safe for now from that particular threat. Teshka’s bill never got a committee hearing. Still, IPS parents like Megan Alderman say they feel caught in the middle of a fight at the Statehouse.
“I just feel like the tactics are just so low,” said Alderman, a parent of two students at Mary Nicholson School 70. “These bills are so extreme and so fear-mongering that it just seems completely inappropriate.”
Indiana bills that could affect school funding
IPS officials say they’re watching several bills this legislative session that could bring substantial changes to the district’s funding and operations.
Senate Bill 1 – Property tax relief
A priority bill for Senate Republicans, this legislation seeks to provide relief to homeowners by introducing a new tax deferral program and amending existing property tax caps. Local government units, such as schools and city governments, have expressed concern for how this could affect their budgets.
Status: In the House Ways and Means Committee
Senate Bill 518 – School property taxes
This bill proposes dividing property tax revenue between districts, such as IPS, and charter schools. The tax sharing would phase in over three years beginning in 2028. This bill passed out of the Indiana Senate with a 28-21 vote.
Status: In the House Ways and Means Committee
House Bill 1136 – School corporation reorganization
This bill sought to dissolve school districts, including IPS, and convert them to charter schools. The change would have only applied to districts where more than 50% of students attended school outside their assigned district’s boundaries. The bill wasn’t heard in committees this session.
Status: Dead
Transportation drives property tax debate
Supporters of the property tax sharing bill say it comes from a place of wanting to make sure charter schools get fair funding. More than half of public school students living in IPS boundaries attend charter schools.
“It is simply unacceptable to me that a student who chooses a different public school than the one to which they are geographically assigned should receive thousands less in educational funding annually,” Rogers said during a February committee hearing.
While the legislation has the potential to affect districts across Indiana, Indianapolis has, by far, the most charter schools in the state. It’s also home to an unusual structure of school partnership in which IPS keeps contracts with some area charter schools. The district provides a mix of facilities maintenance, food service and transportation support to its charter school partners.
IPS has agreements with 25 of the approximately 50 brick-and-mortar charter schools in the area. A dozen of those schools receive transportation services at the district’s expense.
But bus routes for all of those kids — IPS students and those of the charter partners — could be at risk. IPS administrators have said as many as 55 routes, affecting thousands of students, could be cut if property tax legislation moves forward.
“Because there are currently no limitations on the number of new charter schools that can be opened in our boundary,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson testified last month, “the dollars will continue to be more and more splintered until every school gets something but no school gets enough.”
Some families say IPS is their choice
Rogers, a longtime advocate of charter schools, answered a few questions from Mirror Indy after a February committee meeting.
She said her message to IPS parents worried about instability is that they should send their kids wherever they think they’ll get the best education — including charter and private schools.
“We want this in the hands of parents to make that choice,” Rogers said. “That’s why we have charter schools, because parents wanted a different opportunity for their children’s education.”
That explanation didn’t sit well with several parents who remain concerned that the Statehouse and charter lobbyists are driving that instability through legislation as extreme as outright dissolution of IPS.
Kristen Phair, who sends her three kids to George Washington Carver School 87, said she disagrees with the idea that directing money away from IPS opens up more options for families.
“That certainly eliminates my choice to choose a school that is run by a school district and a school board that’s publicly accountable,” said Phair, who helped organize a new IPS parent coalition.
Rogers’ property tax sharing bill advanced out of the Indiana Senate last month by a vote of 28-21. It’s now being reviewed by the House Ways and Means Committee. Nearly twice as many speakers showed up for a hearing on the bill March 5 to oppose it than to offer support.
Among the many adults in the room — parents and teachers included — were several students. Shortridge High School teens shared how IPS supported them. They all spoke about their school’s competitive International Baccalaureate program — the only of its kind in Center Township — and how it’s helped them grow academically.
“Even the fact that we’re considering this,” Shortridge Senior Zakariya Abdulbari testified. “We’re considering taking away one of the greatest opportunities for students in Marion County or even reducing the funding in such an area permanently — it’s honestly shameful to me.”
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.
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