Given that full-time Islamic schools in the state of Indiana rely, at least in part, on the voucher program, Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network (IMAN Associates) ran an assessment of the current status and the future of the voucher program in the next 5-10 years. It reached the conclusion that major changes are highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. We may see some movement toward additional transparency and increased accountability, especially in response to specific problems that may arise in the future.
The biggest player in this space is Hoosiers for Quality Education. Their strength in affecting change to the statehouse is demonstrated by their monetary contributions. Last year, HQE’s political action committee contributed more than half a million dollars to Republican legislative campaigns, including $100,000 to the House Republican Campaign Committee and $50,000 to the Senate Majority Campaign Committee. The biggest contributors to HQE’s PAC are Al Hubbard, Fred Klipsch, Christel DeHaan and the American Federation for Children Action Fund, which was organized and funded by the DeVos family.
The New Jersey-based Education Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center are two influential advocates who have been calling for policy refinement in the voucher program. They have combined resources for litigation, advocacy, and research efforts focused on voucher programs in states across the U.S., including Indiana. The campaign is called Public Funds Public Schools. However, the group does not have any specific plans for Indiana at this point.
In the unlikely event that Democrats regain control of both the Indiana House and Senate, it would not be surprising to see legislation that would decrease access to vouchers and impose additional requirements on private schools that accept vouchers. These changes could include capping the funds available for vouchers, raising the income threshold, increasing accountability and transparency, prohibiting employment discrimination for persons in same sex marriages, and requiring private schools that accept vouchers to be ADA compliant. The list of potential changes will be less expansive if Democrats regain control of only one chamber and would more likely be limited to changes that affect the school funding formula. The Democrats’ ability to effect change would be strengthened in both scenarios above if they also regained the governor’s office. However, if both the House and Senate remain in Republican control while the Democrats regain the governor’s office, substantive change to the voucher program is unlikely to happen given the fact that a gubernatorial veto may be overridden with a simple majority.
The biggest player in this space is Hoosiers for Quality Education. Their strength in affecting change to the statehouse is demonstrated by their monetary contributions. Last year, HQE’s political action committee contributed more than half a million dollars to Republican legislative campaigns, including $100,000 to the House Republican Campaign Committee and $50,000 to the Senate Majority Campaign Committee. The biggest contributors to HQE’s PAC are Al Hubbard, Fred Klipsch, Christel DeHaan and the American Federation for Children Action Fund, which was organized and funded by the DeVos family.
The New Jersey-based Education Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center are two influential advocates who have been calling for policy refinement in the voucher program. They have combined resources for litigation, advocacy, and research efforts focused on voucher programs in states across the U.S., including Indiana. The campaign is called Public Funds Public Schools. However, the group does not have any specific plans for Indiana at this point.
In the unlikely event that Democrats regain control of both the Indiana House and Senate, it would not be surprising to see legislation that would decrease access to vouchers and impose additional requirements on private schools that accept vouchers. These changes could include capping the funds available for vouchers, raising the income threshold, increasing accountability and transparency, prohibiting employment discrimination for persons in same sex marriages, and requiring private schools that accept vouchers to be ADA compliant. The list of potential changes will be less expansive if Democrats regain control of only one chamber and would more likely be limited to changes that affect the school funding formula. The Democrats’ ability to effect change would be strengthened in both scenarios above if they also regained the governor’s office. However, if both the House and Senate remain in Republican control while the Democrats regain the governor’s office, substantive change to the voucher program is unlikely to happen given the fact that a gubernatorial veto may be overridden with a simple majority.