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For families in Indiana, there are several types of schools available to support your child’s education. The Choice Scholarship program enables more families to receive the support they need for optimal school choice in Indiana, ensuring that even more educational options are within reach.
In some cases, yes. Indiana has a policy that allows students the option to choose to attend a school outside of their home district. Note that if you live in Indianapolis, you have to attend school in the district where you live, but the policy lets you choose a school within that district.
The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, also known as the voucher program or choice scholarship, provides eligible students in the state of Indiana with an opportunity to attend private schools, including religiously affiliated schools. This School Choice initiative enables students to use state-funded scholarships instead of attending their assigned public school.
Voucher schools in Indiana are authorized by the Indiana Board of Education to accept vouchers from the Choice Scholarship Program. This program provides families with the opportunity to enroll their children in a participating private school by using all or part of the public funding allocated for their child’s education.
Families are given vouchers that they can use to pay partial or full tuition fees to their child’s private school, using funds that would typically be spent by a school district. Participating private schools include both religious and non-religious options.
Eligibility requires that the student be a member of a household with an annual income of at most 400% of the amount needed for the individual to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program.
These income limits are reviewed and revised annually.
In addition to the income limits described above, students must be between ages 5 and 22 and residents of Indiana.
The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program gives families the freedom to choose the best educational path for their children. It promotes school choice and empowers parents to select schools that match their children’s needs, aspirations, and values.
If a parent or guardian can’t provide any income documentation, the school will ask them to complete the Household Summary Form and an optional Income Assurance Form. The forms include a space for a detailed explanation of the situation.
The Indiana Choice Scholarship has two application periods. The first period is for the entire school year, while the second is for the second half of the school year. The award amount for the second period is half that of the first. For 2024-2025, the first period is from March 1st to September 1st, 2024. The second period is from November 1st, 2024, to January 15th, 2025.
A student must reapply annually and show that they continue to meet scholarship requirements.
The average voucher value in Indiana for the 2022-2023 school year was $5,854, which is approximately half the average expenditure per student in district schools. Vouchers are limited to 90% of state expenditure.
Applications for the second period are intended for students enrolling in a Choice School after the first-period deadline has passed. This award is meant to cover the second half of the school year, and as such, the amount awarded for the second period is half of what the student would qualify for in the first period. See above regarding deadlines.
You can find a list of schools on the Indiana Choice Scholarship Participating Schools page.
Yes! The Indiana Choice Scholarship can be used toward tuition at faith-based private schools.
Schools participating in the Indiana Choice Scholarship program must be recognized by the Indiana Department of Education and meet certain criteria.
Parents are responsible for any tuition and fees beyond the Choice Scholarship award. Some schools offer financial aid or payment plans to assist with remaining tuition.
Yes. The Choice School must meet with the student’s parent(s) within 10 days of enrollment to determine the student’s special education needs. The school must then develop a Comprehensive Special Education Plan (CSEP) and get the parent’s written consent to implement it. The CSEP must be implemented as written.