Tag Archives | Mitch Daniels

Interest spiking in Indiana voucher program

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On July 14, 2011 in Catholic education, Education and Public Policy, General, Parental Choice, School Choice

While a group of educators and clergy are challenging Indiana’s voucher law in court, more than 125 schools have submitted applications to participate in the program, according to The Associated Press.

About 80 have been admitted to the program, considered one of the most sweeping voucher efforts in the nation which will initially allow a limited number of low- and middle-income families to use public money toward private school tuition. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the voucher program into law in May.

Meanwhile, Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese Schools Superintendent Mark Myers says his organization “has been flooded with calls from parents hoping to obtain vouchers,” reports Fort Wayne’s The Journal Gazette.

“The target is to admit 25 students in each building or about 1,000 new children in grades K-12 this summer,” Myers wrote in an article for Today’s Catholic News, the diocese’s official publication. “If this goal is reached, the diocese would receive just fewer than 14 percent of the total number of vouchers awarded by the state in 2011.”

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Indiana’s Mitch Daniels on education reform

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On May 5, 2011 in Charter Schools, Education and Public Policy, General, Parental Choice, School Choice

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is planning to sign two sweeping education bills into law today — one that will create the nation’s most expansive school voucher program, another aimed at expanding charter schools. During a talk yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute, Daniels said that no longer will Indiana “incarcerate any family’s kid in a school that they don’t believe is working, having tried it for at least one full year.” That portion of his talk is below. The full hour-long discussion can be found here at AEI’s Web site.

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Indiana’s expansive voucher bill heads to governor’s desk

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On April 27, 2011 in Charter Schools, Education and Public Policy, General, Parental Choice, School Choice

From the Evansville Courier & Press:

INDIANAPOLIS — Two key planks of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ education reform platform cleared their final legislative hurdles Wednesday and are now headed to the Republican governor’s desk.

The Indiana House of Representatives approved measures Wednesday afternoon that would ease the process of opening new charter schools and launch the nation’s most broad private school voucher program.

Their passage comes as the Republican-led General Assembly enters its final two days, and despite opposition from Democrats in the House who at one point fled to Urbana, Ill. for five weeks to block progress on the education bills and others.

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Indiana Senate passes voucher bill

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On April 21, 2011 in Education and Public Policy, General, Parental Choice, School Choice

From The Associated Press:

The Indiana Senate has approved a plan to create the nation’s most expansive school voucher program.

The Republican-ruled Senate voted 28-22 Thursday to advance the bill, which is the most contentious part of GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels’ extensive education agenda. The bill allows parents to use some of the tax dollars that would normally be sent to public schools at private schools instead.

Families of four making up to about $60,000 a year would qualify. The program would be limited to a fraction of the state’s students – just 7,500 for the first year and 15,000 in the second.

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