The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance (ILEA) is set to vote on its final recommendations for the future of public school governance, transportation, and facilities on December 17. Between now and then, there’ll be two more listening sessions on the 10th and the 15th to allow for final public input. 

The most recent ILEA meeting narrowed down options in each area to just two. So here’s what will be up for a vote on the 17th. 

Governance Options for IPS and Charter Schools

Two options remain on the table for school governance. Either an advisory board or an education authority. Carly Lanich at Mirror Indy posted a very helpful flow chart to understand both governance models in this recent piece. I’ll also quickly break each down. 

Option 1: Advisory Board

This option creates an advisory board made of IPS appointees, mayoral appointees, and charter school appointees. This new board directly receives property taxes that then get distributed to IPS and charter schools (which somewhat complicates the fact that charter schools can finally receive property taxes under recent legislation, but we’ll set that aside for now). The IPS board still exists under this option, as would independent charter school boards, but they would all now report to the advisory board (now also considered a charter school authorizer). The mayor’s Office of Education Innovation (OEI) could continue operating as a second authorizer.

Option 2: Education Authority

The second option creates an education authority, overseen by an appointed secretary of education. The authority would be a nine-member body of mayoral appointees, with four of them coming from the IPS board (which would remain elected). Meanwhile, OEI remains a charter authorizer while the Indiana Charter School Board could be a second authorizer (or at least an outlet for charter appeals).

There’s subtle distinctions here but honestly not much room between the two proposals. One creates slightly more layers and distance between the mayor and school governance (the education authority, with the secretary of education position). And it’s unclear how many charter authorizers will remain at the end of the day in either circumstance. But it does, as so much news coverage has been framed, reduce the existing IPS board’s authority.

Transportation and Facilities Options for IPS and Charter Schools

I’m combining this section rather than tackling them separately because the possibilities are essentially the same for both. Either a “collaborative compact advisory board” or an independent authority. 

The one wrinkle that remains worth calling out is on the transportation end, where the advisory board option could position IPS as the transportation provider for both its schools and charter schools. Innovation Network and charter schools would pay IPS for transportation services (similar to what many Innovation Network schools already do). 

The Alternative Traditional Public School Advocates are Pushing For

The options above have been a non-starter for a coalition of traditional public school advocates, currently helmed by the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America.

Instead, they’ve laid out their own proposal, which centers the existing IPS board as the sole charter school authorizer and manager of transportation and facilities. For another helpful flow chart for how this shakes out, check that Mirror Indy link above.

The ILEA, however, is not considering this option. At least not formally given their vote to advance the current recommendations that remain on the table. That makes it mostly moot. I say mostly, because none of the ILEA’s recommendations are binding. They are just that: recommendations. Now, given the body was created by the Indiana legislature (with a Republican super-majority), I fully believe the legislature will take up their formal recommendations and advance them in one or more bills in the next session.

But nothing the ILEA hands down is a done deal. Which I suppose is the angle traditional public school advocates are playing, even if it’s a long shot. 

Still, right now, just two options remain. And a final decision looms on the 17th.