Indiana school voucher program expands to 15,000 vouchers for 2012-13 school year

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)  - The Indiana voucher program has expanded for the 2012-2013 school year.   The number of vouchers available has doubled to 15,000.  There were only 7,500 available during the 2011-2012 school year.

The Indiana Department of Education said a little more than 3,900 vouchers were used statewide this past school year.  That amount is a national record.

"The first year of the program, our Lutheran schools really kind of dipped their toe in," Mark Muehl, the director of the Lutheran Schools Partnership, said.  "They really didn't dive in to the extent of some of the other schools.  Some of that was due to the timing of the passing of the legislation.  So this year will be a big difference."

The Lutheran Schools Partnership is made up of 18 schools in the region.  Of those schools, 17 are elementary schools, the other school is Concordia Lutheran High School.

"Kids who had not been participating in Lutheran schools in the past, now have the option to be there," Muehl said.  "There has been a lot of good stories that came along with that.  We were very pleased with how the program operated, both from an administrative standpoint, as well as the opportunities that came for the parents and the kids."

"We're getting to a point in education where, for a lack of better word, schools are having to compete," Adam Baker, a communications specialist for IDOE, said.  "And they are stepping up to the challenge."

IDOE calls the voucher program "choice scholarship."

"Parents are using this choice scholarship," Baker said.  "They are seeing it as an opportunity to give their children a broader, so to speak, more diverse education."

In order to be eligible for the program, there are guidelines a student must meet.  IDOE's website says a student must:

• be an Indiana resident
• be accepted for enrollment into a participating school that is located in Indiana
• be between the ages of 5 and 22 no later than August 1 of the school year
• live in a household at or below the household income limits

Any parent who received a voucher last year, and wants to use one again this school year, must re-apply for a voucher, to make sure the family still meets the income guidelines.

The student must also have one of the following:

1. Have been enrolled in a public school for one year, or
2. Received a choice scholarship, or another scholarship granting organization (SGO) in a previous school year

To see the list of schools participating in the voucher program click here.

So far, 5,000 of the 15,000 vouchers have been claimed for the 2012-2013 school year.  There will be no cap on the number of vouchers given out for the 2013-2014 school year.