Student Population Served

• Indiana's public charter schools serve a diverse group of children. 66% of charter school students qualify for the federal Free/Reduced lunch program; 71% of the state's charter school students are members of an ethnic minority.¹

• Overall, Indiana's 65 public charter schools serve more than 26,000 students. Two thousand five hundred and thirty (2,530) of these are students with special needs.¹

Demand

• Student enrollment in Indiana public charter schools has doubled in the past 3 years.⁴

• More than 3,500 students sit on waiting lists for a seat in an Indiana public charter school. In fact, more than 900 students are on the waiting list of Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (Gary), and more than 650 wait for a seat in the new Excel Center (Indianapolis).⁴

Satisfaction with Charter Schools

• Nearly six out of seven parents – over 85% – report being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their child’s public charter school. ²
  

Support for Charter Schools

• Indiana residents support charter schools. Indiana voters are far more likely to favor charter schools than to oppose them (66% support; 16% oppose). In fact, those respondents who said they “strongly favor” charter schools outnumber those who say they “strongly oppose” by a four-to-one ratio.³

• Support is strong in all parts of the state: Marion County (80%); Hamilton (72%); Floyd (70%); Elkhart/St. Joseph, Vanderburgh, Vigo (69%); Allen (67%); Lake (64%).³

• Urban voters express the strongest support for charter schools (75%); Suburban (73%); Rural (64%); Small Town (60%).³

• African American voters express the strongest support for charter schools (77%) while two-thirds of white voters favor charter schools.³

For more information, contact:
Indiana Public Charter Schools Association
407 Fulton Street Suite 301 • Indianapolis, IN 46202 • 317/972-5880
Russ Simnick, President