INDIANAPOLIS | A first-of-its-kind study issued this month is expected to frame next year's legislative debate surrounding the funding of charter schools, though it might not have the answers either side wants.
The 180-page report, published by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University, contains a wealth of information about the alternative schools state lawmakers authorized seven years ago in an attempt to foster innovation.
But the study doesn't declare a winner in the partisan feud regarding whether charter schools outperform traditional public schools academically, concluding there is "no practical difference." And the authors don't declare whether charter schools deserve more or less public funding.
"People have staked out black and white positions, yet the reality exists in shades of gray," said Jonathan Plucker, director of the IU center that published the report. "Some of the things I thought I knew about charter schools turned out to be things I needed to reconsider, and we hope this evaluation has that effect on others."
Charter schools, which enjoy greater curriculum freedom than public schools, started in Minnesota in 1992 and came to Indiana a decade later. The Hoosier state now is home to 49 charter schools, including eight in Gary and one each in East Chicago and Schererville.
The IU study found that racial minorities, primarily black students, account for 70 percent of enrollment in Indiana charter schools, which are clustered in urban areas. Students there pass achievement tests at rates within a few percentage points of statewide averages for public schools.
"I haven't seen the report, but they are not making the significant difference that they were envisioned to do," said state Rep. Vernon Smith, a Gary Democrat who serves on the Indiana House Education Committee. "The bottom line is that they're not producing."
Legislators agreed to spend $100,000 on the charter school study last year after Smith led unsuccessful attempts to place a moratorium on new charter schools and restrict funding. Smith said he plans to revive those efforts when the General Assembly reconvenes next month.
Indiana school districts spent $11,043 per pupil last year, the study found, while charter schools averaged $9,279. But because charter schools don't receive funding for transportation or facilities, those facilities spent about $2,000 more per child from their general funds.
Smith contends students who transfer to charter schools -- taking a year of public funding with them -- often return to their public schools the same year, resulting in a funding loss for their home districts. But the IU study determined that students who transfer to charter schools remain at those facilities an average of two years.
The state currently conducts a student headcount early in the year for the purpose of divvying up education funding. Smith wants to institute a second attendance tally later in the school year so that charter schools stop receiving funding for students who transfer.
That fine, so long as the second headcount also determines funding for all public schools, said state Rep. Robert Behning, the top Republican on the House Education Committee. Behning, of Indianapolis, strongly opposes attempt to curtail the formation of new charter schools, saying lawmakers shouldn't limit the education opportunities available to parents.
"There's significant parental satisfaction," Behning said, pointing to one of the study's conclusions. "The one thing I think any educator will tell you is if a parent is pleased with their child's education and involved in their child's education, the student will do better. That's something I believe was pointed out many times over."
