The number of students attending private schools with state voucher funding increased last year in both Lake and Porter counties, according to data in the Indiana Department of Education’s recent Choice Scholarship report.
The report showed 6,823 Lake County students used vouchers in the 2024-25 school year, a 506-student increase over 2023-24.
In Porter County, 1,420 students used vouchers, a 302-student increase from the previous year.
Joe Puchek/Post-Tribune
Andrean High School in Merrillville, pictured in August 2020, received $2.7 million through Indiana’s school voucher program for the last school year. (Joe Puchek/Post-Tribune)
The local rate mirrors a rise in state participation as well, but it’s not as dramatic as in past years. Data showed it rose 8.5% this year, compared to about 32% last year.
About 76,000 students sought vouchers last year statewide to a record 357 religious, non-religious, or private schools, while about 982,000 students attended school in their local public school districts.
Indiana’s Choice Scholarship program began in 2011, under former Gov. Mitch Daniels, to enable low-income students in poor-performing districts to access higher-performing private schools with a state subsidy. Eligibility requirements were based on federal free lunch guidelines for the initial $15.5 million program.
Daniels’ successor, Mike Pence and Republican legislative majorities, escalated the voucher program dramatically.
Today, most of the students who use vouchers have never attended public schools and next June, income requirements will be totally removed after legislation passed this year. The move toward universal eligibility was a priority of Gov. Mike Braun’s legislative agenda.
Republicans latched onto the voucher program, seeing it as a win for their constituency, while Democrats and teacher unions have criticized it for a lack of academic and financial accountability. They say it’s undermining funding support for traditional public schools.
More than 50% of Indiana’s budget goes to education.
Last year, the state spent $497 million on vouchers, $58 million more than in 2023-24.
The report cites the average award at $6,536, but the average tuition costs for private schools rose to $8,368.
A white, female elementary-aged student represents the average voucher user, according to the report. She lives in a metropolitan area in a household with more than four people with an income of $102,842.
White students make up 64% of voucher users, while participation from Black (9%) and Hispanic students (18%) remained about the same.
In recent years, enrollment in the Diocese of Gary’s 20 Catholic schools has jumped by double digits because of the voucher program.
Last year, Bishop Noll High School in Hammond attracted 578 students, and it received $4,213,856 in state funding.
Noll ranked as Lake and Porter counties’ top school in state funding, followed by Crown Point Christian at $4,179,007, Highland Christian at $3,329,407 and Andrean High School at $2,728,340.
In Porter County, Victory Academy, in Valparaiso, received $2,211,765, followed by Portage Christian at $1,497,207.
The School City of Hammond, the largest district in Lake and Porter counties, saw $11.7 million awarded in vouchers to students within its legal settlement area.
To read the report, see: https://www.in.gov/doe/files/2023-2024-Annual-Choice-Report.pdf.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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