Anne Kelly, The Indy Channel
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana has taken the top spot in a report that focuses on school voucher programs.
The 18-page report released this week from the Center for Education Reform looks to answer one question: Why are so few families across the country taking advantage of school voucher programs?
The programs allow parents to choose what school they want their child to attend and have the state pay for it. The report shows just 10 percent of available vouchers are actually being redeemed.
The report looks at two dozen voucher programs in 14 states and found Indiana is doing the best job in terms of providing a voucher program that is accessible, empowers parents and reaches students in need.
Nearly 20,000 children in Indiana take part in voucher programs, but the report says Indiana needs to grant private schools more autonomy.
Indiana made the No. 1 spot in the list of states included in the report, nabbing an “A” grade. The other states’ rankings and letter grades they received were:
- Ohio: A
- Wisconsin: A
- Washington D.C.: B
- North Carolina: B
- Arizona: B
- Louisiana: C
- Florida: C
- Georgia: C
- Oklahoma: C
- Colorado: C
- Utah: C
- Mississippi: C
- Vermont: D
- Maine: D