ERIC Number: ED560668
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Why Indiana Voucher Parents Choose Private Schools
Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
In 2011, Indiana enacted the broadest school voucher program in the country. In the program's first year, almost 4,000 families used vouchers to attend participating private schools, with the number of students applying for vouchers more than doubling in each of the following two years, to 9,324 students in 2012-13, and 19,809 in 2013-14. The state's other private school choice program, the School Scholarship Tax Credit, also has grown over time, from 978 students in 2011, to 2,890 in 2013. Who is using vouchers and tax-credit scholarships? The latest data from the program's second year are clear. Eighty-one percent of students using vouchers qualified for free and reduced-price lunch. Sixty-six percent came from metropolitan areas, almost half (48 percent) were minority, and 11 percent have special needs. Enrollees chose from among 313 participating private schools, up from 242 in 2011. Why are those parents leaving one school and choosing another school? How important is academic quality, safety, or transportation to their decisions? How easy is it for parents to find the right private school for their child? To assist policymakers to better understand why a parent chooses a different school for their child, a consortium of Indiana organizations--the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, School Choice Indiana, and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice--sponsored and administered a survey of private school parents, including parents who use vouchers and tax-credit scholarships. The result is a first-ever parental satisfaction survey of families using Indiana's school voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs.
Descriptors: Educational Vouchers, School Choice, Private Schools, Tax Credits, Scholarships, Student Characteristics, Parent Attitudes, Child Safety, Transportation, Public Schools, Parent Surveys, Satisfaction, Educational Quality, Institutional Characteristics
Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. Available from: Foundation for Educational Choice. One American Square Suite 2420, Indianapolis, IN 46282. Tel: 317-681-0745; Fax: 317-681-0945; e-mail: info@edchoice.org; Web site: http://www.edchoice.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A