Our statement on the final Indianapolis Local Education Alliance recommendation vote

The Mind Trust applauds Mayor Hogsett and the members of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance (ILEA) for recommending bold, structural changes that create the conditions for a high-quality and sustainable education system for all public school students within Indianapolis Public Schools’ (IPS) boundaries. 

We are particularly pleased that the ILEA is recommending the creation of an independent facilities and transportation corporation. Separating the education of students from the management of real estate and transportation is a nationally unique innovation that The Mind Trust has long supported. This approach will expand access to transportation for thousands of students, ensure that facility access is tied to school quality, and create a path to full funding parity by ensuring capital funds are available to charter schools that opt in. 

We also thank ILEA members for recognizing the need to safeguard school autonomy by ensuring that IPS and charter schools maintain their governing boards and by including multiple independent charter authorizers in the recommendations. This autonomy is rightfully paired with a recommendation to create a common accountability system so that all public schools, regardless of type, are held to a high standard. 

As we now look toward supporting the codification of these recommendations into state law, we acknowledge the need for continued refinement of the details of the plan, including the composition of the board of the new independent facilities and transportation corporation. We also acknowledge that, in addition to this plan, IPS must move with urgency to operate more efficiently to avoid insolvency.

The courage displayed tonight by ILEA members who voted for these bold recommendations should be commended. These civic leaders put politics aside and created a trailblazing roadmap that could set our city’s schools on a path of transformation. We thank them for their service to students, families, and our community.