Overview
- The ILEA presented two school governance models that would reduce the elected IPS board’s authority: a compact advisory board spanning IPS, the mayor’s office and charters, or a stand-alone Indianapolis Education Authority with a possible secretary of education role.
- Separate options for transportation and facilities range from a voluntary collaborative service that schools pay into to independent authorities that could collect property taxes and direct operations.
- Key mechanics remain unsettled, including who appoints members, whether new bodies would levy taxes or authorize charters, how charter-owned buildings and the $1 IPS building law would be handled, and whether transportation would be mandatory.
- Parents, students and educators at this week’s listening session voiced broad skepticism, warning the plans add bureaucracy without addressing safety, mental health and reliable busing.
- A final vote is set for Dec. 17 after another public session on Dec. 15, the group must file recommendations by year-end, and state legislators signal they may craft a 2026 bill with differing views on transportation rules, authorizers and the $1 law.