A bill to create an appointed board to oversee district and charter schools in Indianapolis would unfairly dilute electoral power, critics said during a House hearing Monday, while supporters said it would ensure shared accountability and transportation for all students.
House Bill 1423 largely adheres to recommendations the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance submitted in December that would give power over taxes, buildings, and transportation for IPS and charter schools to the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, which would consist of nine members appointed by the mayor.
The alliance’s recommendations would drastically change Indianapolis schools and reduce the power of the elected IPS school board, and could be replicated in school districts across the state facing declining enrollment and logistical challenges.
The four-hour hearing before the House Education Committee hearing marks the latest phase of state and local officials’ push to remake Indianapolis education, which started with the creation of the ILEA last legislative session and continued with the task force’s meetings in the second half of 2025. While those meetings, especially the final vote, were at times heated, testimony during Monday’s hearing was routine.
The bill doesn’t specify how the new corporation will distribute property tax funds to districts and charter schools, or how it will gain control of buildings that are financed by debt. Lawmakers still have to work out those details, said Rep. Bob Behning the bill’s author and chair of the House Education Committee.
However, Behning said the corporation will control — and eventually own — all district and charter buildings. The corporation will also determine a formula to distribute property tax funding.
The bill also doesn’t act on a recommendation from ILEA to increase funding for students with disabilities whose education is provided by IPS at a budget deficit. Lawmakers are unlikely to address that issue in a short session when they don’t discuss a state budget.
At the House committee hearing, supporters of the bill said it would create a shared system of accountability as well as a shared transportation system that would allow students to attend the school of their choice.
“I see students spending hours commuting, families struggling to coordinate rides, and young people missing opportunities simply because reliable transportation is not guaranteed,” said Ma’at Lands, founder and executive director of Rooted School Indianapolis, a charter school.
But dozens of speakers on Monday said the bill would significantly dilute the power of the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board, and that the ILEA ignored overwhelming support for an elected body to oversee schools.
Courtney Hawk, an Indianapolis parent, said she did not vote for an appointed board.
“If they raise my property taxes, I can’t vote them out. I can only hope that the mayor replaces them,” she said of the appointed board. “This violates a fundamental democratic principle: No taxation without representation.”
Bill significantly increases Indianapolis mayor’s power
Should the bill pass, the Indianapolis mayor could begin appointing members to the new corporation board immediately, but would have to do so by June 1.
Rep. Vernon Smith, a Democrat, questioned the idea of giving the Indianapolis mayor the power to appoint all nine members of the corporation board — a comment that earned applause from several people signed up to testify.
The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation would not oversee township school districts. Critics of the bill also said it would leave Center Township families with less electoral power than those in the other 10 school districts in Indianapolis.
“We don’t have a performance crisis that justifies stripping power from voters,” said parent Megan Hise, citing academic growth and graduation rates. “We have a success story that deserves stability and investment.”
But ILEA facilitator Michael O’Connor, who presented the bill at the hearing, said giving the mayor power over transportation, facilities, and uniform accountability “gives people a place to hold them accountable.”
Under the bill, the mayor would also be one of only three entities with the power to authorize charter schools. That’s led to concerns from representatives of Education One, the authorizing arm of Trine University, as well as charter school leaders and GOP Rep. Becky Cash, who said during Monday’s hearing that schools serving students with disabilities often have outside authorizers.
O’Connor said the ILEA frequently heard criticisms that there are too many charter authorizers, contributing to a lack of coherence in the system of education in Indianapolis.
More funding for students with disabilities unlikely
In presenting the recommendations to the House Education Committee, O’Connor said the bill was a faithful reflection of the recommendations of the ILEA — other than addressing the organization’s request for additional funding for students with disabilities.
IPS currently operates its special education program at a deficit of tens of millions of dollars, officials have said. Charter schools would like to continue using district services for their students, O’Connor said.
“Charters would like to utilize what is a very well-run special education program within IPS,” he said. “We believe that it is fair and equitable that that be fully funded, and be a service that could be provided by IPS, but it needs to be better funded by the state.”
But since lawmakers won’t pass a state budget this legislative session, they might be reluctant to discuss such a funding change.
A bill by Democratic Rep. Tonya Pfaff, who sits on the House education committee, calls for a comprehensive study of special education service costs to the state, schools, and families. But it’s unclear if the bill will get a hearing, Behning said.
Supporters like shared accountability for schools, buses, taxes
Speaking in support of the bill, IU Indianapolis student Kelin Peraza-Argueta said the legislation would offer a shared accountability system for schools — something that was missing when she searched for a school for her nephews.
“There were so many questions we had and so many unanswered, and we had no clear way to see which school would be best for them,” she said.
Democratic Rep. Ed DeLaney said the bill also creates oversight for charter schools that now receive or will soon receive property tax revenue under recent legislative changes. It also limits the number of charter authorizers and exempts Indianapolis schools from the $1 building law.
“I don’t see it as a perfect solution, but you’ve got to get to the core problem that generates this bill,” DeLaney said.
During testimony, Democratic Rep. Cherrish Pryror asked whether the city of Indianapolis would now be liable when IPS or charter schools are sued. The new layer of government would make it difficult for parents to know who they should go to with concerns, she said.
“I fear that if this were to go into effect, what we’re really doing is setting up IPS for failure, and it’s going to artificially lead to IPS being worse,” said Rep. Cherrish Pryor during testimony. “And if that happens, the legislature has to own it.”
Behning said the bill would not come back to the committee this week. The committee is meeting again Wednesday. The deadline for bills to pass the full Indiana House before heading to the Indiana Senate is Jan. 29.
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