Indiana has received an F for public education support from the 2026 Network for Public Education report on Public Schooling In America. The state received 25.5 points out of 102 possible.

That total is down from the 2024 report which gave Indiana 52 points out of 111 possible.

The current report evaluated all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, across four categories: privatization of public education, protections for homeschoolers, school funding and conditions for teaching and learning.

The two states that received A’s were Nebraska and Vermont. 13 states received a B, 13 states received a C, six states received a D and 17 states received F’s. Those who received F’s failed to meet 40 percent of the standards set by the organization for responsible stewardship in pubic education, according to the report.

“These are not states struggling against limited resources; they are states that have made active, sustained choices to abandon their public schools while directing public money toward private alternatives with documented records of fraud, discrimination, and academic failure,” the report states.

The privatization category looks at school vouchers and charter school expansions. Indiana Coalition for Public Education President Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer said the state’s public schools are underfunded because legislators have sent public funding to private schools.

As of May, 19 states, including Indiana, had at least one Education Savings Account program funded by tax credits. These allow families to spend public funds on private educational expenses through a dedicated debit card, according to the report.

Sometimes, these cards are misused; for example, in Arizona about 84,000 cases of misspending were discovered in less than a year.

But Fuentes-Rohwer said these accounts are not what’s damaging to public education in Indiana.

She cited the state’s voucher program, the Choice Scholarship Program, which provides state-funded scholarships to eligible students in grades K-12 to offset tuition costs at participating private schools. She said last year around a half-billion was spent in this way.

“That is the big concern right there. Is a huge amount of money. We don't know where it's going. They're (private schools) not required to show us, and they don't have to take the same kids,” she said.

Additionally, Senate Enrolled Act One includes significant property tax cuts affecting public schools, to the tune of $744 million dollars in the next three years. Fuentes-Rohwer said it’s highly likely that a record number of public-school districts will sponsor referenda to approve tax increases for the public schools in their communities.

“Community members should be asking themselves, why are we having to tax ourselves further on top of what we already are taxed to provide our kids with the public education that is open to all for them to thrive when it is the state's obligation to pay for the education to provide that education,” Fuentes-Rohwer said.

She said defunding affects the teacher shortage, teacher pay and services students need. Indiana also scored low for teacher attractiveness, teacher qualifications, teacher/student ratios and counselor/student ratios.

Some students suffer from mental health or behavioral issues and need support; not having enough counselors means students don’t receive the services they need, she said.

“If we want to provide all children with the things they need, kids with disabilities, you know, children with disabilities, children who are living in, with the effects of poverty, have a lot of needs when they come to school, and those, all of these kids are welcomed into the public school system, and all of those things cost money,” Fuentes-Rohwer said.

She said some schools try to save money by not replacing retiring teachers. This can cause higher class sizes and can cause a child to receive less attention.

She said with the state’s next budget session in 2027, she hopes that people will talk to their legislators and inform them that public schools are their responsibility and should be a priority for a strong economy and strong communities.

“The General Assembly is prioritizing giving money to some of the most wealthy Hoosier families to pay for their private education that's not open to all, over children with special needs, over career and tech programs in the public schools, over all kinds of things that are accessible to all kids,” she said.