(Oldenburg, Ind.) - An Indiana Senate Committee is postponing a vote on a proposal to expand Indiana’s private school voucher program.

The proposal would remove a requirement that all students who participate in the Indiana School Choice program have at least one year in public school before they can receive the publicly funded voucher. The bill would allow students to forgo the one year requirement as long as they have a sibling who is already participating in the program.

State Senator Dennis Kruse (R-Auburn) is the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He told the Associated Press he’ll wait to see if a similar bill passes the Indiana House before he allows a committee vote on it.

The House version of the legislation completely removes the one-year public school requirement for all students who participate in the voucher program.

Indiana School Choice program supporters say it allows dollars used to educate a child to follow them wherever they attend school. However, critics argue that the program robs public schools of much-needed funding.

Both sides are awaiting an Indiana Supreme Court ruling on the program’s constitutionality.

LINKS:

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