Signed by Governor Mitch Daniels, Jr.

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that establishes a school voucher program.

Highlights:

• Limits the number of school vouchers awarded to 7,500 for the school year beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012, and 15,000 for the school year beginning July 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2013 (Sec. 10).

• Limits the amount of a voucher to which an eligible individual is entitled to the lesser of the following (Sec. 10):
• The sum of the tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance at the eligible school;
• $4,500, if the eligible individual is enrolled in grade 1 through 8; or
• An amount equal to:
• 90 percent of the state tuition support amount if the eligible individual is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program; or
• 50 percent of the state tuition support amount if the eligible individual is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program.

• Defines "eligible individual" as an individual who (Sec. 5):
• Has legal settlement in Indiana;
• Is at least 5 years of age but less than 22 years of age;
• Has been or is currently enrolled at an accredited school;
• Is a member of a household with an annual income of no more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program; and
• Was either:
• Enrolled in grade 1 through 12 in a school that did not charge the individual tuition for at least 2 semester preceding the first semester the individual received a voucher; or
• A student who received a voucher in a preceding school year.

• Defines "eligible school" as a public or nonpublic elementary school or high school that (Sec. 6):
• Is located in Indiana;
• Requires eligible individuals to pay tuition;
• Voluntarily agrees to enroll an eligible individual;
• Is accredited by the state Board of Education;
• Administers Indiana statewide testing for educational progress; and
• Is not a charter school.

• Limits eligible individuals to 1 voucher for each school year, and specifies that if the eligible individual leaves the eligible school for which he or she was awarded a voucher and enrolls in another eligible school, the individual is responsible for the payment of any tuition required at the new school for the remainder of the school year (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that if the number of applicants for enrollment in an eligible school under a voucher exceeds the number of vouchers available to the eligible school, the eligible school must draw recipients at random in a public meeting (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits scholarship granting organizations from limiting the availability of scholarships to students of only 1 participating school (Sec. 9).

• Requires eligible schools to provide instruction on certain topics including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 10):
• "Honesty", "morality" and "courtesy";
• "Respect" for parents and the home;
• The "dignity" and necessity of "honest" labor;
• The importance of taking "personal responsibility" for earning a livelihood;
• Mathematics;
• Histories of Indiana and the United States, including a study of the Holocaust and the role religious "extremism" played in the events of September 11, 2011;
• "Respecting" the property of others; and
• Health education, physical fitness, safety, and the effects of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and other substances on the human body.

• Prohibits eligible schools, charter schools, and public schools from doing any of the following (Sec. 10):
• Instructing students in the violent overthrow of the government of the United States;
• Performing content-based censorship of American history or heritage based on religious references in a document or record; or
• Punishing a student or reducing a student's grade because he or she referred to certain documents including, but not limited to, the United States Constitution.

• Prohibits any state agency from regulating the educational program of nonpublic eligible schools that accept a voucher under this act including, but not limited to, the regulation of curriculum content, religious instruction or activities, and teacher and staff hiring requirements (Sec. 10).

• Requires each eligible school, public school, and charter school to grant the Department of Education full access to its premises for observing classroom instruction and reviewing any instructional materials and curriculum (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes a taxpayer who makes an unreimbursed education expenditure to claim a tax deduction of $1,000 for each dependent child for whom the taxpayer made education expenditures, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010 (Sec. 1).

• Limits a husband and wife to 1 deduction per dependent child (Sec. 1).

• Limits the total amount of tax credits awarded under this act to $5 million per fiscal year (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a school voucher program.

Highlights:

• Limits the number of school vouchers awarded to 7,500 for the school year beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012, and 15,000 for the school year beginning July 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2013 (Sec. 10).

• Limits the amount of a voucher to which an eligible individual is entitled to the lesser of the following (Sec. 10):
• The sum of the tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance at the eligible school;
• $4,500, if the eligible individual is enrolled in grade 1 through 8; or
• An amount equal to:
• 90 percent of the state tuition support amount if the eligible individual is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program; or
• 50 percent of the state tuition support amount if the eligible individual is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program.

• Defines "eligible individual" as an individual who (Sec. 5):
• Has legal settlement in Indiana;
• Is at least 5 years of age but less than 22 years of age;
• Has been or is currently enrolled at an accredited school;
• Is a member of a household with an annual income of no more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free lunch program; and
• Was either:
• Enrolled in grade 1 through 12 in a school that did not charge the individual tuition for at least 2 semester preceding the first semester the individual received a voucher; or
• A student who received a voucher in a preceding school year.

• Defines "eligible school" as a public or nonpublic elementary school or high school that (Sec. 6):
• Is located in Indiana;
• Requires eligible individuals to pay tuition;
• Voluntarily agrees to enroll an eligible individual;
• Is accredited by the state Board of Education;
• Administers Indiana statewide testing for educational progress; and
• Is not a charter school.

• Limits eligible individuals to 1 voucher for each school year, and specifies that if the eligible individual leaves the eligible school for which he or she was awarded a voucher and enrolls in another eligible school, the individual is responsible for the payment of any tuition required at the new school for the remainder of the school year (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that if the number of applicants for enrollment in an eligible school under a voucher exceeds the number of vouchers available to the eligible school, the eligible school must draw recipients at random in a public meeting (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits scholarship granting organizations from limiting the availability of scholarships to students of only 1 participating school (Sec. 9).

• Requires eligible schools to provide instruction on certain topics including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 10):
• "Honesty", "morality" and "courtesy";
• "Respect" for parents and the home;
• The "dignity" and necessity of "honest" labor;
• The importance of taking "personal responsibility" for earning a livelihood;
• Mathematics;
• Histories of Indiana and the United States, including a study of the Holocaust and the role religious "extremism" played in the events of September 11, 2011;
• "Respecting" the property of others; and
• Health education, physical fitness, safety, and the effects of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and other substances on the human body.

• Prohibits eligible schools, charter schools, and public schools from doing any of the following (Sec. 10):
• Instructing students in the violent overthrow of the government of the United States;
• Performing content-based censorship of American history or heritage based on religious references in a document or record; or
• Punishing a student or reducing a student's grade because he or she referred to certain documents including, but not limited to, the United States Constitution.

• Prohibits any state agency from regulating the educational program of nonpublic eligible schools that accept a voucher under this act including, but not limited to, the regulation of curriculum content, religious instruction or activities, and teacher and staff hiring requirements (Sec. 10).

• Requires each eligible school, public school, and charter school to grant the Department of Education full access to its premises for observing classroom instruction and reviewing any instructional materials and curriculum (Sec. 10).

• Authorizes a taxpayer who makes an unreimbursed education expenditure to claim a tax deduction of $1,000 for each dependent child for whom the taxpayer made education expenditures, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010 (Sec. 1).

• Limits a husband and wife to 1 deduction per dependent child (Sec. 1).

• Limits the total amount of tax credits awarded under this act to $5 million per fiscal year (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a school voucher program.

Highlights:

• Increases the amount of tax credits that may be awarded for donations to a scholarship-granting organization by $10 million in each fiscal year that the total amount of tax credits awarded in the immediately preceding fiscal year equaled at least 90 percent of the maximum amount permitted to be awarded in the immediately preceding state fiscal year (Sec. 6).

• Limits the amount of tax credits that may be awarded for contributions to public school foundations in a fiscal year to 25 percent (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that any student who is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than 150 percent of the amount required for the individual to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program is eligible to receive a state-funded choice scholarship to be used for paying the costs of tuition and fees at a public or private school that charges tuition (Sec. 7).

• Limits the number of choice scholarships that may be awarded per school year before June 30, 2013, according to the following schedule (Sec. 12):
• 7,500 for the school year beginning July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012; and
• 15,000 for the school year beginning July 1, 2012, and ending June 30, 2013.

Full Bill Text