Claire McInerny, writing for StateImpact Indiana, has an article about a study done by Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy. The study is entitled, “Follow the Money: A Comprehensive Review of the Funding Mechanisms of Voucher Programs in Six Cases (pdf).” Indiana’s voucher program is compared to those in Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, D.C., and Louisiana. McInerny writes:
CEEP researcher Molly Stewart says the report found that Indiana had by far the largest number of students attending private schools using state money that had never attended a public school in the first place.
“More than 50 percent of current voucher recipients in Indiana have not attended a public school in the past,” Stewart says. “That is a huge number.”
Stewart says this number is also so large compared to the other states because Indiana doesn’t have a cap on how many vouchers it gives out. The only limit that exists in the Indiana program comes from available spots in private schools.
According to the report, “in 2014–2015, approximately 80 percent of new students in the Indiana program had no record of attending an Indiana public school.” Indiana, unlike the other states, also does not have fiscal accountability or audit requirements for voucher funds.