So-Called “School Choice” pulls money away from public schools and the students they serve. Private and charter schools do not have an obligation to accept the public equally. Now that these vouchers are given as tax credits without means-testing, they are frequently just a tax break for the rich, on an expense that they already would make.

Public money should benefit all Hoosiers – today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

“Knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government; it shall be the duty of the General Assembly … to provide, by law, for a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.” – Article 8, Sn 1, IN Constitution

Instead of providing more efficient funds to our schools, the Republican-led statehouse has stripped funding away from school districts instead, and marketed this as tax breaks.

School choice vouchers and funding cuts are an abandonment of our constitutional duty to educate our children.

Hungry students can’t learn

School lunch should be free for all students. It’s the right thing to do, and it benefits the state – as much as doubling our money in terms of economic activity generated by families that no longer feel the pain at the lunch line!

Treat our teachers with the dignity they deserve

Teacher pay needs increased, and not just the starting salary. The experienced teachers need to be recognized for their dedication to our students. When public schools have better pay, they get and keep better teachers. We are letting our kids down when they have teachers who have to choose between paying their rent and buying supplies for their classrooms.