Indiana Non-Public
Education
Association
Legislative Liaisons
Orientation & Training
December 4, 2013
INPEA
• Who we are
• Who we serve
• Our focus
Why Legislative Liaisons?
• Building a grassroots infrastructure
• Raising our collective voice
• Engaging and mobilizing private school
communities for private school issues
• Supporting new legislative initiatives and
protecting past successes
Engaging in Public Policy
• Advancing our Mission
• Protecting our Independence
• Advocating for School Choice
• Engaging in State Legislation and Regulation
Processes
• Supporting legislation that benefits private school
students
• Opposing legislation/regulation that could be
harmful to our schools and students
• Providing a face and voice for Non-public schools
and issues in Indiana
LL: Roles and Responsibilities
• Work with School Administration on Public Policy
Issues
• Educate & Engage your local school community in
public policy issues affecting private schools
• Communicate INPEA public policy issues/alerts to
your school community (parents & faculty &
staff)
LL: Roles and Responsibilities
• Help educate your parent community about
particular public policy issues(e.g. parent
meetings, school newsletters)
• When necessary and possible encourage
involvement in statehouse rallies or legislative
committee hearings
• Share the private school perspective on issues
with your elected representatives or public
school representatives (write/call/attend
hearings) and encourage others to do the same.
• Set school goals for public policy engagement
• Develop a communication plan for public policy
issues/alerts
Legislative Liaisons
School Head
ADVOCACY
Legislative Victories
• Choice Scholarship Program
• Voucher Program:
• Expansions (Improvements)
• Sibling access
• F school access
• Special education access
• Program Growth
• 2011-2012: 3919 students & 16 million dollars
• 2012-2013: 9300 students & 38 million dollars
• 2013-2014: 19809 students & 78 million dollars (est)
• Scholarship Tax Credit Improvements
• HUGE – No prior year public requirement
The Choice Scholarship Program
Choice Scholarship Program Enrollment
25000
Choice Scholarship Enrollment
19,809
20000
15000
10000
9,324
5000
3,919
0
2011
2012
2013
Enrollment Year
2013 number provided by DOE as number of applications received
The Choice Scholarship Program
Number of Participating Schools
320
313
Number of schools
300
289
280
260
240
242
220
200
2011
2012
Year
2013
The Choice Scholarship Program
Letter Grade Comparison (2012)
80%
All Schools
70%
Percentage of Schools
68%
66%
Public schools only
60%
Non-public schools
50%
Participating voucher schools
40%
41%
37%
30%
20%
20% 21%
20%
22%
17% 17%
10%
9% 10%
12% 12%
5% 5%
7% 8% 2% 2%
0%
A
B
C
Letter Grade
D
F
The Choice Scholarship Program
Schools at or above 90% Passing Both Subjects
40.0%
Percentage of Schools
35.0%
37.3%
37.5%
Non-public schools
Voucher schools
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
15.9%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Public schools
Student Population
School Choice Messaging
Pointers
 School Choice is not about private schools; it’s about
families and children and giving them opportunities to be
successful.
 School Choice will not destroy public schools. In states
with active school choice programs, public schools have
improved.
 Private Schools that participate in school choice
programs will not lose their autonomy.
 School Choice Programs can save the State money.
INPEA & School Choice Indiana can be of assistance when
dealing with media.
2013 Legislative Priorities
2014 is not a Budget Year
• Protect against increasing regulation!
• Protect and Expand the Voucher & Scholarship Tax
Credit Legislation
• Protect our recent advances!
• Add a Kindergarten entry point in the voucher
program
• Encourage support of early childhood education
funding (e.g. preschool) in ways that include private
providers
2013 – 2014 INPEA Initiatives
• Protect against increasing regulation/reporting
• Support Choice Schools to ensure quality with an
increasingly diverse student demographic
• Support Choice Schools with implementing special
education initiatives
• National School Choice Week (Jan. 26 -Feb. 1)
• School Choice Day at the Legislature: Feb. 12
• Improve Non-Public School Grassroots Efforts
• Improve Legislative Liaison Program
• Encourage schools to set engagement goals
• Be prepared to protect and engage!
Important clarifications
• Legislation vs. Regulation/Rule vs. Administration
• Legislation occurs in the General Assembly
• Rule for education law is developed by either
the State Board of Education or Department of
Education
• Administration is the responsibility of the
designated state agency (in many cases IDOE
for education issues but not always)
Immediate Homework
• Develop (if needed) a legislative communication
plan with your school head for the 2014 General
Assembly Session.
• How to get alerts to the school community
• Plan ways to educate parents about the
importance of engaging in public policy as well
as about specific issues
• Assessing level of parent engagement
• Work with school head to set school goals for
legislative engagement (e.g. participation in
events/activities, number of legislator contacts)
Partner Organizations
• School Choice Indiana (HEGN)
• Indiana Catholic Conference
• Friedman Foundation
• American Federation for Children
• Great Schools
• And others
2014 HEGN Field Managers
Regions and Contact Info
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jon Callaway
Northern Indiana
708-670-5543
[email protected]
Kent Martin
Central Indiana
317-498-1469
[email protected]
Sarah Milligan
Southern Indiana
812-272-7216
[email protected]
Web sites
• INPEA
www.inpea.org
• INPEA Legislative Action
http://capwiz.com/inpea/home/
[email protected]
• School Choice Indiana
www.schoolchoiceindiana.org
• Friedman Foundation
www.edchoice.org
• School Voucher Information
www.myschoolvoucher.com
www.doe.in.gov/schoolchoice
• Indiana General Assembly
• http://www.in.gov/legislative/index.html
Indiana Faces of Choice
This year in Indiana
there will be well over
20,000 faces of Choice!
INPEA
Indiana Non-Public Education
Association
John Elcesser
Executive Director
1400 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-236-7329
[email protected]