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Some Indianapolis families that use private school vouchers could still get a bill upwards of one thousand dollars to cover the remaining cost of their tuition.
The median gap between tuition for private schools within Indianapolis Public Schools borders this upcoming school year and the voucher amount is $1,694, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of tuition rates. The analysis uses the estimated $7,455 each student living within IPS boundaries will receive from the Indiana Choice Scholarship program, and includes five virtual schools.
Families could get the remaining cost covered through other means, such as discounts and scholarships. But the gap underscores that even as more voucher programs nationwide become universal, they don’t necessarily cover all the costs for families that use them. For the first time, Indiana’s vouchers will be available to all families in the upcoming school year, regardless of income.
Critics of the voucher program, which Indiana launched in 2011, argue that it’s deviated from its original purpose of helping low-income families leave struggling schools for a better education. Supporters argue the program helps give families more options and the freedom to choose a school that best fits their child.
The gap between the cost of tuition and the voucher amount does have an effect on educational opportunity, said Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, whose research has found that vouchers or voucher-like programs disproportionately benefit wealthier families in Indiana and other states.
“These programs often times don’t provide enough money for low-income families to afford the types of private education they might want,” Valant said. “For a lot of families, even a couple thousand dollars is a lot to cover in a year to actually bridge that gap.”
Private schools in the area said they bridge the gap for many families through scholarships or other structures that ease the tuition burden.
Chalkbeat’s analysis covers 21 of the 31 voucher-accepting schools in IPS borders that published their latest tuition rates or provided them to Chalkbeat. The remaining 10 schools did not respond to requests for that information. Not all private schools in the area accept vouchers.
Many Catholic schools also offer lower tuition rates for parishioners or families that are part of the archdiocese. Chalkbeat’s analysis used rates for non-church members.
It’s unclear whether the gap between vouchers and tuition for those Indianapolis-area schools has grown recently. But as Indiana’s nominal spending on vouchers increased from $15.5 million in 2011 to $497 million in 2024-25, the gap between per-student Choice Scholarship funding and average private school tuition per pupil also grew.
In 2016-17, the state reported that almost half of all voucher students had their full tuition and fee amounts covered by the voucher. By 2024-25, that figure had dropped to 28%.
For many schools, Chalkbeat’s analysis excludes additional fees — such as those for field trips or technology — which vouchers can also cover. It also excludes other financial aid that families can receive, such as scholarships offered by the school or discounts for enrolling more than one child.
Indiana Choice Scholarship funding is limited to up to 90% of the amount the public school district in which the student resides will receive that year in state tuition support per pupil. That means the voucher amount varies based on where a student lives.
Indiana’s voucher program was initially reserved for students in a household making no more than 150% of the amount needed to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program (in addition to other requirements). In 2011, that was about $60,000 for a family of four, Education Week reported at the time.
Over the next 15 years, lawmakers gradually expanded eligibility for vouchers. Beginning in 2023, for example, families earning up to 400% of the threshold to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch were eligible — meaning that in 2025-26, a family of four could earn up to $237,910 and still receive vouchers.
By 2024-25, over 76,000 students received Choice Scholarships, compared with just over 3,900 in 2011-12.
Within IPS borders, some private schools tap other financial resources so that families don’t pay the full remaining tuition amount, or offer sliding scales to reduce the tuition burden.
Providence Cristo Rey only admits families making up to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines — or a maximum of $80,375 for a family of four. The school is part of the Cristo Rey network, which offers private, Catholic education for underserved families.
The school’s tuition for 2026-27 is $27,900 — meaning the gap between tuition and the Choice Scholarship award for IPS students is over $20,000, the largest such figure in Chalkbeat’s analysis. But the school estimates family contributions will range from only $365 to $2,100. The rest is covered through various scholarships and corporate work-study funding for students.
The Oaks Academy, a network of schools founded in 1998 by a coalition of churches to provide a racially and socioeconomically diverse education, also has a sliding-scale tuition rate based on household size and local median income.
The network relies on funding from Indiana’s tax-credit program — in which individuals make donations to scholarship-granting organizations for private school tuition, in exchange for a tax credit — to fill in some of the gap left between the voucher and tuition cost, said Oaks Academy CEO Andrew Hart.
The voucher program has allowed the network to serve about 800 more students than it would have served otherwise, he said. When Oaks Academy began, the only tuition subsidies available for lower-income families were from philanthropy.
Only about 15% of families pay full tuition, Hart said, while 50% pay a “very small fraction” — some as low as $100 a month.
“Our families have benefited significantly [from] the voucher program,” Hart said. “And now of course starting this year, all of our families will benefit.”
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
Amelia Pak-Harvey, Thomas Wilburn 2026-07-24 11:00:00
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