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| Indiana School Scholarship Tax Credit Plan | Helping Families Achieve Education Goals | |
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Home - Implementation Info Center
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Information for Schools The purpose of the Indiana School Scholarship Tax Credit (STC)
program is to help low and middle income families access the private or
public school of their choice. Scholarships
would be provided through qualified scholarship granting organizations (SGOs)
to students, who could use them at schools meeting basic eligibility
requirements under the law. ·
Accredited
by national, state or regional accreditation organization approved or
designated as such by the Indiana Department of Education.
Rules are yet to be developed on how exactly and when this will
apply. ·
Must
administer, on an annual basis, the ISTEP+ or another
nationally-recognized, norm-referenced standardized test. ·
Cannot
accept students from an SGO administered by relative of a school employee
or board member. Frequently Asked
Questions What if my school isn’t accredited yet? It is not eligible to enroll STC scholarship students under
this program until it is properly accredited.
The methods and expectations on this question are yet to be
determined as part of the rulemaking and interpretation of the statute by
the Indiana Department of Education. What regulations are going to follow this program? The law doesn’t provide any new regulations for private
schools accepting STC students, other than accreditation and testing
requirements. A private school
can choose not to participate and accept any STC students. Can students currently enrolled at our school receive
scholarships? No, not under this program unless they are already
receiving scholarships through a scholarship program to be qualified as an
SGO. If the student was enrolled in a public school the previous
year or is entering kindergarten. If
the child is already receiving an STC scholarship to attend another
private school, the scholarship is “portable” to another private
school. What if a scholarship child leaves our school? The scholarship will follow them to the new private school
they enroll in. My private school already has a 501(c)(3) foundation in
place. Can it become an SGO? Maybe. If the
foundation is providing scholarships already, is not limited to a
particular school(s), and could be certified by the state it may qualify.
However, until rules are adopted how this might work and a reliable
answer is unclear. What schools could an SGO serve? SGOs cannot serve a particular school or set of schools.
Scholarships are awarded to students, not schools, and students can
choose to move from one school to another.
SGOs may be able to award scholarships to children applying from
particular geographic regions, but the scholarship would follow the child
to the school of their choice – even if the child moves out of the area.
Note that these are questions remaining to be answered in the
rules. Can a donor direct his or her funds to provide scholarships
for kids to attend a particular school or even for a particular student? No. Does this program serve public schools? An SGO can provide scholarships for tuition fees for
children enrolling in public schools outside of their residency.
This is up to the SGO and would only be available in those school
districts accepting transfer students. How can an SGO be created? SGOs must organize as IRS 501(c)(3) organizations and apply
to the Indiana Department of Education for certification as an SGO to
participate. This will all be
determined in the rulemaking and implementation processes.
Assistance to potential SGO organizers will be available in the
weeks and months ahead, with details provided as these initiatives are
developed. How do public schools fit into this? SGOs can provide scholarships to defray the costs of
transfer fees for public school students seeking to transfer to a public
school other than their district of residence. |
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Have Questions?
With the passage of STC only a month old, a number of questions and issues remain to be resolved in the rulemaking and implementation processes. We would be happy to try and answer your questions and plug you into our regular email updates. Please contact Lindsey Brown at School Choice Indiana for more information.
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