1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

House Bill 1136 poses a grave threat to traditional public schools in Indiana, particularly in urban areas like Indianapolis and Gary. The proposed legislation would force schools where 50% or more students live outside the district to convert to charter schools. This misguided bill seems intended to divert funds away from public schools and undermine the very existence of urban public education. The instability of the charter school model is deeply concerning. Charters can dissolve at any time, leaving students stranded mid-year. Moreover, the state has already lost $154 million to fraud committed by online charter schools last year alone. Funneling more taxpayer dollars into this unstable system would be financially reckless. Public schools remain the choice of many parents, yet this bill disregards their wishes. It proposes a simplistic solution to the complex challenges faced by urban districts while jeopardizing these communities' access to quality public education. The disproportionate impact on majority-minority areas cannot be ignored. Indiana's children deserve better than the dismantling of their public school systems. This bill undermines educational opportunity and must be rejected to uphold every community's right to robust public schools. A reimagining of public education funding and policy is needed, not a short-sighted privatization scheme that has proven ineffective elsewhere. Hoosier students' futures depend on investing in and strengthening traditional public schools, not abandoning them.