Name: Schools that don’t offer in-person instruction could lose funding, top lawmaker says
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Schools that don’t offer in-person instruction could lose funding, top lawmaker says

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Indianapolis StarPublic schools that do not offer an in-person education option could see their budgets slashed, despite prior assurances from Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state leaders that they would be fully funded.Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray sent a letter to school leaders Thursday – after dozens of districts around the state have already started&nbsp;— to offer “a bit more clarity” about state funding. Only public schools offering in-person instruction or both in-person and virtual options are likely to be fully funded, he said in the letter obtained by IndyStar.&nbsp;Schools offering only virtual instruction should plan on operating under the state’s current funding policy, Bray said, which only funds students that receive half or more of their instruction online at 85% of traditional students. Indiana funds schools on a per-student basis, so the policy would mean that school districts offering only virtual instruction would receive about $850 less per student than they were expecting.“That is the law today,” he said in an interview with IndyStar Thursday evening.Dozens of school districts around the state had already started their school years by the time they received Bray’s letter – some of them virtually.More than 30 districts are planning to start their school years online, according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick. They stand to lose millions of dollars.McCormick is now calling on Gov. Eric Holcomb to hold a special legislative session and “honor the promise he made to Hoosier children to provide sustainable funding to K-12 schools.”Gov. Holcomb’s office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.Study Hall: Bray said he was not in favor of a special session.“The point of my letter was to say we’ll try and make sure schools doing their best,” he said,&nbsp;"to get back into the school (building) will be funded at 100%."For some, it’s unclear when that will happen.The Indianapolis Public Schools board approved last week a plan to offer only virtual instruction until at least October. IPS is the state’s largest school district. If&nbsp;it&nbsp;were to not return to school buildings this year and be held to the state’s current policy, it could lose more than $27 million.The district did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.Other Central Indiana districts also stand to lose. Washington Township, Pike Township and Hamilton Southeastern schools are all starting the year without an in-person option. The township districts are looking at losses around $9 million and HSE could leave more than $18 million on the table if it didn’t reopen. Requests for comment from those districts were not returned Thursday.The Indiana State Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers union, on Friday called on lawmakers to fully fund and support public schools.&nbsp;"Sen. Bray’s letter to superintendents on school funding doesn’t create clarity, it creates confusion at a time when school districts are doing all they can to protect educators, students and members of their communities," said Keith Gambill, ISTA president. "The law Bray references wasn’t intended for traditional public schools offering remote instruction temporarily during a pandemic – and he knows it. Now is not the time for state leaders to be divisive and play politics."The state law at issue was intended to apply to virtual charter schools, which were knowingly created to offer a full-time online learning option. That’s a different ballgame than brick-and-mortar public schools that happen to be offering an online-only program this year, in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Many of their fixed costs – including buildings, buses and staffing – don’t change, even if the delivery model does.Virtual students used to be funded at 90%, but saw a cut to 85% last year as scrutiny intensified over academic performance and management of virtual charter schools.The cut only applies to the state's foundation funding, which is the flat rate that schools get for every student. It is supposed to be about $5,700 this year. Schools get additional dollars for students who come from low-income households or require special services.Schools across the state had been concerned about this law early in the summer as families, not ready to send their kids back into schools in the midst of the pandemic, clamored for an online option. In June, though, Holcomb said he would support fully funding all students enrolled in public school districts, regardless of whether they attend school in person or online.Doing so would take legislative action, but two top budget writers in the Indiana General Assembly said earlier that&nbsp;day in June&nbsp;that they, too, were supportive of such action. Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, said he would support a one-year waiver to fully fund all students enrolled in public school districts. So did Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, his counterpart in the House.“As it pertains to per-student funding, I am in favor of fully accommodating schools that have students who would otherwise be attending school in-person, but given the unknowns due to the pandemic situation, may need to attend virtually,” Mishler said at the time. “As such, I support fully funding those students for this year as we wait to see what the full ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be as it pertains to our schools.”That commitment, though, only extends to districts that are offering families both an in-person and virtual option, Bray said in his letter.“State leaders have said we favor fully funding students whose families choose virtual instruction this year dur to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “I believe there is a strong appetite for making that change.“However, there is not guarantee such an exception will be made for schools that don’t give families the option of in-person instruction in a school building.”The letter leaves a lot of unanswered questions about how the policy will be implemented. The law was written to apply to fulltime virtual schools, which knew they would be offering only online instruction for the entire year.The public school districts that are operating entirely online right now aren’t in the same position. All have said they hope to get back to in-person instruction at some point this year. When and if that happens, though, will largely depend on how the pandemic progresses in Indiana.The state recorded its on Thursday.On Thursday night, Bray said he wasn’t sure how it would apply to schools that operate fully online for a quarter, or a semester.And the law could still apply to schools that want to open, but aren’t allowed to because of requierements from their county health departments.In Elkhart County, a coronavirus hot spot, . Marion County has set positivity rate thresholds to determine how schools may operate. Middle and high schools can only operate at 50% capacity until the rate drops below 6%. It is currently 9.3%, according to data released by the Indiana State Department of Health. The county’s positivity rate hasn’t been below 6% in a month and the number of confirmed daily cases has tripled since that time.Bray said these are all questions that lawmakers didn’t contemplate when they wrote the current law and will have to hash out when the legislative session starts in January. But, right now, schools that aren’t offering in-person instruction should plan to be funded as current law dictates.“The statute says 85%,” he said.The White House has been urging both K-12 and higher education institutions to reopen for in-person instruction, with President Donald Trump going so far as to call for the withholding of federal funds for those that don’t reopen. Bray said his letter was not meant to pressure schools to reopen.But there are concerns it could do just that.“Penalizing districts who cannot offer onsite instruction,” McCormick said,&nbsp;"leads to dangerous decision making."She added that she and other school officials were “extremely disappointed” in the letter.“The fluidity created by this pandemic has already added undue burden to districts who are focused on establishing and maintaining safe learning environments for students and staff,” she said. “A potential 15 percent cut per pupil is not sustainable at a time districts are working hard to create multiple learning platforms.”Most districts around the state are offering both in-person and online options.This story will be updated.Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at . Follow her on Twitter: .

Indianapolis StarPublic schools that do not offer an in-person education option could see their budgets slashed, despite prior assurances from Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state leaders that they would be fully funded.Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray sent a letter to school leaders Thursday – after dozens of districts around the state have already started&nbsp;— to offer “a bit more clarity” about state funding. Only public schools offering in-person instruction or both in-person and virtual options are likely to be fully funded, he said in the letter obtained by...

Schools that don’t offer in-person instruction could lose funding, top lawmaker says

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