BLOOMINGTON—In early March, the U.S. Department of Education issued a new set of proposed regulations on charter schools. They would, among other things, require analysis of the socioeconomic effects of the charter school, reporting on schools contracting with outside organizations and a community impact analysis. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education (ICPE) has called on Hoosiers to sign a petition in support of these items. State Senator Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) issued the following statement:

“I hope to see Hoosiers support ICPE’s call to action. While many charters have important and lasting positive impacts on students and communities, there are also many that provide insufficient education, are financially unstable, or, in extreme cases, are completely fraudulent. To ensure quality and stability in our children’s education, we need to regulate charter schools as well as we do any of our traditional public schools.

“Hoosiers can also make comments on the proposed legislation on the Federal Register—I hope to see citizens of our state use their voices to advocate for high-quality education for all Indiana students.”