Database: How much money private schools get in Indiana's voucher program

Indiana’s taxpayer-funded private school voucher program was launched 13 years ago. In the 2023-24 academic year, a record number of students used the program to help cover or pay the tuition at private parochial or non-religious schools.

Enrollment in the program was 70,095 students — a 31 percent increase compared to the previous year. The state paid $439 million in tuition grants to private parochial or non-religious schools — 40 percent more than in 2022-23, according to a state report.

The program provides up to 90 percent of the amount that a voucher student’s public school corporation of legal settlement would receive if the student enrolled in a public school district. Those public funds are used to cover tuition and fees, or go toward the cost of attending a private school. Last school year, the average actual grant amount was $6,264.

In past years, students were required to meet income eligibility and one of eight eligibility tracks to qualify for Indiana's Choice Scholarship and. A 2023 law repealed most requirements for students, such as previous enrollment in a public school, and it allows upper-income families to use public money to help pay for a private-school education.

A family of four making $222,000 qualified for the Choice Scholarship Program in the 2023-24 school year  — that’s 400 percent of federal free or reduced-price lunch eligibility.

For the 2024-25 school year, a family of four can earn up to $230,880 to receive a voucher, according to Indiana Department of Education guidelines.