Changes are happening in IPS. Here’s what you need to know for the 2024-25 year

Indianapolis Public Schools consolidated bus routes as part of a larger effort to save money and increase efficiency.
*Eric Weddle / WFYI*

Students in the Indianapolis Public School district are back in class. For 2024-25, there are a handful of changes in the district that could affect families. Here are six things to know:

Closed schools reopen

The buildings of two high schools that were closed by IPS despite community opposition reopened as part of a broader district overhaul that includes grade reconfigurations.

Broad Ripple Middle School, which will serve grades 6-8, and operate in the old Broad Ripple High School building that at one point served grades 6-12. Broad Ripple High School closed in 2017. Purdue Polytechnic High School’s north campus is also based at the building as part of a district partnership with the charter school operator.

Thomas Carr Howe IB World Middle School is at the former Howe Community High School in Irvington. That building hasn’t been occupied since 2020 when it was closed following the end of the state’s intervention at the school.

Transportation

The district consolidated bus routes as part of a larger effort to save money and increase efficiency. Bus routes are mostly based within four enrollment zones intended to provide all neighborhoods with access to the same academic offerings.

Families must also now opt-in if they want school transportation, which is required yearly in the school registration process.

Students who transfer schools and transportation zones in the middle of the year can still receive transportation if they qualify. But it could take a few weeks to receive a bus assignment.

More information can be found on the district’s website.

Dress code changes

The dress code, adopted in May, is much less strict than the previous one, which prohibited things like denim, t-shirts, and tops with hoods. The dress code still prohibits hats or headwear with exceptions for religious purposes, and anything pornographic or promoting illegal or violent conduct.

The new policy also eliminates the rule requiring elementary students to wear collared or turtleneck shirts with khaki, black or navy blue pants. The new code will also no longer require secondary students to wear solid-colored collared or turtleneck shirts tucked into solid-color pants, shorts, or skirts that aren’t jeans.

Students in all grade levels must wear closed-toed shoes, pants, shorts, skirts, or dresses that are free of tears and are at least fingertip-length.

Out-of-school suspensions will no longer be a punishment for dress code violations. Instead, the school will work with the student and parent or guardian to address clothes that don’t comply with the code.

New food options

IPS is introducing new meals and food options to increase plant-based options and “global cuisine.”

Although the district has been offering plant-based options for years, there will be new items including Impossible Chicken Nuggets and a plant-based beef alternative for nachos and pasta.

Other new items include Teriyaki chicken and salsa roja tamales for elementary and middle schoolers, and fried rice bowls and build-your-own ramen bowls for high schoolers. Menus for each school are available here.

The district is also renovating and modernizing dining spaces in middle schools with new furniture and paint. Those projects are expected to be completed by the end of October.

Grade reconfigurations

This fall, there are no longer K-8 schools as the district reconfigured to have Pre-K or K-5 elementary schools and 6-8 middle schools. The grade reconfigurations affect four middle schools, sixteen former K-6 schools, and 17 former K-8 schools.

The reconfiguration is meant to address declining enrollment and uneven resources at many schools.

Expanded library options

The Indianapolis Public Library will expand its ‘Shared System’ to eight IPS schools. The system is a network of library collections from over 70 schools and 25 branches in Indianapolis.

Students have access to digital and physical copies from more than two million books, resources and databases. Physical copies of the materials can be delivered to partnered schools up to three times a week.

Sarah Batt, the manager of the Shared System program, said no single school library in the area can meet the needs of all its students.

“By sharing materials among many schools and among the library branches, they're better able to meet their students' academic needs,” she said.

The Shared System began in the 1990’s Batt said, and it has had several expansions over the years. The previous expansion was in February 2024, and it gave around 5,000 students access to the network.

The Shared System network includes resources from five library specialties: Riley Children’s Hospital, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Eitljog Museum, the Indiana Medical Museum and the Jewish Community Library.

The IPS schools entering the Shared System are: