New law enables public school districts to partner with religiously affiliated nonprofit preschools

School corporations could partner with religiously affiliated nonprofit preschools under a new law signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun. HB 1102 passed both chambers unanimously and will take effect this summer.

Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) is one of the legislation's sponsors. He said the goal is to expand Hoosiers' access to preschool programs by creating more partnerships between school corporations and preschools.

"It's open ended," he said. "It could be anything from transportation from a rural area or it could be a subsidized seat, or even an exchange of curriculum."

The State of Preschool 2023 Yearbook ranks Indiana among the bottom six states for preschool accessibility. The report says the state doesn't do enough to make preschool widely available as 85 percent of Indiana's four-year-olds and 91 percent of three-year-olds lack access to quality pre-K services.

Kirsten is Indiana Public Broadcasting's education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.