About 70 percent of Indiana schools had lower attendance rates in 2020-21 compared to the previous year, a sign of the toll that the fragmented education during the pandemic took on students.

Some Marion County schools earned the lowest passing rates on the state’s latest standardized test. And long-standing achievement gaps for low-income students and Black students at some Indianapolis school districts remained far below their peers and the statewide average.

The federal government recently dismissed an investigation into the Indiana Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights earlier this year opened an investigation citing “disturbing reports” from parents of students with disabilities who said their children were forced into “one size fits all” remote learning programs.

The total number of Individualized Education Program evaluations completed in the 2019-20 school year — just more than 25,000 — dropped by about 16% compared to the 2018-19 school year, when nearly 30,000 evaluations were completed. The total number of evaluations initiated also dropped by about 13% over that period.

The Indiana Department of Education asked state auditors to review the enrollment at the South Bend Community School Corporation's Rise Up Academy following a complaint that students were not receiving an adequate education.

The Indiana Department of Education has awarded more than $120 million in learning recovery grants to schools and community organizations. The grants were announced Tuesday.

The Bridging The Gap initiative will provide students who complete core components of the program with college credit and some cash.

Last year, assessments were canceled because of the pandemic, and disruptions continued into this school year, which prompted many officials to expect a decline in student scores.

This is the first time the state process for deciding between two charter schools that want the same building will be put to the test, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

Some parents of online learners still have lingering concerns about sending their children back to school specifically for in-person standardized tests but the state says most students have already taken their federally required assessments, and there aren't consequences if they don't.