***UPDATE AS OF 1/20/26: SB 248 IS DEAD***

Take Action Now – Tell Five Friends, Make Two Calls (or More!)

• Tell Your Legislators to Vote NO on Senate Bill 248 and House Bills 1176, 1266, and 1423.
• Testify if you can. Share your story.
  

When to call: Before Monday, January 12 at 9am for HB 1423 and ASAP for the remaining bills.   

Why: Senate Bill 248 and House Bills 1176, 1266, and 1423  take away local control, add unnecessary bureaucracy to public schools, and will allow more money to go to the wealthy

Who: Your State Representative and State Senator Find Your Legislator

Phone: House: 800-382-9841 Senate: 800-382-9467

Message: 

“Hello, I’d like to leave a message for ___________________ (legislator name)

My name is __________, and I am a ____________ (parent, grandparent, teacher, nurse, mom, dad, etc.). 

Thank you for your work as a state legislator. What you do is not easy. 

I am calling to urge you to vote NO to House Bills 1176, 1266, and 1423, and Senate Bill 248. Public schools work best when they are governed by the people who live, vote, and invest in those communities. These bills move Indiana in the opposite direction—away from democratic oversight and toward systems that prioritize control, consolidation, and privatization over students and neighborhoods.” 

Additional points

Hoosier communities need less Statehouse bureaucracy NOT less democracy. Our community schools do not need state intervention. 

What our schools need is funding that helps our students and communities achieve.  

Public schools are the heart of our communities—not a system to be handed over to appointed boards or private interests.

Testify 

The bills above are scheduled to be heard the week of Jan 12. 

HB 1176 and HB 1266 are not on the schedule yet.

Monday January 12

9:30am – Testimony is being heard on HB 1423 in the House Chamber by the House Education Committee. Arrive early – before 9am! Pro-charter groups will be there in large numbers. 

Wednesday January 14

1:30pm – Testimony is being heard on SB 248 in the Senate Chamber by the Senate Education Committee. 

You can learn more about testifying at the Statehouse on the ICPE advocacy page.  

More Details

SB 248 – South Bend Community school corporation – Vote NO

• South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) board will be appointed instead of elected. Instead of school board members being elected by voters, the bill would require them to be appointed.

• Current school board members will have no governing authority. The current elected board members serving on June 30, 2026 would be converted into an advisory board with no governing authority starting July 1, 2026.

• A nominating commission would be established to propose candidates. The Indiana Secretary of Education would make the final appointments from that list.

HB 1176 – Education matters – Vote NO

• Sharing of publicly funded resources with privately managed charter schools should be voted on by the community taxpayers. HB 1176 makes it easier to convert public schools into charter schools and expands innovation network schools without voter approval. It should not be decided by an appointed board that was created due to statehouse legislation. 

• SGO caps should not be eliminated. This will provide more access to pre-tax vouchers to the wealthy. Creating further divides between low- and high-income students and diverting resources from public schools.

• School boards should not be weakened.  HB 1176 prevents school boards from both authorizing and partnering with innovation charter schools, forcing those schools away from local oversight and further separating them from the public education system.

HB 1266 – Department of education and education matters – Vote NO

• Public schools don’t need state intervention. They need to be fully funded.
• Taxpayers and children don’t need an added level of bureaucracy. By transferring control of school buildings and transportation from elected school boards to appointed centralized boards, this bill weakens local democracy and creates a framework that makes privatization easier and public accountability harder.

HB 1423 – Indianapolis public education corporation – Vote NO

• IPS and other Hoosier school districts do not need more bureaucracy and less local elected control. HB 1423 creates a new education corporation with an appointed board and gives it authority over public school funding and referenda. This is NOT economical and weakens voter accountability. 
• Decisions about public school funding should not be made by an unelected corporation. Taxing and governance authority should remain with elected school boards that are accountable to voters.
  

* As always, please remember the following guidelines when reaching out to legislators:

• Remember to be polite and kind in your language and tone.
• Remind them public education is not a partisan issue.
• Encourage legislators to support legislation that strengthens public schools.
• Personal stories and anecdotes are particularly effective, whether it’s your own personal story or a close friend’s.
• Be disciplined in your messaging: the best way to build support for your position is to keep communication positive, bipartisan, inclusive, and single-issue.
• Avoid getting sidetracked with other issues you care about.
• If you are a constituent, mention that.