Indiana Non-Public Education AssociationLegislative LiaisonsOrientation & TrainingDecember 4, 2013

INPEA

•Who we are•Who we serve• Our focus

Why Legislative Liaisons?

• Building a grassroots infrastructure• Raising our collective voice• Engaging and mobilizing private school

communities for private school issues• Supporting new legislative initiatives and

protecting past successes

Engaging in Public Policy

• Advancing our Mission• Protecting our Independence• Advocating for School Choice• Engaging in State Legislation and Regulation

Processes• Supporting legislation that benefits private school

students• Opposing legislation/regulation that could be

harmful to our schools and students• Providing a face and voice for Non-public schools

and issues in Indiana

LL: Roles and Responsibilities

• Work with School Administration on Public Policy Issues• Educate & Engage your local school community in

public policy issues affecting private schools• Communicate INPEA public policy issues/alerts to

your school community (parents & faculty & staff)

LL: Roles and Responsibilities

• Help educate your parent community about particular public policy issues(e.g. parent meetings, school newsletters)• When necessary and possible encourage

involvement in statehouse rallies or legislative committee hearings • Share the private school perspective on issues with

your elected representatives or public school representatives (write/call/attend hearings) and encourage others to do the same.• Set school goals for public policy engagement• Develop a communication plan for public policy

issues/alerts

Legislative Liaisons

School Head

ADVOCACY

Legislative Victories

• Choice Scholarship Program• Voucher Program: • Expansions (Improvements)• Sibling access• F school access• Special education access

• Program Growth

• 2011-2012: 3919 students & 16 million dollars• 2012-2013: 9300 students & 38 million dollars • 2013-2014: 19809 students & 78 million dollars (est)

• Scholarship Tax Credit Improvements• HUGE – No prior year public requirement

The Choice Scholarship Program

2011 2012 20130

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

3,919

9,324

19,809

Choice Scholarship Program Enrollment

Enrollment Year

Choi

ce S

chol

arsh

ip E

nrol

lmen

t

2013 number provided by DOE as number of applications received

The Choice Scholarship Program

2011 2012 2013200

220

240

260

280

300

320

242

289

313

Number of Participating Schools

Year

Num

ber o

f sch

ools

The Choice Scholarship Program

_x0001_A _x0002_ B _x0002_ C _x0002_ D _x0002_ F0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

41%

20% 20%

12%

7%

37%

21% 22%

12%8%

68%

17%

9%5%

2%

66%

17%

10%

5%2%

Letter Grade Comparison (2012)

All Schools

Public schools only

Non-public schools

Participating voucher schools

Letter Grade

Perc

enta

ge o

f Sch

ools

The Choice Scholarship Program

Public schools Non-public schools Voucher schools0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

15.9%

37.3% 37.5%

Schools at or above 90% Passing Both Subjects

Student Population

Perc

enta

ge o

f Sch

ools

School Choice Messaging Pointers

School Choice is not about private schools; it’s about families and children and giving them opportunities to be successful.

School Choice will not destroy public schools. In states with active school choice programs, public schools have improved.

Private Schools that participate in school choice programs will not lose their autonomy.

School Choice Programs can save the State money.

INPEA & School Choice Indiana can be of assistance when dealing with media.

2013 Legislative Priorities

2014 is not a Budget Year• Protect against increasing regulation!• Protect and Expand the Voucher & Scholarship Tax

Credit Legislation• Protect our recent advances!• Add a Kindergarten entry point in the voucher

program• Encourage support of early childhood education

funding (e.g. preschool) in ways that include private providers

2013 – 2014 INPEA Initiatives

• Protect against increasing regulation/reporting• Support Choice Schools to ensure quality with an

increasingly diverse student demographic• Support Choice Schools with implementing special

education initiatives• National School Choice Week (Jan. 26 -Feb. 1)• School Choice Day at the Legislature: Feb. 12• Improve Non-Public School Grassroots Efforts• Improve Legislative Liaison Program• Encourage schools to set engagement goals

• Be prepared to protect and engage!

Important clarifications

• Legislation vs. Regulation/Rule vs. Administration• Legislation occurs in the General Assembly• Rule for education law is developed by either

the State Board of Education or Department of Education• Administration is the responsibility of the

designated state agency (in many cases IDOE for education issues but not always)

Immediate Homework

• Develop (if needed) a legislative communication plan with your school head for the 2014 General Assembly Session. • How to get alerts to the school community• Plan ways to educate parents about the

importance of engaging in public policy as well as about specific issues• Assessing level of parent engagement

• Work with school head to set school goals for legislative engagement (e.g. participation in events/activities, number of legislator contacts)

Partner Organizations

• School Choice Indiana (HEGN)• Indiana Catholic Conference• Friedman Foundation•American Federation for Children•Great Schools•And others

2014 HEGN Field Managers Regions and Contact Info

• Jon Callaway• Northern Indiana • 708-670-5543• Jon@SchoolChoiceIndiana.org• Kent Martin• Central Indiana • 317-498-1469• Kent@SchoolChoiceIndiana.org • Sarah Milligan• Southern Indiana • 812-272-7216• Sarah@SchoolChoiceIndiana.org

Web sites

• INPEA www.inpea.org

• INPEA Legislative Actionhttp://capwiz.com/inpea/home/legaction@inpea.org • School Choice Indiana

www.schoolchoiceindiana.org• Friedman Foundation

www.edchoice.org• School Voucher Information

www.myschoolvoucher.com www.doe.in.gov/schoolchoice • Indiana General Assembly• http://www.in.gov/legislative/index.html

Indiana Faces of Choice

This year in Indiana there will

be well over 20,000 faces of

Choice!

INPEAIndiana Non-Public Education Association

John ElcesserExecutive Director

1400 N. Meridian St.Indianapolis, IN 46202

317-236-7329jelcesser@inpea.org