Funded: State Policy Analysis

A Detailed Look at Each State's Funding Policies

Below, see summaries of the state’s education funding policy in each issue area. Click the Expand icon next to any summary to see more detail, if available, about that state’s policy regarding that issue area. Click the Citation icon
next to any summary to see the sources of the information regarding that issue area.
Indiana
Funding Basics
Overview

Indiana has a primarily student-based funding formula. It assigns a cost to the education of a student with no special needs or services, called a base amount. It then accounts for the additional cost of educating specific categories of students both through program-specific allocations and by adding supplemental, flat dollar amounts to the base amount for certain students.

Base Amount

Indiana has a fixed base funding amount per student. For FY2021, the per-student base amount was $5,703. This amount is reduced for students receiving instruction virtually.

Local Revenue
Expected Local Share

Indiana does not expect school districts to contribute revenue to their public schools.

Property Tax Floors and Ceilings

Indiana sets a level above which property tax rates require voter approval. Without voter approval, local property taxes are limited in two main ways: one that is adjusted based on statewide income growth, and one that varies depending on the type of property.

Other Local Taxes for Education

School districts in Indiana may receive local revenue from school district property taxes, county income taxes, financial institution taxes, and motor vehicle license excise taxes.

Student Characteristics
Grade Level

Indiana does not differentiate funding based on students’ grade levels.

English-Language Learner

Indiana provides increased funding for English-language learners. It does so through a flat allocation for each English-language learner, which in FY2021 was $300 to $487, depending on the student’s level of English-language proficiency.

Poverty

Indiana provides increased funding for some students from low-income households and for districts with high concentrations of low-income students. It does so through one grant program that provides greater funding for students from low-income backgrounds than students from higher income backgrounds and another based on the concentration of low-income students in a district.

Special Education

Indiana funds special education using a multiple student weights system, providing different levels of funding for different categories of students. Students are assigned to four different categories based mostly on their specific disabilities.

Gifted

Indiana provides increased funding for gifted and talented students. It does so in the form of a competitive grant.

Career and Technical Education

Indiana provides increased funding for career and technical education (CTE) programs. It does so by providing districts with funding for every CTE course, in accordance with the type and number of credit hours for the course and in proportion to the number of students enrolled in the course.

District Characteristics
Concentrated Poverty

Indiana provides increased funding for districts based on the concentrations of students from low-income households that they serve. It does so through a grant program based on the concentration of low-income students in a district.

Sparsity and/or Small Size

Indiana does not provide increased funding for sparse districts or for small schools or districts.

Charter Funding

Funding for charter schools in Indiana is calculated based on a formula similar to the one used to calculate funding for traditional public schools.

Click here to visit our charter funding site for more details.