Porter comments on Republican initiatives to make vouchers universal

Last month, Gov.-elect Mike Braun released his 2025 policy agenda, including extending universal school choice to all families. Leadership for House Republicans has indicated their support for Braun’s agenda. Universal expansion would eliminate the income threshold for Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program, allowing the use of taxpayer dollars for private school tuition. 

 State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement: 

”In the 2023 budget, Republicans made the voucher program nearly universal. Around 97% of Hoosier families currently qualify since the limit is a family of four making $220,000 a year. We knew they wanted to eliminate the income thresholds. They want the wealthiest Hoosiers to send their kids to school with taxpayers' hard-earned dollars. 

"Millionaires don’t need to utilize a program we created for lower-income families. This program started to provide working Hoosiers with educational opportunities even if they couldn't afford it. If you make over $500,000, you can afford to pay for your child's private school tuition. They don't need this funding. They want this funding and that difference should be clear. This is essentially a $6,000 tax cut per student for multi-millionaires and technically billionaires.  

“A tenured Education Committee member has stated that the cost of expansion would be minimal, around $11 to $12 million. The real cost would be closer to $200 million: $88.6 million in 2026 and $94.7 million in 2027. These numbers equal the 1% increase we normally give to our public schools. In the budget game, this is not a minimal amount of money. 

“The opportunity cost with this funding is massive. We could triple the size of On My Way Pre-K, or we could support families in need of child care assistance. Better yet we could put that money toward solving our problem with Medicaid funding. Public money belongs in public spaces. Point blank, period.”