All parents send their children to school with the same hopes: first and foremost that they will be safe, but also that they will be taught, challenged, supported, and given every opportunity to thrive.
Parents should not need to understand arcane governance models, authorizers, or funding formulas to trust their city’s public education system. They should be able to ask a few basic questions: Is my child learning? Can my child get to school safely and timely? Is their school well-equipped to help them succeed? And when an individual school (or an entire system) falls short, will someone take responsibility and make corrections?
Those questions are at the heart of the work that is before the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation (IPEC). This new organization must develop a shared accountability framework for traditional public and charter schools, coordinate school facilities, and build a unified transportation system within Indianapolis Public Schools boundaries. These decisions will affect everything from where children learn, whether they can get there safely, and whether families can trust every public school to serve every student well.
This work is already underway. By Nov. 30, IPEC must report to state lawmakers regarding its progress toward unified transportation and facilities planning. Its accountability framework, outlined in IPEC’s August meeting, will guide schools beginning in the 2028–29 school year. Our community’s participation in the process must be ensured well before the plans are finished.
This is especially important for Black and Brown students, Special Education students, and other children who have too often been furthest from opportunity and whose parents or guardians have been left out of decisions about their schools. Indianapolis has a rare chance to create something more transparent, equitable and coordinated.
For too long, public education debates have pushed families into opposing camps: district public schools on one side and charter schools on the other. That divide asks us to defend labels and institutions before asking the question that really matters: Is this school — any school — helping children to succeed?
IPEC offers a better premise — the same clear measures for every school, coordinated systems, and no separate playing fields based on school type or governance model. That starts with accountability that families can understand and trust.
No single number can tell us everything about a school. IPEC’s working group has proposed looking at academic results, student growth, discipline, enrollment, finances and facilities. High-stakes decisions would be based on patterns over time, not one difficult year or one set of test scores.
Families deserve to know whether a school serves Black and Brown students, Special Education students, and other groups whose experiences can disappear within broad averages. They should be allowed to see what is working, what must improve, and what happens when a school consistently falls short.
Equity does not mean lowering the bar. It means holding every school to clear expectations while recognizing what students need to reach them.
When schools succeed, we should learn from them. When they show chronic low performance across multiple years and measures, there must be action and real consequences. The IPS board or a charter school’s authorizer would continue to lead school-performance decisions, while IPEC would lead decisions about inefficient use of the facilities it controls. Different responsibilities should still be guided by clear, consistent evidence centered on students.
Accountability is only one part of the promise.
Enrollment in a strong school is not a true opportunity if a child has no reliable way to get there. Unified transportation can remove a barrier that, today, too many families navigate alone. And a school building is more than a line on a balance sheet. It is where children spend their days and communities gather. Facilities decisions must keep student learning at the center.
The new operating referendum headed to voters in November is part of this broader moment. Public investment and public accountability must go together. Residents deserve clarity about how their investment will serve students and have confidence that every school receiving public dollars faces strong expectations.
We understand the skepticism. Some fear charter growth will weaken the district. Charter families and educators may feel their schools are treated as though they exist outside the system. Those concerns should be heard. But IPEC should not become another arena for deciding which side wins. Its success should be judged by whether all students win. Stronger schools mean a stronger Indianapolis.
IPEC must model the accountability it expects from schools. Its decisions should be explained plainly, its information should be easily accessible, and community input should play a major role in shaping the outcome. The public deserves a seat at the table, not just a seat in the audience.
We urge all Indianapolis residents to support strong accountability across every public school type. Attend an IPEC meeting. Contact a board member. Ask how the framework will measure success, ensure equity, and respond when systems fail students. Speak up for transportation that makes access real and facilities decisions that put learning first.
Every parent should be able to send their child to school believing that our city will help that child thrive. IPEC offers a chance to move closer to that promise, but only if we shape it together.
Will we rise to the moment?
Jasmin Shaheed-Young is the founder, President and CEO of RISE INDY and RISE UNITED. Alicia Ramsey, M.Ed., DSL is the Executive Pastor of New Life Worship Center. She was the first African-American female to be elected to the school board in Pike Township and a long-time educator. Larry Smith is the CEO of Fathers and Families Center.
ALICIA RAMSEY
