Poor Hoosiers practically have to beg for help from state government when they are in need — from child care assistance to free lunch for students or cash assistance for families.
But GOP legislators are moving toward a massive expansion of state-funded vouchers for private schools at much higher eligibility levels for middle-to-upper income Hoosiers.
The incongruity can’t be ignored.
Consider the gross income levels at which these key services and programs are available:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides money to Hoosiers who make less than 130% of the federal poverty level. According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), that is about $3,000 a month in income, or $36,000 a year.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Indiana is between 13% and 16% of the federal poverty level depending on household size. For a family of four, according to FSSA, that is $712 a month, or $8,500 a year. A move this legislative session would increase it to 50% over several years.
Indiana’s On My Way Pre-K requires an income below 127% of the federal poverty level, or $3,175 a month for a family of four, according to FSSA.
The Child Care & Development Fund (CCDF) also provides child care vouchers if a family’s monthly income is less than 127% of federal poverty level, but families can stay in the program until their income hits 185%.
The free and reduced lunch program is 185% of the federal poverty level.
And that brings us to Choice Scholarships.
Currently, families making up to 300% of the free/reduced lunch level are eligible. According to the Department of Education, that is about $166,000.
While Indiana’s minority populations have statistically higher poverty rates, 59% of the students using vouchers are white, according to the 2021-2022 Choice report. The biggest chunk of the recipients that year – 62% — had household incomes of more than $50,000.
The House-passed version of the proposed two-year state budget would increase the eligibility even higher to 400%, or $220,000. No longer would the program be aimed at the state’s neediest children who don’t have access to a high-quality education. At this point the state would simply be subsidizing affluent white parents to send their children to religious-based private schools.
And no one has a good explanation why other programs have much more stringent eligibility criteria. When Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, asked Ways and Means Chair Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, about the difference on March 7, Thompson said, “It’s a matter of priorities.”
It’s still unclear if the Senate will support another increase to the income eligibility ceiling.
“We’re working through that right now. There are some folks in our caucus that have some trepidation to moving it that far,” Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said Thursday. “It’ll be a hot topic of conversation that we have with the House.”
If the legislature is going to expand vouchers, I hope they also expand other programs helping Hoosiers that most need it.
Niki Kelly is editor-in-chief of indianacapitalchronicle.com, where this commentary first appeared. She has covered Indiana politics and the Indiana Statehouse since 1999 for publications including the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Send comments to [email protected].
