Public vs. private schools? That's the question

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - There are 15,000 vouchers available statewide for the 2012-2013 school year. Vouchers allow students to leave public schools and enroll at a private school of their choice.

Lafayette School Corporation Superintendent Les Huddle said the school corporation is competing with private schools more than ever since the voucher program was introduced last year.

Huddle said the way the program is set up, there's no way to know if students left because of vouchers or just relocated.

"We think it's more important to find out which of our families have used a voucher, why they left our corporation, and we'd like to ask them what did we do or what didn't we do so we can make improvements over time but we simply can't get that data right now," Huddle said.

Huddle says having that information will help all public schools retain students.

In order to be eligible for the program, there are guidelines a student must meet. IDOE's website says a student must:

• be an Indiana resident
• be accepted for enrollment into a participating school that is located in Indiana
• be between the ages of 5 and 22 no later than August 1 of the school year
• live in a household at or below the household income limits

Any parent who received a voucher last year, and wants to use one again this school year, must re-apply for a voucher to make sure the family still meets the income guidelines.

The student must also have one of the following:

1. Have been enrolled in a public school for one year, or
2. Received a choice scholarship, or another scholarship granting organization (SGO) in a previous school year.