U.S. Department of Education Approves Indiana’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, Freeing Up Millions to Invest in Students

“Granting Indiana’s waiver is another decisive step in the Trump Administration’s commitment to returning education to the states,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Not only does this waiver provide greater flexibility for Indiana to serve its students the way it knows best, but it also helps to align education with the evolving needs of the workforce. Congratulations to Indiana on these innovative solutions to improve student academic achievement and free up state resources from federal bureaucratic red tape.”  

“In Indiana, education is built on choice. With this waiver, we are taking the next logical step for choice in Indiana education by giving our state more flexibility to use federal education dollars in the way that works best for Hoosier students,” said Indiana Governor Mike Braun. “Indiana will continue setting the standard for education in the United States.” 

“With the opportunity to request this waiver, we had a choice to make in Indiana: continue with the status quo or seize this moment to remove federal barriers and more urgently move the needle for students,” said Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner. “Our waiver is focused on one simple goal—maximizing every federal dollar to make it better for students. By clearing unnecessary red tape and increasing our ability to deploy innovative solutions, we can empower local leaders to make decisions that best serve their communities, direct more resources into classrooms, and ultimately, expand opportunities for Hoosier students.” 

When the existing statutory flexibilities for states, districts, and schools are insufficient, Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended (ESEA), allows states and tribes to submit requests to the Secretary to waive statutory or regulatory requirements. These waiver requests are subject to certain restrictions in law and must justify how the waiver will improve student outcomes. 

ED approved the following requests for Indiana’s waiver:   

• Consolidated State Activities Fund – Provide greater flexibility for the use of formula funds Indiana receives from ED by waiving ESEA section 8201. This allows IDOE to consolidate State-level activities funds in Title I-B, Title II-A, Title III-A, Title IV-A, and Title IV-B of the ESEA, while continuing to support the students who need these funds most.
• Student-Centered Flexibility for LEAs – Reduce administrative burden on some Indiana LEAs and make it easier for them to participate successfully in ESEA programs and flexibilities by waiving ESEA sections 8203(a) and (d)(1). This allows IDOE to work with up to 15 percent of Indiana’s LEAs to pilot consolidated funds for Title II-A and Title IV-A of the ESEA and drive more funds to the classroom. 
• Accountability Flexibility – Align federal and state accountability systems and increase transparency for parents by waiving ESEA section 1111(c)(4)(C)(ii). This removes the requirement that academic indicators receive “much greater weight” so that the state may count academic-based indicators that do not meet the definition of “academic indicator” towards this weighting. This waiver is granted because Indiana’s School Quality and Success indicators include several academic indicators, including:
  • Statewide summative science assessment in Biology;
  • PSAT;
  • U.S. Government end-of-course assessment;
  • ACT;
  • Classical Learning Test; and
  • College and Career Coursework, including 4 AP credits and their corresponding exams, six college credits, four IB credits and their corresponding exams, four Cambridge International credits and their corresponding exams, or a combination of these options. 

For more information on how the Department has empowered states in education, click here. 

See the official letter from Secretary McMahon to Secretary Jenner here.