Education

Indiana Supreme Court justices want to know whether the nation's largest school voucher program primarily benefits students and their parents or religious institutions.

The five justices prodded lawyers for both sides on that point today during a hearing on a constitutional challenge to the 2011 law under which more than 9,000 students have switched from public to private schools with help from state funds.

Enrollment in the Indiana school voucher program, the nation’s largest, has more than doubled since last year.

The Indiana Department of Education says more than 9,300 families have signed up for vouchers for the 2012-2013 school year. That compares with about 3,900 who took part in the program's first year.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced Monday he’ll make a concerted effort to support the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership offered by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Prichard has hosted the program for several years, educating and mentoring hundreds of parents to become involved in their child’s education.

At its inception on the late 1990s the organization offered up to six institutes, but it was being supported by national foundations, said Prichard Committee’s Bev Raimondo who helped create the parent institutes.

More Jefferson County Public Schools students entering kindergarten are prepared than the state average, but local educators say whether that translates to higher student achievement scores on state assessments is inconclusive.

Over 100 Kentucky school districts piloted the new Brigance kindergarten readiness screener this year. The results show statewide around 25 percent of students are school-ready when looking at various academic and cognitive factors. 

In JCPS, 34 percent of students are school-ready, according Chief Academic Officer Dewey Hesley.