Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.Enroll Indy dropped its fee to charter school authorizers and Indianapolis Public Schools for one year after the district said last week it was leaving the enrollment website shared by IPS and most charter schools in the city.But in a statement Wednesday, IPS doubled down on its decision to leave Enroll Indy and move its process internally, starting with enrollment for the 2027-28 school year, which begins Nov. 5. “While we appreciate that no organization will bear costs for one year, our decision to move enrollment to PowerSchool has always been driven by multiple factors, including cost-savings, operational improvements, and a commitment to providing a better experience for families and staff,” IPS said in its statement.For roughly a decade, families have used Enroll Indy to enroll in the vast majority of both IPS and charter schools within Center Township. The nonprofit aims to streamline enrollment with a common application, information about each school, and enrollment specialists to help families.IPS’s decision to leave the enrollment system only applies to schools directly managed by IPS, as well as Innovation Network schools that aren’t charters, and not charter schools in the city. Innovation Network schools are part of the district but independently operated, and many of them are charters.The change will save the district more than $300,000 in software/service costs to Enroll Indy in the first year, IPS spokesperson Marc Ransford said. The district is facing $20 million in budget cuts, and even more if voters reject a tax measure on the ballot in November.Enroll Indy charges an annual fee to IPS and charter authorizers based on the number of students served.“On Monday, the Enroll Indy board voted unanimously to operate (the) unified enrollment system at no cost for the 2027-28 enrollment cycle,” Patrick McAlister, the organization’s interim executive director, said in a statement Wednesday. Instead, Enroll Indy will use its cash reserves, per the nonprofit.The Enroll Indy board is made up of representatives from IPS, and two charter school authorizers: the Office of Education Innovation at the City of Indianapolis, and the Indiana Charter School Board. IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and COO William Murphy are board members, per the Enroll Indy website.The IPS decision comes as a new mayor-appointed board, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, takes over key responsibilities for IPS and charter schools from school boards — including the elected IPS board — in an effort to share resources more efficiently between schools. The vast majority of IPEC board members have charter school ties.IPS’s decision to leave Enroll Indy sparked criticism from the nonprofit’s board and charter school leaders on Friday who said the change would create “confusion and instability” and questioned if IPS had the power to make such a move. The state law that created IPEC says the organization has the power to “manage a unified enrollment system applicable to all participating school students.”In the district’s Wednesday statement, IPS reiterated its Friday reasoning and said its new enrollment system will offer a simplified experience for families, have in-person and multilingual support, and provide personalized support to families in the event of school closures and other changes. It will also be accessible all year. And in its FAQ online, IPS said, while the law gives IPEC the ability to manage a unified enrollment system, it doesn’t name Enroll Indy so “until IPEC designs, establishes, and formally launches that process, IPS retains full legal authority to manage its own application and enrollment systems.”Ransford previously said the district’s contract with Enroll Indy ended in June.MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.
