Study of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Charter Schools in Indiana.

The Indiana General Assembly passed charter school enabling legislation in 2001, and the first charter schools opened their doors for the 2002-03 school year. As of fall 2008, 49 charter schools are operating in Indiana. A total of 17 of these schools are sponsored by the City of Indianapolis, Office of the Mayor, 29 schools are sponsored by Ball State University, the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation sponsors two schools, and the Lafayette School Corporation sponsors one school. These schools are spread throughout the state, with the largest concentration located around the Indianapolis area, where 21 charter schools are located. Over twothirds of Indiana’s charter schools are located in the metropolitan areas in and surrounding Indianapolis, Gary, and Fort Wayne.