Indiana Digital Learning Landscape
Indiana Online, a DLC State Affiliate, was instrumental in conducting the research for this profile.
| State virtual school? | NO |
| Multi-district fully online schools? | YES |
| Online learning requirement for graduation? | NO |
| State approval process for online providers? | YES |
| State approval process for online courses? | YES |
Indiana has digital learning options for its students including statewide and district supplemental programs, fully online schools, blended schools, and consortia. Indiana Online (IO), a program of the Central Indiana Educational Service Center, functions much like a state virtual school, serving 20,088 students with 33,716 course enrollments in 283 schools during the 2021-22 SY. The majority of IO course enrollments are for summer school. IO acquired the Indiana Virtual Academy (IndVA) in July 2021 making it the largest supplemental program in the state. IO offers a full-time virtual option, supplemental courses, curriculum, and assists schools with teacher shortages through their FlexED program.
Three fully online schools enrolled 6,894 students during the 2021-22 SY, down from 7,974 in 2020-21 SY. There are eight charter school authorizers in Indiana, and any may authorize a virtual or blended charter school.
Some of the other programs offering digital learning options in Indiana include:
Achieve Virtual Education Academy, part of the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, is an online high school that accepts students from across the state.
Center Grove Global Campus provides online courses to students at Center Grove High School.
Concord Community Schools Move-Up Academy provides both part- and full-time options.
Indiana Digital Learning School is an online program of Union School Corporation.
Indiana University High School is a diploma-granting distance education program providing tuition-based supplemental courses and a fully online program to students worldwide.
There are at least two hybrid schools in Indiana: Enlace Academy (grades K–8) and George and Veronica Phalen Leadership Academy (grades K–8).
For details of online learning funding in this state see the DLC's report A Review of Online Learning Funding.
State Policies
HB 1093 (2022) prohibits schools from conducting more than three days of virtual student instruction in a single school year. The law establishes a definition for "virtual student instructional day” and the requirements for what a virtual learning day looks like. Schools must provide remote students with teacher-directed synchronous instruction for at least half of a virtual day. If a school needs more than three virtual days in a single school year they can apply for a waiver.
The state did provide full ADM funding for fully online students for the 2020-21 SY in response to the pandemic but is returning to a policy that funds multi-district online schools at 85% of ADM for the 2021-22 SY.