INDIANA — The Trump administration granted Indiana a waiver to consolidate five federal education funding streams into a single $50 million grant. The waiver allows Indiana to implement a unified school accountability system with reduced federal compliance costs.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon approved Indiana's waiver during an event on Tuesday in Plainfield. Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner and Governor Mike Braun attended the event. State officials project the waiver will reduce compliance and documentation costs by approximately $20 million.

The consolidated funding streams include Titles I-B, II-A, III-A, IV-A, and IV-B. The updated accountability system for Indiana reduces the weight of academic indicators while emphasizing college and career readiness. State officials must continue to use the consolidated funds for the original program purposes, and schools operating under the waiver must submit monthly reports detailing federal fund usage.

Ms. Jenner commented on the change, stating, "As states, we have significant control over education in that we set the standards, we can choose our curriculum, we can design our assessments. But when it comes to federal funding, our hands have always been tied. Until now." Ms. McMahon said, "We must breathe innovation into education, not suffocate it with top-down mandates, because we certainly know that one size does not fit all in education."

The Education Department denied Indiana's request to redirect funds from low-performing districts to create a school choice program. An Education Department official stated the school choice proposal was denied because altering fund allocation methods violates waiver authority restrictions. Denise Forte, CEO of EdTrust, issued a statement saying, "The Department of Education will allow Indiana to rewrite its accountability system in a way that will mask student performance and move millions of dollars in dedicated funding away from students who need it most."