{"id":132861,"date":"2026-08-20T14:20:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=132861"},"modified":"2026-09-07T06:16:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T10:16:49","slug":"the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/","title":{"rendered":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

News release from Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s office:<\/p>\n

Gov. Braun Kicks Off First Year of Universal School Choice in Indiana at Cardinal Ritter High School<\/strong>
\nGov. Braun delivered universal school choice for Hoosiers last year, and the 2026-2027 school year is the first year families benefit from the opportunity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Indianapolis, Indiana (August 20, 2026) \u2013 Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Indiana, parents are in charge of their kids\u2019 education, and I\u2019m proud to celebrate our first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families today at Cardinal Ritter. Indiana is empowering parents and helping students excel.\u201d \u2014 Governor Mike Braun<\/p>\n

Gov. Braun\u2019s approach to education is grounded in a simple principle: parents are in charge of their children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

Gov. Braun secured universal school choice in Indiana by signing House Enrolled Act 1001<\/a> on May 6, 2025. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, more Hoosier parents have the opportunity to choose the school that best fits their child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

Gov. Braun also helped families save money while choosing the best education option to fit their child by opting Indiana into an initiative that allows Hoosiers to collect federal tax savings for investments made in K-12 scholarships. The federal tax credit, established under President Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill, applies to charitable contributions made to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) that serve eligible K-12 students.<\/p>\n

These achievements join Governor Braun\u2019s other major education wins as Hoosier students head back to school:<\/p>\n

Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Restrictions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beginning this school year, Indiana\u2019s new bell-to-bell wireless device policy will help schools limit distractions and keep students focused and engaged throughout the entire school day.<\/p>\n

Senate Enrolled Act 78<\/a> requires public and charter schools to adopt either a no-device policy or a storage policy under which personal devices are powered off and inaccessible throughout the school day. The policy covers cell phones, smartwatches, gaming devices and other personal wireless communication devices.<\/p>\n

The law includes exceptions for students with Individualized Education Programs or Section 504 plans, documented medical needs, and emergency use. Read the news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supporting Teachers and Directing More Money to Classrooms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Governor Braun secured a $5,000 increase in Indiana\u2019s minimum teacher salary, raising it from $40,000 to $45,000. Schools are also now required to spend at least 65 percent of their state tuition support on teacher compensation, helping ensure education funding reaches teachers and classrooms.<\/p>\n

Record Student Achievement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indiana students are entering the new school year following historic academic progress:<\/p>\n

Indiana ranks sixth in the nation in fourth-grade reading, the state\u2019s highest ranking ever.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s third-grade literacy rate increased to nearly 89 percent in 2026, the second-largest single-year improvement since IREAD began. This follows the state\u2019s largest-ever increase in 2025. With these back-to-back historic gains, Indiana\u2019s third-grade literacy rates have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s high school graduation rate reached a record high in 2025, with nearly 92 percent of Hoosier seniors graduating.<\/p>\n

Safer Schools<\/strong><\/p>\n

Governor Braun established Indiana\u2019s first Office of School Safety to coordinate school security resources, strengthen emergency-response guidance and help schools implement effective safety plans. The office works with schools and state agencies to maintain security guidelines, train school safety specialists and support proactive threat assessment and prevention efforts.<\/p>\n

Clearer Paths After Graduation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indiana is implementing a new high school diploma framework centered on three paths after graduation: Enrollment in college, Employment in a career, or Enlistment and service in the military. Students can earn specialized seals aligned with their goals, including an Enrollment Honors Plus Seal that qualifies students for automatic acceptance to all Indiana public colleges and universities and Employment seals built around real-world, hands-on experience with Indiana employers.<\/p>\n

Keeping College Affordable<\/strong><\/p>\n

At Governor Braun\u2019s request, all 15 of Indiana\u2019s public colleges and universities, including both main and regional campuses, froze in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 academic years.<\/p>\n

This marks the first time in modern Indiana history that every public higher education institution has simultaneously held tuition and mandatory fees flat, helping Hoosier students pursue a degree while saving families hundreds or thousands of dollars.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Images:<\/h3>
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22959,7107],"tags":[44805,39161,43859,44808,44803,44809,44819,44806,44811,44818,44821,31451,36955,44820,32012,1153,44813,44817,36924,35595,44816,44812,44807,44804,44814,44810,44815,44822,37956],"class_list":["post-132861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indiana-department-of-education","category-indiana-governor","tag-2025-hea-1001","tag-2025-one-big-beautiful-bill-federal-act-h-r-1","tag-2026-sea-78","tag-bell-to-bell-cell-phone-restrictions","tag-cardinal-ritter-high-school","tag-cell-phones","tag-enrollment-honors-plus-seal","tag-federal-tax-savings","tag-gaming-devices","tag-high-school-diploma","tag-in-state-undergraduate-tuition","tag-indiana-governor-mike-braun","tag-indiana-office-of-school-safety","tag-indiana-public-colleges-and-universities","tag-indiana-universal-school-choice","tag-indianapolis-indiana","tag-individualized-education-programs","tag-iread-indiana-reading-evaluation-and-determination","tag-iread-3-assessment","tag-k-12-education","tag-literacy-rate","tag-personal-wireless-communication-devices","tag-scholarship-granting-organizations","tag-school-vouchers","tag-section-504-plans","tag-smartwatches","tag-teacher-compensation","tag-tuition","tag-us-president-donald-j-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nThe first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AroundFortWayne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AroundFortWayne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"67slparker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheAFWBlog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheAFWBlog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"67slparker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"67slparker\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/60a1c82ca1de84bb660471939e6393b2\"},\"headline\":\"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\"},\"wordCount\":736,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2025 HEA 1001\",\"2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Federal Act H.R. 1\",\"2026 SEA 78\",\"Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Restrictions\",\"Cardinal Ritter High School\",\"cell phones\",\"Enrollment Honors Plus Seal\",\"federal tax savings\",\"gaming devices\",\"high school diploma\",\"in-state undergraduate tuition\",\"Indiana Governor Mike Braun\",\"Indiana Office of School Safety\",\"Indiana public colleges and universities\",\"Indiana Universal School Choice\",\"Indianapolis Indiana\",\"Individualized Education Programs\",\"IREAD Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination\",\"IREAD-3 assessment\",\"K-12 Education\",\"literacy rate\",\"personal wireless communication devices\",\"Scholarship Granting Organizations\",\"school vouchers\",\"Section 504 plans\",\"smartwatches\",\"teacher compensation\",\"tuition\",\"U.S. President Donald J. Trump\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Indiana Department of Education\",\"Indiana Governor\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\",\"name\":\"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg\",\"width\":550,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"AroundFortWayne\",\"description\":\"News AroundFortWayne Indiana.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"AroundFortWayne\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AFW_logo_400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AFW_logo_400.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"AroundFortWayne\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AroundFortWayne\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheAFWBlog\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/aroundfortwayne\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/aroundfortwayne\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCL2Biqou6j8uZ-TSxPa6aQ\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/60a1c82ca1de84bb660471939e6393b2\",\"name\":\"67slparker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0249a34fbb7d86a3c14c6ed43adaf57e3dd6443bb0428d4ed5fc62860779bc3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0249a34fbb7d86a3c14c6ed43adaf57e3dd6443bb0428d4ed5fc62860779bc3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"67slparker\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/wptest\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/author\/67slparker\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne","description":"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne","og_description":"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.","og_url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/","og_site_name":"AroundFortWayne","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AroundFortWayne","article_published_time":"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":550,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"67slparker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TheAFWBlog","twitter_site":"@TheAFWBlog","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"67slparker","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/"},"author":{"name":"67slparker","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/60a1c82ca1de84bb660471939e6393b2"},"headline":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated","datePublished":"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/"},"wordCount":736,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg","keywords":["2025 HEA 1001","2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Federal Act H.R. 1","2026 SEA 78","Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Restrictions","Cardinal Ritter High School","cell phones","Enrollment Honors Plus Seal","federal tax savings","gaming devices","high school diploma","in-state undergraduate tuition","Indiana Governor Mike Braun","Indiana Office of School Safety","Indiana public colleges and universities","Indiana Universal School Choice","Indianapolis Indiana","Individualized Education Programs","IREAD Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination","IREAD-3 assessment","K-12 Education","literacy rate","personal wireless communication devices","Scholarship Granting Organizations","school vouchers","Section 504 plans","smartwatches","teacher compensation","tuition","U.S. President Donald J. Trump"],"articleSection":["Indiana Department of Education","Indiana Governor"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/","url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/","name":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated - AroundFortWayne","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-20T18:20:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T10:16:49+00:00","description":"Today, Governor Mike Braun met with students and staff at Cardinal Ritter High School to celebrate back-to-school season and the first year of universal school choice for Hoosier families.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tState_of_Indiana_side.jpg","width":550,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2026\/08\/20\/the-first-year-of-universal-school-choice-in-indiana-celebrated\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The first year of universal school choice in Indiana celebrated"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/","name":"AroundFortWayne","description":"News AroundFortWayne Indiana.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#organization","name":"AroundFortWayne","url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AFW_logo_400.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AFW_logo_400.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"AroundFortWayne"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AroundFortWayne","https:\/\/x.com\/TheAFWBlog","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/aroundfortwayne\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/aroundfortwayne\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCL2Biqou6j8uZ-TSxPa6aQ"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/60a1c82ca1de84bb660471939e6393b2","name":"67slparker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0249a34fbb7d86a3c14c6ed43adaf57e3dd6443bb0428d4ed5fc62860779bc3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0249a34fbb7d86a3c14c6ed43adaf57e3dd6443bb0428d4ed5fc62860779bc3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"67slparker"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/wptest"],"url":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/author\/67slparker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132862,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132861\/revisions\/132862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}