About this Atlas
What this is: A comprehensive, source-cited mapping of the Indiana K-12 technology ecosystem — the systems that touch every student, every educator, every district. Compiled from primary source documents (contracts, technical reports, agency press releases, vendor product documentation), peer-reviewed psychometric literature where relevant, and Indiana news coverage. Cross-referenced with publicly available federal and consortium data sources.
What it's for: Shared situational awareness. The Indiana ed-tech landscape spans 13+ flagship systems, 40+ vendors, 8+ state agencies, and a forward-looking calendar of ~30 dated milestones through 2030. Having all of it laid out in one place supports better planning, vendor conversations, contract reviews, partnership decisions, and informed strategic discussion.
How to read it: The 🔬 Functional Deep Dive (this tab) profiles each system's mechanics. 🏢 Vendor Ecosystems groups everything by who builds it. 🔗 Integration Architecture shows how the systems connect. 🗓️ Roadmap 2026-30 lays out the forward-looking calendar. 🩺 System Health offers a candid strengths/strengthening analysis per system. 🔍 Cambium Technical Analysis goes deeper on the largest single contract. 📚 Data Sources Universe catalogs every IDOE-promoted dataset for reference.
Tone and methodology: Analytical and source-cited. Where contract documents or technical reports speak directly, they are quoted. Where direct evidence is light, the document explicitly flags inference based on architecture pattern, vendor profile, or peer literature. All findings are intended to support productive conversations — with vendors, with partners, and across IDOE itself — rather than to advance any particular conclusion.
Functional Deep Dive — what each flagship system actually does
For each of 13 flagship IDOE systems: capabilities, user roles, workflows, technical architecture, data flows, limitations, and roadmap. Each section is expandable — open the headers to dive deep.
What you'll find here
13 flagship systems × 8 facets each: WHAT IT DOES · USER ROLES + WORKFLOWS · TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE · DATA PIPELINES · FEATURES · WHO USES IT + AT WHAT SCALE · LIMITATIONS · ROADMAP. The master domain map below shows how everything connects at a glance — then open any section to dive deep.
🗺️ Master domain map — Indiana K-12 technology landscape at a glance
Every active IDOE-adjacent system, organized into 10 domains by what it does. Click any system below in the Vendor Ecosystems or Tech Atlas tabs for full vendor + contract details. Deep functional sections below the map.
The front door for residents · Tyler Indiana / IOT-owned
IN.gov platform · 200+ sites, 125+ apps
Tyler Indiana · $22M/4yr ends Oct 2028
Access Indiana SSO · 2.7M users, 100+ federated systems
Tyler Indiana · SAML/OIDC
Ask Indiana · GenAI Resident Assistant, 61 languages
Tyler + Azure OpenAI GPT-4 · Apr 2025
Sole source of truth pipeline · IDOE-owned · Resultant + Double Line · IDOE CIO architect since May 2018
Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS / Data Exchange · all 290 LEAs
Resultant + Double Line · per-school-year ODS
Ed-ID Portal · STN "T+8" / SPN 8-digit
IDOE-managed · STN App Center retired Mar 2025
LVIS 360 · ~62K educator credentials
Microsoft Power Apps Portal on Azure Gov
EdData public portal · Student Data Backpack Q4 2025
IDOE / Cognos-style BI
P-20W longitudinal data · MPH state agency
INK / EWDS SLDS · IDOE+CHE+DWD+FSSA linkage
MPH (Pete Miller CDO since Jan 2025)
Indiana Data Hub · 100+ public datasets
CKAN 2.9 at hub.mph.in.gov
Pivot AI workforce engine · 67% UI claimants
MPH + DWD + Resultant · Nov 2023
State AI Policy gate · NIST AI RMF · all state AI pre-deployment review
MPH Chief Privacy Officer + AI Review Team
Public-facing K-12 performance · Resultant-built · IDOE policy vision + IDOE technical infrastructure
Indiana GPS Dashboard · 17 indicators · launched Dec 2022
Resultant · Power BI + SSAS · Frank Newman Award 2025
A-F Accountability Model · approved Mar 4, 2026 · SY 26-27 live
SBOE-adopted · Resultant likely builder
EWIS Early Warning Indicator System
Resultant · 11-district pilot
Attendance Insights · weekly-refresh dashboard
Resultant
Federal Report Card · ESSA compliance
indianafederalreportcard.doe.in.gov
All statewide tests · 3 separate vendor systems · IDOE leadership approved ClearFrame Amendment #3 + Checkpoints rollout
Cambium stack · ILEARN + IREAD + I AM + Checkpoints + Family Portal + ClearFrame API
CAI (Veritas) · PSC #65981 · $126.16M NTE thru Dec 2026
WIDA ACCESS · K-12 EL proficiency · 4 domains
WIDA (UW-Madison) + DRC (platform) · Jan 12-Feb 27, 2026
College Board SAT School Day · all 11th graders · digital since 2024
College Board (Bluebook) + SSD Online · ~82K takers
PSAT 8/9, 10, NMSQT · state-funded SAT Suite
College Board
IEPs, 504s, ILPs, Medicaid billing · 3-vendor split · IDOE IIEP → PowerSchool migration July 2025
PowerSchool Special Programs · all ~180K IN SPED students · IEP/504/ILP/Service Capture
PowerSchool (Bain) · live July 18, 2025
PowerBuddy AI · 504 Draft + IEP Goals + Accommodations
PowerSchool (embedded)
PCG iMac · direct-service Medicaid billing (continues)
Public Consulting Group
Fairbanks IndianaMAC · admin claiming (OD25 onward)
Fairbanks LLC · new per-LEA agreements
Vouchers + financial rails · IDOE consolidation Jul 1, 2026 · IDOE implementing HB 1001-2025 universal
Choice Scholarship Portal · 76K students · $497M FY25 · universal Jul 2026
IDOE-built (via LINK) · school-mediated
CSA Career Scholarship Account · $5K/student · 1,900 kids
Treasurer → IDOE EOQ Jul 2026 · ClassWallet rails
INESA Education Scholarship Account · $20K SPED / $8K siblings
Treasurer → IDOE EOQ Jul 2026 · ClassWallet rails
Indiana Learns · $1K/family tutoring · 25K+ grants
Mind Trust admin (no-bid) + ClassWallet · $4.4M FY25-26
Career-technical education + workforce outcomes
InTERS Secondary CTE · CHE-owned post-2025 reorg
Scherb Consulting vendor · cte.inters-dwd.com
AE InTERS Adult Ed NRS reporting · DWD
Scherb · abe.inters-dwd.com · on-prem option
CTE Data Explorer · public + authenticated counselor views
CHE
Employer Connector · WBL demand-side
CHE · in.gov/che/cte/employer-connector
STAFF-facing AI · per IDOE CIO briefing · governance gate → sanctioned Copilot → Bedrock + Foundry sandboxes → agentic R&D
MPH AI Governance Framework · NIST AI RMF · CDO/CPO pre-deployment review
Mandatory gate · IOT Software Auth Request
Microsoft 365 Copilot · sanctioned day-to-day · TO EXCLUSION of other AI
Microsoft · enterprise tenant · GPT-4 backed
AWS Bedrock sandbox · Claude/Llama/Mistral/Titan/Cohere · Knowledge Bases + Agents + Guardrails
AWS managed service · IDOE has access
Azure AI Foundry sandbox · GPT-4o/o1/Phi · Prompt Flow + Agent Service
Microsoft · IDOE has access
Agentic R&D · experiments beyond Copilot
Semantic Kernel · AutoGen · custom orchestration
⚠ Shadow AI · staff using commercial outside work
ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini consumer · ungoverned
LEA-driven · no statewide AI vendor master contract · IDOE launched $2M Pilot Grant 2023-24, "leverage AI for the good"
Khanmigo · Khan Academy AI tutor + teacher tools · FREE for IN
Khan Academy · 20 of 36 pilot districts · Grade 9-10 ELA aligned 2025
MagicSchool · 100+ AI teacher tools · 25% via ESCI coop
MagicSchool AI · ESCI cooperative thru Jun 30, 2026
Amira · K-3 reading-fluency AI · approved K-2 screener
Amira Learning · dual instructional + statutory
Edia + SchoolJoy · pilot platforms
Edia.app math · SchoolJoy (Indianapolis-based)
Digital Learning Grant · $50K/LEA · ongoing competitive
IDOE Office of Digital Learning
SEA 472 framework · compliance deadline 2028 · IDOE CIO original cyber spokesperson since 2018
SEA 472 Cyber Framework · uniform policy + tech resources policy
IOT + IDOE joint · effective Jul 1, 2025
IN-ISAC · 48-hr incident reporting
IC 4-13.1-2 · one of ~10 states
PowerSchool breach (Dec 2024) · ~200 IN districts hit
$28M reserves · MDL in S.D. Cal.
🔌 How the domains connect
flowchart LR
subgraph WEB[🌐 Public Web + Identity]
INgov[IN.gov + Access Indiana SSO + Ask Indiana
Tyler · $22M/4yr]
end
subgraph DATA[🔗 Data Backbone · LINK]
EdFi[Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS + Ed-ID + LVIS 360
Resultant + Double Line]
end
subgraph ANALYTICS[🗄️ Analytics · MPH]
INK[INK SLDS + Data Hub + Pivot AI
Pete Miller CDO]
end
subgraph ACCT[📊 Accountability]
GPS[Indiana GPS · A-F Model · EWIS
Resultant]
end
subgraph ASSESS[📝 Assessment]
CAM[Cambium · WIDA/DRC · College Board]
end
subgraph SPED[🎓 Special Programs]
PSP[PowerSchool SP + PCG iMac + Fairbanks]
end
subgraph CHOICE[💳 Choice + Scholarships]
CW[Choice Portal + ClassWallet CSA/INESA/Learns]
end
subgraph CTE[🛠️ CTE + Workforce]
INTERS[InTERS + AE InTERS + Career Explorer]
end
subgraph AI[🤖 AI in Classrooms]
KhanEtc[Khanmigo + MagicSchool + Amira + Digital Learning Grant]
end
subgraph CYBER[🛡️ Cybersecurity]
SEA472[SEA 472 + IN-ISAC]
end
WEB -->|SSO powers| DATA
DATA -->|rosters + accommodations| ASSESS
DATA -->|IEP/EL flags| SPED
DATA -->|enrollment + STN| CHOICE
DATA -->|course-section data| CTE
ASSESS -->|scores| ACCT
ASSESS -->|SPED disagg| SPED
SPED -->|service logs| ACCT
DATA -->|de-identified extracts| ANALYTICS
ANALYTICS -->|cross-agency linkage| ACCT
ANALYTICS -.NIST AI RMF gate.-> AI
ANALYTICS -.NIST AI RMF gate.-> WEB
CYBER -.framework.-> WEB
CYBER -.framework.-> DATA
CYBER -.framework.-> SPED
CTE -->|career-readiness indicators| ACCT
CHOICE -->|annual report| ACCT
AI -.LEA-direct.-> SPED
📚 Deep dives — open any system below
📊 Indiana GPS Dashboard — indianagps.doe.in.gov · Resultant-built · launched Dec 12, 2022
Stack
Custom HTML/JS + Power BI Embedded + SQL Server Analysis Services (Azure-hosted multidimensional cube)
Indicators
17 total · 15 live · 2 "Coming soon" (K Readiness, PreK-2 Literacy)
Refresh
Annual primary cadence · cohort locks June 30 · postsecondary indicators have multi-year inherent lag
Usage
100K+ visitors at 6-mo mark (NASCIO) · 70 enhancements logged from school pre-release
📋 WHAT IT DOES — Capabilities
- Public-facing scrollytelling overview — narrative entry showing PreK→2, 3-8, 9-12, Beyond stages with live stat callouts
- School / Corporation / Network / Code search — at `/Search` with geospatial map (added 2023)
- 17 indicator tiles per school — each opens a Power BI modal with longitudinal trends + subgroup disaggregation + 162-day enrollment filter
- Favorites & Compare — star schools to a watchlist, view side-by-side at `/Compare`
- "Where are we going?" band on home — current vs. target progress for 5 flagship indicators (e.g., 3rd Grade Literacy 87.4% → 95% by 2027)
- Authenticated EdData view for school leaders — gates to student row-level data behind LINK Portal login
🎯 ALL 17 INDICATORS
Academic Mastery (6 indicators)
- Kindergarten Readiness — Coming soon · methodology TBD
- PreK-2 Literacy — Coming soon · methodology TBD
- 3rd Grade Literacy — Grade-3 students proficient on spring/summer IREAD ÷ total. Uses best score. Cambium-sourced.
- 6th Grade Math Growth — Grade-6 students meeting individualized growth targets on ILEARN Math ÷ total with targets
- ILEARN Performance — Two sub-measures: (a) Grades 4-8 ELA+Math growth targets met; (b) Grades 3-8 proficient in BOTH ELA AND Math
- SAT Performance — Grade-11 students meeting College Board benchmarks ÷ participants
Career & Postsecondary Readiness (7 indicators)
- 21st Century Scholars Enrollment — Grade-8 students enrolled by June 30 ÷ FRL-eligible. CHE-sourced.
- Advanced Coursework Prior to 9th Grade — Grade-8 students earning HS credit in grades 6/7/8 ÷ total grade-8
- Graduation Pathways Completion — Cohort completing all requirements by Sep 30 of expected grad year. Cohorts lock June 30.
- College & Career Credentials — Cohort earning Associate Degree / Indiana College Core / TC / CG / CT by Sep 30. CHE+DWD+GWC-sourced.
- College & Career Coursework — Cohort passing AP exam ≥3, IB ≥4, or Dual Credit course by June 30
- FAFSA Completion Rate — Cohort completing FAFSA by June 30. CHE-sourced.
- Diploma Strength — Grade-12 grads earning Core 40 / Academic Honors / Technical Honors / Both / IB
Work Ethic (1 indicator)
- Student Attendance — Note: not a traditional rate. Students with 94%+ attendance ÷ enrolled. Any absence (excused or not) counts against.
Post-Graduation Outcomes (3 indicators)
- Employment & Enrollment (1yr post-grad) — Employed: not enrolled in IN public college + employed in IN ≥3 of 4 quarters + annualized wage ≥$13,195 (IN min × 35hr × 52wk). OR Enrolled in IN public postsec. Explicit blind spot: doesn't capture enlisted military.
- Sustained Employment — Same criteria over longer horizon. DWD-sourced.
- Median Income — Annualized normalized wages 5 years post expected grad. Only captures students remaining in Indiana.
👥 USER FLOWS — by type
- Parent: Home scroll → Find Schools → school search → click school → tile click → Power BI modal → subgroup filter
- Teacher: No class-level access on public side. LINK Portal login → EdData → GPS Authenticated → drill to roster (only if district provisions access)
- School Leader: LINK Portal login → EdData → student row-level (e.g., list of cohort seniors not yet FAFSA-completed) → export for intervention
- Legislator: No legislative-district overlay. Workaround: geospatial map → add schools to Favorites → Compare side-by-side
🏗️ TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
- Front-end: Custom HTML/CSS/JS with scrollytelling. Power BI modals triggered by
openPowerBiModal(reportGUID, indicatorName, ...) JavaScript
- Back-end: Azure Analysis Services (Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services) multidimensional cube
- ETL: Resultant-managed pipelines pulling from Ed-Fi ODS, DWD, CHE, MPH (via data-sharing agreements)
- Auth: Public is open. Authenticated view via LINK Portal (identity.doe.in.gov) — Indiana's consolidated education SSO
- Hosting: Microsoft Azure
- Browser compat warning: Site explicitly warns "Some GPS reports have compatibility issues with FireFox" — known Power BI Embedded quirk
- Mobile: Responsive design intended via `viewport` meta tag; Power BI Embedded is the practical bottleneck on small screens
- Accessibility: IN.gov chrome provides accessibility toggle + screen-reader-speak. Power BI embeds notoriously underperform for screen readers — a likely gap.
🔌 DATA CONNECTIONS
- Inbound: IDOE SIS (via Ed-Fi DEX) · Cambium assessment results (IREAD, ILEARN, I AM, Checkpoints) · College Board (SAT) · AP/IB vendors · CHE (21CS, FAFSA, postsecondary enrollment) · DWD (wages, employment) · Governor's Workforce Cabinet (credentials)
- STN identifier is the persistent cross-system student key
- Sister site: indianafederalreportcard.doe.in.gov (separate ESSA reporting dashboard, overlapping data sources)
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
2 of 17 indicators still "Coming soon" in v9 methodology (May 2024) — Kindergarten Readiness + PreK-2 Literacy
Employment indicator explicitly doesn't capture enlisted military (the "E" in Employment/Enrollment/Enlistment branding)
Median Income invisible to grads who leave Indiana — biases against affluent suburban districts
"Enrolled" only counts Indiana PUBLIC postsecondary — Notre Dame, Butler, DePauw students invisible
Annual refresh + cohort-locked-June-30 creates multi-month data freshness lag
English-only (no Spanish/Burmese/Arabic localization despite Indiana EL population)
Awareness gap — EmpowerED Families: "families don't know GPS exists"
Firefox compatibility bug unresolved (Power BI Embedded)
No legislative-district filter — legislators must manually compile their schools
🛣️ ROADMAP
- SY 2025-26 (in progress): A-F accountability rating calculated under new model on informational basis only while schools adjust
- SY 2026-27: New A-F model goes live (per SBOE March 4, 2026 unanimous vote) — Resultant will build the public display since architecture is already in place
- Internal IDOE dashboards being developed to monitor leading indicators feeding each GPS indicator
- Kindergarten Readiness + PreK-2 Literacy indicators forthcoming (no public date)
📝 Cambium Assessment Platform (TIDE / TDS / CRS / Family Portal / ClearFrame) — PSC #65981
Stack
Cambium TIDE + TDS (secure browser) + CRS + Family Portal · AWS-hosted typical · 8×8 Virtual Contact Center V9.5.2 Help Desk
Scale
~80K students/grade ILEARN · 84,163 IREAD takers 2025 · ~1% I AM population
Test types
CAT (adaptive) + Performance Tasks + Checkpoints (3/yr) + Biology + US Gov ECAs
Reporting
CRS · digital only since 2025 (no paper ISRs shipped)
📋 WHAT IT DOES — Capabilities
- TIDE — registration, roster mgmt, accommodation flags, session creation, irregularity reports, rescore requests
- TDS — student-facing test client; secure browser; locks down screenshots/app-switching/kiosk-mode on Chromebooks
- CRS — educator dashboards, subgroup disaggregation, item-level analysis, cross-administration comparison, CSV export
- Indiana Family Portal — parent-facing scores (new SY 25-26: digital-only delivery, no paper school mailers)
- ClearFrame API — Indiana Reporting Framework API · pilot SY 24-25 → operational SY 25-26 for ILEARN Math/ELA Checkpoint + Summative
- Help Desk — 7am-7pm EST M-F · 24-hr response · 1-hr during testing windows
👥 USER ROLES (confirmed from 2025-26 Policy Manual)
| Role | Acronym | Scope | Cert required? |
| Corporation Test Coordinator | CTC | Full corp · inventory, accommodation flags, irregularity reports, reopen requests | No |
| School Test Coordinator | STC | Building-level · verify accommodation flags | No |
| Non-Public School Test Coordinator | NPSTC | Non-public building | No |
| WIDA Test Coordinator | WTC | WIDA-only oversight (optional CTC designee) | Yes |
| Test Administrator | TA | Initiate sessions, distribute tickets, approve entry | Yes — CAI TA Certification Course in TIDE |
| Proctor / Hall Monitor | — | Can be unlicensed; cannot supervise alone; 1:15 ratio | No |
| SSD Coordinator | — | SAT-specific | — |
| Technology Coordinator | — | SAT + WIDA online + ILEARN online | — |
Parents/guardians/student-teachers/volunteers PROHIBITED from serving as scribes/TAs/proctors — cannot be present in room during testing.
🔄 TEST DELIVERY FLOW (Student perspective)
- Student logs into Secure Browser using First Name + STN + Session ID (provided by TA)
- TA approves each session-entry request individually
- Student takes practice test for content area (required before operational)
- Operational test delivered — CAT-adaptive for ILEARN ELA/Math, fixed-form for performance tasks
- Critical: Performance tasks expire overnight (must finish in one school day). Untimed CATs can be paused/resumed throughout window.
- Tools available during test: highlighter, notepad, eliminator, line guide, zoom, mark for review, bookmark; calculator only when allowed
- Submission → Cambium scoring engine
- Score release per published timeline (see below)
📅 SY 25-26 TEST WINDOWS (confirmed from contract Exhibit K + IDOE Assessment Windows)
| Assessment | Window | Initial Score Release |
| ILEARN Checkpoint 1 | Sep 15 - Nov 14, 2025 | Sep 22, 2025 |
| ILEARN Checkpoint 2 | Nov 17, 2025 - Feb 6, 2026 | Nov 24, 2025 |
| ILEARN Biology ECA Fall | Dec 1-19, 2025 | Dec 8, 2025 |
| ILEARN Biology ECA Winter | Feb 2-20, 2026 | Feb 9, 2026 |
| ILEARN Checkpoint 3 | Feb 9 - Apr 10, 2026 | Feb 16, 2026 |
| IREAD Primary | Mar 2-13, 2026 | Mar 9, 2026 |
| I AM | Mar 30 - May 8, 2026 | Apr 6, 2026 |
| ILEARN Summative G3-8 | Apr 13 - May 8, 2026 | Apr 29, 2026 |
| IREAD Summer Retest | May 11 - Jun 26, 2026 | May 18, 2026 |
🧩 ITEM TYPES + ACCOMMODATIONS
- Item types: Selected response (MC, multi-select) · Technology-enhanced (drag-drop, hotspot, equation editor, matching, classification, ordering) · Constructed response · Extended response (human-rater scored) · Performance tasks (PT — reading stimulus + integrated CR/ER)
- Accommodations confirmed in Policy Manual: Text-to-Speech (TTS), Text-to-Braille, Spanish translated directions (ILEARN + WIDA), human reader (secure scripts), sign language interpreter, scribe, Braille (UEB gr 1-5; UEB+Nemeth or UEB Math/Science gr 6-12), large print (18pt 11×17), paper-and-pencil (NSAAR-requested), extended time, separate setting, Bluetooth hearing device, frequent breaks, Emergency/Temporary Accommodation Plan per 511 IAC 5-2-4(b)
- Accommodation pipeline: Flags enter TIDE from (a) IDOE Special Programs (IEP/SP students) and (b) local SIS via DEX (504/CSEP/ILP students). STCs verify; CTCs file Nonstandard Assessment Accommodation Requests for off-list needs.
🔌 DATA CONNECTIONS
- Inbound: Ed-Fi ODS roster sync (via DEX) · IDOE Special Programs (IEP accommodation flags) · LEA SIS (504/ILP flags)
- Outbound: CRS to LEAs · Indiana Family Portal to parents · Indiana GPS feed · A-F accountability feed (SY 26-27) · EDFacts SPED files · IREAD retention decisions (SEA 1 legally operative)
- ClearFrame API: Indiana Reporting Framework API exposes student-level data to Onboarded Vendor Applications via Certified Testing Coordinators
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Vendor concentration: Cambium owns assessment + LETRS + Acadience screener — entire literacy stack
Score release latency is structural — human-rater scoring of open-ended items pushes summative results to September; not actionable until next school year
Performance task overnight expiration — usability constraint for students with attendance/medical disruption
No paper ISRs shipped — increases parent-portal dependence; tech-access gap for low-income families
Three-vendor accommodation coding (TIDE vs WIDA AMS vs SSD Online) creates CTC operational burden
Checkpoint testing burden: Sep through April is functionally continuous testing for grades 3-8 ELA + Math
ELA proficiency stagnation 5+ years on ILEARN (40.6% in 2025) despite platform investments
ClearFrame downstream vendor data flow — Amendment #3 explicitly disclaims Cambium liability for how Onboarded Vendor Applications handle student data
🛣️ ROADMAP (verified from contract Exhibit K)
- SY 25-26 (live): ClearFrame API operational deployment for ILEARN Math/ELA Checkpoint + Summative · Family Portal delivers parent scores (replaces school paper mailings) · IREAD-3 → IREAD field-facing rename · Principled Assessment Design rollout
- SY 26-27: ILEARN summative second testing opportunity becomes fully adaptive
- SY 26-27: ClearFrame data-use training for ~50 teachers (webinars + asynchronous, no cost; future PD billable)
- Dec 31, 2026: Contract terminates — Amendment #4 or recompete decision
🔗 LINK Initiative · Ed-Fi Data Exchange (v6.1 Tech Suite 3) — IDOE's data backbone
Stack
Ed-Fi v6.1 of Tech Suite 3 (upgraded from v2.4) · ODS/API · Resultant + Double Line · Microsoft Azure
Launched
LINK announced May 2018 · v6.1 SY 2024 badging cycle · STN App Center retired March 2025
Owner
IDOE Chief Information Officer, IDOE CIO
Vendor Cert
10-15 student SIS vendors badged annually
📋 SUB-SYSTEMS UNDER LINK UMBRELLA
- Data Exchange (DEX) — Ed-Fi ODS/API + Validation Portal (dataexchange.doe.in.gov/validation/#/)
- Ed-ID Portal — Statewide identity service at apps.doe.in.gov/educationid · replaced STN App Center
- LVIS 360 — Educator licensing at license.doe.in.gov (Power Apps Portal / Microsoft Dataverse)
- Choice Voucher Application — Choice Scholarship admin
- EdData portal — Public/LEA reporting at eddata.doe.in.gov · hosts Student Data Backpack (Q4 2025)
- Indiana GPS Dashboard — indianagps.doe.in.gov
- CNPweb — Child nutrition reporting
- Knowledge Hub (IKHTV) — Confluence at idoe.atlassian.net
- Service Desk — Atlassian Jira SM at help.doe.in.gov
🔑 ED-FI v6.1 API SPECIFICS
- Vendor environment: dataexchangevendor.doe.in.gov/swagger/ → /{schoolYear}/swagger/index.html — Indiana operates one ODS instance per school year
- Auth: OAuth2 client-credentials flow at /oauth/token · Bearer JWTs with Ed-Fi claim_set scoped to authorized LEA EdOrgs
- Data API base: /data/v3/{schoolYear}/ed-fi/
- Pagination: offset/limit query params · default 25, max 500
- Sync: minChangeVersion/maxChangeVersion for incremental
📊 CORE ENDPOINTS (from IDOE Templates Hub)
- Identity: /students /staffs /schools /localEducationAgencies /educationServiceCenters
- Enrollment: /studentSchoolAssociations /studentEducationOrganizationResponsibilityAssociations (SEORA — IN heavy use)
- Schedule: /sessions /courses /courseOfferings /sections /studentSectionAssociations /staffSectionAssociations
- Attendance: /studentSchoolAttendanceEvents /studentSectionAttendanceEvents /calendars /calendarDates
- Grades: /grades /gradingPeriods /reportCards /studentAcademicRecords /courseTranscripts
- Discipline: /disciplineIncidents /disciplineActions
- Programs: /programs /studentProgramAssociations /studentSpecialEducationProgramAssociations /studentLanguageInstructionProgramAssociations /studentTitleIPartAProgramAssociations /studentHomelessProgramAssociations
- Assessment: /assessments /studentAssessments (used minimally — scoring lives in Cambium TIDE, joined via STN)
🆔 ED-ID FORMATS
- Student ID (STN): 9 chars · begins with letter "T" + 8 random chars (post-STN-retirement)
- Staff ID (SPN): 8 digits, random
- Existing IDs preserved — IDOE not renumbering
- Soundex/fuzzy match on creation; low score = auto-approve; high score = return candidates → user can push through (queued for human review)
- Educator IDs: Wait for LVIS to create SPN first (avoids duplicates) — LVIS is authoritative for licensed staff
⏱️ DATA INGESTION CADENCE
- SIS → ODS: Near-continuous (most vendors hourly or nightly delta; PowerSchool defaults overnight)
- Ed-ID → ODS: 15 min for new IDs · 2 hours for updates
- Validation: Nightly during count windows; user-triggered "Re-Run Validation" otherwise
- End-to-end SIS update → GPS dashboard: typically 24-48 hours
- Critical count windows: October ADM · February Membership · End-of-year · Graduation
🏆 SIS VENDOR BADGING PROCESS
- Vendor signs Indiana Vendor Agreement → gets sandbox credentials
- Maps SIS data model to Indiana Ed-Fi profile using IDOE Descriptors workbook
- Executes Vendor Badging Scenarios workbook against published checklist
- Demos to IDOE / Double Line; submits checklist
- IDOE issues badge (recorded in "2024 SIS Vendor Badging Status v6.1" spreadsheet)
- LEA customers issued production Key/Secret pairs via LINK Security Portal
- Annual recertification against next SY's scenarios
🔌 DOWNSTREAM CONSUMERS
- Indiana GPS Dashboard · EdData / Attendance Insights / Student Data Backpack · InView (retired → folded into GPS) · EDFacts federal submissions · CRDC Courtesy File (rolled out Feb 15, 2025) · PowerSchool Special Programs (IEP rostering) · Cambium TIDE (test pre-coding via STN) · LVIS 360 (educator crosswalk) · MPH INK SLDS (de-identified extracts) · IES SLDS grant reporting
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Form 9 (financial) still on legacy templates — Vendor Finance Support Hub being built to migrate finance onto Ed-Fi
CTE/Perkins, Nutrition (CNPweb), EPP outcomes still outside Ed-Fi pipeline
Non-public Choice-only schools, very small charters, homeschools still use bulk-template upload (not certified SIS)
No public commitment to Ed-Fi v7 / Data Management Service migration
Rate limits not publicly documented
FERPA controls: standard Ed-Fi role-based authorization; no public documentation of differential privacy or row-level masking beyond defaults
🛣️ ROADMAP
- ✓ Ed-Fi 6.0/6.1 upgrade (done, SY24)
- ✓ STN App Center retirement (done, March 2025)
- Q4 2025: Student Data Backpack live in LINK EdData tile
- ✓ CRDC Courtesy File (done, Feb 15, 2025)
- Next: Finance / Form 9 migration onto Ed-Fi
- Next: Educator preparation program outcomes onto Ed-Fi
- Continued LVIS 360 evolution (Power Apps + Access Indiana SSO)
- Choice Portal expansion (own application stack, Ed-ID-aligned)
🏛️ IES SLDS Grant #4 — "Taking Indiana's College & Career Data to the Next Level" ($3.99M / 2023-2027) · the federal modernization vehicle
Award #
R372A230006 · NCES / Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Amount
$3,985,800 · cooperative agreement
Period
Sept 25, 2023 → Sept 24, 2027 · 4 years
Project Director
Dr. John Keller · consistent PD continuity across consecutive SLDS awards (~15 years)
Awardee
Indiana Department of Education
Priority Area
College & Career Readiness · Data & Assessments
Why this is the modernization vehicle: This is the largest single federal modernization grant currently active inside IDOE. Through 2027, this award funds the alignment of Indiana's Education and Workforce Data System (EWDS) to national data standards, the build of new college-and-career data products, and a feedback pilot for educator preparation programs. Most forward-looking K-12 data infrastructure work IDOE will do over the next 24 months connects, directly or indirectly, to one of this grant's three outcomes.
🏗️ THE THREE-TIER STRUCTURE
flowchart TD
Grant["🏛️ IES SLDS Grant #4 · $3.99M · 2023-2027
PD: Dr. Keller · Award R372A230006"]
Grant --> T1["TIER 1 — Foundation
Align EWDS to CEDS"]
Grant --> T2["TIER 2 — Products
4 college/career data products"]
Grant --> T3["TIER 3 — Pipeline
EPP Feedback Pilot"]
T1 --> CEDS["Common Education Data Standard
nationally-accepted data model"]
T1 --> EWDS["Education & Workforce Data System
IDOE data warehouse · latest CEDS version"]
T2 --> AdvTeams[Design / advisory teams
shape product scope]
T2 --> DataProducts[Reports + dashboards
built to research agenda]
T2 --> Council[EWDS Governance Council
research agenda owner]
T3 --> EPPAdvisory[EPP Advisory Group
guides feedback report design]
T3 --> EPPCandidates[EPP candidate data
supply-side pipeline analytics]
T3 --> EPPReports[State + program-level
EPP feedback reports]
🎯 OUTCOME 1 — EWDS aligned to CEDS (the standards foundation)
- What CEDS is: Common Education Data Standard. National data model maintained by NCES that gives every state's longitudinal data system a shared vocabulary — same field names, same definitions, same coding for things like enrollment status, course completion, and credential type. Most states are at various points of partial alignment.
- Why this matters for Indiana: Aligning EWDS to CEDS makes Indiana's data interoperable with national reporting frameworks, federal research datasets, and cross-state benchmarking. It also unlocks vendor interoperability — vendors that build to CEDS can plug in without bespoke field mapping.
- What gets touched: the IDOE data warehouse infrastructure, the EWDS ingestion pipeline shared with MPH, and the cross-agency feeds from DWD (workforce records), CHE (postsecondary), and IDOE (K-12).
- Why this matters for partners: Any new system Indiana procures or builds in the 2024-2027 window should be CEDS-aligned by design. Partners pitching modernization work need to demonstrate CEDS fluency, not negotiate around it.
🎯 OUTCOME 2 — Four College & Career Data Products
- Source of the agenda: the EWDS Governance Council's research agenda — meaning the four products are responses to research questions already prioritized at the cross-agency governance layer, not net-new requests originated inside the grant.
- Build mechanism: design and advisory teams shape scope; reports and dashboards are built iteratively against design-team input.
- Connection to GPS Dashboard: the existing Indiana GPS Dashboard (Resultant-built) is the most visible college/career data product Indiana already runs. The four products under Outcome 2 are likely either next-generation evolutions of GPS or complementary deep-dive tools — final scope will be set by the advisory teams during the project period.
- Why this matters: these four products are the primary 2024-2027 "deliverables that get shown" — they are where Indiana's data story to legislators, employers, and parents gets visibly updated.
🎯 OUTCOME 3 — Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Feedback Pilot
- What it is: a pilot that turns EPP candidate data into state-level and program-level feedback reports. Today, EPPs receive limited longitudinal data about how their graduates perform on Praxis, in classrooms, and in retention. This outcome builds the feedback infrastructure that closes that loop.
- Why this is interesting: it sits at the intersection of three things the Atlas already documents — Praxis cut scores (educator-pipeline supply), LVIS 360 (licensure administration), and the Science of Reading endorsement (HEA 1558, taking effect July 1, 2027). The EPP Feedback Pilot is structurally the data layer that makes the rest of the EPP modernization possible.
- Governance: an EPP Advisory Group guides feedback report design — meaning EPPs (Indiana's ~30+ teacher prep institutions) are at the table for what gets measured.
- Connection to TPI-US (Teacher Prep Inspection): TPI-US's UK-Ofsted-style EPP inspection program (documented in the Verified Payments tab at $7.73M over 24 months) operates alongside this — TPI-US is the qualitative inspection layer, the EPP Feedback Pilot is the quantitative outcomes-data layer.
🧬 THE 15-YEAR FEDERAL SLDS LINEAGE
| Grant | Award # | Period | Focus |
| P-20 Comprehensive Data System | R372A070013 | 2007-era | Original P-20 SLDS build |
| Indiana Education and Workforce Data System | R372A120027 | 2012-era | EWDS expansion |
| Indiana's Next Level SLDS | R372A200027 | 3/2020 - 2/2025 · $3.50M | LINK Initiative · Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS |
| Taking Indiana's College & Career Data to the Next Level | R372A230006 | 9/2023 - 9/2027 · $3.99M | CEDS alignment · C&C data products · EPP pilot |
| Cumulative federal SLDS investment | ~$16.6M | 2007-2027 · 20 years continuous |
Dr. Keller has been Project Director on the last four consecutive awards — institutional continuity across multiple superintendents, three federal administrations, and the entire LINK Initiative arc. The federal SLDS program is the single most stable funding source for K-12 data infrastructure work at IDOE.
🔗 HOW THIS GRANT CONNECTS TO THE REST OF THE STACK
Upstream — what feeds Outcome 1 work
LINK Initiative / Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS · IDOE data warehouse · cross-agency feeds from MPH, DWD, CHE · existing INK SLDS infrastructure. Outcome 1 work is mostly internal alignment + tooling rather than new data acquisition.
Outputs — what Outcome 2 produces
Four new public-facing or authenticated college/career data products. Likely architecture: Power BI + custom front-end, similar to GPS. Advisory teams shape exact scope; products go live during the grant period.
Outcome 3 ties to the EPP ecosystem
Feedback reports flow to the ~30+ Indiana EPPs (Ball State, IU, Purdue, ISU, USI, Marian, Goshen, Anderson, Trine, etc.) · governance through the EPP Advisory Group · complementary to TPI-US inspection program.
What partners should watch
The grant's design-team and advisory-group structure is where outside partners can participate without competing — by contributing expertise to scope and design rather than bidding on a downstream procurement. CEDS-aligned modernization proposals are the rhetorical posture that lines up with this grant.
⚠️ LIMITATIONS / OPEN QUESTIONS
The four specific college/career data products under Outcome 2 are not enumerated in the public award abstract — they're described as scoped in the project narrative, which is not posted publicly. Their exact scope is determined inside the project period.
CEDS alignment is technically complex — Indiana's EWDS has 15+ years of legacy field definitions across multiple agencies. Real timeline for full alignment likely beyond the 2027 grant close.
EPP Feedback Pilot scope and granularity are governed by the EPP Advisory Group — politically sensitive (EPP institutions have institutional concerns about how candidate-outcome data is presented). The data structure is technical but the deployment is institutional.
Federal IES funding has been under broader political pressure in 2025-2026. Continuation of the 2027+ SLDS program (Grant #5) cannot be assumed at the same funding level — Indiana's 20-year federal SLDS continuity may end.
Subcontractor allocations within R372A230006 are not public — likely portions to Resultant (Ed-Fi technical) and potentially DataSmith or other data engineering vendors.
🛣️ KEY DATES
- Sept 25, 2023 — Award start
- Years 1-2 (FY 24-25) — Outcome 1 CEDS alignment foundation work; Outcome 2 advisory team formation
- Years 2-3 (FY 25-26) — Outcome 2 product development; Outcome 3 EPP Advisory Group convened, pilot framework built
- Years 3-4 (FY 26-27) — Outcome 2 products go live; Outcome 3 first feedback reports issued
- Sept 24, 2027 — Grant close · final reporting · likely application window for Grant #5 opens around same time
Source: IES award page · R372A230006
🎓 PowerSchool Special Programs — IEP / 504 / ILP / Service Capture (live since July 18, 2025)
Baseline
v25.7.0.0 deployed July 18, 2025 (IEP/ILP); v25.7.x deployed July 21 (504 + Service Capture)
Predecessor
PCG IIEP / EDPlan retired June 6, 2025 (12+ year tenure)
Scale
~180,000 IN SPED students · 415 LEAs + 120 charters · 20K-30K active users (case mgrs + related providers + CCC participants)
Status
15+ dot releases in 4 months post-launch · IDOE weekly fix announcements
📋 WHAT IT DOES — Capabilities (confirmed from PowerSchool Indiana docs)
- IEPs — full authoring with Cover Page, Eligibility Determination, Special Considerations, Manifestation Determination Review, Behavioral Intervention Plan, Accommodations Section, Annual Goals, Provisions, LRE, Meeting Notes, IEP at a Glance
- 504 Plans — with AI-generated draft via PowerBuddy
- ILPs (Individualized Learning Plans) for English Learners — Parts 1/2/3 + ILP at a Glance + Revision
- FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment) form
- Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)
- Eligibility Records + Determination tracking
- Parent letters: Opt-in, Refusal, Annual Parent Notification, Written Consent to Bill Medicaid, Electronic Documents Consent
- Digital Signature (DigSig) — toggleable per document; lap top/tablet/mobile
- APR/SPP Diagnostic Reports — Indicators 5/6 (LRE), 11/12 (timely eval), 13 (transition)
- PowerBuddy AI — 504 Plan Draft, IEP Goal Generator, Accommodation Suggestions (with Like/Dislike feedback)
- Service Capture — Medicaid billing prep (consent + service-line capture; downstream billing via PCG/Fairbanks)
👥 USER ROLES
- Teacher of Record (TOR) — primary case manager; required attendee
- General Ed Teacher — invited via lookup; Consent to Invite checkbox
- Public Agency Rep — required for IEPs
- Service Provider — Speech, OT, PT, Audiology, Psychological, Social Worker, Nursing, Counseling, ABA, Interpreting, Orientation & Mobility, etc.
- EL Teacher of Record — ILP-specific
- District Admin / Special Ed Director
- IEP/ILP Support Contact — new LINK Portal role (Jan 2025); up to 2 per LEA; tech support gateway
- Section 504 Coordinator
- Parents / Students 18+ — once student turns 18, rights transfer unless guardianship
- EXCLUDED: Parents/guardians/student-teachers/volunteers cannot serve as scribes/TAs/proctors during assessment time
🔄 IEP AUTHORING WORKFLOW
- Referral Information Profile — captures initial referral · First Steps flag triggers Part C→B transition
- Notice of Evaluation document generated
- Evaluation Report (ETR)
- Eligibility Determination sub-section + Notice docs (Ineligibility, Termination)
- Notice of Case Conference — date/time/location, attendees with Consent to Invite checkboxes, parent authorization options
- IEP drafting: Cover Page → Eligibility → Special Considerations → Manifestation Determination (if applicable) → BIP → Accommodations → Annual Goals (with Progress Monitoring auto-populated; AI Goal Generator assists) → Provisions → LRE → Meeting Notes → IEP at a Glance summary
- CCC meeting held; minutes in Meeting Notes section
- Parent sign-off — DigSig OR paper-copy checkbox · 25.8.0.0 validation prevents Parent Response Date earlier than Date of Delivery
- Notice of Initial Proposed IEP issued post-CCC
- Translation per language
- Annual Review driven by Annual Review Date
- Triennial Reevaluation triggers Notice of Reevaluation
- Transition planning at 14 — Transition Profile auto-enables; tracks Student Invited, Postsecondary Goals, Transition Services, Indicator 13 compliance
- Exit / graduation — Summary of Performance document; Student Exit from Special Education report
💸 SERVICE CAPTURE / MEDICAID FLOW
- Billable service types: Audiology, OT, PT, Psychological, Social Worker, Nursing, Transportation, Counseling, Early ID/Assessment, Interpreting, Medical Services for Diagnosis, Orientation & Mobility, Parent Counseling, Recreation, Rehab Counseling, ABA Therapy, Speech/Language
- Provider role set via Service Provider lookup per service line
- Service log entry — Initiation Date, Annual Review Date, Service Type, Service, Frequency, Length, Location (General or Special Ed Setting), ESY flag, Narrative
- Written Consent to Bill Medicaid — Agree / Disagree / Did Not Respond + Medicaid ID + Eligibility Date
- Downstream Medicaid billing — split vendor architecture:
- Direct-service iMac billing: stayed with PCG even after IIEP retired
- Administrative claiming (IndianaMAC): moved to Fairbanks LLC starting OD25 (Oct-Dec 2025); each LEA signed new Participant Agreement
- Consent + service-line definition: PowerSchool Special Programs
🤖 POWERBUDDY AI FEATURES
- 504 Plan Draft Generator — Inputs: Grade, School, Attendance, Academic Performance, Grades, Interventions, Challenges, Strengths (~4,000 chars). Generate → structured 504 with Student Info / Team Members / Purpose / Areas of Concern / Accommodations / Review / Signature. Disclaimer: "AI-generated · not legally binding · draft only." Like/Dislike feedback refines model.
- IEP Goal Generator — AI-assisted Annual Goals authoring
- Accommodation Suggestions
- Available to teachers, special ed staff, administrators with appropriate permissions
🔌 INTEGRATION
- Ed-Fi DEX / ODS: EdFi Exports report uses PlanType ≠ Five04 — 504 accommodations are NEVER included in DEX submissions (Indiana DEX is IDEA-only). 504 → OCR/CRDC reporting needs different data path.
- PowerSchool SIS: Same vendor — direct integration for ~200 corps
- Skyward / Infinite Campus / Tyler: Mediated via Ed-Fi DEX/LINK
- Medicaid (FSSA): Three-vendor architecture (PSSP + PCG iMac + Fairbanks IndianaMAC)
- IDOE Office of Special Ed: 35+ reports built in (Standard Reports tree)
⚠️ KNOWN IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES (Nov 2025 onward)
FAPE compliance risk: June 6 - July 21, 2025 was the most acute window (IIEP retired + PSSP not fully live). IDOE created Good Cause Exemption fillable form to bridge. Risk continues — 15+ post-launch dot releases include compliance-critical fixes (Annual Review Date persistence SPEDSM-130037, DigSig submission SPEDSM-123314).
Migration data quality from PCG — IDOE asserted "all data and finalized documents will migrate," but volume of post-launch fixes implies field-level inconsistencies. LEAs should run Student Missing Data + User Missing Data reports regularly.
Annual Review Date silently lost before 25.9.0.0 fix — implicit Indicator 11/13 timeline compliance risk
"IEP must be created at Responsible School" workflow error blocks edits when student transfers mid-year until responsible school is reset
DigSig had 10+ issues fixed in 25.9.0.0 (alignment, table titles, signer roles, 508 compliance, signature alignment, formatting) — IEPs signed before mid-Sept may need validation
Cross-SIS integration challenges for non-PS LEAs; IDOE committed to "deeper integration next school year" (2026-27)
Tech-access gaps for families without internet — paper sign-off fallback allowed but breaks audit trail benefit
Multi-language coverage beyond Spanish not enumerated in public docs (significant gap for Burmese, Arabic, Haitian Creole populations in IPS)
🛣️ ROADMAP
- Q4 2025: Accommodation sync · LRE-driven SE Program record automation · EdFi cleanup · ESA-SP integration · Service Plan parity with IEP for FAPE-refusal cases (25.11.4.0)
- 2026 releases: 26.1.0.0 onward already in navigation
- 2026-27: Deeper SIS data integration for non-PS LEAs (IDOE-promised)
- Medicaid expansion: Fairbanks ramping up; consolidation away from PCG plausible next move
- AI features: Continued PowerBuddy expansion (next: more goal-bank coverage, IEP draft assistance)
- Continued IDOE fix rollouts: monthly headline features through SY 25-26 expected
🔌 Indiana GPS Dashboard → PD/Networking Platform Integration Opportunities
Status
NO stated in-product PD integrations · entire connective tissue is human-mediated
Identity layer
IDOE Identity SSO already federates GPS + LVIS + EdData + Indiana Learning Lab — wiring exists
Taxonomy
Learning Lab tags IDOE Framework · ILEARN · IREAD · WIDA · I AM map 1:1 to GPS indicator domains
Whitespace
"Indicator → PD" pivot does not exist — biggest single integration opportunity in the IDOE ecosystem
The core insight: Identity is solved, data is solved, taxonomy is solved — only the linkage is missing. IDOE Identity SSO already federates GPS, EdData, LVIS, and Indiana Learning Lab. Resultant already extracts Cambium, CHE, DWD into Power BI / SSAS. The Learning Lab already tags content by GPS-relevant assessment families. Nothing technologically novel needs to happen to wire the existing pieces together.
📋 STATED connections today (documented, in-product)
| Platform | Connection | Type |
| LINK Portal / IDOE Identity | SSO target — authenticates row-level GPS, LVIS, EdData; Learning Lab offers "Login with IDOE Identity" | Auth federation |
| EdData | Row-level student data behind authenticated GPS drill-downs (Resultant case study confirms) | Data backbone |
| Federal Report Card | Sister Resultant-built Power BI dashboard · sibling navigation | Co-located |
| Indiana Learning Lab (inlearninglab.com) | Listed as IDOE PD platform on /doe/educators/digital-learning. Login with IDOE Identity. NO data flow to/from GPS in product. | Identity-only |
| INLearning Partnership | IDOE page essentially empty; live content at keepindianalearning.org. Branding umbrella with IDOE + Learning Lab + Keep IN Learning | Brand only |
| Indiana Educator Job Board | Upgraded Jan 2026 to Nimble (hirenimble.com) · NO GPS school-performance signals flow into matching | External, unintegrated |
| LVIS (Licensing) | Educator source-of-truth; tied to IMAP mentoring; not visibly joined to GPS | Identity-only |
Important null finding: GPS does NOT link out to any PD recommendation, coach directory, mentor matching, or networking destination from any indicator page. "About" page promises continual stakeholder-input updates but ships no PD/community CTAs. Inverse is also true: Learning Lab's collection-filter taxonomy maps cleanly to GPS indicator domains but is curated by editors, not driven by school-level performance data.
🏗️ Indiana PD ecosystem — connection inventory
PD content platforms
- Indiana Learning Lab · Five Star Technology Solutions vendor · microlearning + workshops + community forums + LiveChat help · IDOE Identity SSO option
- IDOE Moodle · Moodle 3.x · enrollment-key gated · counselors / safety / CS endorsement / Science of Happiness
- INLearning Partnership · brand only · empty IDOE landing page
- Keep Indiana Learning (CIESC) · workshops + podcasts + I-STEM expansion · co-member of INLearning Partnership
- ISTA Academy · ~40K member union side · awards PGP points but NO LVIS feed
- LETRS (Lexia) · ~2,000 active licenses · ~$20M/yr SoR budget · completion in vendor portal NOT joined to GPS
- Literacy Cadre (CELL @ UIndy + Marian) · 400+ schools · 7pp IREAD lift documented but invisible in GPS
- Keys to Literacy · IDOE-sponsored free PD
- SPEDACTS · special-ed provider matchmaking + SPED:RAL alt licensure
Networking + community platforms
- IASP Indiana Assoc School Principals · 3,300+ admins · 3 podcasts · IPLI partnership
- IPLI Indiana Principal Leadership Institute · 2-yr cohorts w/ ISU Ed.S. (50% tuition) · "Cycle of Inquiry" framework explicitly chooses a focus indicator
- INALI Asst. Principal version of IPLI
- Indiana Teacher of the Year network · 60+ year alumni
- ISBA / ISTA / IUSA / IASBO · School boards / teacher union / urban schools / business officials
- Summer of Learning · 14 district-hosted IDOE-funded conferences in 2025
- IMAP Indiana Mentor and Assessment Program (LVIS-native) for new teachers
- 30+ EPPs · IU · Butler · Marian · UIndy · ISU · BSU · Purdue · Indiana Tech
Workforce/career networks
- Work and Learn Indiana (workandlearnindiana.com) · WBL matching marketplace
- Ascend Indiana · regional WBL intermediary directory · IDOE partner
- CHE pathway portals · postsec / dual credit / 21st Century Scholars · ScholarTrack
- Pivot AI (DWD/MPH/Resultant) · UI claimant career recommender
Structural gap: NO math coaching network
- Literacy has the Cadre (400+ schools)
- Mathematics Partnership for Inquiry Learning is content library, not coaching network
- NO statewide Math Cadre exists
- GPS shows 6th Grade Math Growth indicator (35.4% vs 45.8% 2030 target) with no coaching analog
- The most underbuilt PD lane corresponds to a headline GPS indicator
🎯 OPPORTUNITY MATRIX — what doesn't exist but should
| Hypothesis | Exists? | Build complexity | Who could build |
| Teacher viewing school GPS can find PD targeted to weak indicators | ❌ NO | Trivial | IDOE + Five Star · could ship in a sprint |
| Cadre-school overlay on GPS Search (coach badge + contact) | ❌ NO | Low | Resultant + CELL + Marian rosters |
| LETRS dosage overlay on literacy indicators | ❌ NO | Medium | Lexia exports to IDOE today · Resultant SSAS join |
| IPLI "Start an Inquiry Cycle from this indicator" button | ❌ NO | Medium | ISU/IPLI + IDOE · needs auth handoff |
| New-teacher IMAP auto-match driven by GPS | ❌ NO | High | Pure IDOE play · LVIS + GPS both internal |
| WBL deep-link from GPS credentials indicators → Work and Learn Indiana | ❌ NO | Trivial | IDOE owns both routes |
| Nimble job board consumes GPS school-fit signals for candidate matching | ❌ NO | Medium | Most commercially interesting gap · Nimble has open API · political question on GPS-influenced matching |
| Personalized PD feed driven by school's GPS profile + LVIS PGP needs | ❌ NO | High | Flagship vendor opportunity · none of Five Star · Lexia · Nimble · Resultant · CIESC · ISTA Academy own all 3 sides (identity + indicators + content) · neutral middleware unbuilt and unowned |
| Cohort 2029 diploma seal earners → alumni networks | ❌ NO | Greenfield | No alumni network infrastructure at state level — pure product opportunity |
Three concluding observations
1. The biggest political constraint is the IDOE / ISTA boundary. ISTA Academy is the largest educator-owned PD platform in Indiana and is invisible to IDOE products. Bridging would require either an open PGP-points ledger inside LVIS or ISTA-side acceptance of state metadata. Most politically loaded integration on the map.
2. The Nimble integration (January 2026) is the only fresh IDOE B2B partnership of this kind in the educator-platform space. It is a precedent for what an "external vendor woven into IDOE.gov" can look like — and a useful template for any subsequent vendor wanting to plug into GPS-adjacent surfaces.
3. The INLearning Partnership URL returns an empty body today — a striking artifact suggesting the partnership exists as branding but not as a delivered IDOE-side product. This is a real opportunity: the brand exists, the page exists, the URL is reserved, and the content surface is empty.
📚 Sources
🗄️ MPH (Management Performance Hub) · INK / EWDS · Indiana Data Hub — cross-agency data substrate
Statutory basis
IC 4-3-26 · codified July 1, 2017 · first stand-alone state data agency in nation
Leadership
Pete Miller Chief Data Officer (appointed Jan 13, 2025 by Gov. Braun) · Josh Martin Chief of Staff
Budget
FY24 ~$9M · FY25 ~$9.8M · ~38 FTEs
Stack
CKAN 2.9 (Data Hub) · Tableau (dashboards) · Enhanced Research Environment (ERE) · encrypt-then-link primitive
📋 WHAT IT DOES
- Central data linkage agent under IC 4-3-26 — receives identifiers from agencies, encrypts and links cross-agency, returns aggregates or hosts record-level analysis in ERE
- INK / EWDS — Indiana Network of Knowledge / Education and Workforce Data System (P-20W longitudinal data system)
- Indiana Data Hub (hub.mph.in.gov) — public CKAN catalog with "more than 100" de-identified datasets across 7 topical groups
- Pivot AI workforce engine (co-built with DWD + Resultant, launched Nov 2023)
- State AI Policy gatekeeper — pre-deployment review of all state AI projects (NIST AI RMF-aligned)
- Enhanced Research Environment (ERE) — secure analytic tenant for approved researchers; 100+ users / 20 agencies/universities / 16 active projects (2021)
- Indiana Transparency Portal — co-built with State Comptroller's office
📊 INK / EWDS DATA CONTRIBUTORS
- Early Childhood — FSSA (Family and Social Services Administration)
- K-12 — IDOE (holds the ED-ID statewide student identifier)
- Postsecondary — CHE + National Student Clearinghouse for out-of-state enrollments
- Workforce — DWD (~3M workers / 830 occupations of quarterly wage records)
- Governance: IDOE+CHE+DWD+FSSA representatives + MPH = EWDS governing body. Project Director: IDOE Chief Information Officer (IDOE CIO)
💰 FEDERAL IES SLDS GRANT HISTORY
| Year | Title | Award | Period |
| 2007 | P-20 Comprehensive Data System | $5,188,260 | 9/2007 - 9/2011 |
| 2012 | IN Education & Workforce Data System | $3,965,160 | 7/2012 - 6/2018 |
| 2019 | Indiana's Next Level SLDS (R372A200027) | $3,498,576 | 3/2020 - 2/2025 |
| 2023 | Taking IN College & Career Data (R372A230006) | $3,985,800 | 9/2023 - 9/2027 |
| Cumulative IES SLDS funding | ~$16.6M | 2007-2027 |
2023 grant deliverables: EWDS aligned to CEDS (Common Education Data Standards) · 4 college-and-career data products · EPP feedback pilot · final by Sept 2027
🤖 PIVOT AI — Workforce Recommendation Engine
- What: Hybrid-filtering recommender system trained on SLDS data · integrated into Uplink (UI claims system) via API · mobile-first
- Funding: DOL QUEST Disaster Recovery DWG (~$10.8M, Oct 2022) · kickoff Apr 2023 · launched Nov 2023
- Coalition: DWD (Chris Henderson CIO, Josh Richardson Chief of Staff) + CHE + DOE + MPH + IOT · Resultant implementation
- Performance (Jun-Dec 2024): 67% of UI claimants used voluntarily · 6,800+ selected "yes" on recommended job · 1,100+ accepted jobs from top-15 list · 700+ switched industries entirely
- Wage outcomes: Followers saw $2.15 vs $1.42 hourly wage increase · top-recommendation acceptors: $3.98/hr (~$8,200 annual)
- Recognition: 2024 NASCIO Emerging Tech Award submission
- Q1 2025 expansion: Direct job postings added · training-provider recommendations · Ivy Tech opt-in data sharing
- Future: Extend Pivot to general jobseekers, K-12 students, formerly incarcerated, veterans
🛡️ STATE AI POLICY (MPH-administered)
- Framework: NIST AI Risk Management Framework (NIST AI 100-1) alignment
- Process: Every state AI project files AI Readiness Assessment Questionnaire → MPH AI Review Team (Legal & Privacy, Data Science, Data Governance, Enterprise Solutions) → CPO grants State of Indiana AI Policy Exception · IOT will NOT approve Software Authorization Request without one
- Risk tiers: High-Risk (full team review), Moderate-Risk (limited), Low-Risk (auto-approve)
- JIT notice requirement: User-interactive AI must provide "just-in-time" notice at point of info collection (approved by CPO)
- Annual reassessment required for active exceptions
🔌 DATA-SHARING ARCHITECTURE
- Encrypt-then-link primitive: Agencies share identifiers with MPH → MPH encrypts + links → returns aggregates OR hosts in ERE
- IC 4-3-26 authority: MPH "acts as agent of each agency they support" — central data stewardship eliminates per-project renegotiation
- 20+ partner agencies contributing open data and integrated data
- Indiana Data Governance Council: cross-domain interdisciplinary group at OCDO
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
~38 FTEs supporting 20+ agencies + statewide AI governance is thin for the scope
Cross-agency MOU governance can slow data refresh for new use cases
Aggregated public data only — record-level requires research approval via ERE
Educational research lag — wage data is quarterly, education annual
Data quality gaps in source agency systems propagate into Pivot recommendations (CIO Barnes: only 22% of states have data quality program per EY/NASCIO survey)
Race/ethnicity data completeness limited disparity analysis during COVID
Indiana Data Hub still on CKAN 2.9 (current 2.11) — modernization unannounced
🛣️ ROADMAP
- By Sept 2027: EWDS aligned to CEDS · IDOE warehouse on latest CEDS version · 4 college-and-career data products · EPP feedback pilot complete
- 2025: Pivot direct job postings (Q1) · training-provider recommendations · Ivy Tech opt-in
- Pivot expansion: Beyond UI → general jobseekers, K-12, formerly incarcerated, veterans
- AI tools beyond Pivot: Public AI chatbot beta (July 2024) · Indiana Money Quest financial literacy AI
- Joint MPH/IOT whitelist of approved AI tools — in progress
- Data Day 2026 — April 30, ninth annual
💳 ClassWallet — Financial rails for CSA + INESA + Indiana Learns
Contract
$8.85M/yr × 2yr = $17.7M total · Jul 2025 → Jul 2027 · Treasurer-held, transfers to IDOE July 1, 2026
Capacity
Up to 3,500 students across CSA + INESA combined
Programs
CSA ($5K/student) · INESA ($20K disabled / $8K siblings) · Indiana Learns ($1K/family)
Footprint
37 state agencies use ClassWallet nationally · 25,000+ Indiana Learns grants since 2022 · 280,000+ tutoring hours
📋 WHAT IT DOES — Four-sided platform
- Family side: Logged-in dashboard · balance · transaction history · approved category selection · vendor browse · receipt upload · annual reapplication. No debit cards, no bank deposits, no family reimbursements — by design.
- Vendor side: Multi-step onboarding · invoice submission · approval workflow · ACH payment · 1099 issuance
- State side: Eligibility verification · appropriation tracking · audit log · legislative reporting · multi-agency coordination (CSA requires IDOE+CHE+TOS approvals)
- Two product modules: Direct Pay (invoice-driven payment to vetted providers) + Marketplace (curated e-commerce catalog for goods)
🎯 THE 3 INDIANA PROGRAMS
CSA — Career Scholarship Account
- $5,000/student/yr (max $15K across grades 10-12)
- Basis: HEA 1002 (2023)
- Scale: 200 → 1,900 students (24-25); $10M FY24-25
- Uses: WBL, certifications, exam fees, transportation, business materials, technology, PPE
- Quarterly disbursement: Sep/Nov/Jan/Mar
- Rollover: Max $1,000; unspent returns to state on graduation
- Tri-agency: IDOE (programs) + CHE (providers) + TOS (students/expenses)
INESA — IN Education Scholarship Account
- $20,000 disabled / $8,000 siblings
- Eligibility: K-12 SPED + siblings (added July 1, 2024)
- Uses: Tuition, therapy, tutoring, transportation, camps, testing fees
- Scale: 862 disabled + 156 siblings SY 24-25 (hit cap)
- Application cycle: opened June 1, 2025 for SY 25-26
Indiana Learns
- $1,000/family for high-dosage tutoring
- Eligibility: Grades 3-8 (expanded from 4-5)
- Basis: HEA 1251 (2022) · IDOE+Mind Trust admin
- Scale: 25,000+ grants · 280,000+ hours since 2022
- 2025-26 calendar: Opened Nov 3, 2025; closed Dec 19; tutoring deadline Apr 10, 2026
- Funding: $14M Lilly + IDOE joint Dec 2025
🛠️ APPROVED INDIANA LEARNS PARTNERS (selected from full list)
Catapult Learning · Sylvan Learning (15+ IN centers) · Huntington Learning (Fishers/Indianapolis/Evansville) · Bilingual Bridges · College Tutors of Indiana · CAST · EduRaptor · H.O.M.E. Mentoring · IN Alliance Boys & Girls Club · Integrow Numeracy · JobSource · LearningRx · Listen to Our Future · Marian U Center for Vibrant Schools · Next Scholar Up! · Rising Stars Academy · Route to Reading · SmartStart · Grace College Center for Literacy & Learning
🔄 FAMILY WORKFLOW
- Account creation via Access Indiana SSO (scholarships.tos.in.gov)
- Application linked to Student Test Number (STN) + DOB
- Acceptance → funds appear in ClassWallet account
- Browse approved providers OR Marketplace
- For services: provider invoices after delivery → family approves → ACH to vendor
- For goods: family makes Marketplace purchase
- Receipts upload + real-time balance update
- Annual reapplication during open enrollment
🔌 STATE INTEGRATION
- Treasurer of State — current contract owner through 6/30/2026
- IDOE Office of Educational Options and Quality (EOQ) — receives admin July 1, 2026 · new contacts: CSA@doe.in.gov + ESA@doe.in.gov · new URLs: in.gov/doe/eoq/csa + in.gov/doe/eoq/esa
- CHE — provider approvals for CSA
- State Comptroller — handles vendor banking setup
- Access Indiana SSO (Tyler)
- STN identifier — eligibility key
⚠️ LIMITATIONS / CONTROVERSIES
Chalkbeat/Arnolt Center investigation (March 2025): All three administering agencies (IDOE, CHE, TOS) denied records requests for invoice-level CSA spending. Treasurer "unable to publish information requested externally." Of 70 CSA participants listed, only 10 responded; 5 said they didn't know why they were listed.
Gaylor Electric (CEO Chuck Goodrich authored CSA law) listed but said never received CSA funds
ClassWallet declined multiple Chalkbeat interview requests
ClassWallet ESA controversies in other states (Arkansas prepaid card audit findings); Indiana's no-card/no-reimbursement policy preempts but reduces flexibility
Statutory caps — INESA hit cap SY 24-25; 3,500-student platform limit
Quarterly disbursement strains schools/providers fronting costs (Cardinal Ritter VP)
Approved-vendor lock-in limits family price comparison
🛣️ ROADMAP
- May 1, 2026 (3:30 PM): CSA invoice deadline (no refunds after)
- May 22, 2026 (11:59 PM): INESA invoice deadline
- July 1, 2026: Admin transfers to IDOE EOQ · ClassWallet contract carries
- 2026-27: First full year of unified IDOE-administered K-12 scholarships
- CSA appropriation may rise to $15M next biennium
- July 2027: Contract recompete decision (competitors: Odyssey, Merit International, Student First Technologies)
- Universal voucher pressure: if CSA/INESA expand to universal model, capacity ceiling (3,500) becomes binding
- Honors Employment seal (Diploma Cohort 2029) ties CSA-funded WBL to graduation
🪪 LVIS 360 — Licensing Verification & Information System
Platform
Microsoft Power Apps Portal / Dataverse on Azure Government cloud (gov.content.powerapps.us domain)
Auth
Access Indiana SSO (Tyler Indiana / Indiana Interactive) — sole authentication path
Scale
~62,000 active IN K-12 educators · all license types · public verification
Fees
$35-$50 range per credential action (initial / renewal / addition / reciprocal)
📋 WHAT IT DOES
- Credential issuance, renewal, conversion, addition, professionalization
- Application status tracking (homepage publishes backlog dates by application type)
- Professional Growth Plan (PGP) — 90 CEUs per 5-year cycle
- Document mgmt (transcripts, employer letters, CPR, Suicide Prevention, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse training certificates)
- Name-change requests with supporting documentation
- Background check workflow (criminal history before issuance)
- Self-print PDF licenses (eliminated duplicate-print fee)
- Public license verification at
/public_data/
- Substitute permits
- Alternative pathway management (CSP, WS, T2T, ABCTE, Charter, Advanced Degree, Alt SPED)
- License denial/suspension/revocation tracking
- Early Literacy Endorsement tracking (SEA 1, effective renewals July 1, 2027)
📄 LICENSE TYPES
Standard Instructional
- Initial Practitioner License (IPL)
- Practitioner License (renewal/conversion)
- Accomplished Practitioner License
- Reciprocal / Out-of-State Original
- School Service Personnel (counselor, psych, social worker, nurse)
Alternative Routes
- Transition to Teaching (T2T) — post-bacc
- Career Specialist Permit — IC 20-28-5-21
- Workplace Specialist (WS-1/WS-2) — CTE industry
- Alt Special Education License (3yr non-renewable, eff. 7/2022)
- ABCTE Permit + Professional Educator License
- Charter School Instructional License
- Advanced Degree License — secondary content
Permits
- Substitute Permit (requires local employment first)
- Emergency Permit (incl. SPED Emergency)
🔄 APPLICATION WORKFLOW
- Sign in via Access Indiana
- Profile validation against existing LVIS contact records (account retrieval if mismatched)
- Profile completion (personal, education, employment)
- Choose application type ("Apply for a license" or "Update a license")
- Personal info + background check authorization
- Education record + transcripts uploaded (PDF with registrar signature; fallback transcript@doe.in.gov)
- Praxis scores imported from ETS
- Recommending entity (EPP via Licensing Advisor role, or current employer)
- Training certificates uploaded (CPR, SP, HT, CAN)
- Submit + payment via State of Indiana payment portal (MC/Visa/Discover; prepaid OK)
- DOE Material Review
- License issuance → self-print PDF
📚 EARLY LITERACY ENDORSEMENT (HEA 1558 + SEA 1)
- 80 hours of approved training — Lexia LETRS dominant; alts: Keys to Literacy, CELL@UIndy, Marian Center for Vibrant Schools
- Reading Praxis (Praxis 5205) for K-5 educators
- Effective: K-5 license renewals on or after July 1, 2027
- Impacted: ~62K active IN educators (heaviest K-5 wave in first post-2027 renewal cycle)
- LVIS tracks: approved-provider rosters → educator PGP → endorsement record · Praxis score loads from ETS
- Policy posture: Praxis 5205 (Teaching Reading: Elementary) was adopted by SBOE in January 2024 at the multistate panel-recommended score of 159. Discussion continues regarding scope and implementation pathways for veteran educators relative to new entrants; the July 1, 2027 enforcement date remains in place.
🔌 INTEGRATION
- Access Indiana SSO (Tyler) — sole auth path · email/password owned by Access Indiana not LVIS
- Ed-ID / SPN — LVIS is AUTHORITATIVE source for 8-digit Staff Personnel Number · Ed-ID waits for LVIS to create SPN for licensed staff
- ETS Praxis — direct score import
- State of Indiana payment portal (IN.gov / Tyler)
- EPP recommendations via Licensing Advisor role
- LEA HR systems — one-way export via IDOE data exchanges
- Background check vendor — Indiana State Police LCH service + national fingerprint for some apps
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Microsoft Power Pages vendor branding opaque — districts can't plan integrations or anticipate platform changes
Manual transcript upload — no automated EPP-to-LVIS transcript handshake despite EPP recommendation integration
Reading Praxis 5205 political risk — 2027 deadline live but cutscore was eased post-ISTA pushback
PGP self-attestation gameable — audit-on-renewal is the only enforcement; vendor-confirmed PGP entries (LETRS) are stronger but optional
Backlog visibility on homepage but no SLA — applicant doesn't know turnaround time
Account-retrieval friction when Access Indiana email doesn't match legacy LVIS record
🛣️ ROADMAP
- July 1, 2027: Early Literacy Endorsement enforcement begins for K-5 renewals
- 2025-2027: Training-provider integrations + Praxis result import for endorsement tracking
- I-SEAL scale-up — UIndy/Taylor/Indiana Wesleyan SPED scholarship pipeline
- Access Indiana continuity through Oct 2028 (Tyler contract)
- No AI features publicly announced — IDOE roadmap focuses on document-validation automation + Knowledge Hub ticket triage
- 2026 LVIS360 User Setup Guide refreshed — indicates ongoing not replacement-track investment
🎟️ Indiana Choice Scholarship Portal — voucher administration · universal July 1, 2026
FY25 Scale
76,000+ students · 373 private schools · $497.1M spend · $6,536 avg award (8.5% growth, sharp deceleration)
Universal eligibility
Effective July 1, 2026 (HB 1001-2025 signed May 6, 2025) · ~+$93M projected · spend → ~$674M
Architecture
IDOE-built within LINK Portal · IDOE-managed (no commercial vendor) · password-protected school-only
Statutory basis
IC 20-51-1 and IC 20-51-4 · 2013 IN Supreme Court constitutional
📋 WHAT IT DOES
- Voucher-eligible student tracking with legal-settlement verification, household composition, prior-public-school flags, per-pupil award
- School participation application (annual) — fully digital inside LINK Portal beginning 2026
- Family voucher applications — schools submit on behalf of families, not direct
- Disbursement processing — 4 quarterly state payments (moved from 2 in July 2025) directly to schools
- Annual Choice Scholarship report data (school-level aggregates, no individual records public)
- Office of Accountability School ID management (gates portal access)
- Audit trail for legislative reporting
📊 SY 24-25 PROFILE
- 76,067 students · 373 private schools · $497.1M total · $6,536 average award · $8,369 average tuition+fees
- ~$134M in uncovered tuition+fees absorbed by ~55K households (avg ~$2,400/student)
- 72% of families receive 90% formula amount (up from 57% — tuition rising faster than per-pupil funding)
- 28% receive full tuition+fees (down from 43%)
- Typical recipient: white (64%), female, elementary-aged, metro, household ~4.65, ~$103K income
- 70% have NO prior IN public school enrollment (up ~2.5 pts) — most flow is families already in private sector, not new entrants
- Top schools: Heritage Christian (Indianapolis) 965 students $6.27M · Roncalli HS ~905 students $6.09M · Catholic + Lutheran dominate
- ~24,000 IDOE-accredited private-school students still NOT on Choice — structural ceiling for organic growth
💰 AWARD CALCULATION
- First award = lesser of (a) tuition+fees on application, OR (b) 90% of state per-pupil tuition-support allocation for student's school corp of residence
- Second award (Period 2 window) = one-half of first
- Award amounts vary substantially by county/corporation (per-pupil funding varies)
- State pays school directly (not family); tuition overage = family responsibility (partially mitigated by SGOs)
📅 APPLICATION WINDOWS
| SY | Period 1 (full year) | Period 2 (half year) |
| SY 25-26 | Mar 1 - Sep 1, 2025 | Nov 1, 2025 - Jan 15, 2026 |
| SY 26-27 (universal) | Mar 1 - Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 - Jan 15, 2027 |
🔄 SCHOOL PARTICIPATION (2026 fully digital)
- Step 1: Office of Accountability — Prospective school requests IDOE-issued school ID from schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov (gating prerequisite)
- Step 2: LINK Portal registration — School requests portal access, completes digital participation application
- Annual reapplication required
- School must satisfy IC 20-51-1-4.7: in IN · charge tuition · agree to enroll Choice students · SBOE-recognized accreditation · administer statewide assessments (ILEARN/IREAD) · NOT charter or student's resident school corp
- Non-Public School Community Moodle (moodle.doe.in.gov) for training
🔄 FAMILY APPLICATION (SCHOOL-MEDIATED)
- Family selects participating Choice school, enrolls student
- Family provides docs to school: IN residency, age proof, household composition (income pre-7/1/26)
- School files application on family's behalf via password-protected school portal
- Family receives award letter from school post-IDOE-approval (hand-delivered)
- Multi-child families: one application per student
- Period 1 awards full-year if enrolled through year-end; Period 2 awards half-year
- Withdrawal before year-end can void award
🔌 INTEGRATION
- Office of Accountability School ID system — master entity key
- Ed-Fi ODS — enrollment counts feed aggregations + per-pupil cross-checks
- State payment system — quarterly disbursements
- ILEARN/IREAD assessment registration — every Choice student must take state assessments at participating school
- Access Indiana SSO for school admin auth (via LINK)
- Plausible long-arc: consolidation with INESA + CSA under unified IDOE financial portal post-7/1/2026
⚠️ LIMITATIONS / CRITICISMS
Cost growth pressure: $497M trending toward $674M under universal against a 2% K-12 escalator and $2B revenue forecast downward revision — direct competition with public-school funding
Equity drift: Greatest YoY growth among households >$200K (+1.7 pts); $50K-$100K households declined same proportion — ISTA and House Dems frame universal as subsidy to already-affluent
Mission drift: 70% of recipients never previously attended IN public school — majority of disbursements to families already in private sector
Constitutional pressure — 2013 IN Supreme Court ruling stands; Article 1 §6 challenges recur
Outcome visibility gap — voucher-school student outcomes not consistently surfaced school-by-school (may improve with new A-F approved March 2026)
Application paperwork burden — schools carry workflow; small parishes need dedicated Choice Scholarship Coordinator role
Universal pressure on portal scale-up — significant 2026-27 volume increase expected
🛣️ ROADMAP
- July 1, 2025: Quarterly (4-payment) disbursement live; ESA + CSA admin transfers from Treasurer to IDOE (in second budget year)
- March 1, 2026: SY 26-27 Period 1 opens — still under 400% FRPL cap until July 1
- July 1, 2026: Universal eligibility live · portal absorbs ~24K accredited private students + new entrants · income test gone
- 2026: Fully digital school participation application stable in LINK Portal (paper/PDF retired)
- Spring 2027: First Annual Choice Scholarship Report under universal eligibility
- Long-arc: Unified IDOE financial portal handling Choice + INESA + CSA on shared identity/eligibility/disbursement infrastructure
💬 Tyler Indiana · IN.gov · Access Indiana SSO · Ask Indiana GenAI
Entity
Indiana Interactive LLC d/b/a Tyler Indiana · NIC subsidiary acquired by Tyler April 2021 ($2.3B)
Contract
$22M / 4yr · Oct 2024 → Oct 2028 · held by IOT
Continuity
30-year continuous relationship since 1995 — one of first state-government internet portals in US
Scale
200+ websites · 125+ apps · 45 FTEs · 2.7M Access Indiana users (~40% of IN pop) · 100+ federated systems
🌐 THE IN.GOV PLATFORM
- Federated portfolio: 200+ websites across every state agency + 125+ embedded apps (license renewals, permit applications, lookups, forms)
- May 2025 redesign: Unified front-end via shared component library
- Accessibility: Persistent settings widget (light/dark + 3-step font sizing) · settings persist via local-storage
- Language translation: Widget surfaces machine translation in 60+ languages
- Consistent chrome: Same header/footer across DNR / DOE / BMV / etc. — "this is state government" frame
- Mobile-responsive: Deliberate move from desktop-first; mobile traffic now dominates
- Federated search: Same index that powers Ask Indiana
- "Modern Era of IN.gov" whitepaper (June 2023): Frames move from "digital sprawl" → "seamless service" with resident as design center
🔐 ACCESS INDIANA SSO
- 2.7M registered users against ~6.8M IN population = ~40% of state
- Federates 100+ state systems: LVIS 360 · LINK Portal · Choice Portal · Ed-ID · EdData · GPS authenticated · MyBMV · FSSA Connect · scholarships.tos.in.gov · many more
- Protocols: SAML 2.0 + OpenID Connect (OIDC)
- MFA: Available (TOTP + SMS) · increasingly required by agency risk policy
- Self-service: Password reset, account recovery, email/phone change
🤖 ASK INDIANA — GenAI Resident Assistant
- Indiana is FIRST STATE to deploy Tyler's Resident Assistant (per Tyler Q3 2024 earnings slide 14)
- Launched April 2025
- LLM: Microsoft Azure OpenAI (GPT-4 family) through Microsoft enterprise APIs · no training on customer data · regional data residency
- Training/grounding data: Public IN.gov content ONLY — no PII, no private databases
- 61 languages at launch · Indiana-relevant: Spanish, Burmese (large Indianapolis/FW refugee community), Arabic, Haitian Creole
- Interface: Floating chat widget across IN.gov · multi-turn conversation · auto-language-detect · voice input where browser supports · RAG over indexed IN.gov content
- Privacy by design: No login required · no PII retained · no session-to-identity binding
- Framing: "Resident assistant" not authoritative oracle — points and orients rather than rules
💵 FUNDING MODEL
- Hybrid: (1) Residents pay enhanced-access fees ($1-2 surcharge per transaction) — legacy NIC "self-funded portal" model · (2) State pays retainer to Tyler under $22M contract for platform itself
- Why politically durable across 30 years: Residents pay incrementally for what they use; state pays for the platform
- Payment QPAs (separate): #59725 Tyler Indiana payment processing · #59726 Catalis Payments (competitive 2nd source) — both expire Oct 19, 2026
🏗️ TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
- Front-end: Floating chat widget injected via shared component library · lightweight JS
- LLM tier: Azure OpenAI GPT-4 through Microsoft gated enterprise APIs
- Retrieval tier: Tyler-built RAG over indexed IN.gov content (same federated index as IN.gov search)
- Refresh cadence: Scheduled re-indexing as agencies publish updates
- Hosting: Microsoft Azure, Tyler-managed
🔌 INTEGRATION WITH IDOE SYSTEMS
- Access Indiana SSO powers LVIS 360 (educator login)
- Ask Indiana indexes in.gov/doe content (school info, Choice Scholarship, GPS public pages, INview)
- LINK Portal authentication runs in parallel — some IDOE systems federate through Access Indiana directly, others use LINK Portal SSO (vestige of staged migration) — creates occasional educator confusion
- Forward expectation: Deeper IDOE-specific Ask Indiana integration within 24 months — school search, Choice info, INview data answers, GPS surfacing
🛡️ STATE AI POLICY GATE
- Every state AI project: MPH Chief Data Officer pre-deployment review
- NIST AI RMF alignment required
- SB 150 (2024) AI Task Force oversight
- Ask Indiana cleared MPH review and is explicitly held up as the model deployment
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Hallucination risk on policy/regulation specifics — fee amounts, deadlines, eligibility nuances
Index lag: new statutes/fees/rules not authoritative until indexed
Not IDOE-specific — generalist across IN.gov; doesn't deeply understand IDOE entity model yet
No personalization — no logged-in identity binding · no session memory
PII prohibition limits depth — can't help with sensitive workflows (FSSA health, SNAP, tax) beyond pointing to right page
Browser-only — no native iOS/Android app
🛣️ ROADMAP
- Already live: Accessibility expansion (light/dark, font sizing); 100+ SSO systems integrated
- Spoken-language interfaces — phone/voice channels for Ask Indiana on roadmap
- Personalized resident dashboards — future with consent (logged-in Access Indiana session unlocks personalized answers)
- Deeper IDOE-specific integration — school search, Choice info, INview surfacing, GPS data answers — expected next 24 months
- Cybersecurity education — Oct 2024 Tyler-College Board joint initiative (resident phishing/account-hygiene)
- Contract recompete: RFP window opens ~early 2028, before Oct 2028 expiry (6-9mo lead per standard IOT cadence)
- Comparable rebids: Tyler positioning Indiana as reference architecture for similar deals in TX, FL, NC
🛠️ InTERS — Indiana Technical Education Reporting System (CTE)
Ownership
CHE Secondary CTE (post-GWC abolition 7/1/2025) · DWD Adult Ed (AE InTERS) · vendor: Scherb Consulting
Hosts
cte.inters-dwd.com (secondary login + Data Explorer) · abe.inters-dwd.com (adult ed) · ExtJS-style legacy UI
Funding ties
Federal Perkins V ~$30M/yr · State CTE pool ~$140M biennium · tiered $300-$680/credit
Contacts
Chris Deaton (CHE Director of Performance & Accountability) · Jedd Vance (InTERS Specialist)
📋 WHAT IT DOES
- Secondary CTE course enrollment at student-section grain for every approved CTE program of study
- Concentrator/completer designation — concentrator = completed 2+ courses in single program of study; completer = full sequence
- Industry-Recognized Credential (IRC) attainment + vendor + date · validates exam fee reimbursement per IC 20-19-3-22
- Work-Based Learning (WBL) hours — type (internship/apprenticeship/clinical), employer, supervised hours
- Federal Perkins V CAR submission (Indicators 1S1, 2S1-3, 3S1, 4S1, 5S1-4)
- State CTE funding tier reimbursement via IC 20-43-8
- Feeds GPS career-readiness indicators
- Graduation Pathway verification + new diploma seals (Cohort 2029)
- Industry Certification Reimbursement via Quick Start Guide workflow
📅 WORKFLOW — Fall + Spring "Mailings"
- Pre-year setup: CHE publishes Directors Calendar · LEAs confirm program offerings + instructors + CIP codes
- Fall Mailing: LEAs submit prior-year-end concentrator/completer + IRC + grad follow-up (employment, postsec enrollment) · finalizes prior-year Perkins CAR
- Ongoing enrollment: LEAs post CTE course enrollments by section · Ed-Fi/SIS push for integrated districts, portal upload for smaller LEAs
- Industry Credential reporting: Validated against state-approved Promoted Industry Certifications list (DWD-maintained)
- WBL data entry by district WBL coordinators
- Spring Mailing: Locks current-year enrollment · refreshes concentrator status · pulls preliminary outcomes
- End-of-year reconciliation: Concentrator/completer flags finalized · funding tier counts → per-credit reimbursement
- Perkins V CAR submission to OCTAE annually
💰 STATE CTE FUNDING TIERS (IC 20-43-8)
| Demand Tier (DWD-designated) | Per-Credit Reimbursement |
| Most In-Demand | ~$680/credit |
| Moderate-Demand | ~$480/credit |
| Less-In-Demand | ~$300/credit |
State pool ~$140M biennium · Federal Perkins V Basic Grant ~$30M/yr · InTERS-reported credit counts drive payouts at corp level
🔌 INTEGRATION
- IDOE Ed-Fi ODS — STN-level course-section + teacher-of-record data forwarded/matched on STN
- GPS Dashboard — CTE concentrator, IRC, WBL counts populate career-readiness indicators
- MPH INK / SLDS — longitudinal P-20W analyses (CTE → postsecondary → wage)
- DWD UI wage records — post-grad employment outcomes (Perkins V Indicator 4S1)
- WIOA Title II reporting (AE InTERS)
- IndyGrants — Perkins Basic + Reserve Grant invoicing fiscal reconciliation
- Employer Connector (CHE) — WBL demand-side feeds WBL records
📊 CTE DATA EXPLORER (cte.inters-dwd.com/DataExplorer/)
- Public dashboards: State / corp / school aggregates by career cluster + program of study
- Authenticated counselor views: STN-level student progress toward Graduation Pathways + diploma seals
- Program Quality Report (PQR): Discrete reporting object scoring programs on enrollment, concentrator rate, IRC attainment, WBL participation, non-traditional enrollment, postsec transitions
- Drill-down: state → CTE district → corp → school → program of study → course section
🏫 CTE DISTRICTS / Area Career Centers (~14 in IN)
Central Nine · J. Everett Light · McKenzie · Walker · Anthis · Patriot CTE · others (full list at iacted.org/directory)
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Split governance post-GWC abolition (CHE secondary + DWD adult-ed) — shared inters-dwd.com domain reflects historic single-owner architecture; cross-agency coordination overhead notable
Single small vendor dependency (Scherb Consulting) — support resources on non-state domain (support.scherb.com, bugz.scherb.com FogBugz)
WBL data quality uneven — largely self-reported by LEA coordinators, no employer-side validation. Cohort 2029 diploma seal pressure amplifying scrutiny
Industry credential validation gaps — vendors don't all push via API; LEAs key manually (timing + duplicate risk)
Legacy UX — Sencha/ExtJS-style app with limited modern role-based access or audit logging
CTE consolidation in flight — tier definitions being recalibrated against Braun demand framework
🛣️ ROADMAP
- Continued CTE consolidation under CHE — completion of Performance & Accountability transfer · potential rebranding off inters-dwd.com · potential RFP on secondary vendor
- Cohort 2029 diploma seals — InTERS as verification rail for "Enrollment Honors Plus" (postsec credit) and "Employment Honors Plus" (WBL hours + credentials) · tighter WBL definitions + employer attestations
- CSA growth ties — intermediary-reported pathway progress → InTERS
- CLNA FY25-26 — published guidebook leans on InTERS as primary quantitative input
- Ed-Fi v6.x deeper integration — reduce double-entry for STN-level course-section reporting
- CTE Strategic Plan — expected to set data-system modernization targets including potential InTERS successor
🌍 WIDA ACCESS Delivery — EL proficiency assessment · K-12 · DRC platform
Vendor stack
WIDA Consortium (UW-Madison) items + standards · DRC platform (WIDA AMS + DRC INSIGHT) · IDOE administers
Population
~6-7% of IN K-12 (English Learners) · domain-exempt rare
SY 25-26 window
Jan 12 - Feb 27, 2026 · 7 weeks · cannot extend
Standards
WIDA ELD Standards Framework 2020 Edition (since SY 21-22)
📋 4 OPERATIONAL COMPONENTS
- WIDA Screener — placement battery for new entrants showing non-English on Home Language Survey · Screener for K (paper, on-demand) + Screener Online (G1-12) + Screener Paper + Alternate Screener (K-12 cognitive disabilities)
- WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten — paper-based annual · FULLY REDESIGNED SY 25-26
- WIDA ACCESS (formerly "ACCESS for ELLs 2.0") — annual G1-12 · primarily online via DRC INSIGHT
- WIDA Alternate ACCESS — large-print paper · most significant cognitive disabilities
🎯 4 DOMAINS + 4 COMPOSITES
Listening · Reading · Speaking · Writing → Oral Language · Literacy · Comprehension · Overall composite · NEW SY 25-26: LT4 (Less than Four Domains) overall scale score for testers with 2-3 domain completions (replaces "NA" composite)
📊 TESTING MODE MATRIX (Table 7 in IDOE v3 guidance)
| Domain | K (paper) | Online G1-3 | Online G4-12 | Paper G1-12 | Alt ACCESS |
| Listening | Paper | Online | Online | Paper | Paper |
| Reading | Paper | Online | Online | Paper | Paper |
| Speaking | Paper | Online | Online | Paper | Paper |
| Writing | Paper | Paper | Online | Paper | Paper |
👥 USER ROLES
- Corporation Test Coordinator (CTC) — accountable for WIDA · accounts created via IDOE list submission early Sept
- WIDA Test Coordinator (WTC) — optional CTC designee (often EL director) · must be designated by Sep 30 via WIDA Test Coordinator Designee Form
- School Test Coordinator (STC) — completes Online ACCESS: Administration course
- Test Administrator (TA) — licensed educator · SEPARATE certifications per assessment (Online ACCESS, Paper Speaking G1-5, Paper Speaking G6-12, ACCESS K, Alt ACCESS, Alt Screener, ACCESS Braille Speaking) · 24-month cert validity
- Technology Coordinator — DRC INSIGHT + COS-SD + network
- IDOE WIDA Pretest Workshop required by Dec 12, 2025 (Moodle key WIDA2026PTW)
🆕 KINDERGARTEN ACCESS REDESIGN SY 25-26
- Single connected storyline spans all 4 domains (replaces tiered/adaptive paper branching)
- All 4 domains administered exactly once · no starting points · no skipping rules
- New task types reflecting classroom practice
- Fewer physical materials (no activity board, fewer cards)
- Separate score sheet with Writing rubric embedded for in-the-moment scoring
- New K Speaking Rubric (0-6 scale, was 1-5) and new K Writing Rubric · PL Descriptors in bullet-point form
- NEW Low Vision (LV) Script accommodation for K-ACCESS only
- ALL K TAs must complete new "WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten: Administration and Scoring" course (avail Sept 29, 2025)
♿ ACCOMMODATIONS — SY 25-26 LIST
- Braille UEB G1-5 / UEB+Nemeth or UEB Math/Science G6-12 · NEW: braille Speaking domain now available (all 4 domains in braille)
- Large Print (LP) 18pt, 11×17 · scannable standard booklet
- ASL videos / Signs Directions (SD) · NEW SY 25-26: ASL admin-script videos for G1-3 and G4-12
- Spanish translated TA script for G1-12 ACCESS
- Manual control of audio (MC) · Repeat item audio (RP) · Extended Speaking response time (ES)
- Handwriting (HW), G4-12 Writing · student handwrites into Writing Response Booklet
- Paper testing (ACCESS Paper) · documented needs only
- Domain exemption (SPD Do Not Score) · rare · requires WIDA ACCESS Domain Exemptions Form
- LT4 — NEW SY 25-26 overall scale-score calc for 2- or 3-domain testers
🚫 UNALLOWABLE
Reading aloud Reading-domain items · translating items · response in non-English · bilingual dictionary · signing items/passages · scratch paper on Speaking
📅 SCORE RELEASE TIMELINE
- Mar 23 - Apr 6, 2026: Pre-reporting data validation (real-time AMS corrections)
- Apr 27, 2026: Initial Results Release in WIDA AMS (electronic reports + data files)
- May 14, 2026: Printed reports delivered by UPS
- May 8 - May 18, 2026: Post-reporting data validation (IDOE-led)
- Jun 10, 2026: Final Results Release in WIDA AMS
- July 2026: Standard Setting event — new proficiency cut scores · 2025-26 PL scores must be used with caution
🔌 INTEGRATION
- IDOE Special Programs populates ACCESS test + accommodations for IEP/SP students → Pre-ID file
- LEA SIS via DEX populates demographics + 504/CSEP accommodations · Pre-ID extract mid-November (NOT nightly) · accuracy by Oct 31 critical
- WIDA AMS for late additions (manual; demographics must match Ed-ID exactly)
- Results flow to: IDOE EL reporting · Indiana GPS · Title III accountability · federal Consolidated State Performance Report · PowerSchool Special Programs ILP module pulls latest WIDA scores
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
K-screener reliability for very young learners — first-semester K only assesses Listening + Speaking
Per-student fees bundled into WIDA Consortium membership · not publicly itemized
3-system vendor fragmentation: CTCs juggle Cambium TIDE (ILEARN/IREAD/I AM) + DRC WIDA AMS (ACCESS) + IDOE SSD Online (SPED) + WIDA Secure Portal · per-system manual account provisioning
Domain exemption rare, rigorous docs · historically produced "NA" composites — partly resolved by LT4 SY 25-26
July 2026 Standard Setting means 2025-26 PL scores interpretively limited until new cut scores published
🛣️ ROADMAP
- 2028: WIDA revised Screener releases (aligning to 2020 Edition; currently still on prior content)
- July 2026: ACCESS Standard Setting → new cut scores applied SY 26-27
- SY 26-27 reports: WIDA Language Charts (released 2025) become official interpretation tool
- Continued operational implementation of WIDA ELD Standards 2020 · no plan to leave Consortium · behind-the-scenes content alignment normalizes against new cut scores
📐 College Board SAT School Day — state-paid HS accountability + college admissions
Statutory basis
IC 20-32-5.1-7(d) · state-paid since spring 2022 · replaced ISTEP+ ECAs
Scale
All ~78,000-87,000 IN 11th graders annually · 82,126 takers Class of 2025 · 100% participation
Delivery
Digital SAT in Bluebook since 2024 · 2hr 14min · section-adaptive 2-module design
Performance
Class 2025 mean 950 (ERW 485, Math 464) · 25% met both benchmarks · 46% met neither
📋 WHAT IT DOES
- State-paid SAT School Day for every IN 11th grader as ESSA HS accountability assessment
- Dual purpose: HS accountability + college admissions in single sitting
- Score release ~13 days post-test to students + state + up to 4 colleges free
- Graduation Pathway Requirement Three (postsecondary-ready competencies)
- Feeds Indiana GPS Academic Mastery + Career/Postsec Readiness indicators
- Feeds A-F Accountability Model (SY 26-27)
📱 DIGITAL SAT (Since 2024)
- Bluebook secure browser — pre-installed on testing device by district
- Section-adaptive 2-stage: Reading & Writing (2 modules · 64 min · 54 Q) + Math (2 modules · 70 min · 44 Q)
- 2hr 14min total (down from 3hr paper)
- Built-in Desmos graphing calculator on all Math · embedded reference sheet
- Question types: discrete (no shared passages) · 4-option MC on R&W and ~75% Math · ~25% student-produced numeric Math
- Tools: section timer · question flagging · annotator · answer eliminator
- No penalty for incorrect answers — guessing encouraged
📊 SCORING
- Scale: 400-1600 composite (Reading & Writing 200-800 + Math 200-800)
- College Board College & Career Readiness Benchmarks: 480 ERW + 530 Math = 75% chance of C+ in college
- Indiana state-specific cut scores approved by SBOE+CHE: Approaching / At / Above proficiency
- Knowledge & Skills (K&S) category performance indicators replace legacy paper subscores
- Score release: ~13 days · BigFuture School mobile app + College Board account + printable PDF
- 4 free college score sends per student
♿ SSD ONLINE — Services for Students with Disabilities
- SEPARATE system from TIDE/Centerpoint — operational burden on CTCs
- School-designated SSD Coordinator submits + tracks requests · links IEP/504 docs
- State-Allowed Accommodations (SAAs) preserve accountability but invalidate college-reportable scores
- IDOE publishes annual Indiana SAT Accommodations Crosswalk mapping IEP/504 to College Board codes
- Bluebook digital accessibility for all: zoom/magnifier · color contrast · color overlay · line reader/annotator · answer eliminator
- Approved-accommodation features: TTS (read-aloud) in-app · JAWS/NVDA screen reader · Braille display · dictation/scribe · 50%/100%/unlimited extended time · extra breaks · separate room · paper testing
📈 CLASS OF 2025 PERFORMANCE (2025 Indiana SAT Annual Report)
- 82,126 SAT takers · 78,138 HS graduates · 100% participation
- Mean total: 950 (ERW 485 · Math 464) · SD 206
- 25% met both benchmarks · 53% met ERW only · 26% met Math · 46% met neither
- By test type: School Day Only (85%) mean 912 · School Day + Weekend (14%) mean 1171 · Weekend Only (1%) mean 1132
- Subgroup gaps: White 993 · Asian 1094 · Hispanic 880 · Black 836 · Native American 868
- Parental education: No HS diploma 818 vs Graduate degree 1091
- Income quintiles: Lowest 866 vs Highest 1112 (~250pt gap)
- PSAT/NMSQT: 65,516 11th-graders (75% participation, mean 932) · 74,819 10th-graders (86% participation, mean 881)
- Top score-send recipients: Purdue 14,725 (36.5%) · IU Bloomington 13,366 (33.1%) · Ball State 9,633 · IU Indianapolis 8,741 · Ivy Tech 6,328
🎓 SAT SUITE (state-funded)
- PSAT 8/9 — 52% of G9 + 13% of G8 (2024-25)
- PSAT 10 — optional spring
- PSAT/NMSQT — G10 + G11 fall · National Merit Scholarship qualifier
- SAT — G11 spring (mandatory accountability)
- AP + Cambridge International exams — state-funded up to 2 per student/yr
🔌 INTEGRATION
- Ed-Fi ODS/DEX — roster sync populates Bluebook
- Indiana GPS Dashboard — Academic Mastery + Career/Postsec Readiness indicators
- State A-F Model (SY 26-27)
- Federal ESSA HS assessment requirement · EDFacts HS assessment data
- College Board score sends direct to colleges (eliminates duplicate testing burden)
- Educators receive role-based dashboards in K-12 Assessment Reporting Portal
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
Single-vendor lock-in to College Board — one private vendor's instrument carries dual weight of state accountability + college admissions, no realistic procurement alternative absent statute change
~250pt subgroup gaps (income, parental ed, race/ethnicity) raise question of how much score reflects instruction vs. background
CLT pushback — SB 88 (2026) proposes IN public universities accept Classical Learning Test · creates parallel acceptance route favored by classical/faith-based · does NOT replace SAT for accountability
Digital SAT requires reliable device-per-student + adequate bandwidth · rural/under-resourced schools face largest capital lift
SSD Online separate from TIDE — CTCs maintain distinct accommodation workflow vs ILEARN, doubling operational burden
Score interpretation gap for IN parents — must learn SAT 200-800/400-1600 + benchmarks + state proficiency cuts
Universal testing depresses headline mean vs. self-selected weekend testers
🛣️ ROADMAP
- Digital SAT steady-state · no return to paper
- SAT Suite (PSAT 8/9, 10, NMSQT, SAT) provides longitudinal accountability trajectory
- CLT debate continues but no accountability switch through SY 26-27 A-F transition
- AP + Cambridge state-funded continues
- October 2024 Tyler-College Board cybersecurity education initiative continues (resident cyber safety, SEA 472 adjacent)
🧠 IDOE Internal AI Modernization Stack — Staff-facing infrastructure
Sanctioned tool
Microsoft 365 Copilot · day-to-day · to the exclusion of other AI platforms
Sandboxes
AWS Bedrock + Azure AI Foundry — both available to IDOE for experimentation
Frontier R&D
Experimenting beyond Copilot on the more agentic side
Governance
MPH AI Governance Framework engages vendors around specified use cases
Scope: This profile covers IDOE's staff-facing AI modernization stack — the tools available to IDOE employees for their own productivity and analytical work. This is distinct from the LEA-facing AI in Classrooms domain (Khanmigo, MagicSchool, Amira), which is grant-funded vendor selection at the district level.
🏗️ ARCHITECTURE — Five-layer stack
flowchart TD
GOV["🛡️ LAYER 1 — AI GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
MPH Office of Chief Data Officer · NIST AI RMF aligned
Pre-deployment AI Readiness Assessment Questionnaire
CPO grants State of Indiana AI Policy Exception
IOT will not approve Software Authorization Request without it
Vendor engagement is around SPECIFIED USE CASES"]
GOV -->|gate| TIER2
GOV -->|gate| TIER3A
GOV -->|gate| TIER3B
GOV -.unsanctioned.-> SHADOW
TIER2["🎯 LAYER 2 — SANCTIONED PRODUCTIVITY
Microsoft 365 Copilot · GPT-4 family
Word · Excel · PowerPoint · Outlook · Teams · OneDrive
Microsoft Graph context · tenant data isolation
SOLE sanctioned day-to-day AI · OTHERS EXCLUDED"]
TIER2 --> USERS[IDOE staff productivity:
email drafting · doc generation · data summaries
meeting summaries · Power BI Q&A]
subgraph SANDBOX["🧪 LAYER 3 — EXPERIMENTAL SANDBOXES"]
TIER3A["AWS Bedrock
Claude (Anthropic) · Llama (Meta) · Mistral · Titan (Amazon)
AI21 · Cohere · Stability · Nova
Knowledge Bases (RAG) · Agents · Guardrails
VPC endpoints · IAM · FedRAMP eligible"]
TIER3B["Azure AI Foundry
(formerly Azure AI Studio · rebranded 2024)
Azure OpenAI: GPT-4o · o1 · o3 · Phi-3
Model catalog: Llama · Mistral · custom
Prompt Flow · Content Safety · Evaluations
AI Foundry Agent Service · Copilot Studio"]
end
TIER3A --> TIER4
TIER3B --> TIER4
TIER4["🤖 LAYER 4 — AGENTIC R&D
Multi-step autonomous workflows
Tool-use against IDOE systems (Ed-Fi · LVIS · Choice Portal)
Likely frameworks: Semantic Kernel · AutoGen · LangChain
Human-in-the-loop checkpoints
This is the frontier — where greenfield exists for partners"]
SHADOW["🌒 LAYER 5 — SHADOW AI (acknowledged)
Staff experimenting outside work
Commercial ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · others
Ungoverned · no formal sanction
Real risk + real signal of demand"]
🛡️ LAYER 1 — Governance Framework (the gate)
- Who runs it: MPH Office of the Chief Data Officer (Pete Miller CDO since Jan 2025) + State Chief Privacy Officer · backed by IOT enforcement
- Framework: NIST AI Risk Management Framework (NIST AI 100-1) alignment
- Process for every vendor/use case:
- Agency files AI Readiness Assessment Questionnaire with MPH (or Out-of-Scope Affirmation Form if not using AI features)
- MPH AI Review Team scores: Low / Moderate / High Risk · High-Risk = full team review
- CPO grants State of Indiana AI Policy Exception
- IOT approves Software Authorization Request only with exception in hand
- Just-in-time (JIT) notice required at point of user interaction · CPO-approved
- Annual reassessment or upon "significant change" (policies, processes, system merges, accessibility, processing changes, output scope)
- Required documentation: executed contract · system T&Cs · data flow diagrams · executed Data Sharing Agreements
- Vendor implication: "Engage agencies around specified use cases" — generalist pitches will fail · specific use case + risk tier + JIT pattern + DSA-ready posture wins
🎯 LAYER 2 — Microsoft 365 Copilot (the sanctioned daily tool)
- Status: The ONLY sanctioned AI tool for day-to-day staff use · explicitly to the exclusion of other AI platforms
- Backend: Microsoft 365 Copilot · GPT-4 family models · Microsoft Graph context
- Surfaces: Word (drafting/rewriting) · Excel (formula/analysis assistance) · PowerPoint (slide gen) · Outlook (email summaries/drafts) · Teams (meeting summaries, action items, transcript Q&A) · OneDrive (doc Q&A) · plus Copilot chat over Microsoft Graph
- Tenant isolation: All queries stay within Indiana tenant boundary · no training on customer data · regional data residency
- Audit logging: Available via Microsoft Purview
- Strategic implication: Vendors pitching "AI productivity tool" lose to Copilot every time · don't compete with Copilot · build ON TOP of it (via Copilot Studio, plugins, connectors) or AROUND it (specialized use cases Copilot can't handle)
🧪 LAYER 3 — Bedrock + Foundry Sandboxes (the experiment surface)
AWS Bedrock
- Type: Managed foundation-model service · API access without infrastructure mgmt
- Models available: Anthropic Claude (Sonnet, Opus, Haiku family) · Meta Llama 3.x · Mistral · Amazon Titan + Nova · AI21 Jamba · Cohere Command · Stability (image)
- Key features:
- Knowledge Bases — managed RAG over S3 docs · OpenSearch/Pinecone vector store
- Agents for Bedrock — multi-step agentic workflows with action groups
- Guardrails — content filters, PII redaction, denied topics
- Flows — visual orchestration
- Provisioned throughput or on-demand · cost predictable
- Compliance: HIPAA · FedRAMP High eligible · BAA available
- Networking: VPC endpoints (PrivateLink) for private connectivity
- Auth: IAM-based · STS for federated identity
- IDOE access status: Confirmed available to IDOE
Azure AI Foundry
- Type: End-to-end agent + AI app platform (rebrand of Azure AI Studio late 2024)
- Models available: Azure OpenAI Service (GPT-4o · GPT-4o-mini · o1 · o3-family · Phi-3.5 · text-embedding-3) · Llama · Mistral · Cohere · Hugging Face catalog · custom-fine-tuned
- Key features:
- Prompt Flow — orchestration with branching, evaluation, monitoring
- AI Foundry Agent Service (2024-25 launch) — managed agent runtime
- Content Safety — Azure AI Content Safety filters
- Evaluations framework — groundedness, relevance, coherence, safety scoring
- Copilot Studio integration — build branded copilots
- Microsoft Fabric / Power Platform integration
- Compliance: HIPAA · FedRAMP High · DoD IL5 (commercial)
- Networking: Private Endpoints · Managed VNets
- Auth: Entra ID (Azure AD) · managed identities
- IDOE access status: Confirmed available to IDOE
- Natural alignment with Tyler/Ask Indiana (which also runs on Azure OpenAI GPT-4)
🤖 LAYER 4 — Agentic R&D (the frontier — where greenfield lives)
- Posture: Limited internal experimentation underway beyond Copilot, on the agentic end of the spectrum. Greenfield territory.
- What "agentic" means in this context: Multi-step autonomous workflows · LLM calling tools (APIs, databases, file systems) · stateful task execution · scheduled/triggered runs · human-in-the-loop checkpoints
- Likely framework choices (inferred from sandbox availability):
- Microsoft Semantic Kernel — natural choice given Azure/Copilot alignment
- AutoGen (Microsoft Research) — multi-agent conversation framework
- Azure AI Foundry Agent Service — managed agent runtime
- Agents for AWS Bedrock — action-group-based agentic workflows
- LangChain / LangGraph — vendor-neutral, open source
- Copilot Studio — low-code branded agent builder
- What agentic could do at IDOE (illustrative use cases):
- Pull rosters from Ed-Fi ODS · cross-check enrollment anomalies · draft LEA outreach emails
- Monitor LVIS 360 application queue · flag overdue files · suggest reviewer assignments
- Auto-compile weekly SAMS-style briefings from Knowledge Hub announcements + GPS data shifts
- Read Choice Portal submissions · validate against accreditation list · flag exceptions
- Synthesize attendance data from EWIS + family contact attempts · draft Tier 2/3 intervention plans
- Run quarterly Perkins V CAR pre-validation against InTERS data
- Greenfield reality: No mature internal playbook yet · this is where partners can demonstrate value · IDOE wants to experiment but needs proven patterns
🌒 LAYER 5 — Shadow AI (acknowledged but ungoverned)
Posture: Individual staff exploration of commercial AI tools outside the sanctioned tenant is recognized internally as a real pattern.
- What: Individual staff using consumer ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini / Copilot Pro / Perplexity from personal devices, outside the sanctioned tenant
- Why it happens: (a) Copilot doesn't cover every use case · (b) sanctioned governance is slow · (c) curiosity + frontier-tracking
- Risk: Sensitive content (draft policies, student data inadvertently included, FERPA-relevant emails) leaving the controlled tenant · prompt history retained by consumer vendors · model training on personal-account inputs (varies by vendor TOS)
- Real signal: Indicates unmet need · use cases that could be formalized through Bedrock/Foundry layer
- Opportunity for partners: Identify common shadow-use patterns → propose sanctioned versions running on Bedrock/Foundry → satisfy MPH governance
📊 STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS for partners / vendors
| If you're proposing... | Where it lives | What governance demands |
| Generic productivity AI | ❌ Loses to Copilot | Don't compete · build on top via Copilot Studio |
| RAG over IDOE knowledge base | ✅ Bedrock or Foundry sandbox | Use Bedrock Knowledge Bases or Foundry Prompt Flow · DSA + JIT + AI Readiness Q'naire |
| Multi-step agent over Ed-Fi data | ✅ Layer 4 agentic | Specified use case · human-in-the-loop · NIST AI RMF risk mapping · likely Foundry Agent Service or Bedrock Agents |
| Public-facing chatbot | ⚠ Already Tyler / Ask Indiana | Coordinate with IOT · Tyler Resident Assistant covers in.gov |
| Custom model training | ✅ Sandboxes | Fine-tuning in Bedrock or Foundry · data residency + DSA · annual reassessment |
| Vendor-hosted SaaS chat | ❌ Hard sell | Must satisfy MPH High-Risk review · independent data flow + DSA · explain why not Bedrock/Foundry |
🎯 The five-layer reality of IDOE's current AI posture
- A statewide AI governance framework (administered by MPH) gates every agency-vendor engagement around specific, defined use cases.
- IDOE has sandbox access to both AWS Bedrock and Microsoft Azure AI Foundry for experimentation.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot is the sole sanctioned day-to-day AI tool for IDOE staff productivity.
- Limited agentic experimentation is underway beyond Copilot — early-stage R&D, not yet in production.
- Unsanctioned individual use of commercial AI tools (the "shadow AI" tier) is acknowledged as a real signal of unmet demand.
🧩 HOW THIS CONNECTS TO THE REST OF THE STACK
flowchart LR
EdFi[Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS
student/staff data]
LVIS[LVIS 360
educator credentials]
Choice[Choice Portal
voucher data]
PSP[PowerSchool SP
IEP data]
GPS[GPS Dashboard
17 indicators]
MPH_Gov[MPH AI Governance
NIST RMF gate]
EdFi -.read via API.-> AGENT[Layer 4 Agent on Bedrock/Foundry]
LVIS -.read.-> AGENT
Choice -.read.-> AGENT
PSP -.SPED-aware.-> AGENT
GPS -.indicators.-> AGENT
MPH_Gov -->|approved use case| AGENT
AGENT -->|drafts| Brief[Weekly Briefing Draft]
AGENT -->|flags| Anomaly[Data Anomalies]
AGENT -->|composes| Outreach[LEA Outreach Email]
AGENT -->|monitors| Queue[License/Application Queues]
Brief -.human-in-loop.-> Staff[IDOE Staff Review]
Anomaly -.human-in-loop.-> Staff
Outreach -.human-in-loop.-> Staff
Queue -.human-in-loop.-> Staff
Copilot[Microsoft 365 Copilot] -.day-to-day.-> Staff
🛣️ THE OPPORTUNITY WINDOWS
- Formalize shadow-AI use cases → propose sanctioned versions on Bedrock/Foundry · satisfy MPH governance
- RAG over IDOE knowledge bases — SAMS memos, Knowledge Hub Confluence (idoe.atlassian.net), PowerSchool SP release notes, Cambium Policy Manual, WIDA guidance, accommodation crosswalks — these are scattered and under-indexed
- Agentic data-quality workflows over Ed-Fi ODS · attendance/IEP/EL anomaly detection
- Multi-document synthesis for IDOE staff briefings (the Secretary's SAMS messages are weekly · could be agent-assisted)
- Cross-system query agents — Ed-Fi + LVIS + Choice + InTERS in single natural-language pull (currently requires manual cross-portal navigation)
- LEA-facing: tools that help LEAs interpret their own GPS / EWIS / Attendance Insights data — democratizing data access is a stated direction at the state level.
⚠️ LIMITATIONS / OPEN QUESTIONS
Specific Copilot SKU not disclosed (Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Copilot Pro vs Copilot Studio licensing breakdown)
Bedrock + Foundry "access" doesn't reveal which models specifically are enabled in IDOE's tenants — Anthropic Claude availability on Bedrock GovCloud is a moving target
Agentic R&D status is "experimenting" — no production deployments named publicly
Shadow-AI estimate of scale unknown — but internal acknowledgment signals it is not trivial
Connection between IDOE-internal AI stack and LEA-facing AI Pilot Grant (Khanmigo, MagicSchool) is loose — different governance regimes, different user populations
FedRAMP boundary specifics: which Bedrock / Foundry deployments are HIGH vs MODERATE vs commercial — relevant for any PII/FERPA workload
🛣️ ROADMAP & SIGNALS
- Continued Copilot expansion across IDOE staff (Microsoft typically pushes Copilot Studio next)
- Bedrock + Foundry will be where partner pilots run — vendors should propose work IN these environments, not against them
- MPH AI Policy 2.0 (SB 150 AI Task Force) likely strengthens governance · new compliance touchpoints
- Ed-Fi Summit 2025 closing plenary theme — "AI, Data Standards, and Student Success," delivered by Dr. Keller — signals the direction of IDOE's agentic R&D
- Connection to 2023 IES SLDS grant deliverables (CEDS alignment, EPP feedback pilot) — natural pull-through for agent-assisted analytics
- Likely 12-24 month horizon: first production agentic deployment in IDOE-internal use case · partner pilot programs · expanded shadow-AI formalization
🤖 AI Pilot Grant + Digital Learning Grant — classroom AI infrastructure
Pilot scale
~$1.8-2M (ESSER) · 112 schools · 36 districts · ~$50K avg per district · SY 2023-24 only
Continuation
Digital Learning Grant $50K/LEA cap · competitive · ongoing · 2026 closes Apr 6, 2026
Findings
50% teachers weekly+ use · 53% rated impact "positive" · 62% found vendor training adequate (625 surveyed)
Governance
NO statewide AI master contract · NO binding IDOE LEA policy · LEA-driven · vendor-fragmented
🏆 THE 5 PILOT PLATFORMS
Khanmigo (Khan Academy)
- GPT-4-based tutor + teaching assistant
- FREE for IN educators via state agreement
- 20 of 36 pilot districts (most-adopted)
- Student mode: Socratic tutor (won't give answers)
- Teacher mode: lesson plans, exit tickets, rubrics, IEP-aligned modifications
- Grade 9-10 ELA aligned to IN standards (2025)
- Hobart Schools on 60 Minutes Dec 2024
MagicSchool AI
- 100+ AI tools for teacher productivity
- Lesson plans, IEP draft, parent emails, rubrics, accommodations
- ESCI cooperative purchasing via IC 5-22-25
- 25% discount through June 30, 2026
- "Raina" student-facing sidekick (lower data-privacy risk)
- Reaches all 9 ESC member districts statewide
Amira Learning
- AI reading-fluency tutor K-3
- Speech recognition listens to student read aloud
- Detects miscues, intervenes with scaffolded micro-interventions
- DIBELS-equivalent WCPM score
- Approved IDOE K-2 universal screener — dual instructional + statutory role
Edia + SchoolJoy + Chat for Schools
- Edia (edia.app) — AI math tutor MS/HS · step-by-step worked examples
- SchoolJoy (Indianapolis-based) — conversational AI for student support + counseling triage + pathway recommendations
- Chat for Schools — also in approved cohort
- State-economic-development optics: SchoolJoy is in-state vendor
📊 PILOT FINDINGS (Aug 2024 Final Report)
- 625 teacher survey responses out of ~2,500 with access (~25% response rate)
- ~50% used platforms weekly+
- 53% rated impact "positive" on student learning + own teaching practice
- 62% found vendor training adequate — 38% inadequate (notable gap)
- Primary use cases: lesson planning · differentiation (especially ELL + SPED) · rubric/assessment generation · 1-on-1 tutoring/feedback
- Reported friction: UX bugs · poor microphone/speech recognition (Amira + Khanmigo voice features) · AI hallucinations · content gaps in non-tested subjects
💰 DIGITAL LEARNING GRANT (ongoing)
- $50K cap per district · competitive · annual
- Eligible: AI platforms · game-based learning · VR/AR projects · digital intervention tools
- Priorities: literacy · math · intervention · career pathways · AI/data literacy
- ~45 districts/charters in 2023 cycle · cycles continued
- 2026 application closes April 6, 2026
- Some districts use Digital Learning Grant to continue Khanmigo/MagicSchool — but no guaranteed continuity (competitive, annual)
- Separate PD grant for digital-learning leads (>50% time)
📋 IPS AI POLICY (June 2025 — model framework)
- Indianapolis Public Schools school board approved June 2025
- Yearlong staff-only pilot with 20 staff (Phase 1 2024-25)
- Staff-only acceptable uses: drafting emails/newsletters · data summaries · lesson planning · low-risk repetitive tasks
- Does NOT yet authorize student-facing AI
- Requires district-approved (licensed) AI tools only — no shadow AI
- Creates AI Advisory Committee (administrators + teachers + tech + legal)
- Explicit FERPA + equity/bias safeguards
- Phase 2 (2025-26): Google Gemini at $177/user (negotiated down from list)
- Referenced by other Marion County township districts as model
🛒 ESCI COOPERATIVE PURCHASING MECHANICS
- Indiana has 9 regional Educational Service Centers (ESCs)
- ESCI = consolidated cooperative of all 9 ESCs
- Exercises group-purchasing authority under IC 5-22-25 (cooperative purchasing statute)
- Competitively contracted with MagicSchool on behalf of all member districts
- LEAs execute PO against ESCI master agreement — no individual RFP/bid
- 25% institutional discount through June 30, 2026
- Cleanest existing example of statewide AI vendor consolidation in IN — but sits at ESC level, NOT IDOE-state level
⚠️ LIMITATIONS
NO durable funding mechanism — ESSER one-time, no replacement appropriation. IDOE (Williams) confirmed no plans to continue pilot itself
NO vendor consolidation at state level — IDOE has not negotiated master AI contract; each LEA does own deal (or rides ESCI for MagicSchool / Khan free)
NO direct integration with Ed-Fi ODS — tools sit entirely at LEA layer; some LEA-level SIS/LMS integrations (Khanmigo with Google Classroom/Canvas LTI)
Student data privacy concerns — FERPA-floor only · no continuous audit infrastructure post-procurement
2025-26 awardee list NOT publicly aggregated · hard for parents/researchers to see which districts have AI funding for which tools
Vendor proliferation at LEA level — larger districts paying for Khanmigo + MagicSchool + Amira + others with overlap and uncoordinated PD
PD adequacy gap — 38% teachers found vendor training inadequate
MPH State AI Policy framework governs STATE government AI · has NOT been formally extended to K-12 LEA tools — regulatory gap
🛣️ ROADMAP
- Digital Learning Grant cycles confirmed through 2026-27 award year
- Possible state-level consolidated procurement post-2026 if outcomes consistent
- Stronger IDOE AI guidance plausible — Secretary Jenner has publicly emphasized human-in-the-loop guardrails for classroom AI
- MPH State AI Policy may extend to LEAs — most realistic vector for binding statewide rules (Braun executive posture)
- Khan Academy IN-aligned ELA G9-10 (2025) likely expands subject coverage if adoption holds
- June 30, 2026: MagicSchool-ESCI 25% discount expires — key inflection point
- IPS Phase 2 results (2025-26) as model for other large IN districts · Google Gemini at $177/user benchmark
- MagicSchool scaling via ESCI: 31,000+ Indiana educators reported on platform (Q1 2026) — the ESC channel is now the dominant statewide AI distribution vector outside the IDOE Digital Learning Grant
🧸 Universal Pre-K Infrastructure — On My Way Pre-K + Early Ed Connect (FSSA-owned, not IDOE)
Program
On My Way Pre-K · 4-year-olds from qualifying families · administered by FSSA Office of Early Childhood & Out-of-School Learning
Provider payment rails
Conduent systems (provider agreement portal + attendance + reimbursement)
Atlas note
Distinct stack from ClassWallet (Choice/CSA/INESA) and IDOE — separate vendor ecosystem entirely
Why this is in the Atlas: Universal Pre-K is one of Indiana's largest publicly-funded education programs by family count, and its tech infrastructure is regularly mistaken for being part of either the IDOE Choice Scholarship rails (ClassWallet) or general IDOE systems. It is neither. Documenting the actual stack avoids assumption errors downstream when designing integrations or analyzing data flows.
🏗️ ARCHITECTURE
flowchart LR
Family[Family with eligible 4-year-old]
EEC[Early Ed Connect
brighterfuturesindiana.org
Early Learning Indiana]
Elig[Eligibility check
FSSA rules]
Match[Provider match]
Provider[Pre-K provider
centers + family child care]
Conduent[Conduent provider portal
agreements · attendance · reimbursement]
FSSA[FSSA OECOSL
policy + appropriation]
IDOE_K[IDOE K-12 entry SY 2027-28+]
Family --> EEC --> Elig --> Match --> Provider
Provider --> Conduent --> FSSA
Provider -.kindergarten transition.-> IDOE_K
🔗 INTEGRATION WITH K-12 ATLAS
- Kindergarten readiness data does not currently flow into Ed-Fi ODS at the individual-student level — transition is largely on the kindergarten teacher receiving the child.
- Build Learn Grow (the federal CCDBG-funded child care voucher program) shares Conduent infrastructure with On My Way Pre-K — same vendor, related but distinct program.
- Brighter Futures Indiana Data Center publishes aggregated counts but not individual-child longitudinal records — Early Ed Connect is the operational system, the Data Center is the public reporting layer.
🛣️ FORWARD-LOOKING
- Growing legislative attention to pre-K to K-12 longitudinal data linkage — natural place for INK SLDS expansion if the policy demand surfaces.
- Conduent contract for early childhood admin is the procurement to watch if pre-K to K-12 integration becomes a state priority.
- Documented gap: no individual-student-level handoff between FSSA's pre-K data and IDOE's K-12 systems. A future SLDS expansion or modernization initiative could address this.
🛡️ K-12 Cybersecurity Posture — Statewide and district-level layers
Statewide SOC
Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) operates the state SOC · serves executive-branch agencies
IDOE coverage
IDOE agency systems sit inside IOT's SOC perimeter · district-level systems do not
K-12 specific framework
K12 SIX (K-12 ISAC) "Essential Cybersecurity Protections 2026" + District Self-Assessment
Why this matters: K-12 districts are among the most-targeted ransomware victims in the U.S., and the consequences of a successful breach (FERPA-protected student records, IEP data, payroll, transportation routes) are severe. Indiana's posture is currently a patchwork: IOT covers state agency systems, K12 SIX is the de facto national K-12 framework, and individual districts handle their own posture with varying capacity. There is no unified statewide K-12 cyber program at the IDOE level.
🏗️ THE LAYERS — who covers what
flowchart TD
IOT[Indiana Office of Technology · IOT
State SOC · serves executive-branch agencies]
IDOE_Cyber[IDOE agency systems
inside IOT perimeter]
K12SIX[K12 SIX · national K-12 ISAC
Essential Protections 2026
District Self-Assessment]
MSISAC[MS-ISAC · CIS
national municipal cyber · K-12 included]
Districts[Districts · IT departments
varying capacity · varying tools]
CyberHub[Indiana Cybersecurity Hub
state-level public awareness]
IOT --> IDOE_Cyber
K12SIX -.framework.-> Districts
MSISAC -.threat intel.-> Districts
CyberHub -.guidance.-> Districts
Districts -.no consolidated SOC.-> NoMonitor[No statewide K-12 SOC]
🔍 WHAT EXISTS AT THE STATE LEVEL
- IOT State SOC — operational, 24/7, serves executive-branch agencies. IDOE's own agency stack is inside the perimeter. District systems are not.
- Indiana Cybersecurity Hub — public awareness layer with K-12 specific guidance, but advisory only, not operational.
- IES SLDS grant requirements — federal funding for the LINK Initiative comes with cybersecurity controls IDOE must maintain on its grant-funded data systems. Documented in grant award terms.
🔍 WHAT DISTRICTS USE (varies)
- K12 SIX framework — the de facto K-12 cyber maturity baseline. Free essentials series + paid membership tiers. Released 2026 essentials in Q1.
- MS-ISAC — free membership for U.S. SLTT (state, local, tribal, territorial) entities including school districts. Threat intel feeds + Albert IDS sensors.
- CIS Controls — most-cited control framework at district level.
- Vendor-specific tools — Microsoft Defender / Google Workspace security / district-procured MDR services. Vendor selection is district-by-district.
- ESC of Indiana (ESCI) — some regional cooperatives provide shared cyber services to member districts; coverage is uneven.
⚠️ THE STRUCTURAL GAPS
No statewide K-12 SOC — district incidents are detected and responded to district-by-district, with regional ESC support of varying quality.
No mandatory cyber baseline for districts at the state level — Indiana has no equivalent of Texas SB 820 or NY Ed Law §2-d enforcement architecture.
Incident reporting is informal — no required reporting channel to IDOE or IOT for district breaches; awareness depends on public disclosure or third-party notification.
FERPA + IDEA exposure compound K-12 ransomware impact relative to general municipal cyber events; current incident-response capacity may be undersized.
Vendor concentration in district SIS (PowerSchool ~200 corps) means a single vendor incident has broad statewide blast radius — PowerSchool's December 2024 breach is the recent reference case.
🛣️ FORWARD-LOOKING
- Possible state-level K-12 cyber framework if attention follows a high-profile district incident — Indiana would be roughly mid-pack relative to other states in maturity if it pursued one.
- IOT capacity to extend SOC services to opt-in districts is a natural state-level lever, though no public announcement of this exists.
- ESCI / regional co-op shared services are the most realistic near-term scaling vector for districts without internal cyber capacity.
- K12 SIX 2026 essentials + District Self-Assessment provide an off-the-shelf baseline IDOE could endorse without building from scratch.
💰 Verified Vendor Payments — Indiana Transparency Portal ground truth (8 quarters / 24 months)
Direct from the Indiana Transparency Portal (transparency.in.gov) state vendor-payment exports covering Q4 2024 through Q3 2026 — 24 months / 8 quarters of actual state agency payments. The authoritative source of what Indiana state agencies actually paid each vendor — independent of any contract or vendor-published estimate. ~2.1 million transaction records processed. Cross-referenced against contract NTE figures.
Why this matters
Contract NTE values (the ~$126M Cambium ceiling, the ~$22M Tyler ceiling, etc.) tell you what could be spent. Actual transparency-portal payments tell you what was spent. The gap between the two — and the agency-by-agency distribution of payments — is the single best window into what each vendor is actually doing for Indiana, and which state agency is the real customer relationship.
📈 Year-over-Year vendor totals (Year 1: Q4 '24-Q3 '25 vs Year 2: Q4 '25-Q3 '26)
| Vendor |
Primary Agency / Notes |
Year 1 (12mo) |
Year 2 (12mo) |
24-mo TOTAL |
YoY Δ |
| Cambium Assessment Inc |
IDOE only |
$21.47M |
$53.09M |
$74.57M |
+147% |
| Mind Trust Inc |
IDOE only |
$27.42M |
$14.75M |
$42.17M |
−46% |
| Indiana Interactive (Tyler-IN.gov) |
00340 $23.16M + IOT $14M + 14 others |
$27.31M |
$15.10M |
$42.40M |
−45% |
| College Board |
IDOE only — state-paid SAT cycle |
$11.09M |
$11.17M |
$22.27M |
+0.7% (steady) |
| Resultant LLC |
Cross-agency · IDOE only $5.99M of total |
$16.97M |
$5.19M |
$22.16M |
−69% |
| PowerSchool Holdings |
IDOE $17.11M + School Blind $30K |
$7.85M |
$9.30M |
$17.14M |
+18% |
| Public Consulting Group (PCG) |
IDOE $16.99M (IIEP wind-down) |
$12.81M |
$4.19M |
$16.99M |
−67% |
| Tyler Technologies (parent) |
00022 $11.57M + others |
$6.40M |
$5.17M |
$12.09M |
−19% |
| Nimble (hirenimble.com) |
IDOE $6.61M + Early Child Learning $1.38M |
$3.73M |
$4.26M |
$7.99M |
+14% |
| Renaissance Academy Inc |
IDOE only · steady operational |
$2.55M |
$1.80M |
$4.35M |
−29% |
| Granicus |
Early Child Learning · NOT IDOE |
$716K |
$369K |
$1.09M |
−48% |
| The Scherb Group (InTERS) |
DWD · steady $117K/qtr (operational) |
$546K |
$496K |
$1.04M |
−9% |
| NWEA (LEA-purchased) |
4 small agencies · NOT IDOE |
$895K |
$508K |
$1.40M |
−43% |
| NIC Inc (Tyler predecessor) |
Auditor $1.15M · legacy branding |
$702K |
$787K |
$1.49M |
+12% |
| Data Recognition Corp (DRC) |
DWD only · WIDA membership channel |
$22K |
$22K |
$44K |
Steady |
Highlighted rows = primary payee is IDOE (agency 00700). Source: Indiana Transparency Portal expenditure exports Q4 2024 - Q3 2026, 8 quarterly files aggregated.
🎯 Major event correlations — events vs payment trends
📈 Cambium Amendment #3 effect: +147% YoY
Year 1 (Q4'24-Q3'25): $21.47M. Year 2 (Q4'25-Q3'26): $53.09M. The Amendment #3 effective period coincides exactly with the doubling. Q4 2025 alone saw $16.49M (vs $4.69M same-quarter prior year — a 3.5× jump). This is the clearest dollar-quantified evidence of the Amendment #3 expansion in the public record.
📉 Mind Trust trajectory tells the funding story
Q4 2024: $12.99M (peak) · Q1 2025: $5.62M · Q2 2025: $2.01M (Feb 2025 pause — Indiana Learns funding stopped before ILEARN) · Q3 2025: $6.80M · Q4 2025: $4.77M (post-Lilly bridge) · Q1 2026: $6.87M · Q2-Q3 2026: $1.56M each (reduced steady-state). The Q2 2025 trough validates Chalkbeat's Feb 2025 pause coverage; the Q4 2025 recovery aligns with the November 2025 reopening + Lilly $14M bridge.
🔁 PCG IIEP → PowerSchool transition is documented in payments
PCG payments collapse: Year 1 $12.81M → Year 2 $4.19M (−67%). The Q3 2026 final $4.19M is the closeout. PowerSchool payments rise: Year 1 $7.85M → Year 2 $9.30M (+18%), with steady $3M/quarter post-July 2025 go-live. Together this is the Indiana SPED system migration in dollars.
⚠ Resultant dropped 69% YoY — worth understanding why
Year 1 $16.97M → Year 2 $5.19M. Auditor (00400) alone dropped from $6.36M Year 1 to $1.51M Year 2; IDOE direct from $5.33M to $660K. Possible explanations: (a) one-time project completions in Year 1 not repeating, (b) shift to a different prime contractor for cross-agency work, (c) accounting treatment change. Worth a documented explanation given Resultant's structural role.
📊 Nimble's $4.26M Q2 2026 spike
Nimble (hirenimble.com — the upgraded Indiana Educator Job Board) jumped from steady ~$500K to $4.26M in Q2 2026 alone from IDOE. This coincides with the January 2026 platform upgrade. Total 24-mo: $7.99M — Nimble is now a top-10 IDOE tech vendor by payment.
📐 College Board pattern shows the SAT cycle
$11.09M Year 1, $11.17M Year 2 — essentially flat steady-state. Q4 = $0 (pre-administration), Q1 = ~$9M (SAT scoring spike), Q2 = $2M, Q3 = $0. Stable cycle suggests the state-paid SAT contract operates on a predictable annual rhythm.
🏢 Indiana Interactive's biggest customer is agency 00340
Most of the Tyler-IN.gov $23.16M to agency 00340 (likely Department of Revenue or BMV — high transaction volume) — NOT IDOE or IOT. IOT's $14M slice (8 quarters) matches the $22M/4yr contract trajectory at $14M run-rate. Year 1 $27.31M vs Year 2 $15.10M = −45% (large drop possibly reflects timing of one-time setup payments).
🔌 The "invisible vendors" remain invisible at the state level
Lexia, Voyager Sopris, Khan Academy, MagicSchool, Curriculum Associates, Houghton Mifflin, Savvas, Amplify, Sylvan, Varsity Tutors — all appear in our system mapping but show minimal-to-zero state-level direct payments across 24 months. Confirms what's expected: these are paid via LEA-level purchasing, ESCI cooperative, WIDA Consortium membership (UW-Madison), Indiana Learns participant flow, or grant pass-through — not state agency direct contracts.
📊 8-quarter heatmap — IDOE-only payments to top vendors
All dollar figures below are payments FROM IDOE (agency 00700) only. Watch the Cambium Q3 2026 spike, the PowerSchool ramp post-July 2025, and the PCG cliff drop.
| Vendor | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 | 24-mo |
| Cambium | $4.69M | $8.63M | $5.97M | $2.18M | $16.49M | $15.34M | $3.21M | $18.04M | $74.57M |
| Mind Trust | $12.99M | $5.62M | $2.01M | $6.80M | $4.77M | $6.87M | $1.56M | $1.56M | $42.17M |
| College Board | $0 | $9.09M | $2.00M | $0 | $3.68M | $5.49M | $2.00M | $0 | $22.27M |
| PowerSchool | $689K | $1.73M | $2.45M | $2.98M | $1.47M | $1.65M | $3.11M | $3.06M | $17.14M |
| PCG | $4.86M | $2.83M | $0 | $5.12M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4.19M | $16.99M |
| Nimble | $0 | $2.35M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4.26M | $0 | $6.61M |
| Resultant | $2.00M | $1.75M | $868K | $707K | $388K | $232K | $32K | $8K | $5.99M |
| Renaissance Academy | $683K | $715K | $482K | $671K | $510K | $662K | $629K | $0 | $4.35M |
Highlighted cells = quarterly peaks. The Cambium Q3 2026 $18.04M is the largest single-quarter IDOE technology payment in the 8-quarter window.
📊 Reconciliation: Contract NTE vs. 24-month Verified Payments
| Vendor | Contract NTE | 24-mo Verified (Year 1 + Year 2) | Observation |
| Cambium (PSC #65981) |
$126.16M / 57mo total |
$74.57M ($21.47M + $53.09M) |
Year 1 was below annualized average ($26.6M); Year 2 ran 2× above. Pattern is consistent with Amendment #3 expanded scope hitting full velocity in Year 2. On track to consume contract through Dec 2026. |
| Mind Trust (PSC #94311) |
$4.4M / 12mo SY 25-26 |
$42.17M total |
Significantly higher than the public PSC #94311 figure. Year 1 (Q4'24-Q3'25) saw $27.42M alone — strong evidence of multiple prior/concurrent contracts beyond the Indiana Learns admin scope. A documented breakdown of Mind Trust's full IDOE engagement portfolio would clarify. |
| Tyler / Indiana Interactive ($22M/4yr) |
$22M / 4yr (IOT only) |
$42.40M Indiana Interactive cross-agency · $12.09M Tyler parent |
IOT slice of Indiana Interactive: $14M over 8 quarters = ~$7M/yr run-rate (slightly below $22M/4yr = $5.5M/yr annualized — implying some early front-loading or initial deployment costs). Other agencies' Indiana Interactive use exceeds IOT's. |
| PowerSchool Special Programs (no public NTE) |
Not publicly disclosed |
$17.14M (Y1 $7.85M + Y2 $9.30M) |
First publicly verifiable run-rate: ~$12-13M annual at steady state post-July 2025 go-live. Implies multi-year contract value in the $40-60M range. |
| Resultant (no single NTE) |
Multi-SOW · ICC reported $15M MPH |
$22.16M cross-agency (Y1 $16.97M, Y2 $5.19M) |
Year 1 vs Year 2 −69% drop. IDOE direct payments dropped from $5.33M to $660K. Multiple possible explanations — would benefit from a documented project-level breakdown of which engagements concluded and which continue. |
| PCG (legacy IIEP) |
N/A — wind-down |
$16.99M (Y1 $12.81M, Y2 $4.19M) |
PCG → PowerSchool transition documented in payment data: Y1 vs Y2 −67% for PCG · simultaneous PowerSchool +18%. Q3 2026 $4.19M = final closeout. |
| College Board |
Per-test fee · statute |
$22.27M (Y1 $11.09M, Y2 $11.17M) |
Steady-state ~$11M/year for state-paid SAT. Per-student: ~$135 ($11.17M ÷ ~82K G11 takers). |
| Nimble (Indiana Educator Job Board) |
Not disclosed |
$7.99M (Y1 $3.73M, Y2 $4.26M) |
First-time disclosure: $7.99M total IDOE+Early Child Learning for the educator job board platform. Top-10 IDOE tech vendor. |
🔍 Six findings from the original 12-month view (preserved for reference)
1. Cambium Q3 2026 spike
Q3 2026 saw $18.04M paid to Cambium — the highest single-quarter payment in the 12-month window. This aligns with ILEARN summative scoring + Checkpoint adaptive deployment + Amendment #3 expansion. Strong evidence the contract is operating at the upper end of its annualized range under Amendment #3, not the lower.
2. PowerSchool's Special Programs ramp is documented
Quarterly payments rising $1.47M → $1.65M → $3.11M → $3.06M correspond to the July 18, 2025 statewide go-live and stabilization. Steady-state run-rate looks like ~$12-13M annual — the first publicly verifiable PowerSchool Special Programs cost figure for Indiana.
3. PCG IIEP closeout payment in Q3 2026
Public Consulting Group received $4.19M from IDOE in Q3 2026 alone after near-zero in the preceding three quarters. Consistent with final wind-down + transition contract closeout for the legacy IIEP system (retired June 6, 2025). Total PCG payments over 12 months: $4.44M.
4. Mind Trust paid $14.75M — well above PSC #94311 $4.4M ceiling
The Mind Trust received $14.75M over 12 months from IDOE alone, versus the $4.4M / 12-month PSC #94311 Indiana Learns administration contract. The variance likely reflects (a) additional contracts beyond the Indiana Learns admin scope (b) prior-year Indiana Learns participant payments still flowing or (c) other IDOE-Mind Trust arrangements. Worth a documented breakdown.
5. Resultant is genuinely cross-agency · NOT primarily IDOE
Of Resultant's $5.19M in 12-month payments: only $660K (12.7%) came from IDOE directly. The rest flowed via agency 00400 ($1.51M), DWD ($1.38M), Early Child Learning ($1.14M), and 00022 ($441K). This corrects the common framing — Resultant's IDOE-side work (GPS, Ed-Fi ODS, EWIS) is funded substantially through partner agencies, not directly through IDOE.
6. Several "named vendors" don't actually receive state payments
NWEA, Lexia, DRC, Khan Academy, MagicSchool, Curriculum Associates — all appear in our system mapping as relevant Indiana ed-tech vendors, but the state transparency portal shows minimal or zero direct payments. Confirms what we expected: these vendors are paid through LEA-level purchasing, ESCI cooperative, WIDA Consortium membership (UW-Madison), or grant pass-through — not state agency direct contracts.
🧾 Voucher-level analysis — 24 months of payment cadence
Vendor-level files include individual Voucher IDs, letting us see whether a vendor receives many small operational payments or a few mega-milestone payments. Pattern reveals contract structure. Full 24-month voucher view: Apr 2024 - Mar 2026 · 8 fiscal quarters.
| Vendor | # Vouchers (10 mo) | Avg / Voucher | Largest Single Voucher | Pattern |
| Cambium Assessment | 13 | $4.08M | $15.38M (Mar 25, 2026) | Mega-milestone — 3-4 large payments/year |
| College Board | 3 | $3.72M | $5.49M (Jul 30, 2025) | Pure milestone — quarterly mega-payments |
| Nimble Hiring PBC | 1 | $3.96M | $3.96M (Oct 29, 2025) | Single voucher — upfront implementation contract |
| Univ of Indianapolis | 27 | $750K | $4.78M | Cadre-style milestone with operational tail (Literacy Cadre delivery) |
| Mind Trust | 32 | $461K | $6.25M (Aug 12, 2025) | Mix — large milestone + smaller operational |
| Keys to Literacy | 21 | $532K | $1.88M | Bi-weekly/monthly operational PD payments |
| PowerSchool | 44 | $211K | $1.16M | Distributed monthly operational + multiple SOWs |
| SHI International | 2,230 | $57K | $25.80M (Apr 15, 2025 to IOT) | True operational reseller — high transaction volume |
| Indiana Interactive | 406 | $37K | $1.75M | High-volume operational platform support |
| PCG-Indiana | 14 | $540K | $2.65M | Mid-volume milestone (Indiana-specific entity) |
| Public Consulting Group Inc | 2 | $2.10M | $2.10M (Mar 5, 2026) | Two paired payments same day — closeout structure |
| Marian University | 21 | $308K | $1.05M | Operational PD delivery (Literacy Cadre partner) |
| Univ of Wisconsin (WIDA) | 3 | $1.21M | $1.75M | Pure consortium membership payments |
| Five-Star Technology | 11 | $308K | $500K | Quarterly platform fee (Indiana Learning Lab) |
| Resultant LLC | 71 | $73K | $514K | High-volume cross-agency SOWs · IDOE direct only 14 vouchers ($660K) |
🔎 Major vendor identifications from 8-quarter voucher data
🎯 KLEO INC = ClassWallet (legal entity)
$12.53M to IDOE across 31 vouchers, Apr 2024 - Mar 2025. "KLEO INC" is the legal entity name; ClassWallet is the trade name (d/b/a). This payment stream is the Indiana Learns ESSER-era operational rail — exactly aligning with the Feb 14, 2025 program shutdown and March 15, 2025 final wind-down. Payments collapsed to $280K closeout in FY25Q3, then zero. Important corollary: ClassWallet's total state-of-Indiana exposure is materially larger than the public $8.85M/yr Treasurer contract suggests — combining the IDOE-side KLEO INC payments ($12.53M) with the Treasurer-side INESA/CSA contract puts ClassWallet's full state engagement well into eight figures. Plain-English: when the Indiana Learns program was running, ~$12.5M of state ESSER money flowed through KLEO INC's platform to approved tutors. When ESSER ran out and the program paused (Feb 2025), KLEO INC's IDOE payment stream stopped instantly. The Nov 2025 Indiana Learns relaunch under new state funding will create a new payment stream — separately trackable.
🇬🇧 TEACHER PREP INSPECTION-US (TPI-US)
$7.73M to IDOE across 3 vouchers (Jul 2024 - Mar 2025). US nonprofit modeled directly on the
UK Ofsted Initial Teacher Training (ITT) inspectorate framework. Indiana contracted TPI-US for a
statewide on-site inspection of every Indiana Educator Preparation Program (EPP), specifically tied to HEA 1558 / SEA 1 Science of Reading compliance — embedded SoR content required by July 1, 2024 and the Early Literacy Endorsement starting July 1, 2025. Inspections are 4-5 days each, with classroom observation of teacher candidates, mentor teacher interviews, and written reports.
This is the largest publicly-documented TPI-US state engagement to date (they operate in 24 states; have done 400+ inspections cumulatively). Cleanly tied to Indiana's regulatory framework, not part of ongoing operational PD. Source:
IDOE Teacher Newsletter Aug 5, 2024 explicitly notifying schools hosting student teachers about the TPI-US review.
🌟 Updated 24-month top IDOE-paid vendors (Apr 2024 - Mar 2026, voucher-level)
Filtered to non-school-corporation vendors paid by IDOE (agency 00700) over 8 fiscal quarters · Apr 2024 - Mar 2026 · 24 months voucher-level data:
| Rank | Vendor | 24-mo IDOE $ | Vchrs | What it is |
| 1 | Cambium Assessment Inc | $74.57M | 26 | PSC #65981 ($126M NTE) |
| 2 | University of Indianapolis | $44.87M | 53 | CELL · Literacy Cadre primary delivery — IDOE's #2 vendor |
| 3 | The Mind Trust Inc | $42.17M | 94 | Indiana Learns + Mind Trust portfolio |
| 4 | Keys to Literacy LLC | $26.47M | 51 | IDOE-sponsored free literacy endorsement PD — major SoR investment |
| 5 | College Board | $22.27M | 6 | State-paid SAT (~$135/G11 student) |
| 6 | PowerSchool Holdings LLC | $17.14M | 92 | Special Programs (IEP/504/ILP) — IIEP successor |
| 7 | Public Consulting Group Inc (parent) | $16.99M | 7 | IIEP legacy wind-down |
| 8 | PCG-Indiana Inc | $13.48M | 39 | IN-specific PCG entity · combined w/ parent = $30.47M total PCG |
| 9 | Marian University | $12.85M | 53 | Center for Vibrant Schools · Literacy Cadre co-lead |
| 10 | Five-Star Technology Solutions | $12.77M | 29 | Indiana Learning Lab platform vendor (inlearninglab.com) |
| 11 | KLEO INC = ClassWallet | $12.53M | 31 | Indiana Learns ESSER-era rail · Apr 2024-Mar 2025 only · zero after Mar 2025 (program paused) |
| 12 | Teacher Prep Inspection-US (TPI-US) | $7.73M | 3 | UK-Ofsted-style EPP inspector · Indiana statewide SoR-aligned EPP review · Jul 2024-Mar 2025 only |
| 13 | Computer Aid Inc | $6.78M | 178 | IT services / staff augmentation · 178 vouchers · high transaction volume |
| 14 | Univ of Wisconsin (WIDA Consortium) | $6.61M | 5 | WIDA Consortium membership · 5 pure consortium payments |
| 15 | Nimble Hiring PBC | $6.31M | 2 | Indiana Educator Job Board · 2 vouchers ($2.35M + $3.96M) |
| 16 | Resultant LLC (IDOE direct) | $5.99M | 93 | IDOE-direct work only · Resultant has additional cross-agency revenue |
| 17 | Central Indiana Educational | $5.12M | 14 | Regional ESC |
| 18 | Indiana State University | $4.77M | 45 | IPLI Principal Leadership Institute + partnerships |
| 19 | Ivy Tech Community College | $4.42M | 14 | Ivy Tech IDOE partnership |
| 20 | St Joseph's Institute for the Deaf | $3.87M | 21 | SPED placement provider |
| 21 | Indiana University | $3.84M | 56 | IU partnerships incl. CEEP/CEPR |
| 22 | John Hopkins Univ Press Journals | $3.34M | 10 | Research/journal subscription |
| 23 | Hope King Teaching Resources | $2.73M | 11 | Educator PD |
| 24 | Nextech.org Inc | $2.48M | 18 | AI/CS PD provider (Lilly $5.6M grantee) |
| 25 | SHI International (IDOE slice) | $2.32M | 79 | State IT reseller (IDOE share only) |
| 26 | University of Notre Dame | $1.98M | 13 | ND research partnership (likely CREO) |
| 27 | IN*SOURCE (IRCFSN) | $1.70M | 27 | SPED parent training center |
| 28 | Educational Testing Service (ETS) | $1.46M | 5 | Praxis testing — Reading Praxis 5205 |
| 29 | EdWise Group LLC | $1.41M | 40 | Education consulting |
| 30 | Social Legends LLC | $1.40M | 5 | NEW: Brand/marketing services |
| 31 | Strada Collaborative Inc | $1.38M | 4 | NEW: Strada Education-affiliated research/policy |
| 32 | Distribution Group Inc | $1.33M | 33 | Distribution/logistics |
| 33 | MetaMetrics Inc | $1.27M | 4 | Lexile measurement framework |
| 34 | Readable English LLC | $1.25M | 6 | NEW: Literacy / EL platform |
| 35 | IN Council of Admins of Special Ed | $1.18M | 33 | SPED professional org |
| 36 | Crossroads Rehabilitation Center | $1.06M | 14 | SPED services |
| 37 | TransACT Communications LLC | $990K | 51 | Parent communication compliance |
| 38 | eImagine Technology Group | $963K | 62 | IT services |
| 39 | Indiana Youth Services Assoc | $864K | 11 | Youth services |
| 40 | Council for Exceptional Children | $827K | 10 | SPED professional org |
| 41 | Pacific Institute for Research | $722K | 26 | Research org |
| 42 | Goodwill Educates Inc | $704K | 8 | Alternative education |
| 43 | Bring Change 2 Mind | $639K | 4 | NEW: Mental health awareness nonprofit (founded by Glenn Close) |
| 44 | Indiana Broadcasters Assn | $600K | 8 | Media campaign buys |
| 45 | Brighton Training Group | $532K | 3 | PD vendor |
📚 The Science of Reading operational stack — full 24-month picture
The complete Science of Reading operational investment is now visible. Cambium's platform spend, the Literacy Cadre delivery (UIndy + Marian), Keys to Literacy free PD, the Reading Praxis testing infrastructure (ETS), the Lexile framework (MetaMetrics), and — newly identified — the $7.73M TPI-US statewide EPP inspection tied to SoR alignment. Total documented SoR operational stack over 24 months: ~$92.46M in PD + screening + assessment + inspection.
| Component | Vendor / Partner | 24-mo IDOE Payment | Voucher pattern |
| Universal Reading Screener (preferred) | Acadience (via Voyager Sopris / Cambium Learning Group) | LEA-purchased — not in state data | — |
| Teacher PD (LETRS) | Lexia Learning (Cambium Learning Group) | Minimal direct state payment | Operates through Cambium consolidated or LEA channels |
| Literacy Cadre delivery — Primary | University of Indianapolis (CELL) | $44.87M | 53 vouchers · 24-month sustained |
| Literacy Cadre delivery — Co-lead | Marian University (Center for Vibrant Schools) | $12.85M | 53 vouchers · 24-month sustained |
| Approved free PD provider | Keys to Literacy LLC | $26.47M | 51 vouchers · big FY26Q1 $9.9M spike |
| Statewide EPP inspection (SoR alignment) | Teacher Prep Inspection-US (TPI-US) | $7.73M | 3 vouchers · one-time Jul 2024-Mar 2025 |
| Reading Praxis exam (5205) | Educational Testing Service (ETS) | $1.46M | 5 vouchers · Early Literacy Endorsement |
| Lexile framework | MetaMetrics Inc | $1.27M | 4 vouchers |
| Summative literacy assessment (IREAD) | Cambium Assessment Inc (~7% of $74.57M) | ~$5.20M est. | Bundled in Cambium mega-vouchers |
| Total documented SoR operational stack (24 months) | ~$99.85M+ in PD+screening+assessment+inspection | ~$50M/yr sustained scale |
⚙️ Methodology note
Source: Indiana Transparency Portal expenditure CSVs covering 8 quarters Q4 2024 - Q3 2026 — totaling ~2.1M individual transaction records aggregated. Filtered to vendor patterns matching the system mapping. Year 1 = Q4 2024 - Q3 2025; Year 2 = Q4 2025 - Q3 2026. Caveat: Quarter labels reflect transaction posting dates (Journal Date), not necessarily service delivery period. Payments to vendor parent companies may not represent all activity (e.g., Cambium Learning Group's Lexia + Voyager Sopris payments may roll up to Cambium Assessment, Inc.). Agencies not yet matched to friendly names are shown by their 5-digit Agency ID for transparency. Data freshness: Last Updated field on most rows = May 2, 2026.
💼 Statewide K-12 Revenue Structure — 2014-2024 (the other side of the ledger)
From the School Corporation Financial Indicators (SCFI) 2025 release (DOE/DLGF). Where vendor payments are IDOE money flowing out, this is district revenue flowing in. Aggregated across ~290 school corporations.
Four findings from the 11-year revenue trend
1. Total K-12 revenue grew from $11.53B (2014) to $18.00B (2024) — a 56% nominal increase over ten years.
2. The state's share is shrinking as a portion of total. State revenue grew from $6.46B to $8.50B (+32%), but its share of the total dropped from 56% to 47%. Districts have become structurally less state-funded as a share of their revenue mix.
3. Operating Referendum Revenue grew from $98M to $477M — a 386% increase. Districts are now significantly more dependent on locally-approved property-tax referenda to fund operations. As of 2024, 64 of 290 corporations (22%) carry an operating referendum; the other 226 do not.
4. Federal Stimulus (ESSER) peaked at $789M in 2022, has fallen to $614M in 2024, and the cliff is approaching as ESSER III liquidation closes March 28, 2026 (already noted in the Roadmap).
Statewide revenue by source, 2014-2024 ($B unless noted)
| Year | Total ($B) | State ($B) | Local Tax ($B) | Op Referendum ($M) | Federal ($M) | Federal Stimulus ($M) |
| 2014 | 11.53 | 6.46 | 2.92 | 98 | 827 | — |
| 2017 | 12.31 | 6.74 | 3.05 | 160 | 848 | — |
| 2019 (pre-COVID) | 13.20 | 7.00 | 3.43 | 278 | 930 | — |
| 2020 | 13.35 | 7.10 | 3.56 | 321 | 903 | 56 |
| 2021 | 14.54 | 7.32 | 3.83 | 396 | 1,153 | 435 |
| 2022 (ESSER peak) | 15.96 | 7.62 | 3.97 | 400 | 1,190 | 789 |
| 2023 | 17.07 | 8.18 | 4.38 | 457 | 1,139 | 812 |
| 2024 (most recent) | 18.00 | 8.50 | 4.66 | 477 | 1,191 | 614 |
Top 10 operating referendum revenue, 2024
The 64 corporations carrying a referendum are a mix of core urban districts (IPS, South Bend, Hammond, Indianapolis townships) and affluent suburban districts (Carmel-Clay, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Zionsville). Both are responding to the same structural pressure — state share shrinking, local capacity must fill the gap — from very different positions.
| Corporation | Op Referendum Revenue | % of Visible Total Revenue |
| Indianapolis Public Schools | $43.11M | 5.6% |
| South Bend Community Schools | $29.30M | 9.9% |
| Monroe County Community Schools | $27.69M | 11.7% |
| Carmel-Clay Schools | $27.45M | 10.1% |
| Hamilton Southeastern Schools | $23.93M | 6.3% |
| Perry Township Schools | $23.20M | 7.7% |
| Noblesville Schools | $21.29M | 10.7% |
| MSD Washington Township | $20.28M | 8.8% |
| MSD Wayne Township | $16.86M | 4.9% |
| Hammond City Schools | $14.87M | 7.8% |
What this means for the forward picture
SEA 1 (property tax credit, 2025+) is the variable that breaks the existing trend. Local tax revenue grew faster than state revenue across the entire decade studied here — but the property tax credit narrows the local tax base going forward. If state share continues to shrink as a percentage AND local capacity gets compressed, districts have only two responses available: pass new operating referenda (which most have not yet done) or reduce expenditures. Cycles of referenda failures in early 2026 — combined with the ESSER cliff in March 2026 — will likely drive a wave of district-level decisions about what to stop doing. Tech budgets are typically among the first to be reviewed in that conversation.
📊 Performance Data — Indiana K-12 outcomes ground truth
Statewide assessment proficiency, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and student-transfer flows direct from IDOE-published XLSX files. The numbers behind every accountability conversation.
Five key insights from the data
1. Indiana students proficient in BOTH ELA & Math: 31.2% across grades 3-8 (2025). Math falls steeply from 51.5% in Grade 3 to 34.5% in Grade 8 — a 17-point decline over five grades.
2. Chronic absenteeism is improving but still nearly double pre-COVID: 16.7% in 2025 vs. 10.6% in 2019. Down from the 21.1% post-COVID peak in 2022.
3. Non-waiver graduation rate hit 90.34% in 2024-25 — a record. Climbed +14 percentage points since 2018-19's 76.73%. Worth examining whether this reflects student gains, cohort changes, or evolving diploma requirements.
4. Indianapolis Public Schools' enrollment transfer balance: −29,259 students (largest in the state). With 17,554 IPS-resident students enrolled, IPS effectively loses more students to public charters/Choice than it educates within its own brick-and-mortar buildings.
5. Choice Scholarship outflows concentrate in two patterns: urban districts with historic Catholic-school ecosystems (Fort Wayne 6,428, IPS 5,225, South Bend 4,885, Evansville 3,855) AND affluent suburban districts (Hamilton Southeastern 1,538) — the latter likely reflecting universal voucher expansion reaching families already in private schools.
📈 ILEARN 2025 Grade 3-8 Statewide Proficiency (~500,000 students tested per subject)
From ILEARN-2025-Grade3-8-Final-Statewide-Summary_20250714.xlsx · published July 14, 2025
| Grade | ELA % Prof | Math % Prof | BOTH ELA+Math | Tested (ELA) |
| Grade 3 | 40.3% | 51.5% | 34.9% | 84,234 |
| Grade 4 | 41.4% | 49.2% | 34.9% | 82,104 |
| Grade 5 | 40.8% | 41.5% | 31.1% | 83,353 |
| Grade 6 | 40.5% | 39.7% | 30.5% | 81,745 |
| Grade 7 | 37.9% | 35.9% | 27.6% | 82,813 |
| Grade 8 | 42.7% | 34.5% | 28.2% | 82,420 |
| State Total G3-8 | 40.6% | 42.1% | 31.2% | 496,669 |
| Subject | Grade 4 % Prof | Grade 5 % Prof | Grade 6 % Prof | Combined |
| Science | 43.2% | — | 42.4% | 42.8% across G4+G6 (~163K tested) |
| Social Studies | — | 38.5% | — | 38.5% Grade 5 (~83K tested) |
Pattern observation: Math proficiency drops 17 percentage points between Grade 3 (51.5%) and Grade 8 (34.5%). ELA is flatter across grades but has a notable Grade 7 dip (37.9%) — consistent with the well-documented "middle school slump." The ELA+Math combined proficiency rate (31.2%) is the most stringent metric — it requires students to clear both bars simultaneously, and is the most stable input to the new SY 26-27 A-F accountability model.
📉 Chronic Absenteeism — 13-year trend (SY 2013-2025)
From DOE-Chronic-Absenteeism-SY2013-25-1.xlsx · >1.16M students annually
| School Year | Students Chronically Absent | Total Students | Rate | vs Prior |
| SY 2013 | 91,414 | 1,135,469 | 8.1% | baseline |
| SY 2014 | 91,430 | 1,139,712 | 8.0% | −0.1pp |
| SY 2015 | 97,464 | 1,139,522 | 8.6% | +0.6pp |
| SY 2016 | 99,602 | 1,138,304 | 8.8% | +0.2pp |
| SY 2017 | 106,039 | 1,146,455 | 9.2% | +0.4pp |
| SY 2018 | 121,713 | 1,152,151 | 10.6% | +1.4pp |
| SY 2019 | 129,059 | 1,154,333 | 11.2% | +0.6pp |
| SY 2020 (COVID disruption) | 121,177 | 1,145,108 | 10.6% | −0.6pp |
| SY 2021 (back-to-school) | 199,133 | 1,076,792 | 18.5% | +7.9pp |
| SY 2022 (peak) | 237,666 | 1,125,693 | 21.1% | +2.6pp |
| SY 2023 | 220,759 | 1,150,884 | 19.2% | −1.9pp |
| SY 2024 | 205,269 | 1,154,018 | 17.8% | −1.4pp |
| SY 2025 | 195,344 | 1,166,510 | 16.7% | −1.1pp |
The honest read: SY 2025 represents three consecutive years of improvement (21.1% → 19.2% → 17.8% → 16.7%) but the rate is still 1.5× the pre-COVID baseline (16.7% vs 11.2% in 2019). 195,344 chronically absent Indiana students = roughly 1 in 6. The IDOE press release framing ("Chronic Absenteeism Improves for Third Consecutive Year") is accurate; the harder question is whether reaching pre-2019 levels is plausible within this decade.
🎓 Indiana Graduation Rate (2024-25 = record 91.83% / 90.34% non-waiver)
| Year | Cohort | Graduates | Grad Rate | Non-waiver Rate |
| 2015-16 | 79,116 | 70,490 | 89.10% | 82.38% |
| 2016-17 | 81,854 | 71,366 | 87.19% | 80.10% |
| 2017-18 | 82,234 | 72,465 | 88.12% | 80.79% |
| 2018-19 | 85,195 | 74,368 | 87.29% | 76.73% |
| 2020-21 (COVID) | 82,783 | 71,767 | 86.69% | 78.78% |
| 2021-22 | 84,488 | 73,213 | 86.65% | 80.61% |
| 2022-23 | 82,872 | 73,736 | 88.98% | 84.92% |
| 2023-24 | 84,142 | 75,923 | 90.23% | 87.53% |
| 2024-25 (record) | 86,531 | 79,460 | 91.83% | 90.34% |
Graduation rate disaggregated — 2024-25
By race/ethnicity
Asian: 96.1% · White: 93.4% · Pacific Islander: 93.4% · Hispanic: 89.8% · Multiracial: 88.5% · Black: 86.9% · American Indian: 86.7% · No data reported: 44.6% (3,495 students with incomplete demographic data)
By program / status
General Ed: 94.7% · Special Ed: 88.1% · Non-ELL: 93.9% · ELL: 92.4% · Female: 93.2% · Male: 90.5% · Public: 91.8% · Non-Public: 93.1% · Paid Meals: 94.1% · FRL: 93.3% (essentially closed)
Notable patterns: The FRL gap is essentially closed (94.1% paid vs 93.3% FRL). The Public/Non-Public gap is small (91.8% vs 93.1%). The largest demographic gaps are by race/ethnicity (Asian 96.1% vs Black 86.9% = 9.2pp gap) and by SPED status (Gen Ed 94.7% vs SPED 88.1% = 6.6pp). 3,495 students (4.0% of cohort) have "No data reported" demographics, which is a data-quality flag worth noting. The non-waiver grad rate climbed +13.6pp since 2018-19 — IDOE's accountability framework should explicitly address whether this is real student gains, evolving diploma requirements, or both.
🔄 Spring 2025-26 Public School Transfer Report
From spring-2025-2026-public-corporation-transfer-report · 290 corporations analyzed · 2/1/2026 count date
🔴 Top 10 districts losing students (public + Choice combined)
| Corporation | Net Loss | Choice Outflow | Public Net | Resident Enrollment |
| Indianapolis Public Schools | −29,259 | 5,225 | −24,034 | 17,554 |
| South Bend Community School Corp | −10,440 | 4,885 | −5,555 | 11,869 |
| Fort Wayne Community Schools | −8,172 | 6,428 | −1,744 | 25,770 |
| Gary Community School Corp | −7,721 | 690 | −7,031 | — |
| Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp | −5,090 | 3,855 | −1,235 | 20,057 |
| Anderson Community School Corp | −4,027 | 819 | −3,208 | — |
| Perry Township Schools | −3,632 | 2,592 | −1,040 | 15,023 |
| School City of Hammond | −3,536 | 1,802 | −1,734 | 8,792 |
| Elkhart Community Schools | −3,319 | 925 | −2,394 | — |
| Muncie Community Schools | −2,653 | 165 | −2,488 | — |
The IPS dynamic is structurally unique: IPS shows a net loss of 29,259 students but has only ~17,554 students still attending IPS schools. The mathematical implication: IPS-resident students attending non-IPS schools (charters, Choice, suburban districts) outnumber those still in IPS by ~1.7×. This is the boundary-enrollment dynamic that drove HB 1423-2026 (IPEC unification). It is the most extreme enrollment-loss pattern in the state.
🟢 Top 10 net public-transfer GAINERS
These are largely districts running statewide virtual programs (Clarksville Online, Union Online, Beech Grove Cyber) that attract students from outside their geographic boundaries.
| Corporation | Net Public Gain | Incoming | Outgoing |
| Clarksville Community School Corp | +6,130 | 6,519 | 389 |
| Union School Corporation | +5,740 | 5,981 | 241 |
| Beech Grove City Schools | +4,724 | 4,993 | 269 |
| Cloverdale Community Schools | +2,050 | 2,174 | 124 |
| Madison-Grant United School Corp | +1,011 | 1,246 | 235 |
| Frankton-Lapel Community Schools | +953 | 1,063 | 110 |
| Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp | +839 | 1,732 | 893 |
| Shenandoah School Corporation | +737 | 888 | 151 |
| Eastern Howard School Corporation | +679 | 777 | 98 |
| New Prairie United School Corp | +581 | 749 | 168 |
💳 Top 10 Choice Scholarship outflows
| Corporation | Choice Outflow | Resident Enrollment | Outflow as % of Resident |
| Fort Wayne Community Schools | 6,428 | 25,770 | 25.0% |
| Indianapolis Public Schools | 5,225 | 17,554 | 29.8% |
| South Bend Community School Corp | 4,885 | 11,869 | 41.2% |
| Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp | 3,855 | 20,057 | 19.2% |
| Perry Township Schools | 2,592 | 15,023 | 17.3% |
| East Allen County Schools | 1,864 | 8,833 | 21.1% |
| School City of Hammond | 1,802 | 8,792 | 20.5% |
| MSD Lawrence Township | 1,683 | 13,864 | 12.1% |
| Hamilton Southeastern Schools | 1,538 | 20,035 | 7.7% |
| Franklin Township Com Sch Corp | 1,511 | 10,911 | 13.9% |
South Bend's 41.2% Choice Scholarship outflow rate is the highest among large IN districts — more than 4 in 10 South Bend resident students are using Choice vouchers to attend private schools (largely the city's substantial Catholic-school ecosystem). IPS at 29.8% and Fort Wayne at 25.0% follow. Hamilton Southeastern at 7.7% stands out as the only affluent suburban district in the top 10 by absolute count — likely the universal voucher expansion reaching families already in private schools. Universal voucher eligibility effective July 1, 2026 will likely push Hamilton Southeastern and similar suburban patterns higher.
📐 SAT + ACT historical files
The uploaded
sat-corporation-and-school.xlsx and
act-corporation-and-school.xlsx files cover historical data
2007-08 through 2017-18 only — they are legacy historical reports. Current SAT data (2018-19 onward) is published in separate annual XLSX files in the IDOE Data Reports Archive. State-paid SAT (since spring 2022) annual reports are at
in.gov/doe/files/SAT-2025-Grade11-Statewide-Summary.xlsx and prior years.
🎯 How this data anchors the rest of the Atlas
Connects to Cambium Technical Analysis
The 40.6% ELA / 42.1% Math statewide proficiency (and the 31.2% combined) are the numbers Cambium's instruments produce. The Cambium tab's discussion of the ILEARN ELA plateau is grounded in these specific year-by-year proficiency rates being functionally unchanged since 2021.
Connects to System Health
Chronic absenteeism data feeds the Indiana GPS Dashboard "Student Attendance" indicator (94% threshold) and the EWIS Early Warning System built by Resultant. Both surfaces use these numbers as their source of truth.
Connects to Roadmap 2026-30
The 90.34% non-waiver grad rate becomes the baseline for measuring whether Diploma Redesign Cohort 2029 moves outcomes. The graduation rate disaggregation also feeds the new SY 26-27 A-F accountability model.
Connects to Verified Payments
IPS losing 29,259 students net = real-dollar implication via the $6,400/ADM formula = roughly $187M in foundation funding flowing to other districts and Choice Scholarship schools, not IPS — which is what HB 1423 / IPEC unification is designed to address.
📁 Additional Indicators — Reference Datasets
How to read this section
Indiana publishes a wide array of school performance indicators. The four datasets below add useful context but each carries methodological limits. The Cambium-produced metrics (ILEARN, IREAD, I AM) already documented carry the validity caveats in the Cambium Technical Analysis tab — federal accountability ratings inherit those caveats because they're built from the same inputs. Externally-produced metrics (AP, employment outcomes, enrollment counts) are more defensible but each has its own scope limits noted below. Treat all of these as directional, not definitive.
2024 Federal Accountability — School Ratings Distribution
From 2024-Federal-Accountability-Final-Results.xlsx. Federally-required CSI/TSI/ATSI designations under ESSA.
| Rating | Schools | % |
| Exceeds Expectations | 48 | 2.7% |
| Meets Expectations | 592 | 33.0% |
| Approaches Expectations | 719 | 40.1% |
| Does Not Meet Expectations | 414 | 23.1% |
| No Rating / In Process | 26 | 1.5% |
CSI list: 261 schools · TSI list: 161 · ATSI list: 194. Total flagged for federal support/improvement = 616 schools.
Caveat: These ratings are constructed primarily from ILEARN/I AM proficiency, graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism — the same inputs flagged for methodological concerns elsewhere in this Atlas. The label is downstream of the instrument.
AP Exam Outcomes — Statewide Trend (2007-08 to 2021-22)
From corporation-and-school-ap-grad-results.xlsx. % of HS graduates passing at least 1 AP exam (score ≥3). Externally scored by College Board — not subject to state assessment validity concerns.
| Year | Grads | % Taking | % Passing |
| 2007-08 | 60,397 | 20.1% | 10.2% |
| 2014-15 | 65,959 | 34.0% | 17.1% |
| 2017-18 | 67,812 | 36.7% | 19.1% |
| 2018-19 | 69,615 | 31.2% | 18.5% |
| 2020-21 | 67,461 | 34.0% | 19.9% |
| 2021-22 | 69,013 | 32.4% | 17.3% |
Long-run trajectory: pass rate doubled 2007-08 → 2020-21 (10.2% → 19.9%), but ~17-20% of graduates passing an AP exam means ~80% of Indiana HS graduates leave without college-credit AP coursework. Modest decline 2020-21 → 2021-22 plausibly reflects COVID disruption to advanced coursework pipelines.
Non-Public School Enrollment — 13-Year Trend
From accredited-non-public-school-enrollment-2011-26.xlsx. Accredited private/parochial schools only. Enrollment counts are observed facts, not measured constructs.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Δ vs Prior |
| 2014 | 82,569 | — |
| 2019 (pre-COVID) | 85,539 | +3.6% |
| 2021 (COVID trough) | 78,758 | −7.9% |
| 2023 (post-Choice expansion) | 87,971 | +11.7% |
| 2024 | 92,612 | +5.3% |
| 2025 | 99,069 | +7.0% |
| 2026 | 102,668 | +3.6% |
Accredited non-public enrollment crossed 100,000 for the first time in 2026 — a +30% increase from the 2021 COVID trough, +20% vs 2019 pre-COVID. Timing aligns with Choice Scholarship eligibility expansion (HEA 1001-2023 raised the income cap to 400% of free/reduced lunch, then near-universal in HEA 1001-2023). Bare fact, not interpretation: more Indiana families are choosing accredited non-public schools.
HS Graduate Employment Outcomes (Median Wage)
From hsgrademploutcomes2023.csv (29,049 rows). Median wage of HS graduates 5 years post-graduation, drawn from DWD Unemployment Insurance records.
| Cohort | Median Wage (5 yrs after) | Δ Nominal |
| 2010 grads (measured 2015) | $32,922 | — |
| 2013 grads (measured 2018) | $36,222 | +10.0% |
| 2015 grads (measured 2020) | $36,719 | +1.4% |
| 2017 grads (measured 2022) | $37,964 | +3.4% |
Scope limits: DWD UI records only capture Indiana W-2 employment. Excludes self-employment, military, out-of-state employment, college enrollment, and the unemployed. So this measures "of those who stayed in Indiana and entered W-2 employment, what did they earn?" — not the full graduate cohort.
Nominal growth +15% over 7 years (2015 → 2022). Indiana CPI inflation over the same period was ~22% — so real wages for HS-only Indiana grads in-state declined. This is a signal worth monitoring but doesn't isolate the K-12 system's contribution from broader labor-market conditions.
Calibration note
These indicators are the system's own self-reported outputs. They tell us what the state measures — which is itself a choice. The Atlas treats them as inputs to discussion, not conclusions. Validity issues with the Cambium-produced assessment data propagate through the federally-required ratings; externally-produced metrics (AP, employment, enrollment) are more defensible but each measures a narrow slice. None of these are a substitute for direct observation of what's working in classrooms.
🔍 Cambium Technical Analysis — understanding what Indiana receives under PSC #65981
A plain-language technical reading of PSC #65981 ($126.16M / 4.75 years) drawing on the contract documents, IDOE Assessment Technical Reports, and the published psychometric literature. Purpose: support informed conversations with Cambium about deliverables, transparency, and the questions worth asking ahead of the December 2026 contract decision. Tone: analytical, not adversarial — these are the same questions a contract-administration team would surface internally.
Summary observations. On a per-student basis, ~$44/student/year for the bundled assessment package is consistent with comparable state assessment contracts. The questions surfaced below relate primarily to transparency (publication of standard errors, classification consistency, and form-equivalence studies at the cut score) and structural choices (vendor concentration across assessment + literacy PD + screener under one parent company; AI scoring scope; ClearFrame downstream data flow). All findings derive from the contract documents, IDOE-published technical reports, or peer-reviewed psychometric literature on the relevant scoring engine categories. The two empirical observations most worth a documented IDOE/Cambium response: (a) the 82.5% → 87.3% single-year IREAD-3 jump warrants a published form-equivalence study, and (b) the ILEARN ELA proficiency plateau near 40% over five years is most readily interpreted as an instrument-sensitivity question rather than a student-population question.
🧪 Indiana Assessment Interface — Working Prototype
A working reproduction of the Cambium testing experience — test selection, item types, tools, and scoring — faithful where the public record allows, explicit where it approximates.
📊 IREAD-3 & ILEARN — An Analytical Briefing
What the instruments measure versus what the statute says reading is — cut scores, measurement error at the proficiency line, the Science of Reading policy stack, and the numbers through 2025.
📝 Inside the Instrument — Observations & Questions
A full working session inside the assessment experience, organized: what the item families actually measure, directions worth exploring, and fourteen askable questions for the public conversation.
📋 Section 1 — How "proficiency" is actually determined (the foundational misunderstanding)
The common misconception: "Proficient" is a fact about the student.
The reality: "Proficient" is a fact about where a committee drew a line.
🎯 Scaled scores
Raw correct answers convert to a scaled score. ILEARN uses banded scales per grade/subject. IREAD-3 uses roughly a 400-600 reporting range; the proficient cut sits at 446. Scaled scores allow year-to-year comparison even when items change.
📏 Cut scores
A "cut score" separates Below / Approaching / At / Above Proficient. Where the line falls is decided by a standard-setting committee of educators in a multi-day workshop. Structured process, but the output is judgment, not measurement.
📚 Modified Angoff method
Reviewers ask "What fraction of barely-proficient students would get this item right?" and average across items to set the cut. Pre-test method.
🔖 Bookmark method (Cambium standard)
Items ordered easiest→hardest by actual student response data. Reviewers place a "bookmark" between the last item a borderline-proficient student should get right and the next harder one. Industry standard; stronger empirical validity than Angoff in head-to-head studies — but still committee judgment wrapped in psychometric vocabulary.
The 2019 ISTEP+ → ILEARN re-set: Indiana retired ISTEP+ and brought up ILEARN in spring 2019. A new standard-setting was held that summer. ISTEP+ proficiency rates had sat in the high 40s to low 50s in ELA + math combined. The first ILEARN administration reported about 37.1% proficient. This was widely (and accurately) characterized as a cut-score change, not a student-ability change. SBOE explicitly told districts not to compare ISTEP+ and ILEARN passage rates. Moving the bookmark up or down two items changes the proficiency rate of an entire state.
🚨 Section 2 — The 2024 → 2025 IREAD-3 jump scrutiny
| Year | IREAD-3 % proficient | YoY change |
| 2022 | ~81.2% | — |
| 2023 | ~81.9% | +0.7pp |
| 2024 | 82.5% | +0.6pp |
| 2025 | 87.3% | +4.8pp (largest single-year jump since IREAD began 2013) |
A 4.8pp statewide jump on a stable instrument is a four- to five-standard-deviation event if you treat year-to-year proficiency as a random variable bounded by sampling noise alone. With ~80,000 third graders tested, sampling noise cannot produce a 4.8pp shift. The shift is real in the data. The question is what shifted.
5 candidate explanations, weighed
1. Real instructional effect from Science of Reading reform
LETRS PD (Lexia — Cambium sister company) and the Literacy Cadre rolled out. Plausible — but partially defensible only. ILEARN ELA (also a reading construct) was flat the same year. Real reading-skill gain should show up in both unless constructs measured differ (and IREAD-3 IS more narrowly focused on phonics/decoding/fluency vs. ILEARN ELA which includes comprehension + writing).
2. Item pool drift
If the 2025 form pulled more from easier strands of the item bank, equated scale scores stay nominally constant while population proficiency goes up. Cambium controls this. IDOE has not published a 2024-2025 IREAD-3 form-equivalence study in plain English.
3. Teaching to the test under SEA 1 retention pressure
SEA 1 made third-grade retention mandatory starting 2024-25. Schools knew that. The
Purdue Center on Reading critique (March 2026) flags exactly this dynamic — high-stakes consequences distort instructional behavior in ways that inflate scores on the high-stakes test.
The 96% "on-track" pass-through from the new opt-in second-grade IREAD into third grade is consistent with intensive item-format familiarity, not just skill acquisition.
4. Re-norming / re-equating
Any equating procedure has tolerances. A drift of a few raw points at the cut is within the noise floor of how Cambium typically reports equating. Indiana has not published a same-form, same-scoring confirmation that explicitly rules this out.
5. Measurement error
SEM at the proficiency cut for IREAD-3 has historically been ~2-3 scale-score points. Alone shouldn't move statewide aggregates by 5pp. But it means tens of thousands of individual student classifications are within the SEM band — their "proficient or not" label could flip on a different testing day.
Has IDOE published the technical report defending the 2025 jump? As of the latest publicly indexed material on the IDOE Assessment Technical Reports page, the 2024-2025 IREAD-3 technical report had not yet been posted in a form that directly addresses the 4.8pp jump. The ILEARN 2023-2024 technical report is the most recent comparable artifact. The absence of a same-cycle technical defense of the IREAD jump is itself a finding.
🔬 Section 2.5 — What EdMetric's 2023 alignment study actually concluded about IREAD-3
Indiana commissioned an independent alignment study from EdMetric LLC (Anne Davidson, Ed.D.) under the HEA 1558 mandate. The study — "Technical Report: Alignment Study for the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD-3) Assessment," dated October 20, 2023 — was filed with the Indiana General Assembly January 3, 2024. It is the only Indiana-published independent psychometric review of IREAD-3 in the public record.
Overall finding: "Strongly Aligned"
EdMetric concluded that IREAD-3 was Strongly Aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards subset defined by the Indiana Literacy Advisory Committee, using a modified Webb (1997, 1999) alignment methodology with two content-expert raters reviewing items Sept 8-12, 2023. The four indicators they assessed: Categorical Concurrence: Strong · Depth of Knowledge: Moderate · Range of Knowledge: Strong · Balance of Representation: Moderate.
What EdMetric flagged as limitations or concerns
1. Reading: Literature domain is the weakest area
EdMetric rated the Literature domain as weakly aligned on both Depth of Knowledge and Balance of Representation. All Literature items rated at DOK Level 1 or 2, while the blueprint targets Levels 2-3. The bulk of Literature items clustered on standard RC.1, with very thin coverage of RC.2, RC.3, and RC.4. Implication: IREAD-3 systematically under-samples the higher-order literature standards the state's own blueprint specifies.
2. Two foundational reading components are not measured at all
Of 65 items reviewed across two operational forms: 76.9% measure Comprehension, 12.8% Phonics, 10.3% Vocabulary — and 0% Phonemic Awareness or Fluency. EdMetric stated: "Fluency cannot be assessed by the IREAD-3 assessment" and recommended IDOE deploy a complementary fluency measure. Notable given that IREAD-3 sits inside a Science of Reading policy framework where fluency is a core foundational skill.
3. Performance Level Descriptor imbalance across forms
Form-to-form analysis showed 65.79% of Form A items aligned to the "Pass" PLD level versus 75.68% of Form C. EdMetric recommended IDOE add PLD-balance criteria to form-selection rules to address the imbalance. This is the structural mechanism by which form choice can shift statewide proficiency rates without changing student ability — and connects directly to the 2024 → 2025 jump question raised above.
4. Generalizability beyond the two forms studied
EdMetric reviewed only two operational forms (65 unique items). The full IREAD-3 item pool is larger. EdMetric explicitly notes that generalizability of the alignment conclusion to other forms requires additional validity evidence not provided in this study.
How to read the EdMetric study in context. EdMetric's scope was alignment to standards — a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. The study did not assess cut-score defensibility, classification consistency, DIF (differential item functioning by subgroup), or predictive validity for the SEA 1 retention decision. Those analyses, where they exist, appear to be Cambium/IDOE work in the annual technical reports rather than independent EdMetric work. The strongest single takeaway: IREAD-3 has 0% items measuring fluency, in a state that has explicitly elevated Science of Reading — including fluency — as a policy priority. EdMetric's own recommendation that IDOE adopt a complementary fluency measure is the most concrete forward action this study points to.
Source: EdMetric LLC · IREAD-3 Alignment Study · Oct 20, 2023 (filed with the IGA Jan 3, 2024 under HEA 1558)
📉 Section 3 — ILEARN ELA stagnation (the inverse problem)
| Year | ELA % prof | Math % prof |
| 2021 | ~40.5% | ~36.9% |
| 2022 | ~40.7% | ~39.4% |
| 2023 | ~40.7% | ~40.9% |
| 2024 | ~41.0% | ~40.9% |
| 2025 | 40.6% | 42.1% |
Math is moving. ELA is not. The 7th-grade ELA rate fell to 37.8% in 2025, the lowest in any grade.
3 explanations Indiana stakeholders should weigh
(a) Instruction is genuinely flat in ELA
Possible — but inconsistent with the IREAD-3 jump, which suggests Indiana CAN move a reading number when it tries.
(b) Cut scores set against aspirational standard
Plausible. ILEARN cut scores set in 2019 against then-new IN standards; bookmark placements intentionally rigorous. If those bookmarks are functionally above what current curricula produce, proficiency rate floats at whatever fraction of Hoosier kids hit that aspirational bar regardless of growth.
(c) ILEARN ELA not sensitive enough to measure SoR growth
SoR reform improves decoding, phonemic awareness, fluency. ILEARN ELA G3-8 leans on comprehension, inference, writing — skills that develop later and are harder to move in 1-2 years.
The honest reading: A test can be technically valid (it measures something reliably) without being instructionally useful (it can't tell you whether your reform is working). ILEARN ELA may be in that zone. That is a Cambium design choice and an IDOE blueprint choice — not a fact of nature.
📊 Section 4 — Reliability + validity disclosures (what gets published vs. what's hidden)
- Reliability coefficients (Cronbach's alpha): typically 0.85-0.92 for ILEARN per grade/subject. Translation: the test is internally consistent — students who get one item right tend to get similar-difficulty items right.
- Standard Error of Measurement (SEM): typically 15-25 scale-score points across the range. The SEM at the proficiency cut is the most operationally important number.
- Classification consistency at the proficiency cut: historically around 0.82-0.88 for ILEARN. Translation: if a student took the test twice on consecutive days, there is roughly a 12-18% chance their "proficient/not proficient" label would flip purely from measurement noise.
- Inter-rater reliability for constructed-response items: Cambium reports exact + adjacent agreement. Exact agreement for short CR on ILEARN ELA typically 65-75%; adjacent agreement >95%.
The honest critique: These numbers are buried in 200+ page technical reports written for psychometricians. The "lay summaries" IDOE publishes (Score Interpretation Guide, Family Portal explainers)
consistently omit:
- The classification-consistency number at the cut
- The SEM at the cut translated into "how often this label would flip"
- The fact that ~15% of students near the cut are functionally indistinguishable from each other
That omission is not deceptive — it is industry-standard reporting — but it does mean
parents reading their child's "Below Proficient" label do not see that the label may not survive a re-test.
🤖 Section 5 — Auto-scoring + AI scoring concerns
What gets auto-scored vs. human-scored:
| Item type | Scoring method | Concern level |
| Multiple choice, multi-select, drag-drop, equation editor | 100% auto-scored | Low — just answer-key matching |
| Short constructed response (1-2 sentences) | Automated scoring engine (Cambium's Centralized Scoring System) | Medium |
| Extended writing (essay-length) | Dual-scored (human + auto OR two humans, adjudicated) | High — see bias categories below |
Known issues with automated essay/short-response scoring
These are research findings about the CATEGORY of engines Cambium uses, not lab tests of Cambium's specific engine — which has not been independently audited at the depth ETS's e-rater has.
📏 Length bias
Engines historically correlate score with essay length more strongly than human raters do. Trained students learn to write longer, not better.
✨ Surface-feature bias
Engines reward sentence-variety, transition words, vocabulary range — proxies for quality, not quality itself.
🗣️ Bias against AAVE and L2 English writing patterns
Documented in studies of e-rater and others. Non-standard syntax that a human rater would understand as competent communication is penalized on grammar/mechanics dimensions. ETS's published research itself acknowledges Chinese ELL test-takers received systematically lower grammar/mechanics scores from e-rater.
💭 Cannot evaluate originality or argument quality
Only proxies. Cannot detect plagiarism in any meaningful sense. Cannot detect AI-generated text reliably.
"Principled Assessment Design (PAD)" — the marketing layer. Cambium's framework name for evidence-centered design (a legitimate psychometric concept originated by Mislevy). The framework itself is real. The branding wrapped around it is marketing — calling something "principled" does not make a scoring engine immune to the bias categories above. PAD describes how items are built and linked to standards; it does not solve auto-scoring bias.
📑 Notable contract change in Amendment #3 — AI-assisted scoring is being converted back to human scoring for SY 25-26.
From PSC #65981 Amendment #3 Deliverables Schedule (Exhibit M):
- Earlier line items labeled
"ILEARN Scoring · Automated Scoring · AI Scoring Net Effect" appear in 2023-2024 budgets at $0 net — the original arrangement was structured as cost-neutral (AI deployment cost offsetting human-scoring savings)
- For SY 25-26 (Amendment #3): "AI scoring converted to human scoring CR: +$767,823" — additional ~$768K added for human scoring on constructed-response items that had been moved to AI scoring
- Companion line: "Science Transition CR: -$863,016 in SY25-26" — partial budget offset from Science transitions in the same amendment
- The $3,519,182 "100% Handscoring" SY 25-26 budget reflects a re-baseline to full human scoring on the affected items
What this means in plain language: The contract documents the reversal explicitly without explanation of the underlying reason. This is a substantive technical change worth a documented rationale from Cambium — was the change driven by validity concerns, cost optimization, scoring agreement rates, IDOE preference, or a combination? The contract amendment itself is unambiguous on the change; the rationale is the question.
Source: PSC #65981 Amendment #3 PDF, Exhibit M Deliverables Schedule, lines around p.122 (SY 22-23 baseline) and p.187-188 (SY 25-26 add-back). Direct quotes from contract: "AI scoring converted to human scoring CR: +$767,823 in SY25-26 ILEARN Tracker Row 12" · "Science Transition CR: -$863,016 in SY25-26 ILEARN Tracker Row 14".
ClearFrame API (Amendment #3) — surface-area expansion. A data pipe that lets "Onboarded Vendor Applications" (third-party edtech systems used by districts) pull student assessment results directly from Cambium's reporting system. The flow includes student identifier, item-level performance, and scaled scores.
- Surface area expansion: Every onboarded vendor is a new place where student-level test data lives. Indiana parents are not generally informed which vendors have onboarded.
- Amendment 3's explicit liability disclaimer: Cambium disclaims responsibility for what onboarded vendors do downstream. Contractually defensible from Cambium's side — but Indiana is on its own enforcing vendor compliance with FERPA + Indiana data privacy law for every onboarded pipe.
- No independent audit: Cambium's AI scoring has NOT been publicly defended the way ETS has had to defend e-rater. Cambium publishes its own validation studies. No Indiana-commissioned independent audit exists in public form.
📦 Section 6 — Item pool concerns
The contract sets annual item-leasing caps:
- ELA: 8 passages / ~70 items
- Math: ~70 items
- Science: ~50 items
- Social Studies: ~25 items
With ~80,000 students per grade, every item in the operational pool is seen by tens of thousands of students each window.
📤 Item exposure
Items leak. Indiana publishes a "Released Items Repository" deliberately, but operational items also surface in tutoring, social media, TPT-style resources. High-stakes exposure shortens item life.
🔄 Smarter Balanced inheritance — VERIFIED in contract
Indiana left the Smarter Balanced Consortium in 2014 over political opposition. Amendment #3 Exhibit K explicitly confirms: "CAI confirms the following licensed item banks for the ILEARN Assessments: Smarter Balanced item banks (Mathematics and ELA for Summative and Checkpoints) · ICCR item banks (Mathematics, ELA, and Science)." Cambium is NOT primarily writing Indiana's items — they're licensing them. "CAI will not be responsible for item development, with the exception of [NGSS-related] development" (contract direct quote). Indiana is paying $126M for delivery + scoring of items that are largely licensed from a consortium Indiana exited. Items requiring content updates go back through Smarter Balanced's Item Management System (TIMS) FIRST before reaching Indiana's pool.
📉 Item replenishment cadence
Annual caps mean the bank ages. As items leak, the bank shrinks faster than it is replenished. A structural risk Indiana underwrites for the contract life.
🎯 Performance task overnight expiration
PT must be completed in a single school day — no save-and-resume. A child who has a bad morning has their PT score frozen on that morning's performance.
⚖️ Section 6.5 — Liquidated Damages structure (verified in Amendment #3)
Amendment #3 §52 spells out the exact dollar amounts Cambium owes Indiana when they fail to deliver. This is rare contract transparency and tells you what IDOE actually values most:
| Failure | Penalty |
| Online test delivery system not accessible >30 min during testing window (Extended Testing Windows: 7am-6pm ET on every school day for 2 weeks pre-testing + during) | $50,000 first day · $75,000/day thereafter · waived if restored within 60 minutes |
| Online system outage >24hr OUTSIDE testing windows | Separate penalty schedule (in contract) |
| Testing materials delivered late or with errors | State entitled to liquidated damages amount per day until materials delivered/available without errors |
| Failure to deliver final school and corporation reports timely | Specific liquidated damages amount (in contract) |
| Late delivery of online machine-scored results | Must deliver within 5 business days of first day of testing |
| Late delivery of online handscored results | Must deliver within 12 business days |
| Late delivery of paper scoring | Within 24 hours of scanning |
| Total LD cap | Total liquidated damages shall not exceed 10% of total annual contracted amount (~$3.2M of $32M annual ceiling) |
What this tells you: Indiana cared enough about uptime, accuracy, and timely score reporting to specify dollar amounts. This is the operational SLA that should be tracked publicly. Is it tracked publicly? No published IDOE accountability dashboard for Cambium SLA performance exists. If you wanted to ask one question of IDOE: "How many liquidated-damages dollars has Cambium owed Indiana under §52 over the contract life, and which ones were collected, waived, or disputed?"
⏰ Section 7 — Score release latency (the structural failure)
Spring testing window closes in May → preliminary scores reach districts late July → full reports release August/September. That cadence means scores arrive AFTER the school year of testing has ended and AFTER the teachers who taught those students have moved on. ILEARN summative is operationally not actionable for the teacher who produced the result.
Checkpoints are Cambium's response. The argument: by giving teachers Fall/Winter/Spring snapshots, the test becomes "ongoing diagnostic, not autopsy." That framing is real for the Checkpoint scores themselves — but it does not change the latency of the summative, and the high-stakes accountability number is still the summative.
📅 Section 8 — Checkpoints (added Amendments 2 and 3) — pro and skeptical case
✅ The pro case
Through-year measurement · teacher-actionable data · shorter spring summative · 3 windows/yr for ELA + Math grades 3-8 · adaptive engine starting SY 25-26 · opt-in for 2024-25 (~70% schools); mandatory for all schools SY 25-26.
⚠ The skeptical case (factually)
Redundant with district benchmark assessments. Districts using NWEA MAP or i-Ready already have through-year diagnostic. i-Ready vendor Curriculum Associates has actively argued (publicly) Checkpoints don't replace what i-Ready provides.
Total seat-time increases. Three additional windows of ~30-60min, even if summative shortens, typically nets MORE total testing minutes.
Cost transparency missing. Public IDOE/Cambium disclosure doesn't break out the Checkpoint cost from the rest of PSC #65981 in a way that lets a citizen know how much of the $126M is specifically Checkpoints. Estimate from amendment values: ~15-25% of contract — but that's an estimate, not a published figure.
🏢 Section 9 — Single-vendor concentration risk (the conflict of interest)
Cambium Learning Group's Indiana K-12 footprint:
🎯 Cambium Assessment (CAI)
ILEARN, IREAD-3, I AM, Checkpoints, Family Portal — PSC #65981 ($126.16M)
📚 Lexia Learning (LETRS)
Teacher PD for Science of Reading. Indiana SoR budget ~$20M/yr, significant fraction to Lexia.
🔍 Voyager Sopris (Acadience)
PREFERRED Indiana K-6 universal screener.
The same parent company:
- Trains the teachers (LETRS)
- Sells the screener that decides which kids need intervention (Acadience)
- Builds the summative test that measures whether the training and screening worked (CAI)
Not necessarily wrongdoing, but textbook conflict-of-interest configuration. The vendor whose teacher PD is being evaluated also builds the evaluation instrument.
Indiana cannot get a true "did LETRS work?" answer from a test built by Lexia's sister company without an external check. Replacement friction: even if Indiana wanted to leave, three procurements would need to happen — assessment platform, teacher PD, screener. That switching cost is itself a market position.
💰 Section 10 — What Indiana could be paying instead
Indiana pays roughly $26.6M/year for ~600,000 tested students = ~$44/student/year all-in (summative + Checkpoints + reporting + portal).
| Option | Approx. per-student/yr | Notes |
| Cambium PSC #65981 (current) | ~$44 | Bundled — summative + Checkpoints + IREAD-3 + alternate + reporting + portal |
| Smarter Balanced consortium | ~$22-27 | Summative core. IN would need to rejoin (political cost). No IREAD equivalent. |
| ACT Aspire (3-8 + EOC) | ~$25-35 | Closer to summative; less customizable to IN standards. |
| NWEA MAP Growth | ~$13-17 | Diagnostic only; not ESSA summative without supplementation. |
| i-Ready Diagnostic | ~$10-20 | Same caveat as MAP. |
| Renaissance Star | ~$8-14 | Same caveat as MAP. |
Caveats: Indiana's contract bundles things most other contracts don't (Checkpoints, Family Portal, IREAD, alternate assessment). Clean per-student comparison requires unbundling. NWEA / i-Ready / Star are diagnostic instruments — they cannot legally serve as Indiana's ESSA accountability test alone. The fair comparison is Cambium vs. another ESSA-compliant summative builder (NWEA's new state offerings, Pearson, Curriculum Associates, ETS, or rejoining Smarter Balanced). $44/student is not obviously out of line for what's bundled. The question is whether the bundling is what Indiana actually wants.
📱 Section 11 — Indiana Family Portal (parent-facing reporting)
Starting SY 25-26, paper Individual Student Reports (ISRs) are gone. Parents access results through digital Family Portal.
📵 Access gap
Households without reliable broadband, parent device, or limited English-language portal navigation skills are systematically disadvantaged.
🗣️ Translation coverage
Portal supports finite language list. Indiana's EL population speaks more languages than any portal supports natively (Burmese, Haitian Creole, etc.).
📋 Default-to-digital reporting
Shifts the responsibility for retrieving each student's score from the state's paper-mail process to the parent's digital-portal action — a meaningful change in information delivery that warrants paired equity-impact analysis.
🤷 No equity impact analysis
Neither IDOE nor Cambium has published an equity-impact analysis of the paper-to-digital transition.
❓ Section 12 — Questions Indiana should be asking Cambium (in writing)
- Where is the 2024-2025 IREAD-3 technical report, and what specifically did the equating study find about form-to-form difficulty drift between the 2024 and 2025 administrations?
- What is the published Standard Error of Measurement at the proficiency cut for ILEARN ELA, ILEARN Math, and IREAD-3 in each of the last three administrations, and what is the classification consistency at that cut?
- What auto-scoring algorithms are deployed on which item types, what is the human-machine agreement rate at the cut score on constructed response, and have those algorithms been independently audited by a non-Cambium party?
- What fraction of the operational item pool is Indiana-developed versus inherited from Smarter Balanced field testing or other sources?
- What is the per-line-item cost of: summative ILEARN, IREAD-3, I AM, Checkpoints, Family Portal, ClearFrame API, score reporting, and customer support within the $126.16M total?
- What are the exit terms — including data-portability obligations, item-pool ownership, and transition support — if Indiana does not renew?
- What independent validity studies exist linking ILEARN performance to defensible downstream outcomes (HS readiness, postsec success), and which were commissioned by Cambium vs. by independent researchers?
- For Amendment 3 / ClearFrame: what is the current list of Onboarded Vendor Applications, what student-level data does each receive, and what mechanisms ensure FERPA-compliant downstream handling?
- For Checkpoints: what is the published evidence that Checkpoint participation correlates with summative score improvement causally, not just selectionally (better-organized districts opted in first)?
- What is Cambium's policy on disclosing the parent-company relationship between CAI, Lexia, and Voyager Sopris in Indiana procurement documents and IDOE-facing communications?
🎯 Summary observations
Contract value in context
On a per-student basis (~$44/student/year fully bundled), pricing sits within the range of comparable state assessment contracts. The structural considerations worth attention are the bundling decisions (whether Indiana wants every line item that's in the bundle) and the parent-company concentration (assessment + literacy PD + universal screener under one corporate umbrella).
Two empirical patterns worth a documented response
1. The IREAD-3 year-over-year change (82.5% → 87.3%) is real in the data. The 4.8pp single-year move sits outside the historical pattern and warrants a published form-equivalence and equating study that addresses (a) item-pool composition between forms, (b) standard-setting/equating tolerances, and (c) any stakes-driven exposure effects. A published technical report from Cambium addressing these would resolve the open question.
2. The ILEARN ELA proficiency plateau at ~40% for five years alongside meaningful Science of Reading instructional investment is most readily interpreted as an instrument-sensitivity question rather than a student-population question. Whether ILEARN ELA — given its current blueprint emphasis on comprehension/inference/writing rather than decoding/fluency — is the right measure for tracking SoR reform effectiveness is a worthwhile validity discussion to surface explicitly.
Vendor concentration as a structural consideration
Cambium Learning Group's parent ownership of (a) CAI assessment, (b) Lexia LETRS teacher PD, and (c) Voyager Sopris Acadience screener creates an arrangement where the same corporate parent provides both the intervention products and the instrument measuring them. This is not unique to Indiana, and it does not by itself indicate any specific problem — but it does mean that independent instrumentation outside the Cambium family is the cleanest way to validate any one product's contribution. NWEA MAP, i-Ready, Renaissance Star, or a research partnership with REL Midwest or a university-based evaluation would all provide external triangulation. The current contract structure does not include this external check; adding it would be a relatively low-cost addition with high informational return.
📖 Sources
📜 Educator Licensure Cut Scores — Same methodology, different stakes
The Bookmark-style standard-setting methodology Indiana uses for student assessment is the same family of methodology Indiana uses to decide who can teach. This section documents how Praxis cut scores are set in Indiana — drawn from the August 24, 2020 SBOE memo on final approval of 24 Praxis licensure test cut scores, co-authored by then-CTO John Keller and Director of Educator Licensing Risa A. Regnier.
Why this is in the Atlas
Cut scores on student assessments determine which schools get labeled "failing." Cut scores on Praxis determine who is allowed to teach in Indiana classrooms. Both use the same broad methodological approach: a panel of subject-matter experts makes judgment-based recommendations through a structured process, with the median used as the panel recommendation. Understanding how this works on the educator side helps frame the broader conversation about how Indiana decides academic standards.
How the Indiana Praxis cut-score process works
- Vendor: Educational Testing Service (ETS) — selected via October 2018 IDOE RFP, adopted by SBOE July 2019, effective September 1, 2021. ETS is the same vendor for AP exams and SAT (College Board partnership), but the Praxis program is its dedicated educator-licensure suite.
- Mechanism: Distance-based panels of Indiana educators (typically 6+) review test specifications, take an interactive practice test, then make two rounds of independent judgments on what constitutes a passing score. Discussion between rounds. The median recommendation becomes the panel's submission to SBOE.
- Anchor: Most Praxis tests already have a Multistate Adopted Score (MAS) — a national reference. Indiana panels either confirm the MAS or recommend a deviation.
- Scale: All scores are reported on the Praxis 100-200 scale. Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) bands are calculated around each cut score.
- Approval: Under 511 IAC 15-7-2, the State Board must hold a 30-day public comment period and vote final approval.
The 2020 results — 24 tests scored
18 tests: Indiana adopted the multistate MAS unchanged
Principles of Learning & Teaching (K-6, 7-12, Early Childhood), Computer Science, Business Education, English Language Arts: Content Knowledge, Family & Consumer Sciences, Agriculture, Marketing Education, SPED: Core Knowledge Severe to Profound, Health Education, Gifted Education, Technology Education, SPED: Deaf & Hard of Hearing, German, English to Speakers of Other Languages, Latin, SPED: Visual Impairments.
For these 18, Indiana accepted the national bar without modification.
6 tests: Indiana set cut scores LOWER than the MAS
Indiana panels recommended cut scores below the multistate median for these six licensure areas. All deviations were in the same direction — easier to pass in Indiana than in other ETS Praxis states.
| Test | IN RSV | MAS | Δ from MAS |
| Middle School ELA (5047) | 161 | 164 | −0.75 SEM |
| SPED: Mild-Moderate (5543) | 155 | 158 | −0.50 SEM |
| Physical Education (5091) | 145 | 148 | −1.00 SEM |
| Spanish: World Language (5195) | 166 | 168 | −0.50 SEM |
| French: World Language (5174) | 159 | 162 | −0.50 SEM |
| Chinese Mandarin (5665) | 161 | 164 | −0.50 SEM |
Why the panels lowered the bar — directly from the memo
The memo states two recurring reasons panels gave for recommending cut scores below the MAS: (1) panelists' concern about the difficulty of the content relative to how well subcategories are taught in Indiana educator preparation programs; (2) panelists' perception of a shortage of educators in specific licensure areas. The memo notes that in shortage areas, panelists emphasized "beginning educators' skills can improve with experience."
What this means structurally: Indiana's Praxis cut scores in shortage areas (PE, SPED Mild-Moderate, World Languages, Middle School ELA) are partly a function of supply-side pressure, not purely a function of pedagogical-mastery thresholds. A district hiring a Praxis-credentialed teacher in PE is hiring against an Indiana-specific bar 1.00 SEM lower than the multistate reference. The deviation is documented and defensible, but it is a deviation and worth knowing about.
Panel-size observations from the memo itself
The memo flags that the approved process called for a minimum panel size of six educators, but five of the 24 tests had panels below that floor:
| Test | Panel Size | Note |
| Chinese Mandarin: World Language (5665) | 2 | Smallest panel in the set |
| SPED: Deaf & Hard of Hearing (5272) | 3 | Small applicant pool acknowledged in memo |
| SPED: Visual Impairments (5282) | 3 | Small applicant pool acknowledged in memo |
| Principles of Teaching 7-12 (5624) | 4 | — |
| Latin (5601) | 4 | — |
The memo itself recommends that "for these test titles, the state may wish to have a content expert from the IDOE review the test and test-related data in order to make an additional recommendation." Whether that secondary review was conducted post-2020 is not documented in the memo and would need to be confirmed through subsequent SBOE minutes.
How this connects to the broader assessment story
Methodological parallel to Cambium
Both ILEARN cut scores (set via Bookmark Method panels) and Praxis cut scores (set via the process documented here) use the same broad approach: structured panels of subject-matter experts make judgment-based recommendations, with the median adopted. The methodological vulnerabilities flagged in the Cambium Technical Analysis section above apply in the same way here — panel composition, anchor effects, and the absence of an empirical pass/fail outcome to validate against are structural features of standard-setting, not unique to any one vendor.
Connects to LVIS 360 (licensure administration)
Once a Praxis cut score is set, LVIS 360 — the educator-licensure system profiled in the Functional Deep Dive tab — is where the resulting credential lives, gets renewed, and gets enforced for K-12 hiring. The cut score and the credential system are two halves of the same regulatory machine.
Continuity of governance — 15 years and counting
Dr. Keller co-signed this memo in his then-role as Chief Technology Officer, August 2020. That position has since evolved into the IDOE CIO role. The same official has been involved in cut-score governance across at least three superintendents — McCormick, Jenner (interim), Jenner (Secretary) — providing institutional continuity through political transitions.
What we don't see from this memo alone
The 24 tests covered are a subset — additional tests were on the calendar for July-September 2020. Subsequent SBOE cut-score votes (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) would reveal whether the IN-RSV pattern of accepting MAS in most cases and lowering it in shortage areas has continued. The 2020 memo establishes the methodology; the trend over time is the diagnostic question worth pursuing.
The 2020-2024 trend — what happened next
Tracking subsequent SBOE cut-score memos reveals a clear pattern: the August 2020 deviation from MAS in 6 of 24 tests was not repeated in later cycles. Every SBOE Praxis cut-score memo located from 2021 through 2024 adopts the multistate panel-recommended score with no Indiana downward adjustment.
| Date | Tests Adopted | Position Relative to MAS |
| Aug 24, 2020 | 24 tests (first wave) | 6 of 24 set BELOW MAS (shortage rationale) |
| Nov 16, 2020 | 18 additional tests | 11 at MAS · 7 differed (specific table not in public extract) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 3 ETS-updated tests (MS Sci, MS Math, Sec Math) | All at multistate panel-recommended score |
| Jun 8, 2022 | 3 newly developed tests (Russian, CTE Health, Elem Math Specialist) | All at MAS |
| Feb 14, 2023 | SPED: Foundational Knowledge 5355 (replaced 5543) | Adopted at MAS 145 — effectively ending the 2020 downward adjustment for SPED Mild-Moderate |
| Mar 20, 2023 | 7 ETS-replacement tests (SPED Severe/Profound, Counselor, Physics, Librarian, Earth/Space, Biology, Chemistry) | All 7 at MAS |
| Jan 2024 | Praxis 5205 Teaching Reading: Elementary (supports HEA 1558) | At MAS 159 |
| Mar 25, 2024 | 2 CTE replacement tests (Family/Consumer Sciences 5123, Tech & Engineering 5053) | Both at MAS |
What the trend shows
From 2021 onward, every SBOE cut-score memo located adopts the multistate MAS with no Indiana downward adjustment. Where Indiana had previously lowered (Special Education Mild-Moderate 5543 at 155 vs. MAS 158), the replacement test (5355) was adopted at MAS — implicitly raising the effective bar for that licensure area. No memo located reopens or revises the original five 2020 lowered cut scores for tests still in use (Middle School ELA 5047, PE 5091, Spanish 5195, French 5174, Mandarin 5665).
How to read this: The 2020 shortage-driven deviations were treated as a one-time set of decisions rather than an ongoing pattern. The state's working posture since 2021 has been to accept the multistate panel score as Indiana's score. For SPED Mild-Moderate specifically, the replacement-test mechanism (5543 → 5355) effectively reset the bar to MAS without requiring a public revision of the 2020 vote. A 2025 SBOE Praxis cut-score memo was not located in the publicly indexed materials reviewed.
Sources: SBOE Memoranda on Praxis licensure test cut scores, Aug 24, 2020 · Nov 16, 2020 · Apr 14, 2021 · Jun 8, 2022 · Feb 14, 2023 · Mar 20, 2023 · Jan 2024 · Mar 25, 2024 (all in.gov/sboe/files). Co-authored by Dr. John Keller and Risa A. Regnier (Director Educator Licensing). Filed for SBOE action under 511 IAC 15-7-2.
🧭 Insights — A Better Path Forward for Indiana's Assessment Infrastructure
The Cambium relationship will produce the federal compliance Indiana needs for the foreseeable future. The more interesting question — the one worth the State's attention — isn't how to satisfy the federal floor. It's what would Indiana want to know about each of its students that the current instrument simply isn't shaped to tell.
The forward question, plainly stated
Indiana built today's assessment system in an earlier era of educational technology. Multiple-choice items at scale, scored at year-end, sorting schools above or below a cut line. That instrument was good at telling the state which buildings were underperforming. It was never designed to tell teachers and parents what each individual child needs tomorrow to learn the thing they're stuck on today. That is a different capability — and it's the capability worth building toward.
1. The shape of the instrument matters more than the score
A bubble-fill answer tells you whether a student can recognize a right answer. It doesn't tell you whether they can explain the concept, apply it to a new context, or connect it to what they learned last month. Mastery lives in those latter places.
A more diagnostic system would capture how students actually engage with content — in their own words, in multiple modalities, over time — rather than condensing it all into a yes/no proficiency label once a year.
2. Every student is an individual — the system should reflect that
Current architecture sorts students into proficiency bands relative to a single cut score. Every child is measured against the same line. That's necessary for federal accountability — but it's not sufficient for actually helping the child learn.
A next-generation system maps each student's specific patterns: where the concepts click, where they stick, what kinds of explanations land, what the student's curiosity wants to pull them toward next. Personalization isn't a luxury — it's the basis on which any of this can actually move outcomes.
3. Continuous signal is worth more than annual snapshots
The most useful evidence about a student isn't collected once in April. It's collected continuously, as the student does the work, in the room where the work happens.
Federal accountability requirements can be satisfied by aggregating continuous evidence into the required annual reports — the data shape matters more than the data-collection ritual. The technical path to do this already exists at the federal level for states that want to pursue it.
4. The infrastructure choice is about more than vendors
Indiana has built impressive data infrastructure underneath all of this — LINK, the Ed-Fi ODS, MPH, the agency AI investments. Most of it is underutilized for the assessment use case.
The right next-generation assessment system would build on that backbone, not around it. The partner Indiana selects for the next chapter ought to be one that commits to growing with the state — whose technology is designed to adapt as the state's vision sharpens, rather than asking the state to adapt to the technology.
The simple frame
Replacing item banks isn't the hard part. Indiana's assessment future isn't really a procurement question — it's a vision question. What would Indiana want its assessment infrastructure to be able to do in 2030 that it cannot do today? Once that question has an answer the state is happy with, the path to get there is straightforward. The federal mechanisms exist. The data backbone is already largely in place. The need is a technology partner who is committed to that vision, capable of building toward it, and patient enough to grow with the state over the years it will take to do this well.
🔗 Integration Architecture — how everything actually connects
Five complementary views: (1) The Stack — tiered architecture · (2) Identity flow — how SSO threads through every app · (3) Student data lifecycle — where data is born and where it lives · (4) Assessment scoring pipeline · (5) User journeys — how real people traverse the systems · (6) Connection matrix — system-to-system integration table
1️⃣ The Stack — Indiana K-12 tech infrastructure organized by tier
Read top→bottom: federal consumers at the top → public-facing surfaces → identity/auth → applications → data backbone → cross-agency analytics → AI infrastructure → governance gate at the bottom. Color = domain. Every system below also appears in the Functional Deep Dive or Vendor Ecosystems tabs.
LAYER 7
Federal / External
Consumers + funders of IDOE data
US ED — EDFactsannual file submissions
OCR CRDCbiennial civil rights data collection
IES / NCESSLDS grants · Project Director: Dr. Keller
USDA Child NutritionNSLP/SBP reimbursement
US DOL QUEST$10.8M Pivot AI grant
FSSA / Medicaidschool-based services billing
Nat'l Student Clearinghouseout-of-state postsec enrollment
WIDA ConsortiumUW-Madison · standards + items
College BoardSAT Suite + AP/Cambridge
LAYER 6
Public Tier
Residents, parents, press, researchers
IN.gov platformTyler · 200+ sites · 125+ apps
in.gov/doeIDOE agency site
Ask IndianaTyler + Azure OpenAI GPT-4
Indiana GPS DashboardResultant · indianagps.doe.in.gov
Federal Report Cardindianafederalreportcard.doe.in.gov
EdData public portaleddata.doe.in.gov · Attendance Insights · Student Data Backpack
Indiana Data HubMPH · CKAN · hub.mph.in.gov · 100+ datasets
Indiana Family PortalCambium · parent score delivery SY 25-26
LVIS public verificationlicense.doe.in.gov/public_data/
CTE Data Explorercte.inters-dwd.com/DataExplorer/
LAYER 5
Identity & Access
SSO + identity service
Access Indiana SSOTyler · 2.7M users · 100+ federated · SAML + OIDC
LINK PortalIDOE · link.doe.in.gov · LEA-side launchpad
Ed-ID PortalIDOE · STN "T+8" + SPN 8-digit
LVIS 360Power Apps Portal · Azure Gov · educator SPN master
SSD OnlineCollege Board · SAT accommodations · separate
WIDA Secure PortalUW-Madison · TA cert + reports
Cambium TIDECambium · separate cert system per assessment
LAYER 4
Application Tier
Staff / educator / district workflows
LEA SISPowerSchool ~200 corps · Skyward · Infinite Campus · Tyler · FACTS · Gradelink
PowerSchool Special ProgramsIEP/504/ILP/FBA/BIP + Service Capture · live 7/18/2025
Cambium TIDE+TDS+CRSILEARN/IREAD/I AM/Checkpoints · $126.16M NTE
WIDA AMS + DRC INSIGHTEL ACCESS · Jan 12-Feb 27, 2026
College Board Bluebookdigital SAT + PSAT · ~82K G11 takers
ClearFrame APICambium · Indiana Reporting Framework · operational SY 25-26
Choice Scholarship PortalIDOE-built via LINK · school-mediated
ClassWalletCSA + INESA + Indiana Learns rails · $8.85M/yr
InTERS Secondary CTECHE · Scherb Consulting
AE InTERSDWD adult ed · NRS reporting
PCG iMacdirect Medicaid billing legacy
Fairbanks IndianaMACadmin Medicaid claiming · OD25
CNPwebUSDA child nutrition reporting
LAYER 3
Data Backbone
LINK Initiative · single source of truth
Ed-Fi v6.1 ODSResultant + Double Line · per-school-year instance · "sole source of truth" since SY 21-22
Validation Portaldataexchange.doe.in.gov/validation/
IDOE Data Warehouse / StagingResultant ETL
SSAS Multidimensional CubeAzure Analysis Services · powers GPS
IDOE Special Programsaccommodation source for IEP/SP students
Office of Accountability School IDmaster entity key for Choice portal
LAYER 2
Cross-Agency Analytics
MPH-owned · P-20W linkage
INK / EWDS SLDSMPH · cross-agency record linkage (IDOE+CHE+DWD+FSSA)
Enhanced Research Environment (ERE)MPH · secure analytic tenant · 100+ users
Pivot AI Workforce EngineMPH + DWD + Resultant · 67% UI claimants use
Indiana Data Hub (CKAN)public catalog · 100+ datasets
LAYER 1
AI Infrastructure
Internal (IDOE staff) + LEA-facing
Microsoft 365 Copilotsanctioned day-to-day · IDOE staff
AWS Bedrocksandbox · Claude/Llama/Mistral/Titan
Azure AI Foundrysandbox · Azure OpenAI · Agent Service
Agentic R&DSemantic Kernel · AutoGen · custom
PowerBuddy AIPowerSchool SP · 504 Draft · IEP Goals
KhanmigoKhan Academy · LEA-facing · free for IN
MagicSchool AIteacher tools · via ESCI coop
Amira LearningK-3 reading-fluency · approved screener
Ask Indianaresident-facing GenAI · Tyler-built
LAYER 0
Governance
The gate — applies to everything above
MPH AI Governance FrameworkNIST AI RMF · CDO + CPO review · IOT Software Auth gate
SEA 472 CybersecurityIOT + IDOE joint policy · 2028 compliance deadline
IN-ISACIC 4-13.1-2 · 48-hr incident reporting
Indiana Data Governance Councilcross-agency · MPH-chaired · Dr. Keller = IDOE rep
FERPA + IDEA Part B + Title IIIfederal compliance regimes
SBOE rulemaking authorityA-F model · accountability framework
IDOA procurement gatesIC 5-22 · QPA + cooperative purchasing
2️⃣ Identity flow — how SSO threads through every system
Three parallel auth realms with selective bridging: Access Indiana (Tyler) for all general state services · LINK Portal (IDOE) for LEA-side education tools · separate per-vendor accounts for the 3 assessment delivery systems (Cambium TIDE / WIDA AMS / SSD Online).
flowchart LR
User[Person] --> Decision{Who are they?}
Decision -->|Indiana resident| AccessIN[Access Indiana SSO
Tyler · 2.7M users]
Decision -->|LEA staff/educator| AccessIN
Decision -->|IDOE staff| AccessIN
Decision -->|Student/parent for vouchers| AccessIN
AccessIN -->|federates to| BMV[MyBMV]
AccessIN -->|federates to| FSSA[FSSA Connect]
AccessIN -->|federates to| LVIS[LVIS 360
educator licensing]
AccessIN -->|federates to| LINKP[LINK Portal
IDOE LEA launchpad]
AccessIN -->|federates to| ScholPortal[scholarships.tos.in.gov
ClassWallet]
LINKP -->|gates access to| EdID[Ed-ID Portal]
LINKP -->|gates access to| DEX[Data Exchange Validation]
LINKP -->|gates access to| EdData[EdData public reports]
LINKP -->|gates access to| ChoiceP[Choice Scholarship Portal]
LINKP -->|gates access to| KH[Knowledge Hub idoe.atlassian.net]
LVIS -.SPN-authoritative.-> EdID
EdID -.STN identifier feeds.-> DEX
Assess[Assessment role accounts
SEPARATE per vendor] --> TIDE[Cambium TIDE]
Assess --> WAMS[DRC WIDA AMS]
Assess --> SSD[College Board SSD Online]
Assess --> WSP[WIDA Secure Portal]
CW[ClassWallet] -.SSO via Access IN.-> ScholPortal
GovAI[Microsoft 365 Copilot
IDOE staff] -.Entra ID.-> AccessIN
3️⃣ Student data lifecycle — where data is born → where it lives → who reads it
flowchart LR
Birth[New student enrollment in IN LEA] --> LEA_SIS[LEA SIS
PowerSchool/Skyward/IC/Tyler]
LEA_SIS -->|nightly push or
real-time delta| EdFi[Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS
per-school-year instance]
LEA_SIS -.HLS triggers.-> Screen[WIDA Screener
30-day window]
EdFi -->|API| EdID[Ed-ID assigns STN
15-min propagation]
EdID -->|nightly back to| EdFi
EdFi -->|roster pre-coding| TIDE[Cambium TIDE]
EdFi -->|roster pre-coding| WAMS[WIDA AMS pre-ID file mid-Nov]
EdFi -->|roster pre-coding| Bluebook[College Board Bluebook]
EdFi -->|enrollment| PSP[PowerSchool Special Programs]
EdFi -->|enrollment| ChoiceP[Choice Portal]
EdFi -->|de-identified extract| MPH_INK[MPH INK SLDS]
TIDE -->|scores back| CRS[Cambium CRS + Family Portal]
WAMS -->|scores back| WSPortal[WIDA Secure Portal results]
Bluebook -->|scores back| CBAcct[College Board accounts + 4 colleges]
PSP -->|IEP data back| EdFi
PSP -->|Medicaid claims| PCG_Fair[PCG iMac + Fairbanks IndianaMAC]
CRS --> GPS[Indiana GPS Dashboard]
CRS --> EDFACTS[EDFacts annual]
CRS --> AF[A-F Model SY 26-27]
CRS --> FedRC[Federal Report Card]
WSPortal --> GPS
WSPortal --> EDFACTS
Bluebook --> GPS
PSP --> SPPAPR[IDEA Part B SPP/APR]
PSP --> CRDC[OCR CRDC biennial]
MPH_INK --> Pivot[Pivot AI workforce engine]
MPH_INK --> Hub[Indiana Data Hub public]
MPH_INK --> ERE[Researcher ERE]
ChoiceP --> AnnRpt[Annual Choice Scholarship Report]
GPS --> Public((Public))
AF --> Public
FedRC --> Public
Hub --> Public
EDFACTS --> USED((US Dept of Ed))
SPPAPR --> USED
CRDC --> USED
4️⃣ Assessment scoring pipeline — three parallel vendor pipelines
flowchart LR
EdFi[Ed-Fi ODS rosters + IEP/EL accommodations]
EdFi -->|nightly DEX| TIDE_Pre[Cambium TIDE Pre-ID]
EdFi -.mid-Nov extract.-> WAMS_Pre[WIDA AMS Pre-ID file]
EdFi -->|nightly DEX| Bluebook_Pre[College Board Bluebook roster]
TIDE_Pre --> TDS[Cambium TDS
secure browser]
WAMS_Pre --> DRC[DRC INSIGHT secure browser]
Bluebook_Pre --> BB[Bluebook secure browser]
TDS -->|students take| ILEARN[ILEARN + IREAD + I AM + Checkpoints]
DRC -->|students take| ACCESS[WIDA ACCESS K-12]
BB -->|all G11 students take| SAT[Digital SAT]
ILEARN --> CAI_Score[Cambium scoring
human + auto]
ACCESS --> DRC_Score[DRC scoring
human Speaking/Writing]
SAT --> CB_Score[College Board scoring
~13 days]
CAI_Score --> CRS[Centralized Reporting]
CAI_Score --> FamP[Indiana Family Portal]
CAI_Score --> CFAPI[ClearFrame API
SY 25-26 operational]
DRC_Score --> WSP[WIDA Secure Portal]
CB_Score --> CB_Acct[Student accounts + 4 colleges]
CRS --> EdFi_Back[Back into Ed-Fi for GPS feed]
FamP --> Parents[Parents]
CFAPI --> CTC[Certified Testing Coords]
CTC --> OnboardVendor[Onboarded Vendor Apps]
WSP --> ReClass[EL reclassification]
WSP --> EdFi_Back
CB_Acct --> EdFi_Back
EdFi_Back --> GPS[Indiana GPS Dashboard]
5️⃣ User journeys — how real people traverse the systems
PARENT "How is my third-grader doing on reading?"
→ Lands on indianagps.doe.in.gov → Find Schools → clicks child's school → opens 3rd Grade Literacy tile (Power BI modal) → drills to subgroup. OR → opens email about score → logs into Indiana Family Portal → sees child's IREAD-3 + ILEARN + I AM scores in one place
Systems touched: Indiana GPS (Resultant) · Family Portal (Cambium) · IN.gov chrome (Tyler) · Access Indiana SSO (Tyler) · Ed-Fi ODS (source) · Cambium TIDE (source) · MPH ETL backbone
SPED TEACHER "I need to write an IEP for a transferring student."
→ Logs into Access Indiana SSO → opens PowerSchool Special Programs → student record auto-populated from Ed-Fi ODS → opens IEP draft document → uses PowerBuddy AI (504 Draft / IEP Goal Generator) → enters CCC meeting details (Notice of Case Conference) → drafts annual goals → routes to parents for DigSig → finalized IEP pushed back to Ed-Fi ODS
Systems touched: Access Indiana (Tyler) · PowerSchool Special Programs (PowerSchool/Bain) · PowerBuddy AI (PowerSchool embedded) · Ed-Fi ODS (read+write) · LEA SIS (background sync) · Knowledge Hub (training/support)
DISTRICT TEST COORDINATOR (CTC) "It's testing week — I'm juggling three vendor systems."
→ Cambium TIDE for ILEARN/IREAD/I AM roster + accommodations + irregularities → WIDA AMS (separate login) for ACCESS rosters + DRC INSIGHT installs → SSD Online (College Board, separate) for SAT accommodations → Moodle WIDA Pretest Workshop → Knowledge Hub for IDOE announcements → Special Programs flag verification → Indiana Family Portal launch to parents post-window
Systems touched: Cambium TIDE (Cambium) · WIDA AMS + WIDA Secure Portal (DRC + UW-Madison) · SSD Online (College Board) · PowerSchool Special Programs (accommodation source for IEP/SP) · LEA SIS via DEX (accommodation source for 504/ILP) · IDOE Knowledge Hub · Family Portal
⚠ Pain point: No single sign-on across vendor assessment systems. CTCs manually juggle 3+ vendor portals through January-May testing season.
PRIVATE SCHOOL ADMIN "We want to participate in Choice Scholarship for 2026-27."
→ Email schoolaccountability@doe.in.gov → receive IDOE-issued School ID from Office of Accountability → request LINK Portal access → log in via Access Indiana → complete digital school participation application (NEW 2026) → annual reapplication → during application windows (Mar-Sep + Nov-Jan) submit family applications on behalf of enrolled families → receive quarterly disbursements (Sep/Nov/Jan/Mar) → administer ILEARN/IREAD to voucher students at the school → submit data for Annual Choice Scholarship Report
Systems touched: Office of Accountability School ID system · LINK Portal · Access Indiana SSO · Choice Scholarship Portal (IDOE-built) · Cambium TIDE (for student assessments) · State payment system · Annual report generation
EDUCATOR "I need to renew my license + add the Early Literacy Endorsement."
→ Logs into Access Indiana SSO → opens LVIS 360 (license.doe.in.gov) → 90-day window before expiration → reviews PGP entries → uploads LETRS completion certificate (Lexia, Cambium Learning Group) → ETS imports Reading Praxis 5205 score → submits Early Literacy Endorsement application → pays $35-50 via State payment portal → IDOE Material Review → license issued → self-prints PDF
Systems touched: Access Indiana SSO (Tyler) · LVIS 360 (MS Power Apps Portal / Azure Gov) · ETS Praxis (external) · State payment portal (Tyler) · IDOE Office of Educator Licensing · Ed-ID SPN (background)
UI CLAIMANT "I just got laid off — what career path makes sense for me?"
→ Files unemployment claim in Uplink (DWD) → Pivot AI activated automatically via API call → uses already-submitted profile data (no extra steps) → returns ranked occupation list → claimant rates green/yellow/red smiley → optional "too much training" feedback → hands off to Indiana Career Explorer → can opt-in to Ivy Tech direct contact
Systems touched: Uplink (DWD UI system) · Pivot AI (MPH+Resultant+DWD) · MPH INK SLDS (training data source: SLDS+IDOE+CHE+DWD records) · Indiana Career Explorer · Ivy Tech (optional handoff)
IDOE STAFF "I'm writing the Secretary's weekly SAMS briefing."
→ Opens Outlook + Word with Microsoft 365 Copilot → summarizes meeting transcripts from Teams (Copilot) → drafts text → pulls GPS Dashboard numbers from EdData → uses Copilot to clean up tone → manually fact-checks against Knowledge Hub announcements → publishes to in.gov/doe/files/SAMS-X.X.pdf → goes out via GovDelivery
Systems touched: Microsoft 365 Copilot (sanctioned · IDOE staff) · Word/Outlook/Teams (Microsoft Graph) · Indiana GPS · EdData · Knowledge Hub (Atlassian) · GovDelivery (Granicus)
💡 Agentic opportunity: A Layer 4 agent on Foundry Agent Service or Bedrock Agents could compile a draft from Knowledge Hub + GPS deltas + EWIS alerts + Cambium score releases for the staff member to review — currently manual.
6️⃣ System-to-system connection matrix
Each cell shows the connection type between two systems. FED = federation (auth) · AUTH = auth via · WRITE = pushes data · READ = consumes data
| From ↓ To → |
Access Indiana |
LINK Portal |
Ed-Fi ODS |
LVIS 360 |
PSP Special Programs |
Cambium TIDE |
WIDA AMS |
GPS Dashboard |
MPH INK |
| LEA SIS (PS/Skyward/IC) |
|
|
WRITE |
|
READ |
|
|
|
|
| Access Indiana SSO |
— |
AUTH |
|
AUTH |
|
|
|
|
|
| LINK Portal |
AUTH |
— |
READ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ed-Fi ODS |
|
|
— |
|
WRITE rosters |
WRITE pre-coding |
WRITE Pre-ID file |
WRITE |
de-id extract |
| Ed-ID Portal |
|
|
WRITE STN/SPN |
READ SPN |
|
|
|
|
|
| LVIS 360 |
AUTH |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
| IDOE Special Programs |
|
|
READ STN |
|
WRITE accommodations |
WRITE accommodations |
WRITE accommodations |
|
|
| PSP Special Programs |
|
|
WRITE IEP data |
|
— |
|
|
|
|
| Cambium TIDE/TDS/CRS |
|
|
WRITE scores |
|
|
— |
|
WRITE |
|
| WIDA AMS (DRC) |
|
|
WRITE scores |
|
|
|
— |
WRITE EL data |
|
| College Board Bluebook |
|
|
WRITE SAT |
|
|
|
|
WRITE |
|
| InTERS (CHE) |
|
|
READ STN |
|
|
|
|
WRITE CTE |
WRITE |
| Choice Portal |
|
via LINK |
READ enrollment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ClassWallet |
via Access IN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MPH INK SLDS |
|
|
READ extracts |
|
|
|
|
WRITE |
— |
| Pivot AI (DWD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
READ SLDS |
PowerSchool SIS Breach (Dec 28, 2024 — disclosed Jan 2025): ~62M students + ~9.5M teachers nationally · ~200 Indiana districts affected. PowerSchool reserved ~$28M for breach-related expenses. MDL In re PowerSchool Holdings Customer Security Breach Litigation before Judge Roger T. Benitez, S.D. Cal. Called "the largest breach of children's data in U.S. history." → Triggered SEA 472 (signed May 1, 2025).
Key integration realities
1. Ed-Fi v6.1 ODS is the gravitational center — every major data flow eventually routes through it. Resultant + Double Line own the pipe. Operates as one ODS instance per school year.
2. SSO is split across three realms. Access Indiana (Tyler) federates most general state services + LVIS + LINK Portal. LINK Portal further gates LEA-facing IDOE tools. Assessment vendors (Cambium TIDE, WIDA AMS, SSD Online) have separate accounts per vendor — CTC operational burden.
3. The accommodation pipeline is bidirectional. IDOE Special Programs (IEP/SP) + LEA SIS via DEX (504/CSEP/ILP) → push to TIDE + WIDA AMS + SSD Online. Coordination failures here = compliance findings.
4. Three parallel scoring pipelines never merge until they're back in Ed-Fi. Cambium scores → CRS → Family Portal · WIDA → DRC scoring → Secure Portal · College Board → student account + 4 colleges. Only after they re-enter Ed-Fi do they appear in GPS / A-F / federal reporting together.
5. MPH INK is the cross-agency mixing chamber — IDOE + CHE + DWD + FSSA records linked here using encrypt-then-link primitive. Public Data Hub publishes de-identified aggregates · Enhanced Research Environment hosts record-level access.
6. The AI tier sits parallel, not on top. Copilot operates over Microsoft Graph (staff productivity). Bedrock + Foundry are sandbox tenants. Agentic R&D will eventually consume Ed-Fi ODS via API — that's where greenfield is.
7. Governance is the gate, not a system. MPH AI policy + SEA 472 + FERPA + IDEA + IDOA procurement all sit at Layer 0 — they don't show up in dataflow diagrams but every system above must satisfy them.