Accountability

Key Contacts

Accountability Overview

In addition to their statutory obligation to report to the IPS Board of Commissioners bi annually, all Innovation schools have a separate board that monitors performance on an ongoing basis. Some Innovation Network Schools have a charter with an authorizer. Innovation network schools at IPS are authorized by the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office, the Indiana Charter School Board, and Trine University. You can find out more information about these schools and their authorizers in the Innovation Network Schools by Configuration and Type table at the bottom of this page. 

Innovation Schools must submit monthly compliance, performance, and accountability documentation to the IPS Portfolio Management Office. Charter schools will email the documents at the same time they are due to the authorizer. This generally includes all accountability data, financial data, program reports and evaluations. The IPS Portfolio Management Office will accept the documents in whatever format the authorizer asks for. 

In addition to those items submitted to the authorizer, IPS might have additional compliance requests for out of LEA operators. The USS page of this website will include certain requirements for innovation schools that share a space with IPS programs. IPS might also require state report data to be  submitted for all out of LEA operators.

Non-charter (IPS LEA) schools will submit documents according to the In-LEA reporting calendar that is updated at least annually and shared during the summer before each school year. You can find this calendar below titled In-LEA Compliance Reporting Calendar.

On a quarterly basis, the Portfolio Management Office will share the on-track, delayed, and incomplete tracking status of all Innovation Network Schools. 

Non-charter (IPS LEA) schools also will be monitored against the in-LEA Performance framework. The framework reviews school performance in three domains: academic, governance, and financial performance. In-LEA operators can access this framework below titled In-LEA Accountability Framework. 

Each Innovation Agreement contains possible grounds for termination. While these may differ some in the earlier agreements, generally reasons may include: 

● A material breach of contract, which includes but is not limited to 

○ Not meeting fiscal management and government accounting principles 

○ Not complying with Applicable Law 

○ Not meeting the Educational Goals specified in the Innovation Agreement 

● The school is performing in the lowest of two categories of school improvement for three or more consecutive years 

● Loss of charter 

● Bankruptcy or dissolution

Renewal Process Overview

Innovation contracts are typically subject to five-year terms. During its fifth year of operation, the innovation school goes through the renewal process. All innovation schools are subject to a renewal school quality review. The Renewal School Quality Review (RSQR) is a one-day school visit performed by central office leaders throughout the Indianapolis Public Schools organization. During the review, the RSQR team visits classrooms, talks with parents, students, teachers, community partners, school leaders, and current board members of the Innovation School. Using specific RSQR standards and related indicators as a foundation for evidence gathering, the RSQR team engages in a facilitated and consistent process for identifying trends in the data collected during the visit while incorporating data on the school’s performance over time. The facilitation protocol requires members to triangulate their data through discussion and evidence review. 

Data from the RSQR is compiled into a final report, parts of which will be presented to the IPS Board of Commissioners. 

Content components shared publicly: 

● Part 1 - School Context: Mission, Vision, and Current Statistics 

● Part 2 – Most Recent Year School Performance and Demographics 

● Part 3 – Multi-Year School Performance Annual Trends 

Content components for internal use: 

● Part 4 - Celebrations and Areas of Improvement: What is going well and are opportunities for further growth? 

● Part 5 - Quick Wins: Specific actions school leadership can take to address areas of improvement 

● Part 6 - Additional Narrative: Trends identified through review of the evidence 

Public Component Detail 

• Part 2: Most Recent Year School Performance Indicators 

a. School Climate and Culture 

i. Attendance 

ii. Discipline (suspensions) 

iii. Discipline (expulsions) 

iv. Year over Year staff retention 

b. School Specific Goals 

These are two goals that the school selects each year. The results for these goals will be published once data can be collected.  

c. Most recent school year accountability report card 

d. Most recent state accountability data disaggregated by subgroup

• Part 3: Multi-Year School Performance Annual Trends 

      a. Five-year enrollment trends 

      b. Five-year attendance trends 

          c. Discipline trends: suspensions and expulsions 

          d. Year-over-year staff retention 

          e. Multiyear accountability report card comparison 

          f. State Test Performance by sector year over year 

          g. IREAD performance by sector year over year 

Timeline 

Summer: Conversation with portfolio team and scheduling RSQR site visits for September/October. 

November: IPS Portfolio Team provides recommendations to IPS Board of Commissioners.

Portfolio Team Touchpoints with Innovation Schools 

In-LEA schools can expect the following touchpoints from the portfolio team: 

• Monthly attendance at board meetings 

• 2x a year check-ins with board chairs to discuss governance performance (Summer and Winter) 

• Check-ins with finance leadership to discuss financial performance as needed

• Check-ins with academic leadership to discuss academic performance as needed

• 2x a year: joint public meeting with IPS School Board to discuss issues and progress of the innovation school 

• Annual “partnership check-ins” to discuss the health of the overall partnership (Fall) 

Out of LEA schools can expect annual “partnership check-ins” to discuss the health of the overall partnership in the fall of each year.

Panorama Climate and Culture Survey

The portfolio team administers Panorama Climate and Culture survey to monitor and evaluate student, staff, and families opinions on topics such as school belonging, student engagement, school-teacher relationships, etc. Panorama is a third party that IPS has partnered with to administer the survey. For more information about Panorama, click here. All in-LEA innovation schools are required to administer Panorama. Out of LEA schools have the option of administering Panorama.

The survey is issued twice a year. Once in the fall, typically around October - November timeframe and once in the spring, typically around March - April timeframe. In the fall, IPS surveys students and staff members. In the spring, IPS surveys students, staff members, and families. While the survey administration window has varied in the past from 2.5 - 4 weeks, the goal moving forward is to have a 4 week long administration window.

It is worth noting that Panorama can be used to measure other topics than climate and culture. They also offer surveys that measure student emotional learning and can offer more of a student-level view of responses. IPS also has the ability to create customized topics to survey a wide range of stakeholders. 

IPS uses the spring administration of each administration of the climate and culture survey to report out to the board. The goal of the fall administration is to provide schools a check on how they are doing and what they can improve on for the spring administration.

In-LEA Accountability Framework

View the In-LEA Accountability Framework Governance Handbook and Finance Handbook indicators below or by clicking this link. 

In-LEA Compliance Reporting Calendar 2025-26

Innovation Network Schools by Configuration and Type

Renewals by School Year