The State Board of Education has voted to end state-required takeovers at three schools in Indianapolis and one in Gary.

In Indianapolis, three schools under state takeover will be returned to their former home district. State board members reversed a previous decision and denied a private manager’s intent to seek charter authorization for the schools. Indianapolis Public Schools is now free to decide the schools’ futures for the first time in nearly eight years.

The Florida-based Charter Schools USA, that was hired by the state in 2012 to turn the schools around, will be forced to end its involvement in June.

State Board member Peter Miller says the takeover did not fail.

“It worked as intended. The vote today was not a repudiation of any of the work done by the turnaround operator. They did what they were asked to do and the end of the contract is here.”

IPS plans to close Thomas Carr Howe High School this summer and partner with outside groups to manage Emma Donnan Middle School and Emmerich Manual High School next year.

In Gary, Indiana’s Theodore Roosevelt College & Career Academy was approved for takeover in 2011, after years of chronic academic failure. The private company Edison Learning tried to turn it around, but test scores and graduation rates remain some of the lowest in the state. Due to physical problems at the building, students are now in a temporary space.

State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says, even though the Gary schools district is under its own intervention for finances, the state board should no longer be involved in Roosevelt.

“I am glad we are at that point. It is the right move for Gary. Every individual school needs to be looked at. I’ve been to Gary. I understand the facility issues. I also understand Gary Community Schools has a long way to go. But I know for right now, where we are with that partnership, it is the right move.”

A vote removed state board oversight for Roosevelt. The Gary School District still retains its own operations contract with Edison Learning. The two will now work out the future of the high school without that oversight.