The purposes of the study were to: (1) compare the cost-loss ratio of selected Indiana school corporations in physical property insurance coverage; (2) review the established self-insurance funds that provide protection for public school property; (3) form a hypothetical self-insurance fund for the protection of the physical property of Indiana school corporations; and (4) to determine if a program of self-insurance by means of a funded reserve was feasible as an alternative for the protection of physical property.The method of investigation included the gathering of data by means of a developed questionnaire from selected Indiana school corporations having 10,000 students or more during the years 1969-70 through 1973-74. Evaluation was done by computing cost-loss ratios from the data. A review of operating self-insurance programs was made and a model plan of self-insurance for the public schools of Indiana was presented based on criteria of the operating funds and the experiences of the Indiana school corporations.The data were reported under the following divisions:1. The money expended for insurance premiums for the protection of physical property.2. The appraised value of the property insured.3. The method used to arrive at the valuation.4. The amount of money received from insurance companies as indemnity for loss of physical property.5. The difficulty encountered in obtaining insurance coverage for the school property.6. The method used for purchasing school physical property insurance.The data were treated normatively using percentages and tables. The findings of the study are as follows:1. The ratio of claims paid to the premium costs of insurance was 15.22 per cent for the five-year period.2. Twenty-nine per cent of the school corporations used the insurance company engineer to appraise the value of public school property; 29 per cent used the professional appraisal company; 17 per cent made use of architects; and 13 per cent used a committee to determine the insurable value of the physical property.3. Seventy-five per cent of the administrators reported that competitive bids were used for purchasing insurance. However, 25 per cent used other methods of placing the school property insurance.4. Most of the administrators, 87.50 per cent, reported having no difficulty in placing the coverage for the protection of their physical property; however, 12.50 per cent experienced difficulty in finding a company willing to insure the property.The findings of the study support the following conclusions:1. A considerable cash reserve would be available for educational purposes, other than the payment for insurance premiums, if the school corporations in the study had formed a selfinsurance fund during the 1969-70 school year and maintained the fund for the five-year period.2. All of the state self-insurance funds are operating with sufficient reserves to meet operating expenses and pay loss claims as they occur.3. Insurance costs for the public schools in states with operating self-insurance funds varied from no costs to 68 per cent of insurance bureau rates.4. Economically, a self-insurance fund would be feasible for the public schools of Indiana.The findings and conclusions of the study support the following recommendations:1. A self-insurance fund modeled after the one presented in this study should be developed and presented for consideration by the Indiana General Assembly.2. The General Assembly should provide a reserve for the fund during the first years of operation to insure solvency.3. The fund should operate on sound insurance principles and should be free from political pressures.