| Scholarship or Voucher Value: |
Education services of up to $20,000 per year will be reimbursed by the state.
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| Student or School Participation: |
There are 750 students receiving vouchers through the program in 2007-08. There are currently about 150 service providers registered with the state.
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| Student Eligibility: |
Students must be age 3-21, diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder and registered in the public school special-education system. Students may use the voucher whether or not they were previously enrolled in public schools, though students not previously enrolled in public schools must formally transfer into the public system (they do not need to actually leave their private schools).
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| Legal Status of Program: |
No legal challenges have been filed against the program.
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| Regulations on the Program: |
Service providers must meet the minimal standards set by professional organizations in their fields, demonstrate fiscal soundness and have at least one staff member with relevant credentials. Schools must have a formal special-education program that has existed for at least a year and that employs teachers with special-education credentials. Also, the voucher pays only for services specified in the student’s Individual Education Plan; it is difficult to determine how restrictive this is in practice without a detailed examination of participants’ plans, but it at least means students must pay the portion of tuition covering any religious instruction.
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| Research on Program: |
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| News on Program: |
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| Governing Statutes: |
Ohio Revised Code, Section 3310.41.
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