| Scholarship or Voucher Value: |
In grades K-8 the voucher is worth up to $4,250; in grades 9-12 it is worth up to $5,000. The voucher may not exceed the private school’s actual tuition and fees. Participating schools may charge additional tuition (or require equivalent volunteer hours from parents) for students whose household incomes exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level, but must accept the voucher as payment in full for students at or below the 200 percent level. This regulation has the unintended effect of forbidding low-income families from expanding their available educational options by supplementing the voucher with their own money, while permitting richer families to do so.
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| Student or School Participation: |
In 2007-08, 6,836 students and 323 private schools are participating. Each year the state legislature is to set a cap on the maximum number of participants. The cap has been set at 14,000. |
| Student Eligibility: |
Students will be eligible if they attend a local public school that has been designated in a state of “academic watch” or “academic emergency” by the state for two of the last three years, or if they would be assigned to such a school based on their residence but are instead currently enrolled in a charter school, or are entering kindergarten. Students in “open enrollment” districts who are enrolled in charter schools or entering kindergarten will be eligible if the district has been designated in a state of academic emergency for three consecutive years. Students eligible for the voucher program in Cleveland are not eligible for this one. Statewide, 93,501 students are eligible to apply.
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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: |
Regulations for this program have not yet been written.
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| Research on Program: |
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| News on Program: |
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| Governing Statutes: |
Ohio Revised Code, Sections 3310.01-3310.17 |
