Vouchers are worth up to $4,650 in grades K–8 and $6,000 in grades 9–12, not to exceed the private school’s actual tuition. Participating schools may charge remaining tuition or require in-kind services for the portion of tuition not covered by the voucher for students whose household incomes exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), but must accept the voucher as payment in full for students at or below 200 percent FPL.

This program and the Income-Based Scholarship program currently have a combined enrollment cap of 60,000 students. If 90 percent of the cap is reached in any year, it will increase by 5 percent in the subsequent year.

Students are eligible for the program if the student’s resident district is not a school district in which the pilot project scholarship program is operating (Cleveland) and the student satisfies one of the following conditions: The student attends a local public school that has received a grade D or F by the state’s performance index score; the student is assigned to a charter school but would otherwise be assigned to a “low-performing” public school; the student attends a local public school that was ranked in the lowest 10 percent of public schools in two of the three most recent rankings and the public school was not declared to be excellent or effective in the most recent rating system; the student is enrolled in a private school and is entering high school but would otherwise attend a D- or F-rated public school; or the student is enrolling in grades K–12 for the first time and would be assigned to a qualifying school as long as they are at least 5 years old by Jan. 1 of the school year.

Although a large number of children are eligible under the Educational Choice program, it is difficult to inform parents about their options. The fluid nature of public school rankings makes it hard for parents to be informed of their eligibility year over year. A simpler system, one that is universal or tied to income only, would be easier to administer. Scholarship funding is another sore spot, as private schools must accept the amount as payment in full for the poorest children. This may limit a parent’s choice of schools. Ohio would be wise to simplify this voucher program and tie eligibility to something less prone to fluctuations.

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: Conditional
• Geographic Limit: Statewide
• Enrollment Cap: 60,000 combined with Income-Based Scholarship program (escalator)
• Voucher Cap: $4,650 (K–8) / $6,000 (9–12)
• Testing Mandates: National
• *Limited to students assigned to low-performing district schools

School Requirements:

• Be chartered by the state
• Meet state standards for chartered nonpublic schools
• Accept the voucher amount as payment in full for low-income students
• Comply with state laws regarding nondiscrimination and health and safety codes
• Teachers and staff working with children must undergo background checks
• Accept voucher as full amount for students from households earning 200 x Poverty or less

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 3310.01 through 17

Citizens for Community Values, an organization of schools and parents in Ohio, plus other schools and parents, filed a lawsuit against the state on February 3, 2020, asking the Ohio Supreme Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus* to compel the state to accept scholarship applicants to its EdChoice voucher program, today. The state “delayed” program scholarship applications pending a decision by the state legislature on whether to allow a new law expanding eligibility for the program (for children in 517 schools to children in 1,227 schools) to be implemented. There is some dispute over whether, at the time the law was passed, the state legislature intended eligibility to double in size. Pending.

State ex rel. Citizens for Community Values v. Gov. Mike DeWine, Supreme Court of Ohio, Case No. 2020-0175.