private school voucher program
K-12 advocates react to Ohio Senate’s state budget proposal
Public and private education supporters had a mixed bag of reactions to the state budget proposal released by the Ohio Senate GOP on Tuesday. Public school advocates criticized the bill’s provisions making private school vouchers almost universal at 450% of the federal poverty level, allowing those who may be able to pay for the private […]
Supporters of education overhaul make case in Ohio Senate committee
Workforce development components of a bill to overhaul education in Ohio by taking power from the state school board and putting it under the governor’s officer were applauded by supporters in an Ohio Senate committee Tuesday. Supporters ranged from businesses to career centers to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, all of whom spoke out at […]
Private school voucher expansion will bring about school choice, Ohio GOP sponsor says
“Parents know the needs of their children more than the state does,” Ashtabula Republican state Sen. Sandra O’Brien said this week of her attempt to expand private school vouchers in Ohio. Appearing before the Ohio Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee, O’Brien said Senate Bill 368 would “capitalize on this rising desire to give parents the […]
EdChoice private school voucher expansion reappears in lame duck
A new bill to expand the state’s private school voucher program has been filed in the twilight of the 134th General Assembly. Senate Bill 368, brought by state Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Ashtabula, would put an end to the Pilot Project Scholarship Program starting July 1, 2023, expand EdChoice eligibility to all by eliminating income requirements, […]
Unions, DeRolph case group condemn ‘backpack’ school funding
Ohio’s teachers unions and the organization that started a decades-long fight to change public school funding in the state are calling a new attempt to expand private school vouchers a “direct assault on the Ohio Constitution.” The two-page bill which entered the Ohio House on Wednesday, says it is “the General Assembly’s intent” that the […]
Private school vouchers could still grow in Ohio, even with a freeze
Last week, Ohio’s legislature passed their COVID-19 emergency package. And while there were some much needed and positive things in it (no standardized tests this year, no report cards), the bill also settled the contentious debate over what to do with next year’s EdChoice performance-based voucher program. A bit of background: Next year, due to legislative changes, […]
EdChoice debate: Private schools a beneficial option, students and administrators say
Students and parents from Ohio’s private schools stayed up past their bedtimes in some cases to put their two cents in about the state private school voucher program’s fate. At conference committee hearings to decide on one particular proposal for EdChoice, private school advocates argued the workforce waiting for their students and the competitive nature […]