Policy Matters Ohio
09/12/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/12/2024 13:09
Keep public money in public schools: End EdChoice vouchers
Keep public money in public schools: End EdChoice vouchers
Posted on 09/12/24 by Intern Writer in Education & Training
Author: Elena Reim
In May of 2021, I graduated from Upper Arlington High School. I attended Upper Arlington's public schools for 13 years beginning in kindergarten, following my older brother and leaving a trail of younger siblings, the last of whom will graduate in 2028. Our family moved to UA primarily for the school system. The district offers fully funded music and arts education, global language programs starting in middle school, special education support, and rigorous academics. My siblings and I are lucky to have such great schools. But when it comes to public education, luck should not be a factor. Every student - regardless of race, faith, or where they live - deserves the quality of education we had in Upper Arlington.
Ohio legislators have made sure that doesn't happen. They have dragged their feet on fixing a school-funding system so inequitable that it violates our constitution, according to the Ohio Supreme Court. More recently, they have doubled down on that inequity by giving away universal tuition vouchers that redirect public money to private schools.
To be fair, public school families, kids, teachers, and communities have won some hard-fought victories to improve access to high-quality education across the state. They persuaded legislators to pass the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), designed to bring Ohio's school-funding system in line with our constitution and our values. But legislators have only ever partially funded the FSFP, slowing progress and leaving public school districts to wonder whether they'll have the resources they need in the next budget cycle.
Rather than fully funding the FSFP, the legislature has taken a big step toward privatizing schools in Ohio: creating a nearly universal voucher program to pay tuition at unaccountable, often religious, private schools.
Ohio runs five different voucher programs, the most expensive of which are EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion. The original EdChoice was limited to students attending or assigned to lower-performing districts schools. With EdChoice Expansion, even the wealthiest households qualify to have at least some of their private school tuition covered by Ohio taxpayers.
Ohio now pays up to $6,166 for students in grades K-8 and $8,408 for those in grades 9-12 to attend schools that operate with no accountability to elected school boards, or other meaningful oversight by the communities they are supposed to serve. That money goes to schools that don't have to accommodate students with learning disabilities or behavior disorders. It goes to schools that have religious instruction written into their charters.
These vouchers are often used by households that already send kids to private school, even without public assistance. In Upper Arlington, the number of students receiving vouchers jumped from 11 in 2023 to 305 in 2024, with no drop in public-school enrollment. This is a district where, in 2023, the state only contributed $2,112 per student. It will now grant up to $8,408 in vouchers for a student to receive a private school education.
Upper Arlington is a wealthy district, by Ohio standards. We generate a large share of our school funding from local taxes. Still, state funding is crucial. With 6,392 students enrolled in UA schools in 2023, the state provided just 11% of UA's educational budget. Every dollar state legislators pour into unaccountable, exclusive private schools is a dollar that's not funding our public schools, which serve - and are accountable to - everyone in our community.
In response to the EdChoice voucher programs, public school districts have filed a lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of using public tax dollars to fund private schools. In 2022, when the lawsuit began, it included six school districts, two parents, and the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding. Today, 140 districts have joined, including Upper Arlington.
Alongside all the academic and social skills I learned in UA schools, I also learned the power of solidarity: We're all stronger when we stand together. That's why I am proud of UA families and the UA Board of Education for joining the fight to keep public money in our public schools, so every Ohioan can have an education as excellent as I had.
Elena Reim interned with Policy Matters in summer 2024. She studies Public Policy at the University of Delaware.