A GOP-trending battleground state has joined an expanding list of others offering parents school choice options for their children.
Lawmakers in Ohio sent GOP Gov. Mike DeWine legislation expanding a school voucher program, Fox News has reported.
“Ohio is the eighth state to go all-in on school choice in just two years,” said Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. “The dam is breaking for the government school monopoly.”
The outlet noted that the state’s $86 billion budget that DeWine signed Tuesday included pro-school choice policies. Ohio now joins Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma, all of which have passed similar legislation over the past couple of years.
Fox News adds:
Ohio’s voucher expansion allows families earning up to 450% of the federal poverty line ($135,000 for a family of four) to apply for scholarships. Previously, only families earning up to $250% of the poverty line were eligible.
The scholarships provided increased by 12% — the same increase public schools received — with up to about $6,200 for K-8 students and $8,400 for high schoolers to use for private schools or for homeschooling.
According to the Dayton Daily News, the amount of funding a family receives is based on their income. However, scholarships will not be reduced to less than 10% of the total scholarship amount.
“Now Ohio joins the growing list of states that are empowering all families with school choice by making every K-12 student eligible for an opportunity scholarship,” Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told the outlet.
“Gov. DeWine and state lawmakers deserve great credit for putting families in the driver’s seat when it comes to their kids’ education,” Bedrick noted further. “Families deserve to be able to choose learning environments that align with their values and best fit their children’s unique learning needs. In Ohio, that aspiration is becoming a reality.”
To verify their income, families will have the option to demonstrate their eligibility for other state and federal income-based programs, complete an affidavit confirming that they meet the requirements, or provide any other information requested by the Department of Education, the report said.
Per Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management, the EdChoice program currently incurs an annual cost of approximately $350 million and benefits over 60,000 students through its distribution.
“Education freedom is flowing through red states, and there’s nothing the teachers unions can do about it,” DeAngelis said. “I’d like to thank Randi Weingarten and her union allies for overplaying their hand and awakening a sleeping giant: parents.”
