Ohio public schools sue, challenge legality of voucher programs

On Jan 4, 2022

Eric Brown, a school board member for Columbus City Schools, announces a historic lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio's EdChoice scholarship programs on January 4, 2022.

Calling it “an existential threat to Ohio’s public school system,” 100 public school districts from across Ohio filed a significant lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the state’s voucher system.

If they succeed, it could mean the end of the EdChoice scholarships programs that currently cover at least part of the private school tuition for 42,000 Ohio children.

Supporters of the lawsuit filed in Franklin County say Ohio has a legal obligation to fund a “system of common schools,” and giving $2 billion to private schools over the last decade goes against that goal.

“Today is a historic day in Ohio,” said Eric Brown, a Columbus City school board member. “EdChoice, private school vouchers, pose a threat to the very existence of our public schools.”

More:Ohio public schools to file lawsuit ‘very shortly’ amid voucher expansion in state budget

Opponents say public school funding has also increased over the last two decades and scrapping these scholarships would devastate thousands of families.

“The bottom line is, after maybe the most difficult educational circumstances in our lifetime, for the public schools to try and kick kids out of their schools right now is absolutely disgusting,” said Aaron Baer, a longtime school choice advocate and president of the Center for Christian Virtue. “These heartless school leaders are trying to make kids’ lives more miserable. It’s unbelievable.”

Here’s what in the lawsuit, according to spokesman Dennis Williard:

The constitution calls for the securing of a single system of common schools, and vouchers created multiple systems.
Even though vouchers are directly funded by the state now, the money still comes from the overall education budget.
“They are cutting a huge piece of the pie for a small percentage of students,” Willard said.
Vouchers have created segregation in some districts.
Many school districts get less than the voucher amount from the state funding formula, leaving them overly reliant on local property taxes. And that’s something the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional before.
Education is a fundamental right, and Ohio must meet the provisions set in its constitution.

The Ohio Supreme Court declared the state’s first voucher program for Cleveland students constitutional back in 1999.

The court said those scholarships didn’t violate the First Amendment’s freedom of religion clause “because (public) funds cannot reach a sectarian school unless the parents of a student decide, independently of the government, to send their child to that sectarian school.”

But the court also found Ohio’s method of funding public schools unconstitutional. Justices in DeRolph v. State of Ohio said the state’s heavy reliance on property taxes meant a child’s education was being unfairly dictated by his or her zip code.

Williard said that’s exactly what vouchers are doing now.

The EdChoice scholarship amounts are $5,500 for K-8 students and $7,500 per year for high school students. But districts like Cleveland Heights-University Heights get significantly less per student.

“We are asking our judicial system a basic question where does the General Assembly get the permission to fund private school vouchers,” Brown said.

More:Ohio legalized school vouchers to help kids in failing schools. Is that what’s happening?

A longtime supporter of school choice, Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said he thinks Ohio actually has a mandate to fund religious schools in Article 1, Section 7 of the state’s constitution.

That’s Ohio’s freedom of religion clause. The last sentence directs the General Assembly to “pass suitable laws to protect every religious denomination … and to encourage schools and the means of instruction.”