We oppose any expansion of vouchers—whether in EdChoice (Senate Bill 11) or in a Backback Bill (an education savings account [ESA] universal school voucher program)(House Bill 11).

The Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee has continued to hold hearings on HB 11—the Backpack Bill. This version of voucher expansion did not make it into the House Budget. The Ohio Legislature does seem determined to expand vouchers this year, however, and the House Budget (HB 33) passed on April 26 would expand EdChoice Vouchers by making them available to families whose income is 450 percent of the federal poverty line. The Ohio House passed its House Budget Proposal, HB 33, and sent it on to the Ohio Senate for consideration.

• Opportunity Hoarding in the Ohio Budget… With Public School Funding the Most Important Exception, Jan Resseger’s blog (July 11, 2023)

• New Ohio Budget Fully Funds Next Step in the Fair School Funding Plan, but also Explosively Expands School Vouchers, Jan Resseger’s blog (July 6, 2023)

• Ohio Senate’s ‘affordable’ education approach meant bolstering private school aid while hindering public schools, Susan Kaeser, Cleveland Plain Dealer (June 25, 2023)

• Ohio Senate Republicans Working to Dismantle Public Education in Favor of Private Religious Schools, Marilou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal (June 13, 2023)

• Ohio House Budget Funds Fair Public School Funding. Senate Budget Funds Vouchers, Political Control of State Board, 3rd Grade Guarantee, and Tax Cuts, Jan Resseger’s Blog, (June 13, 2023)

• Susie Kaeser (NEOFPE, League of Women Voters, and Heights Coalition for Public Education) has produced a report of student enrollment by county in public school district schools, charter schools and chartered private schools. Using Ohio Department of Education data, Susie found that there are 46 Ohio counties with fewer than 8,000 students in public schools and, in these counties combined, there are only 61 private schools. Private schools are not present in more than half of the state. She concluded that funding vouchers punishes rural taxpayers by taking their funds and spending them on schools that they cannot access, taking desperately needed resources away from the public schools they rely on.  See Susie’s research here:

  • Where do Ohio’s children receive their education? A Review of Public, Private, and Charter School Use in Ohio’s 88 Counties, Susie Kaeser (April 30, 2023)

    • Enrollment by Education Source By County

    • Enrollment by Education Source Grouped by Senate District

• Vouchers Aren’t about Education and Freedom, but They Are about Disunion, Denis Smith, Commentary from the Ohio Capital Journal (May 1, 2023)

• Opponent Testimony on School Choice in House Bill 33, Jan Resseger (May 4, 2023)

• Voucher Explosion Would Hurt Many Ohio Children, OEA’s Scott DiMauro, Youngstown Vindicator (March 12, 2023)

• Ohio School ‘Backpack Bill’ Has $1.13 Billion Price Tag, Nonpartisan Group Says, Eileen McClory, Dayton Daily News (March 13, 2023)

• School Vouchers Offer Success for Some Students, Struggles for the Most Vulnerable, Renee T. Willis, Plain Dealer (February 10, 2023)

• Gov. Mike DeWine’s Education Budget Proposal Provides Something for Almost Anyone. Will the Legislature Pass It?, Laura Hancock, cleveland.com (February 6, 2023)

• Ohio Cheats Taxpayers ad Public Schools by Funneling Money to Unaccountable Private Interests, David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal (February 2, 2023)

• School Vouchers Expansion Would Qualify Family of Four Earning $111,000 a Year under Gov. Mike DeWine Proposal, Laura Hancock, cleveland.com (January 31, 2023) 

HB 290, the Backpack Universal Voucher Bill, was not considered by the 134th General Assembly by for a vote.  A similar bill will likely be introduced in the 135th General Assembly and considered as part of the FY 2024-2025 state budget.

• OHIO SB 368 Still Another Attempt to Establish a Universal Voucher Scheme, Bill Phillis, Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding (December 12, 2022)

• Save Our Schools Arizona Falls Short in Attempt to Block Implementation of New ESA Vouchers, Jan Resseger’s blog (October 4, 2022)

• Heritage Foundation and Its Partners Are Methodically Working With State Legislators to Pass Universal School Vouchers, Jan Resseger’s blog (September 15, 2022)

• Ohio House Considers Bill for Students to Use Public School Money on Private Schools, Susan Tebben (February 17, 2022)

• Bill Would Allow All Ohio Kids to Attend Private Schools Using State Dollars, Jo Ingles, The Statehouse News Bureau (October 7, 2021)

• Plan Would Give Every Ohio K-12 Student a Voucher to Attend Private School, Anna Staver, Columbus Dispatch (October 6, 2021)

• HB 290: A Backpack Full of Empty Promises, Kathleen Knight Abowitz and Joel Malin, Ohio Capital Journal (May 25, 2021)