Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page wrote the summary judgement handed down in mid-June.
Ohio E&A argued that the system for school funding in Ohio, where public and private schools are both funded by the state but under different formulas and names, is unconstitutional.
About 300 districts, or nearly half of the districts in the state, have joined the lawsuit, including Dayton Public Schools, Springfield City Schools, Middletown City Schools, Centerville City Schools and Fairborn City Schools. Columbus City Schools is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit’s outcome could dramatically change where families send their kids to school and how they pay for K-12 education. In the 2023-2024 school year, the state spent more than $1 billion on school vouchers in the state, and the amount appropriated to Ohio’s voucher system increased for both the 2024-2025 school year and the 2025-2026 school year.
What did the judge say?
Dennis Willard, spokesman for Vouchers Hurt Ohio, which advocates for public schools and is connected to Ohio E&A, said Page’s ruling found three issues with the current voucher system.
First, Page found vouchers to be unconstitutional because they create a separate and unequal system of private schools, which are not required to accept all students who apply, and the Ohio Constitution says lawmakers shall create a single system of common schools for the common good. Second, private school vouchers take money directly away from public schools. Third, the Ohio Constitution states...“no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”
Two other arguments that Ohio E&A made were rejected, including the argument that the voucher program creates segregation in public schools as white students leave to attend private school. The judge said there was no evidence of “discriminatory intent.”
The other count that Page rejected was on a technicality, with the judge saying the arguments brought were specific to students rather than the school districts in the lawsuit.
Is this decision final?
Page’s decision was immediately stayed, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already said he plans to appeal the decision.
“We are appealing this decision and are confident that we will win on the merits,” said Bethany McCorkle, spokeswoman for Yost. “The judge’s decision stayed the order, so parents don’t have to panic or worry about other options while the court process plays out.”
That could mean years of deliberation and court appeals before a final decision is made.
Will the decision affect private schools and families this year?
No, says School Choice Ohio, an organization that follows and advocates for private and charter schools in the state.
“The stay allows the scholarship programs to go on, uninterrupted for families and students for the 2025-26 school year,” said Beth Lawson, Director of Media and Communication. “The ruling will be appealed and may ultimately go to the Ohio Supreme Court for their decision.”
What could be the outcome?
Willard said the coalition believes they will win on appeal.
Ohio E&A was involved in another famous Ohio school funding case, DeRolph v.Ohio, which found the way Ohio schools are funded based on property taxes was unconstitutional.
In that decision, Willard noted the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the legislature to fix the school funding formula and were ignored by both the legislature and the governors at the time, Bob Taft and George Voinovich.
“This case is different,” Willard said. “Very different.”
Willard said once private school vouchers are ruled unconstitutional, public tax dollars can’t be spent on vouchers.
“This is a yes/no, constitutional/unconstitutional question and if we win on one count, EdChoice is shut down,” he said.
But Lawson said School Choice Ohio believes the opposite – that the Ohio Supreme Court will find vouchers constitutional.
“Scholarship programs in Ohio as well as other states have been challenged through the court system and those challenges have ultimately been unsuccessful,” Lawson said. “School Choice Ohio will continue to advocate on behalf of Ohio families and students.”
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