Ohio 8th state with wide-open school vouchers

SANDUSKY — Ohio now has become the eighth state to offer universal school vouchers, making vouchers to attend private school available to all Ohioans with children. It's a provision of the budget bill that Gov. Mike DeWine signed on Tuesday. The budget bill also has another major provision affecting education in Ohio. It removes most of the powers of the state school board to regulate public education in Ohio, transferring those responsibilities to a Department of Education and Workforce controlled by the governor's office. Those two changes in the law previously were separate bills. By putting them in the budget, the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate was able to obtain final passage in about two weeks, ending further deliberation by lawmakers. DeWine vetoed numerous provisions of the budget bill but kept the education changes intact. The new budget bill does include provisions that pleased Democrats and teacher's unions. One such provision raises the state minimum starting teacher salary from $30,000 to $35,000. That's still not enough, said Teresa Fedor, a member of the state school board whose district includes Sandusky. "It's still inadequate to attract teachers to the teaching profession," she said. The measure to transfer powers was authored by state Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, who contends that the change will make it easier for the state to develop a workforce that meets the needs of employers. Universal school choice allowing everyone to use vouchers has become a national controversy, although such measures only have a chance of passage in states in which the legislature is dominated by Republicans. Conservatives and libertarians have been pushing for expanded vouchers, while Democrats oppose them. Corey A. DeAngelis, a self-described "school choice evangelist," wrote on Twitter that Ohio has become the eighth state to approve universal school choice in the past two years. The eight are Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma and Ohio. The list is interesting partially because of the states that aren't listed. Texas has not passed universal vouchers, despite a Republican governor who backs it, Greg Abbott, and a GOP-dominated legislature. Ohio's now-expanded school vouchers program makes families earning less than 450 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (approximately $135,000 per year for a family of four) eligible for the full voucher. Families above that income are eligible for a portion of the money on a sliding scale, down to approximately 10 percent of the full amount. The budget also increased the size of the vouchers from $5,500 for students K-8 to approximately $6,165, and from $7,500 for students 9-12 to approximately $8,407. The Center for Christian Virtue, a conservative group, issued a press release praising Ohio's expanded school vouchers, arguing that it empowers parents. "This was a historic step in bringing true education freedom to Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine signed a budget that breaks a crucial barrier: ensuring every student is eligible for a scholarship," said Aaron Baer, president of Center for Christian Virtue. "Parents know what's best for their children, and by expanding the EdChoice program to every student, parents will be better equipped to access the education that meets their child's needs." All In For Ohio Kids, a coalition that includes the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Policy Matters Ohio and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, issued a press release denouncing expanded school vouchers. "The legislature's new universal private school voucher scheme will ensure that state support for our public schools will be diminished to pay for tuition for private school students, no matter how wealthy their family is or how their school performs," the statement said. Allowing tax dollars to go to private schools is bad public policy, Fedor said. "Our founding fathers didn't want our public tax dollars going to private entities," she said. Possible lawsuit on school board change Fedor told the Register that opponents of Reineke's bill are doing research on a possible lawsuit arguing that the new law violates the state constitution. The Ohio Constitution was amended in 1953 to make it clear that education policy in Ohio is supposed to be controlled by an elected state school board, Fedor said. Exploration of a possible lawsuit is "in the very beginning stages," Fedor said. Fedor said that departments run by the governor's cabinet seldom hold public meetings to discuss policy changes. The state school board always holds public meetings, and the board's actions are reported and archived, Fedor said. Every journalist in Ohio should be pressing the governor on whether anything will be done to make education policy in Ohio transparent, including holding public meetings on issues, Fedor contends.