Ohio approves 90,000 scholarships during first year of universal school choice

The Ohio Department of Education has approved nearly 90,000 scholarships during the state’s first year of universal school choice.

As of March 18, the state approved 87,312 applications to the tune of $394 million, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

Ohio’s budget for the Educational Choice (EdChoice) Scholarship Program this year is just shy of $400 million. Families have until the end of June to apply. 

The EdChoice program has existed since 2006 and grew consistently from 3,000 students in 2007 to 39,000 in 2023. 

Last summer, Gov. Mike DeWine made the program universal – although scholarship amounts are still prorated based on household income level.  

Other states with universal school choice programs are reporting similar success. 

The Utah Fits All Scholarship, Iowa’s Education Savings Account, and the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit all launched in 2023 and garnered immediate popularity. 

Oklahoma received more than 30,000 applications in less than 2 hours when its enrollment opened in December. Iowa also had more than 7,000 applications in its first day, eventually approving nearly 20,000 scholarships. 

And when the application for the Utah Fits All Scholarship opened, the surge in traffic caused the website to crash. 

But despite the massive popularity of education freedom programs, some public school activists remain staunchly opposed. 

“Our number one concern about the expansion of school vouchers is that it means significant resources are going to private schools at the expense of the nearly 90% of Ohio kids who are attending our public schools,” said state teachers’ union president Scott DiMauro.  

ProPublica, a New York-based publication, even published a hit piece against Ohio private schools for encouraging families to apply for EdChoice scholarships. 

However, public schools are much more costly than school choice scholarships that some families use to pay private school tuition. 

Recent estimates say the average per-pupil spending for public school is $14,500 in the state. 

The average EdChoice scholarship in 2022-23 was just $6,000.  

Under the new rules, the lowest income bracket can receive between $6,100 and $8,400 per student. Wealthier families receive much less.