Proponents of these bills argue private schools receive public funds in Ohio but are not subject to the same standards as traditional public schools. Opponents argue that private schools operate better because of that.
But the idea of grading private schools who accept vouchers on a report card, the same as is done with charter and public schools currently, has gotten some bipartisan support.
The three bills that have been proposed include:
- House Bill 407 proposes the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce create a report card for private schools, similar to the ones already available for charter and public schools. Primary and Secondary Education Committee chair Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, is the primary sponsor.
- House Bill 575 — introduced by two Democrats, Rep. Phillip M. Robinson, Jr., D-Solon and Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati — would require private schools that have at least 25% of their students using public funds through the EdChoice program receive a report card including transparency around school finance and funding. It would also require private schools to administer the same Ohio state tests that public schools get.
- House Bill 592 has fewer reporting requirements for private schools than H.B. 575 but requires a new state commission to review how report cards are graded. Primary sponsors include Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna and Rep. Darnell Brewer, D-Cleveland.
“You have to be able to make an apples to apples comparison, and the only way to do that is if the students are having the same tests presented to them, if there is the same level of accountability and transparency into those schools,” Isaacsohn said. “This is not about attacking vouchers.”
The only bill that has gotten hearings from the public is H.B. 407. Proponents of the bill include public school advocates including Ohio’s two major teachers’ unions, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, and the Ohio School Boards Association.
Many of those organizations testified in support of the bill along similar lines: they want more accountability for private schools who now have more access to state money through larger voucher programs.
Opponents of the bill include the Ohio Christian Education Network, the Catholic Conference of Ohio and the Ohio arm of the Americans for Prosperity political group. They argue the proposed regulations are too similar to public school requirements, which they say defeats the purpose of school choice, since private schools are more directly accountable to parents.
“Parents are the primary educators of their children and deserve an opportunity to choose the best school for their family,” said Tom Rhatican, an associate director with the Catholic Conference of Ohio, in written testimony. “The EdChoice program helps to mitigate the financial concerns of many parents who prefer a Catholic education for their children.”
A Dayton Daily News investigation found that more than $1 billion has been spent on EdChoice since the law changed last summer to expand voucher eligibility to everyone.
Ohio has several types of vouchers available. The two most widely used are EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion.
EdChoice is open to families whose “home school” geographically is deemed as underperforming by the state. EdChoice Expansion is open to everyone based on household income. A program similar to EdChoice is available just for Cleveland students, because that’s where the program started.
Any Ohioan who makes up to 450% of the poverty line — $150,000 for a family of four — is eligible for a full EdChoice Expansion Scholarship. Ohio families who make more than that are eligible for at least 10% of the scholarship.
The EdChoice scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year is set at $6,166 for grades K-8 and $8,408 for grades 9-12, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. EdChoice will pay either the scholarship amount or the private school’s actual tuition, whichever is less.
Schools who take the Jon Petersen Special Needs scholarship and the Autism Scholarship would also fall under these new bills.
Enrollment in Ohio’s private schools skyrocketed after the 2020-21 school year, reversing a trend of decline that coincided with population declines in the state.
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