“Home-educated students are exempt from compulsory attendance and compulsory attendance ends when a student turns 18. The Department notified families and providers that these students would not be eligible for the scholarships without a change to the law,” a department spokeswoman said in a statement.
Home educated students aged 18 or older who currently have a scholarship and home educated students who turn 18 prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2024, will no longer be eligible for the scholarship, unless the legislature acts.
Scholarships awarded for this fiscal year will continue unchanged.
Public schools can serve students who are identified as special needs up until age 21.
Beth Lawson, a spokeswoman for School Choice Ohio, said the organization has been hearing from parents who homeschool their kids that getting scholarships for their kids that it is harder to do post-COVID-19. Lawson said the organization believes the reason for this is more parents and students transitioning to homeschooling during COVID-19.
“We’ve been on calls with ODEW to discuss rules,” Lawson said.
Parents who homeschool also typically do not have as strong a relationship with the public schools, and public schools are key in providing documentation for special needs students.
Lawson said School Choice Ohio has long encouraged families to begin transitioning their special needs kids to adulthood around 14, filing guardianship paperwork and other needs well before 18, needed to obtain scholarships past 18. But some families delay doing so, she said, something the organization is trying to avoid.
School Choice Ohio is one of the resources that parents can go to with questions about scholarships, she said, but in some cases, the organization has directed families to legal support.
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