COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio spent nearly $1.1 billion on state voucher programs last year, with most support going to Christian schools.
According to newly released state data for the 2024-2025 school year, Ohio spent $1.095 billion on its scholarship programs last year, 71% of which was paid to EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp programs. See previous coverage of the programs in the video player above.
Total voucher participation increased by more than 15,000 students, most of whom were not registered as low-income by the state. Further, nearly all of the EdChoice schools with the most students or that received the most in-state funding were Christian schools.
Union demands action after nurse allegedly strangled by patient at OSUOhio offers five state voucher programs, which provide scholarships to K-12 students to attend private and charter schools. The programs, particularly EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp, are divisive, with some saying they make learning more accessible to families and others arguing they take away money and resources from public schools. In all, Ohio offers five scholarships:
Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship (JPSN), which provides scholarships for K-12 graders who have an individualized education program Autism Scholarship, which funds students with autism who want to attend a special education program other than the one offered at their public school district Cleveland Scholarship, which is for Cleveland Municipal School District students who have low-income status and want to attend private school Education Choice Scholarship (EdChoice), which gives low-income public school students the chance to attend private school Education Choice Expansion (EdChoice-Exp), which gives any student the chance to attend private school with at least part of their tuition covered by the state, regardless of income.EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp are by far the most popular programs, although all five saw an increase in participation from fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025. Fiscal year 2025 refers to the 2024-2025 school year, with both starting in July 2024 and ending in June 2025.
The full scholarship for EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp is $6,166 for grades K-8 and $8,408 for high school. To qualify for the full amount, families' household income must be at or below 450% of the federal poverty level. For the 2025-26 school year, a family of four would need to make $144,675. Families with higher incomes receive smaller, prorated scholarships.
Construction to begin in December on Capital Line pedestrian, bike pathFamilies at or below 200% of the federal poverty level -- $64,300 for a family of four -- do not have to pay any additional tuition beyond the scholarship. These families are considered low-income by the state. In the 2024-25 school year, only about 11% of EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp families were considered low-income.
School Choice Ohio President Eric "Yitz" Frank told NBC4 in March that many families choose not to declare their income status but still have need for the program, so low-income data might be skewed. NBC4 was not able to independently verify that claim, as it is not reported in state data.
For EdChoice-Exp, there were 89,226 participants who were not low income, more than all EdChoice-Exp participants in the 2023-2024 school year combined. It's evidence the program is still seeing significant growth; about 22% of all EdChoice participants and 25% of EdChoice-Exp participants were new to the program.
Some schools were more popular than others for voucher participation, and all of the schools with the highest participation were religious schools. NBC4 analyzed all EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp schools with more than 300 student participants and found none were secular.
The pattern continued with schools that received the most money from the voucher program. Of the 100 highest-paid EdChoice and EdChoice-Exp schools, there were 97 Christian schools, two Jewish schools and one Muslim school. The top 100 schools received a combined $248 million, and the top 34 highest paid schools were all Christian.
Payments to primarily religious schools are a common criticism of the voucher program. When asked, state representatives told NBC4 the payments do not violate the state's responsibility to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding religious programs. Instead, representatives said they give the scholarships directly to Ohioans, who in turn choose how to spend them.
In June, a Franklin County judge ruled that the voucher system is unconstitutional, agreeing with a coalition of dozens of public schools and the Coalition for Adequacy and Equity of School Funding. The "Vouchers Hurt Ohio" lawsuit had been underway for several years, alleging the state is unfairly allocating public funds to nonpublic schools.
The judge stayed her decision so the scholarships could continue until a higher court ruled. Shortly after, the state appealed her ruling, and the case will continue in court.
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