An Ohio court’s ruling against $776 million in vouchers reignites the fight over who should pay for private school

The Ohio appeals court has ruled that the state's EdChoice voucher program, which provides taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school education, is unconstitutional. The ruling, made on October 15, 2025, upholds a lower court's decision from June 2025, stating that the program uses public money to establish a separate system of non-public schools at the expense of public education.

The court found that private schools receiving vouchers have the discretion to choose which students to accept, which creates a financial problem for public schools. When students leave public schools to attend private schools, districts may lose state funding, while still having to maintain their buildings, staff, and services.

This has led to budget cuts and reduced services in some Ohio districts. The EdChoice program, which began in 2013, was initially designed to help children in underperforming public schools attend private schools using state-funded tuition assistance. However, over the years, eligibility criteria were expanded to include students with higher family incomes, and in 2023, the income limit was removed entirely.

The legal challenge began in January 2022, with public school districts, students, and the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding filing a lawsuit against the state, arguing that EdChoice violated Ohio's constitutional requirement to maintain a thorough and efficient system of common schools. The state appealed the lower court's decision, but the latest ruling leaves the program's future uncertain as it awaits review by the Ohio Supreme Court.

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