Distractions and Distortions

February 3, 2026

Good Tuesday morning,

The pro-voucher crowd is starting to let us see them sweat.

Last week, they rolled out legislation to cap income levels for eligibility for EdChoice private school vouchers.

So what is the proposed cutoff point? How much can a family earn before their income makes them ineligible for a voucher?

$500,000!

Yes, the proposed legislation would say no voucher for you if you earn $500,000 or more a year.

This is legislation designed to remove talking points, not solve problems.

It hurts the pro-voucher crowd when we say millionaires and billionaires like Les Wexner are eligible for vouchers.

One, because it’s true. Two, because it just looks bad from a public relations standpoint. And three, because it’s true.

Don’t be distracted.

Here’s what the legislation doesn’t do and why the proposal is not worth the paper it is printed on: it doesn’t address the fundamental core, unconstitutional questions posed by the EdChoice private school voucher scheme that will siphon $1.7 billion in the next two years away from public schools.

We are not suing over income eligibility.

We are suing and winning because EdChoice vouchers create a separate and unequal system of uncommon schools (primarily for the haves and not the have nots) while the Ohio Constitution says lawmakers shall create a single system of common schools open to all children with our tax dollars.

We are suing because state lawmakers are shortchanging public schools by tossing out the Cupp Patterson Fair School Funding plan that would have funded schools at a constitutional level while diverting billions of dollars to vouchers and once again shifting the burden of paying for local public schools to local taxpayers.

A ludicrous income cap of $500,000 is only a bad public relations stunt.

Stay the course.

We’re making history.

Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.

If not, why not? Learn more here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio