Court Date: May 12, 2026

April 29, 2026

Good Tuesday morning,

Our historic lawsuit, challenging the $1.7 billion EdChoice private school voucher scheme, will go before the 10th District Court of Appeals in Columbus on Tuesday, May 12.

Oral arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 23B.

The state of Ohio, the Institute for Justice and another grasstops organization purportedly representing Catholic parents are appealing our victory in the lower courts.

On June 24, 2025, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page agreed with our attorneys and ruled the EdChoice private school voucher program is unconstitutional on three counts.

The Ohio Constitution is clear: State lawmakers shall create and fund a single system of common schools for the common good that are open to all students. Vouchers create a separate and unequal system of uncommon schools that are open to some students, closed to others.

Secondly, the state is shortchanging funding public schools at a constitutional level by $3 billion in the current two-year state budget at the same time lawmakers will spend $1.7 billion on EdChoice vouchers. The funding for vouchers comes out of the same line-item in the two-year state budget that funds public schools so a dollar more for EdChoice is a dollar less available to fund public schools at a constitutional level. That’s unconstitutional.

Third, the language in the Ohio Constitution is clear as day: “No religious or other sect shall ever have any exclusive right to or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”

Our attorneys brought five counts before Judge Page. She did not rule on our argument that vouchers resegregate public schools, and she ruled against our fifth claim that vouchers create a privileged class of Ohioans.

We are appealing the fifth count and believe we will prevail in the 10th District.

This is an historic lawsuit. Is your school district participating or sitting on the sidelines? Check here.

If not, why not? Join here.

Sincerely,

Vouchers Hurt Ohio