When we let vouchers drain our schools, it hurts us all.
April 7, 2026
Good Tuesday morning,
There’s been a lot of negative press about the private school voucher scheme in Texas.
Rightly so.
But on a lot of fronts, Texas is not as bad as Ohio.
Sure, everything is bigger in Texas so the saying goes, but…
Texas has put a cap on spending on vouchers. Ohio has none.
Funding for EdChoice private school vouchers comes out of the same line-item in the state budget that pays for public schools. When lawmakers abandoned the Cupp Patterson Fair School Funding plan, they shortchanged public schools $3 billion over the next two years, according to Policy Matters Ohio.
These same lawmakers didn’t sell EdChoice vouchers short, however. There is no limit in Ohio.
Ohio is like the Field of Dreams for EdChoice vouchers. If you apply, you will get a voucher. You know who denies vouchers in Ohio? Private schools. They accept or reject applicants based on wealth (can you pony up to pay increased tuition to go along with the voucher)? Does the child pass the litmus tests on race, religion, academics, athletics, disabilities, or any other reason known or unknown for saying yes or no?
Texas will have a lottery and a waitlist when the money runs out. Ohio will just spend all the public tax dollars it needs to fully fund EdChoice. All vouchers all the time.
Like Texas, the voucher program in the Lone Star State is big. The Texas Comptroller’s Office (TCO) reported recently that about 250,000 students will be eligible to take part, and the state will spend around $1 billion a year.
The TCO reported receiving 274,183 applications, ruling 247,032 eligible, declaring 24,941 ineligible, with 2,210 still under review.
In Ohio, there are no income limits, meaning Les Wexner, the billionaire, is eligible for a voucher along with all the other millionaires in the Buckeye State Voucher Bonanza!
Texas has priority tiers. Nearly 30,000 students, or 12 percent, are in the first-priority tier, which is low or middle-income students with disabilities who come from families at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty line. These families earn $165,000 or less per year for a family of four.
You’re probably starting to get a feel for the difference between Texas and Ohio.
Now, don’t get us wrong, we believe everything Texas is doing is wrong and like Ohio, unconstitutional.
Public dollars should not pay for private education, but if Texas is getting raked over the coals for their program, where does Ohio stand?
Well, we don’t know what is going on out there in EdChoice land because we have a state auditor, Keith Faber, who refuses to ask a single question about the state spending $1.7 billion over the next two years on an unaccountable, financially and educationally, private school voucher program.
Instead, Faber tries to bully public schools for standing up for the rights of their children, educators, communities, and taxpayers.
The good news is we are winning. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page ruled EdChoice vouchers are unconstitutional on 3 counts in June, 2025. The case is now before the 10th District Court of Appeals.
Is your district part of our historic lawsuit? Check here.
If not, why not? Join here.
Sincerely
Vouchers Hurt Ohio