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A bill that would open the state’s school voucher system to all students, offering universal school choice throughout the state of Ohio, was holding during its first hearing on Tuesday. It included Ohio lawmakers.
Bill – School Voucher System
Currently, the school vouchers are available only if a student meets specific criteria which are regarding disability, family income, or school performance. This is about 90% of state students who attended public schools.
The Backpack Bill, House Bill 290, would expand private-school options with public vouchers for all students. It would fund the student rather than a particular school. The bill sponsor Representative Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, did say.
Empowering Families
“In fact, those dollars are going to follow the child to be in the learning environment. It would be the best fit for them,” McClain testifying. This was before the House Finance Committee. “Moreover, this bill seeks to empower families to choose the educational option which best meets their needs. In fact, the goal of this bill is to put kids first in our funding model for education. Also, to acknowledge that education is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It would empower parents to make the best decision for their children. That will result in better educational outcomes. Therefore, I think many of us would agree, the status quo is not really acceptable.”
Also, Ohio’s current EdChoice program does allow the students from low-performing public schools to attend private, charter, or parochial schools using public tax money. Then, lawmakers will expand the program this year from $6,000 per high school student to $7,500. Moreover, the cap on the number of eligible students was eliminating. There was a separate fund for vouchers that was creating. It would be so public schools no longer would have to pass along the money per student.
The expansion was, in fact, passed as part of a new school funding formula. It did include in the state’s two-year budget which was signing into law by Governor Mike DeWine in July.
