School choice has been a key issue at both the state and federal levels, though this once seemingly bipartisan issue has faced opposition. Last month in Ohio, a Franklin County judge ruled that the EdChoice voucher program was unconstitutional after a coalition of public schools sued the program, though that’s not the end of the road for school choice in the Buckeye State.
On Monday, Attorney General Dave Yost announced alongside Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman and other supporters that he will appeal the ruling from Common Pleas Court Judge Jaiza Page on Wednesday. Page has left the program in place while litigation plays out.
Yost will appeal the decision to the 10th District Court of Appeals, though the Statehouse News Bureau predicted that “the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court [is] likely the final stop for the case.”
When reached for comment, Yost’s office directed The Daily Signal to a Monday press release. The press conference was held “to clarify the status of the program and reinforce their optimism that it will survive an ongoing court battle despite a recent trial court decision declaring it unconstitutional,” according to the release.
The press release also quoted Yost’s sense of optimism:
‘EdChoice is the law of the land for the coming school year,’ said Yost, encouraging parents of young children to choose the school—whether public or private—that best fits their child. ‘ ‘Nothing that’s happened legally limits their options.’
Offering clarity about the program appears to be a major priority for the program’s supporters. In speaking with The Daily Signal, Troy McIntosh, director of the Center for Christian Virtue’s Ohio Christian Education Network, criticized the court’s decision and warned about the “disarray” the decision has created.
“We believe that the decision was wrongly made,” McIntosh said, adding that “it ignores decades worth of previous case law and how education has been decided in Ohio. In the meantime, it’s thrown 100,000 students in disarray because of this uncertainty now about this scholarship.”
McIntosh assessed the decision is one “the courts will overturn on appeal.”
For 2023-2024, The Heritage Foundation ranked Ohio as the 26th state overall for education, and 14th for school choice. As the profile on the Buckeye State noted:
Ohio ranks 14th for education choice, down two spots since 2023. Ohio does exceptionally well in empowering families to choose among private, charter, and district schools but could do more to expand education choice. This year, Ohio expanded eligibility for its school voucher policy to all K–12 students. Ohio could improve its ranking by enacting a K–12 education savings account (ESA) policy and eliminating unnecessary regulations on participating private schools, including price controls and interference with schools’ admissions standards. Ohio could also improve its ranking by making it easier for more charter schools to open and operate and removing excessive regulations on homeschooling families.
Ohio expanded the EdChoice program in July 2023 as part of the state budget signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. It was the sixth state to pass a universal school choice policy for that year.
At the federal level, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, fought to get school choice provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this month. Cruz referenced Trump’s “legacy” in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal’s Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell.
This could affect states as well, including Ohio, as Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., encouraged governors of every state to opt into the new federal provision under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
