COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Franklin County judge ruled Ohio's Education Choice program is unconstitutional on Tuesday.
This is the first ruling in the Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit, a group of dozens of public schools and the Coalition for Adequacy and Equity of School funding which challenged Ohio's EdChoice scholarship program as unconstitutional. Judge Jaiza Page recognized the lawsuit will likely progress through appeals court, so she said although it is unconstitutional, the EdChoice program can continue until a final verdict is reached.
The judge ruled the state took money from public schools to fund the voucher program, unfairly creating a second system of "uncommon private schools" directly funded by the state. The state has allocated more than $1 billion to fund the EdChoice program, particularly after the state removed the income requirement for participation.
“We are pleased that the court affirmed what we have been saying all along," William Phillis, executive director for the Coalition for Adequacy and Equity of School Funding, said. "The EdChoice private school voucher program, which has been diverting hundreds of millions of much needed tax dollars from public schools to private schools, is unconstitutional."
The state has already pledged to appeal.
“We are appealing this decision and are confident that we will win on the merits. The judge’s decision stayed the order, so parents don’t have to panic or worry about other options while the court process plays out," Bethany McCorkle, spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General, said.
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