'The dam is breaking' on school choice as battleground state passes voucher program: advocate

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What is it? School Choice

With school choice debates in states across the country, author Neal McCluskey helps us answer important questions such as, 'what is it' and 'why is it controversial?'

Ohio joined the growing number of states passing pro-school choice legislation by expanding its voucher program to more families.

"Ohio is the eighth state to go all-in on school choice in just two years," Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, told Fox News. "The dam is breaking for the government school monopoly." 

The $86 billion budget that Gov. Mike DeWine signed Tuesday included pro-school choice policies, joining Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma, which passed similar legislation in the past two years.

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Ohio's voucher expansion allows families earning up to 450% of the federal poverty line ($135,000 for a family of four) to apply for scholarships. Previously, only families earning up to $250% of the poverty line were eligible.

The scholarships provided increased by 12% — the same increase public schools received — with up to about $6,200 for K-8 students and $8,400 for high schoolers to use for private schools or for homeschooling.

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School choice has become increasingly popular in states around the country, recently being passed in Arizona, Utah, Iowa and, most recently, Ohio. (iStock)

The funding a family receives depends on income, though scholarships won't drop below 10% of the full scholarship amount, according to Dayton Daily News.

"Now Ohio joins the growing list of states that are empowering all families with school choice by making every K-12 student eligible for an opportunity scholarship," Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News. 

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"Gov. DeWine and state lawmakers deserve great credit for putting families in the driver’s seat when it comes to their kids’ education," Bedrick added. "Families deserve to be able to choose learning environments that align with their values and best fit their children’s unique learning needs. In Ohio, that aspiration is becoming a reality."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the state's education budget Tuesday. It included an expansion to the state's school voucher program. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

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Families will be able to verify their income by showing their eligibility for other state and federal income-based programs, signing an affidavit about meeting the requirements or by providing other information the Department of Education requests.

Currently, the EdChoice program costs about an annual $350 million and is distributed to more than 60,000 students, according to Ohio's Office of Budget and Management.

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School vouchers were first available in Ohio in Cleveland in 1996 then expanded statewide in 2005, according to the Ohio Department of Education’s website.

"Education freedom is flowing through red states and there's nothing the teachers unions can do about it," DeAngelis siad. "I'd like to thank Randi Weingarten and her union allies for overplaying their hand and awakening a sleeping giant: parents."

Click here to learn more about school choice.