The Catholic Conference of Ohio, the second-oldest state bishops’ conference in the country, issued a statement this week calling for state legislators to resume negotiations to finalize the EdChoice Scholarship Program for the 2020/2021 school year. The current delay means more than 30,000 students statewide already participating in the scholarship program are unable to apply for renewal at a time when critical decisions on school enrollment, teachers’ contracts and budgets must be made. Every day the program’s future remains in limbo makes the situation more difficult for everyone.
Here is the full statement from the Ohio bishops regarding the EdChoice delay:
Legislative delays in finalizing the EdChoice Scholarship Program for the coming school year cause us grave concern. The Catholic Conference of Ohio urges Ohio legislators to go back to the table NOW to finalize the EdChoice Program for the 2020/2021 school year.
Parents need to decide where to enroll their children in school. Schools need to make decisions about teachers’ contracts and budgets. Every day that goes by makes the situation more difficult for everyone.
We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children. They have the right to choose the education that best meets their children’s needs, and public authorities have a duty to ensure the conditions that make this choice real.
Catholic schools have long provided a vibrant, values-based education focused on forming the whole person. Ohio has long benefited by the education young people receive in Catholic schools.
The EdChoice Scholarship Program helps make this educational option possible for children of diverse backgrounds and economic means. For their good and for the good of our society, the EdChoice program should be continued and strengthened. We ask the General Assembly to give families and schools this assurance by returning to negotiations immediately.
Members of the Ohio Conference include Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, chairman; Cincinnati Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Binzer; Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez, archbishop-designate of Philadelphia; Columbus Bishop Robert Brennan, treasurer; Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Monforton; Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas; Youngstown Bishop George Murry, SJ; Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, Byzantine Eparchy of Parma; Bishop J. Michael Botean, Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Canton; and Bishop Bohdan Danylo, Ukrainian Catholic Eparch of St. Josaphat.