Despite a June 24 ruling by a judge from Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Ohio’s EdChoice scholarship program will continue while the case moves through the appeals process.
Frank O’Linn, diocesan superintendent of schools, said 78% of Catholic school students in the Diocese of Cleveland participated in the EdChoice program during the 2024-2025 school year.
The judge found in favor of the plaintiffs in three of the five counts against the EdChoice program. The lawsuit was filed against the state in January 2022 by a group of public school district leaders. It is being defended by the Ohio Attorney General. The Institute for Justice, a national nonprofit public interest law firm, joined the defense and a group of families with children in Catholic schools also was granted a motion to intervene, so the Catholic Conference of Ohio has been involved closely.
O’Linn said the decision was stayed, or temporarily suspended from enforcement, pending an appeal by the state. The order by the court acknowledges that the case is in the early steps of a long legal journey, he explained. In the meantime, payments to parents for non-public schools will continue, and the EdChoice scholarship program will continue to be operated as usual by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Eventually, a final court decision will resolve the case, O’Linn added.
“We expect the courts will uphold the constitutionality of EdChoice. The stay allows time for the appeals process to unfold,” he said. The next step for the case is going to the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals.
O’Linn said the Catholic school community statewide is confident that the EdChoice program will prevail in the appeals process. The Church will continue to advocate for and defend programs that support parents as the primary educators of their children and enable them to select a school that suits their child’s needs.
“We cannot say with absolute certainty that there will be no changes to EdChoice, but the appeals process alone is likely to take months or even years,” O’Linn added.
He said that regardless of the appellate court’s decision, either side likely will appeal to the Oho Supreme Court. The case could even reach the Supreme Court of the United States, since other states also are involved in similar litigation.
The EdChoice Scholarship law, which was based on the existing Cleveland Scholarship Program, originated in 2005. The Cleveland Scholarship Program was enacted in 1995 as a pilot program. After several years of litigation, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that it was constitutional.
Many state leaders and citizens are supportive of EdChoice, which began by providing scholarships to students in low-performing public schools and expanded in 2013 to include students in low-income households regardless of location, O’Linn explained, The state legislature expanded the program in 2023 to offer these optional scholarships on a sliding scale based on income to all parents who choose to enroll their children in a non-public school.
O’Linn said, explaining that the state legislature expanded the program two years ago and offered scholarships on a sliding scale based on income to all parents who want to enroll their children in a non-public school.
“We have every reason to believe that EdChoice will continue to be available for the foreseeable future,” O’Linn said. “The increasing number of participants in Ohio’s parental school choice programs demonstrates their value to the people of Ohio, and to our legislature, which creates the laws that are interpreted by the courts.”
Diocesan school officials noted that there are several funding options available for parents who cannot afford to pay full tuition at a Catholic school. These include diocesan tuition assistance, Fund A Dream tuition awards, Angel Scholarship funds and school and parish philanthropic support.
“The recent court decision does not result in any changes to the scholarship program,” O’Linn said, reinforcing that the June 24 common pleas court ruling is only the first decision in an ongoing legal process. “Catholic schools, as they have throughout their long history, continue to offer a range of pathways to make a Catholic education accessible to families. Our goal continues to be working to ensure that a Catholic education remains broadly accessible and universally affordable for all families who desire it for their child.”
In addition to EdChoice, O’Linn said other state scholarships are available to assist special needs students: the Autism Scholarship, created in 2003, and the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship, established in 2011, both of which have experienced exponential annual growth, as well as the Cleveland Scholarship.
After the common pleas court decision was announced on June 24, the Catholic Commission of Ohio released a statement indicating its members believe the EdChoice program will prevail in the appeals process. Read the entire statement here.