Ohio plans swift appeal as court declares private school voucher system unconstitutional

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio signaled on Wednesday that it will swiftly appeal a court ruling declaring the state's private school voucher system unconstitutional, a decision celebrated by public school advocates and condemned by a prominent Christian education organization.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement that he is confident the state will ultimately win. He assured Ohio families that the judge's order allows the program to remain operational as the lawsuit is argued, "so parents don't have to panic or worry about other options while the court process plays out.''

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page granted summary judgment Tuesday in a 2022 lawsuit joined by hundreds of public school districts, known collectively as Vouchers Hurt Ohio, as well as some parents, students and a fair school funding group.

The plaintiffs had argued that Ohio's 28-year-old school voucher plan, known as EdChoice, has over time created an unconstitutional system of separately funded private schools and led to resegregation of some districts because mostly nonminority students take advantage of the program.

Page, a Democrat, agreed that the program violates a provision of the Ohio Constitution requiring ''a thorough and efficient system of common schools," but rejected claims that it violated the equal protection clause.

She used her 47-page decision to recount Ohio's history of funding schools, noting that evidence presented in the case spanned from before statehood to the 2023 state budget bill that established a universal voucher program providing tuition to nonpublic schools, including religious ones, to any family in the state.

Page notably rejected the widely used ''school choice'' legal argument, which says that voucher programs involve spending decisions made by individual parents, not by the state.

The judge found that argument failed in this case. She said families aren't the EdChoice program's final decision-makers: ''The ultimate decision to accept prospective students, and by doing so receive EdChoice funds, lies with the private school.''

The Ohio Christian Education Network, the rapidly expanding education arm of the Center for Christian Virtue, expressed strong disagreement with the ruling.

''This decision is poorly reasoned and ignores mountains of previous school choice jurisprudence at both (the) state and federal levels,'' Troy McIntosh, the network's executive director, said in a statement. ''The fact is that this decision is not only an improper legal decision, but it could result in almost 100,000 Ohio students being tossed out of the school they have chosen to attend."

The Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, praised the ruling as a win for the nearly 90% of K-12 students who attend Ohio's public schools.

"Although this legal victory is likely the first step in a much longer process through the appeals courts, the ruling Tuesday represents a huge victory for Ohio's public school educators, school communities, and students who have seen critical resources diverted from our public schools for years to fund private school tuition payments for mostly-wealthy families whose children had never attended their local public schools in the first place,'' OEA President Scott DiMauro said in a statement.