Dear Elyria Catholic Family,
We need your support! The Ohio General Assembly’s vote to delay the EdChoice scholarship (voucher) application until April 1st with the intent of modifying the program takes choices away from Ohio families. This email is coming to you because our Elyria Catholic family will be impacted by this decision. We are asking you for your support and voice. Please use this link to contact your elected officials to let them know that:
We value the EdChoice program, which empowers parents, saves taxpayer dollars, and strengthens all educational offerings, public and private.
The link is provided by School Choice Ohio, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the expansion of quality options for every Ohio child, and it enables you to send a customizable email directly to your senator and representative.
Please consider these facts below. This is one way you can Leave Your Print!
Thank you for supporting your EC family!
Fast Facts about School Choice in Ohio
- The official documents and teachings of the global Catholic Church have long affirmed the value of Catholic education and parents’ rights to choose schools, including with assistance of the state.
- Ohio’s scholarship (voucher) programs are about social justice. Individuals and families of means have always exercised school choice by choosing to live in districts with public schools of their liking (choice by residential selection). Vouchers expand that choice to others.
- School choice is an improvement strategy. Research in Ohio and nationwide has found choice policies associated with improved traditional public school performance as well as parental satisfaction for those who choose.
- School choice providers are accountable to results. All scholarship students take state-mandated tests, with results published online by school and grade level. When dissatisfied customers exit, they take all of their funding, which is the ultimate accountability.
- EdChoice is cost effective. Last year the state reported average spending of $9,724 per pupil in traditional public schools, while EdChoice scholarship awards averaged $4,892.
- Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Cleveland, which are supported mainly on tuition and philanthropy, provide more than $300 million in value by educating tens of thousands outside of Ohio’s funding formula. Scholarships enable more to participate, saving costs for taxpayers.
- Choice programs do not violate any constitutional separation of Church and state. The right of parents and guardians to use scholarships (vouchers) to choose the best environment for children regardless of school type was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002).
- Ohio’s school funding formula was found to be unconstitutional because of its reliance on property taxes, not its choice programs, which are efficient. Major changes to choice programs without addressing the formula ignore the root causes of problems.
- The current delay means more than 30,000 students statewide already participating in the scholarship program are not able to apply to renew at this time.
