Since 2006, Ohio has provided publicly funded vouchers for students to attend private or religious schools through a scholarship program known as EdChoice.
The program was set to dramatically expand this year because the number of schools considered under-performing, and which students would then be eligible to leave with a voucher, was set to explode. School administrators, who must cover some of the cost of departing students, said the increase would be a huge burden and that the calculation using state report cards is unfair and inconsistent.
Lawmakers in Columbus are now scrambling to make changes to EdChoice, including a proposal in the House that would eliminate the program altogether.