Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Funding Vouchers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local advocate urges Oakwood to join lawsuit after Franklin County judge finds EdChoice program unconstitutional
Summary
A public commenter urged the board to join a statewide legal effort after a Franklin County Common Pleas judge ruled parts of Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program unconstitutional; the commenter noted the decision is stayed and will be appealed.
Rachel Eve Davis, speaking for Oakwood Advocates for Public Education, told the Oakwood board on June 25 that a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge had ruled Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program unconstitutional on three of five counts and that the decision is currently stayed.
“The judge's decision has currently stayed, meaning EdChoice voucher dollars from taxpayers will continue to flow to private schools,” Rachel Eve Davis said. She described the ruling as “a huge win for public schools like Oakwood” but emphasized that it is only the first stage of a multi‑step legal process.
Davis urged the Oakwood Board of Education to join the statewide legal challenge (referred to in public comments as the VHO or Doctors for Ohio lawsuit), saying more than 300 of Ohio’s roughly 600 public school districts have already joined. She said the state will appeal the decision to the Ohio Court of Appeals (Tenth District) and that the case may ultimately reach the Ohio Supreme Court.
Why it matters: the EdChoice voucher program diverts state funds to private schools. If the courts sustain the ruling, districts could recover state dollars or see changes in future state funding formulas. Davis told the board that one of the counts the judge found persuasive concerned the state’s obligation to adequately fund the 1.5 million public school students in Ohio.
No formal action by the board to join the lawsuit was recorded during the meeting; the comments were part of the public comment period.
