It has been a busy year for School Choice Ohio. The issue of school choice received a lot of attention, and state leaders honored parents’ wishes by expanding existing school choice programs and creating the new Special Needs Scholarship.

January: National School Choice Week
Governor Kasich proclaimed Jan. 23 – Jan. 29, 2011, as Ohio School Choice Week. SCO and other supportive organizations held events all over the state to spread awareness about Ohio’s school choice programs. We also had the pleasure of announcing the winners of our school choice essay contest this week.   

March: 2011 School Choice Rally and Celebration
More than 1,000 parents, students and school leaders packed the Statehouse lawn in March for the 2011 School Choice Rally and Celebration. Supporters waved signs, cheered and shared their stories with the goal of encouraging lawmakers to expand school choice opportunities to more Ohio students.

 

 

 

  

April: Autism Awareness Month
During Autism Awareness Month this year, we featured many success stories from families who use the Autism Scholarship. We also participated in an Autism Rally at the Statehouse, which featured incredible speakers with inspiring messages. Watch a video from the rally here.

   

May: Statewide School Choice Media Tour
We hit the road in May on a statewide tour to partner with school leaders, families, students and share about the need for expanded school choice with the media. We hosted media events at schools in Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Lima, Cincinnati and Dayton. Many major media outlets attended the tour events, and coverage reached more than 2,000,000 Ohio households. These articles contributed to the more than 240 total stories, op-eds and letters to the editor this year that featured School Choice Ohio and the state’s scholarship programs.

 

 

 

  

  

June: Budget Expands School Choice
This year, many Ohio parents made it their mission to demand more school choice for students in the state by writing letters to legislators and newspapers, giving testimony, meeting with legislators, and taking state leaders on tours of their schools.  When Gov. Kasich signed the budget on June 30, it was clear that Ohio’s leaders listened.

• Special Needs Scholarship – After many years of waiting, Ohio families now have access to a scholarship for students with special needs. The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program will begin in 2012. Click here to watch a video of parents who advocated for the program.
• EdChoice Scholarship – The number of EdChoice Scholarships available to students was significantly increased from 14,000 to 30,000 for this school year, and next year, there will be 60,000 scholarships available. Eligibility also expanded to include students who attend the public schools that are consistently rated in the bottom 10 percent of schools in the state.
• Cleveland Scholarship – Prior to the budget, only students in grades K-8 were eligible for the scholarship. Now, students in high school are also eligible. In addition, the budget increased scholarship amounts for the program to mirror the EdChoice scholarships (from $3,105 to $4,250 for students in K-8).

The chart below shows how the scholarship expansions in the state budget dramatically increased both capacity and eligibility for Ohio’s school voucher programs.

 

  

Budget Improvements to School Voucher Programs
Voucher Program	Previous Capacity	New  Capacity	Previous Eligibility	New   Eligibility
EdChoice Scholarship	14,000	60,000	85,000	100,000
Special Needs	n/a	11,750	15,000	235,000
Cleveland Scholarship	6,000	6,000	26,000	40,000
Total Scholarships	20,000	77,750	121,000	375,000

October: Research Compares Ohio with Florida
School Choice Ohio and The Friedman Foundation released a report by Dr. Matthew Ladner that outlined ways that Florida reforms have skyrocketed the achievement of low-income and minority students. School Choice Ohio offered policy recommendations to help Ohio follow in Florida’s footsteps. 

November: SCO Presents Awards to Legislators
This year, School Choice Ohio honored four state leaders with our first-ever School Choice Ohio Awards. We first presented Rep. Matt Huffman with the School Choice Champion award for his unwavering support of school choice efforts and for championing the creation of an income-based scholarship program. We also awarded Sen. Peggy Lehner and Sen. Kevin Bacon with School Choice Leader awards for their critical roles in creating the Special Needs Scholarship Program. We also had the privilege of presenting Jon Peterson, sponsor of the Autism Scholarship and namesake of the Special Needs Scholarship, with our School Choice Legacy award.

 

Looking Forward: Income-Based Scholarship Programs
We made great progress this year in expanding school choice, but there are still many more families being left out of school choice. Ohio needs to create income-based scholarships for families who cannot afford to send their children to the school that best meets their needs. This year, legislative champions proposed legislation that would expand school choice opportunities to the families who need it the most. We are looking for movement on these income-based scholarship proposals in 2012.

 

2011 was a great year, and we know 2012 will be even better. Our wish for 2012 and beyond is that every student in the Buckeye state will have access to a high-quality education that best meets their unique learning needs.