Governor John Kasich has prepared a resolution officially recognizing January 27 – February 2, 2013, as School Choice Week in Ohio. Check out the full text of the resolution below!

Whereas, Ohio has long been a pioneer in the realm of school choice; from the first convening of the Governor’s Commission on Educational Choice in 1991, with the message to Ohio’s parents: you do have a choice in finding the best education for your children; and

Whereas, The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, which began in 1995, was among the first in the nation to offer a private school tuition voucher to students in a struggling urban district, and in 2010-2012, 5,000 students attended private schools with state-funded scholarships through this program; and

Whereas, Ohio created a system of charter/community schools in 1997, giving parents statewide options for education without tuition and very few carriers to access, and today, charters/community schools serve 99,720 students throughout the state; and

Whereas, in 2003, the Ohio Autism Scholarship Program was created, becoming the only voucher program in the United States to focus solely on the educational needs of children with autism, and today, this program is still unique in the U.S. and is serving 2,000 students statewide, and the new Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship was created in the 129^th General Assembly with the capacity to serve up to 12,000 additional students this year; and

Whereas, the Ohio EdChoice Scholarship was created in 2005 to provide private school tuition vouchers to students in underperforming public schools anywhere in the state, and in 2011-2012, the program provided 15,400 students with scholarships; and

Whereas, traditional public school choice has been around even longer than all of the above options, with open enrollment between public school districts beginning in 1989; and

Whereas, by observing National School Choice Week in Ohio, out citizens can truly recognize that Ohio is front and center in the important work of giving all children access to a quality education.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, John R. Kasich, Governor of the State of Ohio, do hereby recognize January 27-February 2, 2013 as SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK throughout Ohio and call this observance to the attention of all of our citizens.

On this 27^th Day of January, 2013;

John R. Kasich
Governor