Ohio OKs Vouchers for Pupils in Low-Rated Schools

By Christina A. Samuels and Karla Scoon Reid

Ohio acquired what could become one of the largest school voucher programs in the country when Gov. Bob Taft recently signed into law a new program that significantly expands on the state-run choice plan in place in Cleveland for the past decade.

The new Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program will establish state-financed scholarships of up to $5,000 each for as many as 14,000 students who attend public schools that have been in “academic emergency” for three consecutive years. Academic emergency is the lowest of the state’s five accountability ratings.

Cleveland students, about 4,000 of whom already take part in the separate state-funded program there, are not eligible...