Ohio parents can sign next year's EdChoice forms. The scholarships are not going anywhere for at least another year.
On Oct. 15, a unanimous three-judge panel of Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals ruled that EdChoice violates the state constitution's promise of "a thorough and efficient system of common schools." Judge David Leland wrote that the program, "as presently structured and funded, secures with taxpayer funds a competing system of uncommon schools." The panel upheld a June 2025 ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page.
The court also took aim at the program's name. "The use of 'EdChoice' is misleading," Leland wrote, "given that the school 'choice' is with the private schools not the parents."
The families defending the program see it the other way. All five client families represented by the Institute for Justice use their scholarships at private religious schools. "We're committed to protecting their federal constitutional right to do so," IJ said in answers from attorney Keith Neely.
What happens next
IJ expects to file with the Ohio Supreme Court on Nov. 30. It does not plan to seek expedited review, because the appeals court stayed its own ruling. Every current EdChoice student keeps the scholarship until the Supreme Court rules.
"It will take at least another year for the Ohio Supreme Court to hear and decide this case," IJ said, and during that time "scholarships will continue to be made available for eligible students and families." Its message to parents: "Ohio families can and should feel comfortable planning to use EdChoice scholarships next school year and in the years to come."
Attorney General Andy Wilson said he was disappointed in the ruling, welcomed the stay, and said families face no immediate impact. House Speaker Matt Huffman said the decision conflicts with precedent and that "the decision of one of 12 courts of appeal in Ohio will not affect that."
How much is at stake
EdChoice paid out about $1.4 billion in scholarships in 2024-25. The program began in 2005 as a Cleveland pilot for low-income families, and the state made it nearly universal in 2023. The 2022 lawsuit came from Vouchers Hurt Ohio, a coalition of hundreds of public school districts, along with parents, students and the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding. The coalition's William Phillis called it "a $1 billion boondoggle for mostly religious schools."
Leland left one door open. The court did not hold that "school vouchers in all forms violate the Ohio Constitution," only EdChoice "as presently structured, funded, and challenged in this case." A reshaped program could survive.
For the day schools and yeshivos of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, this is not a policy debate. It is next year's tuition bill, and for now that bill is still covered.
This report draws on the Tenth District's Oct. 15 opinion as reported by Education Week, Fox19 and other outlets, and on written answers from the Institute for Justice. The Ohio Attorney General's office was contacted and sent only an automatic out-of-office reply. School Choice Ohio has our questions on how many students in Ohio's Jewish day schools and yeshivos use EdChoice, and its answer will be added as an update. Corrections and additions are welcome.