Ohio appeals court rules EdChoice vouchers unconstitutional

The ruling

Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision finding the state’s EdChoice private school voucher system unconstitutional. The case began with a 2022 complaint filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by public school parents, individual students, more than 330 school districts and the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.

The trial court ruled for the school districts on three of their five claims in June 2025. The state appealed that decision, leading to the 10th District’s ruling.

Attorney General Andy Wilson said the state will take the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. House Speaker Matt Huffman said he believes the appellate ruling will be overturned.

What the lawsuit challenged

Ohio created the Education Choice Scholarship Program in 2005 to offer a limited number of taxpayer-funded scholarships for students attending private schools. The lawsuit argues that lawmakers later expanded the program’s eligibility and funding substantially.

The plaintiffs alleged that EdChoice and the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship Program cost nearly billion in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. They also argued that the programs became available to nearly every Ohio student, without regard to family income or the quality of the student’s local public school.

For the 2025-26 school year, scholarship amounts were for kindergarten through eighth grade and for high school, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

The constitutional dispute

The challengers argued that EdChoice conflicts with Ohio’s constitutional duty to maintain a thorough and efficient system of public schools. They also raised the constitutional prohibition against religious or other sectarian groups having exclusive control over public-school funds.

Lima schools Superintendent Andre Rudolph welcomed the appellate ruling and called for dependable state support for public schools. Wilson said the voucher system does not harm public schools and framed the dispute around families’ ability to choose how their children are educated.