Legal Aid Groups File Brief Against Ohio Voucher Expansion

Legal Aid Coalition Challenges Ohio EdChoice Voucher Expansion in Tenth District Court

Eight legal aid organizations across Ohio filed an amicus brief this week in the Tenth District Court of Appeals, intervening in the ongoing “Vouchers Hurt Ohio” litigation. The coalition’s filing urges the appellate court to uphold a lower court ruling that found the state’s expanded private school voucher program violates the Ohio Constitution.

The legal groups argue that the state’s EdChoice expansion directly undermines the constitutional guarantee of a thorough and efficient system of common schools. Funding public education is mandated by the state constitution, yet millions of public dollars continue to flow into private school tuition subsidies.

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc., known as ABLE, joined forces with Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc., Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Community Legal Aid Services, Inc., The Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, The Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC, Disability Rights Ohio, and the Ohio Poverty Law Center for the filing.

Three Central Arguments Against Voucher Funding

The brief outlines three primary concerns regarding the diversion of public funds into private education. First, the coalition points to systemic underfunding. Rather than fully financing the Fair School Funding Plan, the state has diverted hundreds of millions of dollars into private school vouchers, hitting districts with high numbers of children living in poverty the hardest.

Second, the organizations highlight significant risks for students with disabilities. When public dollars shift to private institutions, students frequently lose key legal protections and federally mandated services guaranteed under public education. Many private schools legally limit or entirely refuse admission to students with disabilities, or fail to provide necessary specialized learning supports.

Legal Aid Groups File Brief Against Ohio Voucher Expansion

Third, the brief details a disproportionate impact on rural and minoritized students. In many rural Ohio counties, families have few or no nearby private schools that accept vouchers, rendering the concept of “choice” illusory while their local public districts still lose critical state revenue. Students of color and other minoritized populations face higher risks of exclusion in private settings not bound by the same civil rights protections.

On Monday, all the legal aids across Ohio filed an Amicus Brief in the 10th District Court of Appeals on the side of public school families and districts, against the EdChoice private school voucher program expansion. The State has chosen to continue underfunding public schools, despite an Ohio Constitutional mandate for funding public schools. Instead, the State has been putting increasingly large amounts of funding toward private school subsidies, even though private schools are not equal opportunities for all Ohioans, particularly children with disabilities, rural Ohioans, and other minoritized children.

That perspective comes from Renee Murphy, Managing Attorney at ABLE and a co-author of the brief. The coalition maintains that public schools remain the only educational system legally obligated to accept and serve every child, regardless of zip code, household income, or physical or cognitive disability.

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