Ohio

School Choice Programs

Ohio offers K–12 students and their families several types of school choice, including eight private school choice programs, charter schools, magnet schools, home schooling and inter-and intra-district public school choice via open enrollment policies.

8 Programs

Available School Choice Programs

Voucher(5 programs)

Autism Scholarship Program

Ohio students with autism may receive scholarships for education services from a private provider, including tuition at a private school. After participating students receive education services, their parents endorse state checks for payment of special education services.

5,205 students
Since 2003
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Cleveland Scholarship Program

Parents in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District can receive vouchers to send their children to private schools or public schools bordering the school district. All families are eligible, although low-income families are prioritized for both private school admissions as well as funding.

8,045 students
Since 1995
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Educational Choice Expansion Scholarship (EdChoice) Program

Ohio’s Educational Choice Expansion Scholarship (EdChoice) Program provides state-funded scholarships to K–12 students based on household income level to attend chartered nonpublic schools, provided they are not eligible for Cleveland’s school scholarship program. This is an expansion of Ohio’s “EdChoice” scholarship program. All K–12 students became eligible starting in the 2023–2024 school year.

88,238 students
Since 2013
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Educational Choice Scholarship Program

All Ohio students in qualifying resident districts are eligible for Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program to attend chartered nonpublic schools. Ohio’s “EdChoice” scholarship program allows all Ohio students in low performing schools to receive scholarships to attend chartered nonpublic schools. Participating private schools are required to accept the scholarship as full tuition for students whose families are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

41,303 students
Since 2005
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Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program

The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship provides Ohio parents of children with special needs scholarships to pay for private school tuition, private therapies, and other services covered by their Individual Education Plans (IEPs). The Ohio Department of Education sets scholarship limits for different types of disabilities, so funding and eligibility vary. The number of scholarships available is capped at 5% of students with special needs statewide.

8,650 students
Since 2011
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Private School Choice

Ohio has eight private school choice programs: five school voucher programs, one tax-credit scholarship program and two individual tax credit programs. These programs help families send their children to participating private schools and receive reimbursements for homeschooling expenses. * Ohio Individual Tax Credit/Deduction [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/k-12-home-education-tax-credit/) * Ohio Individual Tax Credit/Deduction [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/k-12-nonchartered-private-school-tax-credit/) * Ohio Tax-Credit Scholarship [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-tax-credit-scholarship-program/) * Ohio Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-autism-scholarship-program/) * Ohio Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-cleveland-scholarship-program/) * Ohio Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-income-based-scholarship-program/) * Ohio Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-educational-choice-scholarship-program/) * Ohio Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/ohio-jon-peterson-special-needs-scholarship-program/)

Public School Choice

Ohio allows parents to transfer to traditional public schools outside and within their district via two open enrollment policies. Ohio also has magnet schools.

Charter School Choice

Ohio has many charter schools. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are free of many of the regulations that restrict traditional public schools.

Home School Choice

Parents have to follow certain laws in Ohio when homeschooling their children.

State Statistics

8

Total Programs

3

Program Types

151,441

Total Students Participating