100 School Districts Sue Ohio Over Private School Vouchers, Saying They Unconstitutionally Take Money From Public Ed

A coalition of 100 school districts sued Ohio over private school vouchers Tuesday, saying that the hundreds of millions of public dollars funneled away from public schools have created an educational system that’s unconstitutional, Cleveland.com reports.

The districts, including Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Elyria City and Richmond Heights Local districts in Northeast Ohio, filed suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Attorneys with the Cleveland firm of Walter Haverfield are representing the plaintiffs.

“Specifically, these private schools, which are funded by our public taxpayer dollars in the form of vouchers, are provided by the state at the expense of adequate funding and a thorough and efficient system of public schools, whose doors are open to all students as required by the Constitution,” former Ohio Supreme Court Justice and current Columbus City School District Board of Education member Eric Brown said at a news conference announcing the suit.

In all, the 100 districts that are plaintiffs in the case educate around 250,000 students, located in 47 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, 69,712 students this year are receiving private school scholarships across five programs. The suit notes that during this school year, private schools are expected to receive about $250 million of school funding. Read more at Cleveland.com.

{Matzav.com}