OHIO, USA — The conversation surrounding the EdChoice voucher program continues, as education committees begin to review more testimonies from officials in public and private schools around the state.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Senate voted down the most recent version of the bill amended by the Ohio House of Representatives last week.
"What the house proposed really ended a 20-year program for performance-based EdChoice by putting an amendment into an unrelated bill. We need to thoroughly vet these ideas," Senator Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, said.
Leaders from multiple school districts in northwest Ohio have been vocal about the issues surrounding EdChoice. Senator Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, is also a strong supporter of public schools and keeping tax dollars with those local districts.
"We've been diverting resources through a failed testing and punish system for the last 20 years. We've been divesting in public education instead of investing in public education," Fedor said.
EdChoice open enrollment begins April 1. Final decisions in the state legislature must be made by then. Discussions in the education committees are expected to end February 20.