Every year, Ohio’s public schools get a grade on a report card, showing how they are performing in various metrics. But there isn’t a similar method for taxpayers to assess private schools that receive public scholarships.
Ohio is spending $1.1 billion annually on vouchers that students can use to attend private K-12 schools, and a new bill would provide data on how they perform.
House Bill 715 isn’t the first piece of legislation Ohio lawmakers have considered to provide information on voucher schools.
Rep. Gayle Manning (R-Avon) tried it in a previous General Assembly.
“This isn’t my first rodeo so I realize you’ve got to make changes to get bills passed,” Manning said.
This time, the bill puts the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in charge of collecting the data and it allows private schools to choose the standardized test that works for their students. Manning said in her district, private schools are using the same tests being administered in the public schools. But she said there are reasons why some schools might prefer a different kind of test based on the population of students they serve.
The joint sponsor of HB 715 is Rep. Mike Odioso (R-Green Twp.), a former student and teacher at Catholic schools. He is an avid supporter of the EdChoice Scholarships that allow K-12 students in Ohio to go to a chartered private or religious school on taxpayer dollars. Odioso said he sees this data as being a crucial part of the public accountability that’s needed to sustain that investment.
“I want to preserve these scholarships. That’s the main reason I’m doing it. And because in order for these scholarships to continue to be funded, there has to be some level of accounting and transparency as to their merit,” Odioso said.
Manning said she worked with House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) to put some provisions of this bill in the budget but they were pulled out in the process.
“I think it's information that parents should know, but I think more importantly, this is about tax dollars,” Manning said. “We want to know where those tax dollars are going, if they're being spent wisely, and if we are getting the results we should be getting.”
Reaction to the bill
Policy Matters Ohio, a progressive research group that has been critical of the state’s voucher programs, is in favor of this bill. Senior project coordinator Ali Smith said it would increase accessibility to data about these schools by standardizing data and publishing it in a central location.
“We're in support of that because it would make it easier for Ohioans and policymakers to understand the impact of vouchers on public school enrollment and evaluate the performance of voucher-funded private schools,” Smith said.
Smith said right now, the public doesn’t have much data to compare.
“Any school that is getting state funding should have to reach the same bar or performance review so we can compare apples to apples easily,” Smith said.
Odioso said he thinks if this data is collected, it will provide the Catholic and private schools with a “demonstration of their value.”
The bill was introduced at the end of February. It has until the end of this year to make it through the House and Senate.
