|
Hispanic CREO began its work in Ohio in 2006, but the school choice movement has been gaining momentum in the state for years. Since 2000, Ohio has greatly expanded its available educational options. Besides the thousands of traditional public schools in the state, parents can also choose to send their children to one of the more than 300 charters that operate in Ohio, one of the state’s 900 private schools, or one of 50 home school co-ops. If parents choose to send their children to private school, they may seek tuition assistance from the multiple voucher or scholarships programs that exist in Ohio. Examples of these include Children First Columbus, which was founded in 2000 to provide privately funded scholarships to low-income students from Columbus, Ohio. Another option is the EdChoice voucher program, which was founded in 2007 to aid students in under-performing schools. Here is a brief history of school choice in Ohio and what Hispanic CREO has done in the state to make a difference:
2000: Children First Columbus (CFC) was created. CFC provides privately funded scholarships for low-income Columbus students.
2002: The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Cleveland’s voucher program in the lawsuit Zelman v. Simmon-Harris. The court ruled that that public funds could be used to pay student tuition at for private and religious schools, because parents – and not the government – decide where the funds go.
2003: Governor Robert Taft signed a bill to allowed private nonprofit organizations to fund community charter schools. Ohio also began sponsoring the the Autism Scholarship Program, which provides up to $20,000 per year for students with Autism to attend a private school of their choice.
2005: The EdChoice Scholarship Program was founded. This innovative program provides up to 14,000 private school scholarships annually to students who attend consistently underperforming schools.
2006: This year marked the beginning of Hispanic CREO’s involvement in Ohio’s fight for school choice. Hispanic CREO registered over 300 parents for the EdChoice program.
2007: The people of Ohio continued to show their support for school choice at a rally held in MARCH, which was attended by over 1,800 school choice supporters. Hispanic CREO worked in Ohio from June 2007 – December 2007 to educate Latino families about their educational options and promote the EdChoice program.
|
