EdChoice scholarships in Ohio
Court case update: On October 15, 2026, an Ohio appeals court (Tenth District) upheld a ruling that EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion, as currently structured and funded, are unconstitutional. The court put that judgment on hold while the State appeals to the Ohio Supreme Court, so scholarships continue for now. The ruling does not cover the Cleveland, Autism and Jon Peterson scholarships.
Notice as of 2026-10-16. Read the court's opinion, Columbus City School Dist. v. State, 2026-Ohio-4047, and the Ohio Attorney General's statement on the ruling.
EdChoice is Ohio's state-funded scholarship for students at participating chartered nonpublic schools. In law it is the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program. It comes in two forms: EdChoice, which depends on the public school building a student would be assigned to, and EdChoice Expansion, which is open to students across Ohio and uses family income to set the amount. Neither form is available to students who live in the Cleveland Municipal School District; they use the Cleveland Scholarship instead.
Who qualifies for EdChoice (performance-based)
- The student's resident district is not the Cleveland Municipal School District.
- The student would be assigned to, or attends, a public school building the State has designated as low-performing, or lives in a district under an Academic Distress Commission (ORC 3310.03).
- Some students qualify another way: siblings of a prior-year recipient, former Autism or Jon Peterson recipients who no longer need special education, children in foster care or kinship care, and children who would otherwise be homeless, with their household members in some cases.
- No grade level needs prior public school enrollment.
- There is no income test. ODEW verifies income only if the family asks for low-income status (below).
A student can renew through grade 12 by taking the required state tests, staying within the limit on unexcused absences, and, for building-based eligibility, not moving to a district where the student would not be assigned to a designated building.
Who qualifies for EdChoice Expansion
Any Ohio student entering grades K-12 whose resident district is not the Cleveland district and who enrolls at a participating chartered nonpublic school (ORC 3310.032). Income does not decide eligibility; it sets the amount. New applicants complete income verification with a federal or state 1040 unless their income is already on file. Families not required to file an Ohio return do not need to certify income. Once awarded, a student stays eligible while enrolled at a chartered nonpublic school, even if family income rises.
How much EdChoice pays in 2026-27
- EdChoice (performance-based): up to $6,166 for grades K-8 and $8,408 for grades 9-12, or the school's tuition after discounts if that is less.
- EdChoice Expansion: the same maximums for families at or below 450% of the federal poverty guidelines. Above that, the award gets smaller as income rises, on a formula set in ORC 3310.08, down to a floor of $616.60 for K-8 and $840.80 for 9-12.
ODEW publishes the household income for each level by household size in its 2026-2027 Income Eligibility Requirements for EdChoice Expansion and the award for each income level in its EdChoice Expansion award amounts spreadsheet.
The scholarship covers tuition only. Families may still owe registration, materials and similar fees. The State pays in monthly partial payments, made jointly to the parent and the school and sent through the school.
Low-income status and what a school may charge
A family at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines can ask ODEW for low-income status, which the family verifies every year. A chartered nonpublic school may not charge that student tuition above the scholarship (ORC 3310.13(A)). This applies to EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion.
Other families may be charged the difference, and a school may let a family volunteer instead of paying it in cash. A school may accept scholarships from SGOs to cover the difference and fees. A school may not ask at admission whether a family is at or below the low-income line (ORC 3310.13).
How to apply
The family completes admission at a participating private school, and the school submits the scholarship application to ODEW with the Scholarship Request Form, a birth certificate and recent proof of address. ODEW reviews it and mails an award letter. ODEW's scholarship provider directory lists the participating schools, and the how-to-apply pages for EdChoice and EdChoice Expansion have the details.
Key dates
- The 2026-27 application window runs February 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. As of 2026-10-16, a new application for 2026-27 is prorated for the rest of the school year.
- The window for the next school year opens February 1, 2027, the date the statute sets (ORC 3310.16). ODEW had not posted materials for that year as of 2026-10-16.
The Cleveland Scholarship
Students who live in the Cleveland Municipal School District use the Cleveland Scholarship (in law, the Pilot Project Scholarship Program) instead of EdChoice Expansion. It is open to K-12 residents of the district, including students who already attend a private school.
ODEW's Cleveland page, last updated in July 2025, shows a maximum of $6,166 for K-8 and $8,408 for high school.
Participating schools agree that K-8 families at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines pay no tuition above the scholarship. Other K-8 families and all high school families pay at most the difference (ORC 3313.976). Applications for a school year open in the February before it; ODEW's How to Apply for a Cleveland Scholarship page has the current window.
Official EdChoice resources
This page is informational and is not tax or legal advice.
