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Cleveland, Ohio – The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program provides grants to children living in Cleveland Municipal School District to attend registered private or out-of-district public schools. For low-income children, the scholarship covers up to 90 percent of tuition costs. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Cleveland program in a case in 2002.
Columbus, Ohio – In March of 2007, Gov. Ted Strickland removed the Ohio state voucher program, called EdChoice, from his proposed budget. Established in 2006, the program provides scholarships to students in underperforming public schools to attend private schools. Nearly 3,000 children received scholarships the first year.
Arizona – The Arizona Supreme Court in January declined to hear a legal challenge against the state’s voucher programs for foster children and special-needs children. The programs provide state-funded scholarships for these children to attend the schools of their families’ choice, public or private. Challengers are expected to try again in the lower courts.
Florida — Florida’s A+ Opportunity Scholarship program allowed students who attend or are assigned to a Florida school that has consistently received a failing grade to transfer to a better public or private school. The private component of the program was held unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in January 2006. Children in that program were made eligible for the state’s corporate tax credit scholarship program.
Washington, D.C. — The first federally funded school choice initiative, the Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program provides low-income students with scholarships to attend the school that best meets their educational needs. Priority is given to students who attend schools deemed in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Milwaukee, Wis. - The nation’s longest running school choice program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, provides scholarships for low-income children to attend the private school that best meets their educational needs. During the 2006-2007 school year 17,951 students attended 124 participating private schools through MPCP.
(In addition to voucher programs, a number of states have adopted programs allowing tax credits for personal or corporate contributions to scholarship programs, including scholarships given to children to attend private schools. Sources: Alliance for School Choice, media reports.)
