Students from schools that have been in Academic Watch or Academic Emergency for three years in a row -- the lowest categories on the state's school rating system -- are eligible to apply.
1. What is an Educational Choice Scholarship?
The Ohio EdChoice Scholarship is a pilot program that will provide 14,000 state-funded scholarships to students who attend low-performing public schools. The scholarships can be used to attend private schools that meet state requirements for program participation.
2. When will EdChoice applications be accepted?
The second round of applications will be accepted from July 21, 2006 through August 4, 2006. Parents are encouraged to begin the process prior to the second application period.
The first step is to apply for admission at a participating (EdChoice) private school. Students must be accepted to a private school in order to apply for an EdChoice Scholarship. School officials will help with the the EdChoice application process.
3. Who is eligible to apply for EdChoice?
You can find a list of EdChoice-designated public school buildings on the EdChoice Web site http://EdChoice.ohio.gov.
� All students currently attending schools listed are eligible to apply for an Ohio EdChoice Scholarship.
� Students currently attending a public community school (charter school) who would otherwise be assigned by their public school district to one of these schools are also eligible to apply.
� Incoming students who are eligible to attend kindergarten in the fall of 2006 and who would be assigned by their public school district to one of these schools are eligible to apply.
Students currently attending private schools and homeschooled students are not eligible.
4. What is the value of the scholarship?
The EdChoice Scholarship amount for the 2006-07 school year will be $4,250 for elementary school students (kindergarten through Grade 8) and $5,000 for high school students (Grades 9 through 12) or the private school�s actual tuition amount, whichever is lower.
5. Will parents/guardians have to pay any amount of money?
Parents and guardians still may have to pay registration fees, material fees and other similar types of fees. The scholarship amount covers only school tuition.
If the private school�s tuition is higher than the EdChoice Scholarship amount and if the student�s family income is above 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, the family may have to pay the difference or participate in volunteer service activities in lieu of making an additional, out of pocket, cash payment to make up the difference in tuition.
6. If a student receives an EdChoice Scholarship, how long can he or she continue to attend a private school?
There will be a scholarship renewal process each year. Under current law, once a student receives an EdChoice Scholarship, he or she can renew the scholarship in future school years through 12th grade, as long as the student:
� Does not move to another public school district;
� Takes all required state achievement tests; and
� Has good school attendance.
6. Are current private school or homeschooled students eligible to apply?
No.
The EdChoice law limits scholarships to students currently attending a public school in Academic Watch or Academic Emergency for the past three years, to students enrolled in a publicly funded charter school who would otherwise be assigned to those schools, and to incoming kindergarten students who would be assigned to those schools.
7. Should parents and students apply for an EdChoice Scholarship first, or apply for admission to a private school first?
Parents & students should first apply for admission at a participating private school. All students who apply for an EdChoice Scholarship must have been accepted for enrollment at a participating private school. To ensure that students have been accepted for admission by a participating school, the private school staff will enter student information into the secure Web-based EdChoice application system.
8. Will every child who applies to participate be accepted?
Under current law, only 14,000 EdChoice Scholarships will awarded statewide.
If the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) receives more than 14,000 eligible applications, there will be a lottery to award scholarships. First priority in that lottery would be given to students at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
There are no income requirements for the EdChoice Scholarship program eligibility. Students at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level however would receive first priority if ODE receives more applications than there are available scholarships.
The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program still is available for residents of the Cleveland Municipal School District. For more information about the Cleveland program, please visit http://www.ode.state.oh.us/school_options/scholarship/.