The March 11 story, Private school vouchers, Ohio’s wealthiest families access scholarships, misses the larger story of Ohio’s school choice success. As a result of the changes adopted by lawmakers, lower-income and middle-class families now get better access to the schools of their choosing.

In Ohio, the poorest families receive nearly one-third of the total funding for the state’s leading voucher program, the EdChoice scholarship. Middle-class families utilize another one-third. Both groups receive the full voucher amount, while wealthier families receive a reduced amount.

Even solid middle-class families, including those with police, teachers, plumbers, electricians, and many other professions in the household, would be unable to choose the education option that best meets their child’s needs without an EdChoice scholarship. These families pay taxes and deserve an educational choice for their children, too.

The Buckeye Institute supports further reforms to EdChoice, such as adding disadvantaged aid to the voucher amounts given to families with qualifying students. This change would help many additional lower and middle-income families take advantage of the program by incentivizing even more schools to participate and provide additional resources to disadvantaged families. 

Greg R. Lawson is a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute