Understanding Education Funding in Ohio

​Ohio has five major K-12 education systems:​​​​
​Public Schools, Charter Schools, Private Schools, Religious/Parochial Schools, Homeschool
More at Ohio Department of Education
Public Schools
Public schools are tuition-free schools located in community where the student resides. All children of school age in Ohio are entitled to attend the public schools of the district of their school residence. 90% of Ohio students attend public schools. 
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Public schools are funded by federal, state, and public taxes. 

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​​Community (Charter) Schools 
These are nonprofit, nonreligious, tuition-free public schools available to Ohio residents. Community schools are independent of traditional public school districts and can be in a physical building or online. Enrollment does not require permission from the home school district. 

​Community schools are funded with state and federal funds. 
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Chartered Nonpublic (Private) Schools 
These are tuition-based, private schools that hold a valid charter issued by the State Board of Education.  Ohio provides voucher funding for eligible students. These schools maintain compliance with Ohio Operating Standards and are eligible for student transportation services.
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​Private schools are not funded by state and local taxes.
Non-Chartered, Non-Tax Supported Schools (Parochial/Religious)
These schools are tuition-based schools that choose not to be chartered by the State Board of Education because of truly held religious beliefs. 


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​Parochial/religious schools are not funded with state and local taxes. 
Homeschooling 
This is a tuition-free option for families who choose to  educate their student and select curriculum and course of study. Families must notify their school district superintendent and meet state requirements to home school. Students are excused from compulsory attendance.

Homeschooling is not funded by the state. However, families  receive tax credits and students are eligible for CCP, ACE, and EdChoice vouchers. 

​​How are Ohio K-12 ​public schools funded?
More at​ CHUH Public Schools
  Ohio public schools are funded in three ways:
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  1. Federal Government Funds: Federal funds are usually on a grant or mandated system
  2. State Funds: State funds are based on the State Foundation Formula which calculates a district's ability to raise local taxes and the minimum cost of educating a student (this funding system was ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court in 1997)
  3. Local Support Funds: Local funds are derived from local property taxes, based on property appraisals
Taxes & School Funding
  • Funding for schools is derived from local tax sources (like property taxes) and state tax sources (like sales taxes), and a small amount (about 6% of the total budget) comes from the federal government
  • Because the state caps the amount of funding it will allocate to local districts, local districts place levies on their local ballots for their communities to vote on
  • Funding for private and charter schools is diverted from funding for local schools​
  • Homeschooling families receive a tax credit to offset education costs
  • Ohio's schools are unconstitutionally funded, and have been unconstitutionally funded for more than 25 years
  • The Ohio Constitution says the state must fund "a system of common schools"; education is a constitutionally mandated responsibility of our state government
Factors influencing school funding
  1. School Population:  Lesser monies are available to districts with disadvantaged pupils, number of free lunches, etc. The state does provide some extra money dependent on the numbers in special populations recognizing in a small way the additional costs of educating these students.
  2. Tax Collection Rate: The rate of a district’s ability to collect the real property taxes owed is often affected by the larger economy, but to some extent its population. 
  3. Commerce & Business Property:  Districts with a lot of commerce or business property can help offset the cost burden to residents. 
  4. Transportation: The state requires districts to bus all pupils, whether attending the public schools or private schools within the same parameters. State law requires all students in grades K-8 who live two miles or more from their schools to be bused. 
  5. ​Additional Factors: The state of Ohio pays $1,800 for each school-aged student living within the district. The state collects, however, $5,900 from the district for each student attending private school. Although the district still must provide transportation and learning assessments for these private school students, the state requires the district to pay an additional $4,100 per non-public school student. 

Fair School Funding Plan:
Ohio's Path to Constitutional School Funding

In 2015, Senator Bob Cupp and Representative John Patterson partnered to develop a transparent, equitable, sustainable formula to address for Ohio's unconstitutional school funding system.

Read the complete Fair School Funding Plan they co-authored HERE.
Read a summary and analysis of the Fair School Funding Plan HERE.

The Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan has several key features:
  1. It uses the actual cost of education to establish the base cost for the budget, providing a more precise calculation of how to account for each local district's capacity.
  2. It ended deduction funding for charters and voucher programs that would divert funding away from local schools, subsidizing private education for some students instead.
  3. It established funding levels for "categorial aid," meaning for categories of students who would require additional resources in some way (like kids who need additional resources to get up to reading at their grade level, or kids whose families are in poverty).

The Cupp-Patterson plan was originally offered as a bill in the legislature, but instead of passing as legislation, it was written into the state budget with a six-year implementation schedule. This means that full funding, and full implementation of the plan, must be advocated for each state budgeting process. In 2023, we have completed two years of the planned six year implementation period.

Fair school funding in Ohio is incomplete.
So what's next?

Making the system work well is a work in progress. Honesty for Ohio Education advocates for complete, and completely constitutional, funding for Ohio's schools. The work ahead will take place in two categories:

We must make sure funding for Ohio's schools is always constitutional, and is always funded in full.

We must make sure funding for Ohio's schools accounts for the variations and needs of our students and communities. 

Ohio's state-level leaders have multiple opportunities to help achieve these goals:
  1. Continue to support the ongoing implementation of the plan. A six-year phase-in was laid out for the Fair School Funding Plan; we have accomplished 2 of those 6 years.
  2. Call for the studies that are needed to undergird the methodology of the Fair School Funding Plan formula. For instance, we need to have a complete understanding of what it costs to educate a child living in poverty. In order to plan and accurately fund for the needs of districts that serve children who live in poverty, we need to study that category of student, understand their needs, and understand the financial commitment required to adequately support that child. 
  3. Complete the implementation of the fair school funding commission, which has always been a part of the Fair School Funding Plan. This commission should be tasked with uncovering problems throughout the implementation process, and devising ways to make the program work better for Ohio's families. 

In his February 2023 State of the State address, Governor DeWine promised to continue the funding of the Fair School Funding Plan, but more than just the financial allocations are needed. 

Timeline of Ohio's Education Systems

1803
​Ohio was founded as a state, with a population of 45,000 residents.
1825
​The first system of local schools was established in Ohio, and was financed by property taxes.
1851
​The Ohio State Constitution establishes the requirement of a "thorough and efficient system of common schools."
See Ohio Revised Code HERE.
1934
​After the Great Depression, Ohio allocated a sales tax to help fund education for the first time.
1975
The Ohio Lottery was founded, with the stipulation that some proceeds go toward funding education; this has not resulted in improved funding for Ohio's schools.
​Learn more HERE.
1976
HB 920 passed the Ohio legislature, freezing the way property taxes are assessed for education funding without adjustments for inflation; this is part of why Ohio local school districts must regularly place a levy on the ballot asking for voters to support their local schools.
​Learn more HERE.
1991
The DeRolph v. State case was filed in Ohio, alleging that some school districts are inequitably funded, and therefore providing inequitable education to some Ohio students.
​Learn more HERE.
1997
The Ohio Supreme Court found that Ohio's schools are funded unconstitutionally. In total, four rulings are issued with that same finding. 
​Learn more HERE.
2020
​The Fair School Funding Plan is included in Ohio's state budget.
​Learn more HERE.
Find additional history on Ohio's school funding HERE.