Student Funding

Use of Funds 

Funds are paid to parents of an eligible child and may be used to pay for all or part of the tuition and fees for the child to attend the special education program offered by an alternative public provider or private provider that implements the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Scholarships may also be used to pay for other services not included in the student’s IEP but associated with educating the child. Students may also be entitled to transportation to and from their program. 

Funding Amount and Source 

The state calculates funding using a unique, program-specific formula set out in statute. The amount of each scholarship varies based on the child’s disability. Scholarships (vouchers) are worth the lesser of fees and tuition charged by the alternative public or private school, the amount of state aid otherwise provided to the public school district, or a maximum scholarship amount ranging from $9,585 to $32,445 depending on a student’s special needs category in 2024–2025. The amount is reduced proportionately if the child is not enrolled in the alternative or private school for the entire school year. The state sets maximum funding amounts for different types of special needs. Parents of students with a Category 1 disability (speech and language only) may use the scholarship only to pay for services included in their child’s IEP and cannot use the scholarship to pay for tuition at a private school. Any qualifying Ohio K–12 student that wishes to participate may receive funding. 

(Last updated July 30, 2024)  

Student Eligibility

Children with special needs must be between ages 5 and 21 and have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) from their public school district. The state will not award vouchers if the IEP is still in development or any administrative or judicial mediation or proceeding concerning the initial IEP is pending. The child must be enrolled in or eligible to enroll in grades kindergarten through 12 in a school district in which the child is entitled to attend and comply with the compulsory attendance law. The student may not receive this scholarship and a scholarship under the educational choice scholarship pilot program, the autism scholarship program, or the pilot project scholarship program for the same year. To remain eligible, a student must take any required assessments, unless otherwise exempted. Parents’ applications must certify that they have received the methods of instruction to be used with the child and qualifications of the teachers and instructors who will provide services from the alternative or private school. The number of vouchers available is capped at 5% of the students with special needs statewide. Eligible students may apply year-round depending on whether funding is available. 

(Last updated July 30, 2024) 

EdChoice Expert Feedback

Ohio’s Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program helps thousands of students with special needs access schools that are the right fit for them, but policymakers could do much more to expand educational opportunity. Eligibility for the vouchers is limited to students with an IEP between the ages of 5 and 21. Roughly one in eight Ohio’s students are eligible for a scholarship and just under five percent of students statewide actually use one of Ohio’s five educational choice programs (including the Cleveland Scholarship Program, the Autism Scholarship Program, the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, and the Income-Based Scholarship Program). The program is capped at 5 percent of students with special needs statewide. The average voucher value is about $10,801, which is about 72 percent of the average expenditure per student at Ohio’s district schools. To expand access to educational choice, Ohio policymakers should remove the cap on participation. The program could also be converted into an education savings account to ensure that all students have access to the education that’s the right fit for them, whether private school or a customized course of education. Ohio’s voucher program generally avoids unnecessary and counterproductive regulations. (Last updated December 18, 2023)

Rules and Regulations

Program Guidelines

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
• Enrollment Cap: 5% of students with special needs
• Scholarship (voucher) Cap: $32,445
• Testing Mandates: State
• Special Needs Pathway: Pathway

Participant and Family Guidelines

• Education Requirements: Ensure child’s needs are met with providers
• Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed
• Miscellaneous: Parents receive a profile of the provider’s special education program

Education Provider Guidelines

• Accreditation/Approval: Registered by the state
• Employment Standards:
  • Submit in writing to the parents of the qualified child with special needs a profile of the provider’s special education program, including: methods of instruction that will be utilized to provide services to the child and the qualifications of teachers, instructors and other persons who will provide services to the child
  • Have properly credentialed staff
• Nondiscrimination: State (comply with state nondiscrimination laws) and federal
• Calendar/Curriculum/Attendance:
  • Provide record of the implementation of the IEP of each qualified special education student enrolled in the school, including evaluation of the child’s progress to the school district
  • Administer and report the results of the state’s tests, unless the student is excused from taking that assessment under federal law or the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
  • Educational program approved by the state
• Financial:
  • Submit to the state information on the type and cost of special education services given to scholarship recipients
  • Demonstrate fiscal soundness
• Miscellaneous:
  • Meet health and safety standards

(Last updated October 15, 2024)

Governing Statutes

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 3310.51 through 64

(Last updated February 15, 2023)

Legal History

No legal challenges have been filed against the program.

(Last updated February 5, 2025)