Students from under-performing schools are eligible for private school scholarships

Published: Sat, February 6, 2016 @ 12:00 a.m.

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Applications are being accepted for scholarships that help students from underperforming public schools or those with special needs to attend participating private schools or providers.

The EdChoice Scholarship Program enables students who are assigned to attend underperforming public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools if awarded one of up to 60,000 state-funded scholarships

Students from 10 schools in the city are eligible: East High School, Chaney Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts School, Youngstown Early College, Rayen Early College Middle School, Youngstown Virtual Academy and Harding, Martin Luther King, Williamson, Paul C. Bunn and William Holmes McGuffey elementary schools.

In Warren, students attending Jefferson, Lincoln, McGuffey and Willard Avenue pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade schools are eligible.

The designation occurred because the schools for at least two of the last three years either received a local report-card designation of academic emergency or academic watch for 2011-12 and received an overall "D" or "F" on the performance index and value-added progress dimension on the 2012-13 or 2013-14 building report card; or ranked in the lowest 10 percent of public school buildings by performance index score.

The maximum amount of the scholarship for kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students is $4,650, while the maximum amount for high-school students is $6,000.

Students first must be accepted for enrollment at the participating private school of their choice, and then they can apply for the scholarship. The private school will submit the scholarship application through the secure online scholarship application system.

Additional EdChoice scholarships are available to incoming kindergarten, first-, second- and-third grade students whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. These scholarships are available to anyone who meets the income requirements regardless of where they live in Ohio. Students receiving scholarships will receive up to $4,650 to attend the private school of their choice and will be able to renew the award annually.

To be eligible for the income-based EdChoice Scholarship, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

Students entering kindergarten, first, second or third grade for the first time in the 2016-17 school year.

Students who are not eligible for the Cleveland or school-based EdChoice Scholarship programs.

Students from families that earn 200 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines (for a family of four, the threshold is $48,600 based on 2016 federal poverty guidelines).

Applications will be accepted beginning this week.

Separately, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who are eligible to attend kindergarten through 12th grade and have a current Evaluation Team Report identifying the educational disability. The amount of each scholarship is based on the disability identified on the student's Evaluation Team Report and will not exceed $27,000.

To apply, parents of eligible students first must register with a participating Jon Peterson Scholarship provider. The provider will have the required application forms and will assist the parent in the scholarship application process.

Information is available at the Ohio Department of Education's website, education.ohio. gov.

Source: Students from under-performing schools are eligible for private school scholarships