Equitable access requires full funding of FSFP, which considers actual costs of both instruction and critical support services. Analysts estimate $2.7 billion more is needed per year. Only about 50–60% of FSFP has been implemented so far.

The bipartisan FSFP is being abandoned in the latest House Substitute Bill, reversing equity progress. Franklin County schools alone lose nearly $200 million in needed funding. Statewide, public schools receive just 10% of what’s required to meet student needs.

A 30% cap on school district carryover funds could force $4 billion out of school budgets. This policy punishes districts that budget responsibly, harms poorer districts the most, and creates long-term instability requiring constant new levies to stay afloat.

The 2025 Substitute Bill continues to defy the Ohio Supreme Court’s DeRolph ruling, which found Ohio’s school funding system unconstitutional due to its overreliance on property taxes. Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted this entrenches socio-economic inequality in education, violating equal access rights.

Ohio is spending nearly $1 billion on private school vouchers—benefiting mostly high-income families—while starving public schools that serve the majority. Only 20% of voucher recipients are low-income. This undermines the purpose of public funding.

Franklin County illustrates Ohio’s educational divide. While suburban districts thrive, urban and rural districts lose out. FSFP helps balance these disparities. Yet the Substitute Bill falls short, with urban-rural districts seeing far greater shortfalls in state support.

Lawmakers claim Ohio can’t afford FSFP, yet sit on a $3.8B rainy day fund, and plan a $600M stadium subsidy. Vouchers expand while 78% of students remain in underfunded public schools. The math doesn’t add up—and students pay the price.