The countdown clock has hit zero, the confetti has fallen, and folks are basking in the shine of a fresh start. Across social media, Ohioans are predicting what they think the new year will bring for them and their loved ones. But what does 2026 have in store for Ohio education? Here are three predictions.
1. Education policy will be a major talking point in the race for governor.
In the fall, Ohioans will head to the polls to elect a new governor. As of this writing, they’ll likely be choosing between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. There are plenty of pressing concerns—like the economy and affordability—that will be debated. But given that one of the candidates (Ramaswamy) has been fairly outspoken about his ideas for schools, it’s likely that education will be a talking point for both campaigns. Two issues, in particular, will take center stage.
First, school funding. If it seems like Ohio lawmakers have been locked in a battle over this issue for years, that’s because they have been. In 2021, they established a new framework that determined the “base cost” of educating an average student and required an additional $2 billion per year to meet its prescriptions. Since then, there have been incessant debates over updating formula inputs, eliminating guarantees, and effectively allocating dollars for low-income students. The state budget that was passed this summer was a mixed bag that didn’t make much progress on solving these issues. With another budget looming in 2027, Ohio’s next governor will need a plan for funding schools, and you can be sure the media will be asking for details.
Second, school choice. This is a bit of a no-brainer, given that Republicans and Democrats disagree sharply on this issue. But the polarization is particularly deep in Ohio, where left-leaning groups regularly blame charters and vouchers for “draining” funds from traditional district schools (untrue), negatively impacting academic outcomes in those schools (also untrue), only helping the rich (again, untrue), and causing pretty much every other problem under the sun. A lawsuit against the state’s largest private school choice program, EdChoice, is currently working its way through the courts. Add in persistent problems like transportation and charter accountability, and school choice is sure to be a featured issue on the campaign trail.
2. State lawmakers won’t get much done in terms of new policy.
For better or worse, Ohio does the bulk of its education policymaking through the biennial state budget. Off-cycle years are typically used to take stock of wins and losses and gameplan for the next budget. 2026 is poised to follow the same pattern. And even if education advocates wanted to break tradition and get some things done, there are two sizable roadblocks in the way. The first is the governor’s race and various Statehouse elections, which will suck up political oxygen and leave little room for policymaking. The second is a lack of shared vision between the House and Senate, despite both enjoying Republican supermajorities. During the 2025 budget process, the two chambers disagreed on most education issues, including school funding, school choice, and career-technical education. Those disagreements haven’t been resolved in the last few months. That makes passing legislation in the new year highly unlikely—which is a real shame, as both chambers have been working on some promising bills.
3. Local issues will continue to grab headlines.
District-level controversies garnered a lot of media attention in 2025. Two of the state’s largest school systems—Cleveland and Columbus—have been dominating the news lately due to budget cuts and school consolidation efforts. But they’re not the only ones. Districts all over the state made headlines this year for suing the federal government, struggling with transportation, grappling with chronic absenteeism, and lackluster report card ratings. Unfortunately for kids and families, most of these issues haven’t been resolved—and that means they’ll continue making headlines in 2026.
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And there you have it. 2026 is poised to be a dramatic year, with a race for governor and a lot of local controversies on the horizon. Here’s hoping that, through it all, adults remember to keep the focus on kids.
