Students at three area public schools are now eligible to participate in the state's tuition voucher program because of a recent change in state law.

The new private-school voucher rules mean thousands more students statewide can seek the tuition aid, including those at Alliance Middle School, Barberton's U.L. Light Middle School and Canton's Timken High School.

Before the legislative change, only those students in schools that have spent three consecutive years in ``academic emergency' -- the state's lowest academic ranking -- were eligible to apply.

Now, students attending schools in the ``academic watch' category -- the state's second-lowest ranking -- for three consecutive years also can apply.

The new program, which begins this fall, will allow students in low-performing schools to use taxpayer funds to pay tuition to private schools. The value of the voucher is $4,250 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade and $5,000 for high schoolers.

Proponents say the vouchers expand choice. Critics say that the voucher program -- like transfers to charter schools -- takes money away from public schools and makes them more reliant on local property taxes.

With the change, the number of eligible students grows from about 30,000 in about 50 buildings to more than 46,000 in nearly 100 buildings. More than 2,000 students attend the three local schools.

Elizabeth Lolli, superintendent of the Barberton district, which could see students leave U.L. Light Middle School, voiced disappointment at the expansion of the voucher program.

``It doesn't show any sign of support and or belief in the public school setting, which is sad,' she said last week.

Lolli said school administrators and teachers around the state are working hard to improve test scores. ``It's like the state came in and smacked them around again.'

Lolli doesn't think many U.L. Light parents want to leave, noting that so far no parents have taken advantage of a program that allows them to transfer students to the district's other middle school, Highland.

JoAnn Berkowitz, an assistant superintendent for Canton City Schools, said she isn't expecting a significant loss of Timken students. She said the number of students opting for charter schools is leveling off and some students who previously left for charters are returning.

Berkowitz said that with the offerings at Timken and McKinley high schools, as well as at Early College (a program that gives students the opportunity to earn an associate degree), the district has ``a comprehensive program that gives amazing options for Canton families and their children.'

Ohio Federation of Teachers President Tom Mooney, a strong opponent of vouchers, said in a recent newsletter that the major motivation for the expansion of eligibility requirements was that too few students had applied for vouchers under the old rules.

About 8,500 students had applied for the program's 14,000 slots by early last week, said Ohio Department of Education spokesman J.C. Benton.

The large number of the unused slots played a role in the legislative change, said Tasha Hamilton, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Jon Husted, who pushed for the new rules.

``The speaker doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all program for education,' she said.

If more than 14,000 eligible students were to apply, the state would hold a lottery. Poor families would have priority in the lottery.

When Ohio's voucher program began in 1996 it was limited to the Cleveland school district, which remains a separate program. The Ohio Supreme Court declared vouchers constitutional in 2002. Last year, legislators expanded the program, offering them statewide to students in low-performing schools.

For more information on the vouchers, visit the Ohio Department of Education Web site: www.edchoice.ohio.gov or call 877-OHIO-EDU (877-644-6338.)

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781. Staff writer Stephanie Warsmith contributed to this article.