House activity
Amended Substitute House Bill 342, sponsored by Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova), would eliminate August special elections for levies with a lifespan of more than five years and change Ohio law related to levy ballot language. The bill was passed by the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee earlier this week. Prior to passing the bill, the committee accepted an amendment that removed provisions in the bill to eliminate August special elections. While we appreciate this amendment to the substitute bill, we remain opponents of the bill, specifically the proposed changes to Ohio’s ballot language law. Click here for a copy of a memo sent to the committee citing our concerns with the legislation.
The House Education and Career Readiness Committee did not meet this week.
Senate activity
The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee held its third hearing on House Bill (HB) 338. The bill would permit medical professionals listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners and chiropractors to perform the annual school bus driver physical examination required under rules adopted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. No testimony was given.
The Senate Education Committee did not meet this week.
Joint Education Oversight Committee
The committee met this week and hosted a presentation on the value-added measure by John White and Jennifer Bell of the SAS Institutes’ Education Value-Added Assessment System group. SAS is an education vendor contracted by the Ohio Department of Education to track, model and report the value-added measure, an indicator on district state report cards that measure student growth.