New laws
The governor signed into law the following bills:
• House Bill (HB) 491, which extends the alternative high school graduation pathways to the classes of 2019 and 2020, exempts treasurers from liability for certain cases in which loss of public funds occur, and revises licensure for pupil services personnel;
• HB 291, which allows school districts, among others, to purchase an “employee dishonesty and faithful performance of duty policy” instead of individual surety bonds for officers, employees and appointees who are otherwise required to give a bond;
• HB 338, which qualifies licensed chiropractors and medical professionals listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners to perform an annual physical on school bus drivers;
• HB 58, which requires the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to include supplemental instructional materials on cursive handwriting in the English language arts model curriculum.
Senate activity
The Senate sent HB 66 to the House for a concurrence vote. Before passage, the bill was amended to include the provisions of Senate Bill (SB) 82. SB 82 requires public schools, within two hours of the start of a school day, to notify the parent of a student who fails to arrive at school and is not excused from attendance.
The Senate also informally passed HB 477 and SB 21. This means the bills were not voted on and, instead, were set aside for a potential vote at a later date. The Senate’s only remaining session is Dec. 27. SB 21 requires the ballot wording on property tax proposals to be in terms of tax per $100,000 of fair market value rather than per $100 of tax valuation. HB 477 eliminates nonoperational and outdated provisions related to ODE and school operations.