House activity

The House of Representatives informally passed House Bill (HB) 371, sponsored by Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township). This means that the bill was not voted on and, instead, is placed on the House calendar for a potential vote at a later date. The bill would exempt from property tax the increased value of unimproved land that has been subdivided for residential development until construction begins or the land is sold.

The House also passed Senate Bill (SB) 22, sponsored by Sen. Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House). The legislation expands Ohio's 529 education savings plan to make earnings used for K-12 education expenses tax-exempt, and to make contributed amounts eligible for a state tax deduction if used to pay K-12 education expenses. The bill now heads to the Senate for a concurrence vote.

House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 512, sponsored by Rep. Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin). The legislation consolidates the state education agencies and Office of Workforce Transformation into a new agency called the Department of Learning and Achievement. It also transfers much of the duties and authority of the State Board of Education and superintendent of public instruction to the new agency.

The committee adopted a technical, nonsubstantive amendment during its fourth hearing on HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova Township). The bill would prohibit certain local tax-related proposals from appearing on an August special election ballot and require 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. There were no witnesses present to testify on the legislation.

House Ways and Means Committee

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 488, sponsored by Reps. Ron Hood (R-Ashville) and John Becker (R-Union Township). The bill 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.

House Finance Committee

The committee adopted a substitute version of HB 378 during its fifth and sixth hearings. Sponsored by Reps. Ryan Smith (R-Gallipolis) and Jack Cera (D-Bellaire), the bill would create the Ohio Broadband Development Grant Program and allow school districts, among others, to apply for grants under the program. Click here for a synopsis of the changes made by the substitute version.

The committee conducted its first and second hearings on HB 529, sponsored by Rep. Scott Ryan (R-Newark). The bill makes capital appropriations and reappropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2020.

Finally, the committee conducted its second and third hearings on HB 508, sponsored by Reps. Scott Ryan (R-Newark) and Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin). The bill would establish the OhioCORPS Pilot Project to provide eligible at-risk students living in the southeast region of Ohio with mentorship programs operated by certain higher education institutions and would provide a one-time college scholarship of $1,000 for those students.

House Education and Career Readiness Committee

The committee adopted a revised version of and passed HB 318, sponsored by Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and Sarah LaTourette (R-Chesterland). The legislation prescribes qualifications and training requirements for school resource officers. Click here for a synopsis of the changes.

The committee adopted a substitute version of HB 360 during the bill’s fourth hearing. Sponsored by Rep. Dave Greenspan (R-Westlake), the bill deals with suspension and expulsion policies for incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying. Click here for a synopsis of the changes.

The committee conducted its third hearing on HB 491, sponsored by Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville). The bill would require the State Board of Education to issue substitute licenses to qualified speech-language pathologists, audiologists, registered nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists and social workers.

The committee conducted its third hearing on HB 428, sponsored by Reps. Timothy E. Ginter (R-Salem) and Sarah LaTourette (R-Chesterland). The legislation deals with student religious expression in public schools and titles the bill the Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2018.

Finally, the committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 502 and HB 503, both sponsored by Rep. Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills). HB 502 requires specified employees of public schools to undergo annual youth suicide awareness and prevention training, and HB 503 applies the same requirement to private schools.

House Higher Education and Workforce Committee

The committee adopted a substitute version of HB 449, sponsored by Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and John M. Rogers (D-Mentor-on-the-Lake). The bill would require all community school sponsors to receive approval from and enter into an agreement with the Department of Education. Click here for a synopsis of the changes made by the substitute version of the bill.

House Transportation and Public Safety Committee

The committee passed HB 481, sponsored by Reps. Dave Greenspan (R-Westlake) and Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo). The bill would create the “Stop Bullying” license plate and the Stop Bullying License Plate Contribution Fund, from which grants can be made to school districts and nonprofit organizations that provide bullying prevention training programs or educational opportunities.

Senate Education Committee

The committee amended and passed SB 82, sponsored by Sens. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) and Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering). The bill 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 committee amended SB 216, sponsored by Sen. Matt Huffman (R-Lima). The bill would enact the Ohio Public School Deregulation Act regarding the administration of preschool and primary and secondary education programs. The amendment makes several changes, including the following:

• requires recommendations on ways to improve the use and administration of the kindergarten readiness assessment;

• removes school emergency plans as an item of the bill’s consolidated school mandate report;

• revises the bill’s provisions regarding professional development for gifted student educators.

The committee conducted its third hearing on HB 98, sponsored by Reps. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) and Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus). The bill deals with the presentation of career information to students. OSBA, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) offered testimony on the bill as interested parties. Click here for a copy of the testimony.

The committee heard sponsor testimony on SB 241, sponsored by Sens. Lou Terhar (R-Cincinnati) and Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati). The bill creates a new category of nonpublic schools called "accredited nonpublic schools" and exempts such schools from certain state requirements.

The committee heard proponent testimony on HB 66, sponsored by Rep. Ron Young (R-Leroy Township). The bill establishes the Undergraduate Mission Study Committee to evaluate how each state university contributes to its undergraduate mission.

The committee conducted a third hearing on HB 21, sponsored by Rep. Stephen D. Hambley (R-Brunswick), which deals with the verification of community school enrollment. There were no witnesses present to testify on the bill.

Finally, the committee conducted a fifth hearing on SB 34, sponsored by Sen. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville). The bill would require public and private schools to open for instruction after Labor Day. There were no witnesses present to testify on the bill.