Upcoming Events
State Legislative Conference
March 21, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
Sheraton Columbus at Capitol Square Columbus

Attendees will have an opportunity to attend briefings on proposed legislation and hear from legislative leaders about their respective views and priorities related to public education. Attendees are asked to schedule office appointments with legislators between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Click here to register.

Next week’s testimony opportunities
The House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education will be holding hearings for public testimony on HB 33, the biennial budget, next week. Hearings will occur on Tuesday, March 14, Wednesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 16 at 10:00 a.m.

The House Ways and Means Committee will be holding a hearing on HB 1, tax reform, on Tuesday, March 14 at 2:30 p.m. They will be accepting opponent testimony during this hearing.

Senate activity
The Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 17, sponsored by Sen. Steve Wilson (R-Maineville), by a vote of 31-1. The bill would require the State Board to update the standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and entrepreneurship in grades nine-12 to include free market capitalism content.

The Senate passed SB 30, sponsored by Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster), by a vote of 25-7. The bill would allow a person aged 14 or 15 to be employed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. during the school year if the person has parental or legal guardian consent.

Senate Education Committee
The committee held a third hearing on SB 11, sponsored by Sen. Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula), which would expand eligibility for EdChoice scholarships to all students beginning with scholarships sought for the 2023-24 school year, and increase the homeschool expense tax credit from $250 to $2,000.

The committee held a second hearing on SB 14, sponsored by Sen. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction), which would allow school districts to employ veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who have met certain requirements as teachers without licenses.

The committee held a second hearing on SB 29, sponsored by Sen. Stephen A. Huffman (R-Tipp City), which would enact laws pertaining to technology providers for education records and data. The bill would require school districts to make public certain information regarding the technology providers they use. The bill also limits what school districts can access or monitor on a school-issued device.

The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 66, sponsored by Sen. Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati), which would require public and private schools to transmit a transferred student's records within five school days.

House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee amended House Bill (HB) 12, sponsored by Reps. Don Jones (R-Freeport) and David Dobos (R-Columbus). This bill is a companion to SB 1. HB 12 would rename the Department of Education as the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) and would create the position of Director of Education and Workforce. The bill also would reform the functions and responsibilities of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The amendment requires the Director of Education and Workforce to appoint an individual with appropriate educational, professional, or managerial experience as the Deputy Director of Primary and Secondary Education or Career-Technical Education. Testifying as proponents of the bill were:

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 8, sponsored by Reps. D. J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara P. Carruthers (R-Hamilton). This bill would enact the Parents Bill of Rights to require public schools to adopt a policy on parental notification of student health and well-being and instructional materials with sexually explicit content.

House Ways and Means Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 1, sponsored by Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon), which would modify the law regarding property taxation and income tax rates. The Legislative Service Commission released the fiscal analysis on the bill. Click here to read the analysis.

House Higher Education Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 6, sponsored by Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum), which would enact the Save Women's Sports Act. The bill would require schools, state institutions of higher education and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex.

House Health Provider Services Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 47, sponsored by Reps. Richard D. Brown (R-Canal Winchester) and Adam C. Bird (R-New Richmond), which would require the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in each public and chartered nonpublic school and each public recreational facility. The bill would also require the Ohio Department of Health to develop a model emergency action plan for the use of AEDs.

Senate Finance Committee
The committee held a second hearing on SB 6, sponsored by Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton), which would prohibit the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) and School Employment Retirement System (SERS), among others, from making investment decisions for the primary purpose of influencing environmental, social and corporate governance policies.

Senate Government Oversight Committee
The committee held a third hearing on SB 23, sponsored by Sen. George F. Lang (R-West Chester), which would expand political subdivision joint purchasing authority to expressly include purchases for construction services.

The committee held a third hearing on SB 44, sponsored by Sen. Andrew O. Brenner (R-Powell), which would require a state occupational licensing agency to accept electronic license applications.

Senate Ways and Means Committee
The committee passed SB 43, sponsored by Sen. Andrew O. Brenner (R-Powell), which would extend the homestead exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran to spouses of disabled veterans who died before receiving a qualifying disability rating.

New Bills Introduced
The following bills were introduced this week:

  • HB 90, sponsored by Rep. Thomas F. Patton (R-Strongsville), which would authorize a total property tax exemption for the homesteads of totally disabled veterans and their surviving spouses;
  • SB 79, sponsored by Sen. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester), which would make changes to dropout prevention and recovery community schools.

Federal update
Please click here to read the weekly Federal Advocacy Education Report that includes education related information.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 3/10/2023