House activity
The House passed House Bill (HB) 333 by a 72-19 vote. The bill would require the state to recommend a job description for school counselors. The bill also would require public schools to consider those recommendations when preparing job descriptions and assigning duties for school counselors. Additionally, HB 333 would require the designation of a school counselor liaison at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).

Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee amended HB 583, which would extend the current temporary flexibility for school districts regarding the educational requirements of substitute teachers until June 30, 2024. The bill also would establish a study committee to examine the substitute teacher shortage. The amendment makes the following changes:

  • delays the dyslexia screening and intervention requirements for students in grades K-six to the 2023-24 school year and permits a district to administer the tier one dyslexia screening prior to the 2023-24 school year;
  • permits a school district to utilize the Ohio Dyslexia Guidebook if it so chooses but specifies that a school district must comply with mandated statutes;
  • removes multisensory from the description of multisensory structured literacy programs;
  • changes the professional development requirements to indicate that ODE maintains a list of trainings instead of a list of courses;
  • requires ODE to consider a community school sponsor rating for an entity that succeeded the University of Toledo as a sponsor;
  • changes the membership of the Substitute Teacher Shortages Study Committee;
  • removes the $338 million appropriation for the federal school lunch program due to HB 95 already making the appropriation;
  • requires that a community school first designated as a Community School of Quality in the 2019-20 school year maintain that designation for the 2022-23 school year and permits the school to renew the designation for subsequent school years;
  • makes technical corrections to the school-funding formula that was implemented in HB 110;
  • makes a technical correction to Senate Bill (SB) 166 to allow ODE to request personally identifiable student information from a school district to award a tax credit to an employer who provides work-based learning experiences to career-technical education students;
  • provides state funding for certain community schools;
  • creates a safe harbor for the 2021-22 SY from penalties and sanctions for community school sponsors.

The committee amended SB 306, which would establish a voluntary tutoring and remedial instruction program that public schools and chartered nonpublic schools could choose to participate in by notifying the state superintendent of public instruction. The bill would require the ESC of Central Ohio to employ tutors and coordinate placement of tutors in participating schools. The bill also would require 16 regional ESCs selected under the bill, in conjunction with the ESC of Central Ohio, to administer the training program for tutors in their regions. The amendment makes the following changes:

  • revises a payment system included in the bill to ensure participating tutors can have a background check performed at no cost to the tutor;
  • permits ODE to collect student performance data from participants;
  • requires the coordinating educational service center to establish an application process instead of the state superintendent of public instruction;
  • appropriates $2.4 million in federal funding to pay administration costs.
     

House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 529, sponsored by Reps. Brett Hudson Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), which would require public and nonpublic schools to post on a publicly accessible website course curricula, including a course syllabus that includes a list of all instructional materials, activities and textbooks, a written summary and state academic standards. The bill also would require public colleges to post on a publicly accessible website course curricula for each course a secondary student who participates in the College Credit Plus program is enrolled.

The committee passed HB 554, which would require the State Board to issue two-year temporary educator licenses to applicants with expired professional teacher's certificates and professional educator licenses as long as certain requirements are met.

The committee passed HB 606, which would require public and chartered nonpublic schools to create an individualized seizure action plan for each enrolled student who has an active seizure disorder diagnosis. The bill also would require each school to have at least one employee trained in implementing seizure action plans and would require students to receive age-appropriate instruction on seizure disorders.

Finally, the committee held a second hearing on HB 492, sponsored by Reps. Mike Loychik (R-Bazetta) and Gail K. Pavliga (R-Atwater), which would require school athletic coaches to complete mental health training each time they apply for or renew a pupil-activity program permit and provide evidence of completed training to the State Board.

House Higher Education and Career Readiness Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 577, sponsored by Reps. Mark Fraizer (R-Newark) and Adam Holmes (R-Nashport), which would establish the Ohio STEM Gateway Program under the College Credit Plus program that requires a public high school and public college to jointly develop 30 credit-hour pathways in STEM and health care fields. The bill also would allow schools to use existing pathways to meet the 30-credit-hour requirement and would create the Ohio STEM Retention Program that provides an annual tuition waiver of $2,000 for up to three academic years to a student who completes the Ohio STEM Gateway Program and enrolls in a STEM or health care field at a public college. Finally, the bill would create the Ohio IT Promise Program that provides up to $4,000 in student loan forgiveness to an individual who meets certain requirements.

House Ways and Means Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of HB 501, which would authorize school districts to levy property taxes for school resource officer services, among other changes. The substitute bill removes the bill’s provisions that authorize school districts to levy property taxes for school resource officer services.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 614, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula), which would allow property used for commercial timber production to receive the 10% nonbusiness property tax rollback.

House Transportation Committee
The committee amended HB 494, which would authorize a municipal corporation, county or township to propose, by resolution, establishing a school adjacent zone on any street or highway located within a half mile of a school. The bill also would require consultation with school administration and the county engineer before adopting the resolution. The amendment allows local government fund reimbursement payments made on the basis of traffic camera fines collected by the subdivision for school zone infractions to be used for certain purposes other than school safety purposes.

The committee amended and passed HB 578, sponsored by Roemer, which would create the Revere Local (Summit) Schools license plate and to make an appropriation on revenues received from the purchase of the license plate. The amendment makes HB 578 an omnibus bill for special license plates and highway designations, including HB 394, which would create the Stephen T. Badin High School license plate and would make an appropriation on revenues received from the purchase of the license plate.

House Technology and Innovation Committee
The committee held invited testimony on cyber security and the current state of STEM education in Ohio.

Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee
The committee amended SB 131, which would require an occupational licensing authority to issue a license or government certification to an applicant who holds a license, government certification or private certification or has satisfactory work experience in another state under certain circumstances. The amendment corrected an error to a previous amendment to include military members with experience obtained during their time in the services with regard to the building trade.

Senate Judiciary Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of SB 288, which would update employment laws as they pertain to Head Start agencies along with other changes. The amendment removes all language that came from the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee.

House Civil Justice Committee
The committee held a fifth hearing on HB 508, which would revise the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities to grant equal time and responsibility for a child.

House Criminal Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 459, sponsored by Reps. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) and Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Township), which would prohibit an individual in the restricted offender category from being in a position as an employer, employee, independent contractor or a volunteer with any person, group or organization that has extensive contact with minor children.

The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 168, sponsored by Sen. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction), which would establish the Ohio Mobile Training Team Program that provides basic firearms training programs to school safety designees and includes quarterly training required for continued certification.

House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 454, sponsored by Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Diane V. Grendell (R-Chesterland), which would prohibit certain procedures to alter a minor child's sex. The bill also would prohibit all school personnel from encouraging or coercing a student to withhold from his or her parent the fact that the minor's perception of his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex and prohibit all school personnel from withholding information related to the minor’s perception of his or her gender if inconsistent with his or her sex. Additionally, the bill would designate this act as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

Senate Health Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 206, sponsored by Sens. Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) and Andrew O. Brenner (R- Powell), which would license and regulate art therapists and music therapists.

Ohio Department of Education
The Ohio Department of Education has the following proposed rules open for public comment:

  • OAC 3301-69-02 Excuses from school attendance.
  • OAC 3301-51-11 Preschool children eligible for special education.

Click here to view the rules open for public comment.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 5/20/2022