Governor activity

Gov. Mike DeWine announced the list of schools receiving funds from the K-12 School Safety Grant Program. A total of 708 schools will receive $57.8 million in grant funding to enhance student and staff safety. Click here for the list of schools. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) will administer the funds using procedures determined by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Learn more about the program here. Districts should remember that work funded under this grant must be contracted by Dec. 31, 2023 and completed by Sept. 30, 2024, unless otherwise approved by OFCC.

House Leadership
The House Democratic caucus met and reelected Rep. C. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) minority leader for the upcoming General Assembly that begins January 3, 2023. The other minority leadership members selected are as follows:

  • Rep. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) as assistant minority leader;
  • Rep. Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park) as minority whip;
  • Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) as assistant minority whip.

House activity
The House passed House Bill (HB) 462, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Franklin Township), by a 68-14 vote. The bill would prohibit swatting. OSBA, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) provided proponent testimony during the House Criminal Justice committee earlier in the week. Click here to read the testimony.

Senate activity
The Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 288, sponsored by Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), by a 29-2 vote. The bill would update employment laws as they pertain to Head Start agencies, along with other changes. Earlier in the week, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill. Click here to read an analysis of the bill.

Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of SB 178, sponsored by Sen. Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin), which would reform the functions and responsibilities of the State Board of Education (SBOE), the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and ODE; and would implement the following provisions:

  • create a Department of Education and Workforce with a cabinet-level director appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate;
  • divide the agency into two divisions, the Division of Primary and Secondary Education, which will also include preschool and the Division of Career Technical Education;
  • authorize the new department to be responsible for the rulemaking process and the enforcement of current rules;
  • maintain the current structure of the SBOE but limit its duties to teacher licensure, educator or staff conduct and territory transfer decisions.

Click here to read an analysis of the substitute bill. Testifying as proponents of the bill were:

The committee held a second hearing on HB 554, sponsored by Reps. Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) and Adam C. Bird (R-New Richmond), which would require SBOE 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. OSBA, BASA, OASBO, the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA) and the Alliance for High Quality Education provided proponent testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

The committee held a second hearing on SB 356, sponsored by Sen. Andrew O. Brenner (R-Powell), which would increase the eligibility age from six to nine regarding the education of children experiencing developmental delays and state operating funding for districts and schools educating such children. OSBA, BASA, OASBO and OAESA provided proponent testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

The committee also held a second hearing on SB 365, sponsored by Sen. Steve Wilson (R-Maineville), which would require SBOE to update the standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and entrepreneurship in grades nine-12 to include free market capitalism content.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 497, sponsored by Reps. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Phillip M. Robinson Jr. (D-Solon), which would modify the English language arts assessment to be administered once in the third grade and eliminate retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 151, sponsored by Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport), which would revise the Ohio Resident Educator Program (RESA) to allow mentoring to occur online or in person and prohibits SBOE from limiting the number of attempts participants have to successfully complete the RESA. The bill also requires districts to provide one day of professional development leave for classroom teachers each year to observe a veteran teacher. Additionally, the bill includes provisions of HB 61, which would enact the Save Women’s Sports Act to require schools and public and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 333, sponsored by Reps. Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park) and Andrea White (R-Kettering), which 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 ODE.

The committee also held sponsor testimony 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 SBOE.

Finally, the committee held sponsor testimony on SB 361, sponsored by Sen. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction), which would allow schools districts to employ veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces that have met certain requirements to be employed as teachers without licenses.

House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 748, sponsored by Rep. Adam C. Bird (R-New Richmond), which would require school districts, community schools, and STEM schools to adopt a policy regarding professional co-worker relationships and the performance of staff member duties. Additionally, the policy must prohibit each professional staff member from engaging in political, partisan, ideological, or religious advocacy by compelling a student to adopt, affirm, or adhere to a specific belief; and unfairly evaluating a student’s work because it does not reflect a specific political, partisan, ideological, or religious belief.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 659, sponsored by Rep. Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati), which would require SBOE to adopt rules regarding disclosures of the for-profit status of community school operators and to adopt rules regarding promotional materials published by an unaffiliated person and contracts for employment.

The committee also held sponsor testimony on House Resolution 223, sponsored by Tavia Galonski (D-Akron), which would urge ODE to institute a mandatory four-year life skills program.

Finally, the committee held sponsor testimony on House Concurrent Resolution 25, sponsored by Adam C. Miller (D-Columbus) and Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park), which would encourage schools to retire the use of Native American sports mascots.

Senate Ways & Means Committee
The committee held a second hearing on SB 335, sponsored by Sens. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction) and George F. Lang (R-West Chester), which would modify the homestead property tax exemption for disabled veterans to be determined by multiplying the current taxes charged by the percentage of the disabled veteran’s disability rating.

House Government Oversight Committee
The committee amended HB 294, sponsored by Reps. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth), which would make changes to election law and absentee voting. Additionally, it would remove the August special election, among other changes. The amendments pertain to allowing the Secretary of State to mail unsolicited applications for absent voter's ballots if the General Assembly first appropriates funding for that particular mailing and also includes a technical amendment.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 594, sponsored by Rep. Seitz (R-Cincinnati), which would revise the Ohio Elections Commission and the campaign finance law in regard to the dissolution of funds from a terminated campaign committee, multi-beneficiary campaign committee or a political action committee; and would modify requirements and terms of election commission members and modifies the removal process an election commission member.

The committee also held sponsor testimony on HB 306, sponsored by Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) and C. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington), which would modify Ohio’s campaign finance laws by eliminating continuing associations, require a political contributing entity to report expenditures and modify independent expenditure language.

Finally, the committee held sponsor testimony on HB 588, sponsored by Reps. Lisa A. Sobecki (D-Toledo) and Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati), which would declare the General Assembly's intent to establish new SBOE districts.

House Ways and Means Committee
The committee held a second hearing on SB 112, sponsored by Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), which would require abandoned land to be forfeited to the state, instead of a school district as under current law, if unsold after the first foreclosure sale; and eliminate the requirement to notify a school district upon receiving certification that a property has been offered for sale and is unsold.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 546, sponsored by Rep. Diane V. Grendell (R-Chesterland), which would authorize a county, township or municipal corporation to partially exempt certain homes occupied by persons who are at least 65 years of age from taxes and special assessments; and would require a subdivision that allows the exemption to reimburse taxing units for the resulting decrease in tax and assessment receipts.

Senate Local Government and Elections Committee
The committee held a third hearing on HB 458, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township), which would eliminate the August special election, except in instances when the August special election is to nominate or elect candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives or if a school district is under a fiscal emergency. The bill also would allow a school district whose entire territory is located within the congressional district that is on the August ballot to put certain levies on the August ballot. OSBA, OASBO and BASA provided interested party testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 501, sponsored by Rep. Hall, which would extend to townships the use of the municipal tax increment financing laws and allow townships to create a redevelopment tax increment equivalent fund for payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT), both of which may have an impact on school district local revenue.

House State and Local Government Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 131, sponsored by Sens. Kristina D. Roegner (R-Hudson) and Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), 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. Additionally, the bill clarifies that a person seeking a license through an already preapproved licensure compact would use the compact method.

House Insurance Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 723, sponsored by Reps. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati), which would change the State Teachers Retirement Board membership to allow retirees who are reemployed to seek election as a contributing or retired member of the board, and would change the requirements of a contributing board member who retires or leaves employment and later seeks election as a retired board member.

Senate Transportation Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 578, sponsored by Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), which would create the Revere Local (Summit) Schools license plate and make an appropriation on revenues received from the purchase of the license plate. Additionally, the bill creates the Stephen T. Badin High School license plate and would make a similar appropriation.

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

House Civil Justice Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 658, sponsored by Rep. Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati), which would require the award of attorney's fees to an aggrieved person if a court of appeals determines in an appeal by a public office from a Court of Claims order that the public office denied the person access to public records in violation of the Public Records Law.

House Commerce and Labor Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 69, sponsored by Reps. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) and Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus), which would increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027.

The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 208, sponsored by Reps. Brett Hudson Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Michael J. Skindell (D-Lakewood), which would specify that the state prohibition of sex discrimination includes sexual orientation, gender identity and expression discrimination; and would maintain current law on existing religious exemptions.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 12/02/2022