Facts in a Flash

OEPI Review and Summary of Ohio Auditor of State Longitudinal School Finance Study 

In November 2024, the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office released a special report titled Longitudinal School Finance Study. This report analyzed spending, revenue and enrollment in Ohio public schools from fiscal year (FY) 2000 through FY 2022. In the months since, Dr. Howard Fleeter with the Ohio Education Policy Institute (OEPI) has been analyzing the report’s methodology and findings. Dr. Fleeter’s evaluation of this report has been published on the OEPI website,…

​​​​​​Governor’s activity  

Governor Mike DeWine unveiled his executive budget proposal Monday, declaring his final investment priorities as a term-limited governor. Of particular interest to education advocates, the executive budget proposal:  

• Funds the continued phase in of years 5 and 6 of the Fair School Funding (FSF) formula;  
• Reduces the FSF formula guarantees to 95% in FY26 and 90% in FY27;  
• Continues…

Things are picking up for the 136^th General Assembly. This week, many committees held their first meetings of the year and House and Senate members began to introduce their priority legislation.  

Senate Activity   

The Senate confirmed Jane Timken to succeed the late Kirk Schuring as the Senator for District 29. Senator Schuring passed in November of 2024 after dedicating most of his life to public service.  

Senate…

The 136th General Assembly held its ceremonial opening session on Monday, January 6, 2025. The members of both chambers took their oaths of office and formally voted for House and Senate leadership. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) was elected Speaker of the House and Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) was elected Senate President. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) was re-elected to serve as the House Minority Leader and Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) was re-elected to serve as the Senate Minority Leader, both positions they held in the last General Assembly. New bill introductions will begin next week, and…

This week marked the end of the 135^th General Assembly (GA). All legislation that did not receive a favorable vote from both the House and Senate will “die” in this GA – to become laws, those bills will need to be introduced again in the new year by the next set of legislators. The 136^th General Assembly will hold their ceremonial opening session on Monday, January 6, 2025. Bill introductions will commence the following week, with both chambers slated to return for session the week of January 20, 2025.  

Governor’s Activity 

On…

The countdown continues! This issue of Facts in a Flash outlines the progress made by the General Assembly this week on priority legislation. Just one more week remains to get their top issues across the finish line. 

Governor’s Activity 

On Monday, Governor DeWine signed HB 432. This bill was sponsored by Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport) and will make changes regarding alternate credentialing pathways for career-technical educators and add harmonizing amendments to the already…

This issue of Facts in a Flash reviews legislative activity from the first week of December, marking “the beginning of the end” of lame duck. Now, the Ohio General Assembly has just two weeks left to get their priority legislation to Governor DeWine’s desk before the holidays.  

Senate Activity 

The Senate passed HB 78 with a vote of 29-0. This bill was sponsored by Reps. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and Joe Miller (…

It has been a busy week at the Ohio Statehouse! In addition to the committee hearings and legislative activity below, the newly elected members of the House and Senate held informal votes to decide chamber leadership for the upcoming 136^th General Assembly. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) was selected to be the next Speaker of the House and Rob McColley (R- Napoleon) was selected to be the next Senate President. These elections will need to be finalized on the House and Senate floor when the chambers officially meet in January 2025.  

This week Ohio’s AI in Education Coalition…

The Ohio General Assembly has returned with a flurry of legislative activity. This issue of Facts in a Flash recaps this busy week and outlines everything you need to know! 

Senate Activity 

The Senate concurred with the House’s amendments to Senate Bill (SB) 104, sponsored by Sen. Jerry C. Cirino (R-Kirtland) and Sen. Andrew O. Brenner (R-Delaware), with a vote of 24-7. SB104 originally addressed…

Welcome to Lame Duck!  

Now that the November Election is over, the General Assembly will return to the Statehouse for a handful of lame-duck sessions before the end of the year. The Senate will return next week with both committee hearings and a session scheduled for Wednesday, 11/13. The House has does not have a session scheduled until December but will be holding various committee hearings on Tuesday, 11/12. Facts in a Flash will keep you up to date on legislative activity during these session dates.  

Next week, OSBA’s…