The 135th Ohio General Assembly is expected to close its legislative work this week. House Primary and Secondary Education Chair Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) has indicated that the committee will not meet again this year. The Senate Education Committee has one committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17. A few education-related bills are still pending and could receive action this week. 

 

House Bill (HB) 8 

Sponsored by Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara P. Carruthers (R-Hamilton), HB 8 is scheduled for a committee hearing in Senate Education Committee. The bill would enact the "Parents' Bill of Rights,” requiring public schools to adopt a policy on parental notification on student health and well-being and instructional materials with sexually explicit content. The bill was amended to require districts to adopt a policy allowing for release time religious instruction (RTRI) and defines core curriculum as “reading and English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and health education.”   

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has repeatedly stated that he wants a “clean” bill, meaning that he doesn’t want the bill to pick up amendments that do not pertain to the title. The Senate Education Committee could amend the bill on Dec. 17 to remove RTRI language, or the chair, Sen. Andrew O. Brenner (R-Delaware), could move the bill out of committee with the RTRI language to see what Stephens does on the House floor. 

Even if HB 8 doesn’t move during this General Assembly, the bill will likely be reintroduced in the next General Assembly. 

Senate Bill (SB) 295 
SB 295, sponsored by Brenner, would require schools in the bottom 5% of the performance index and bottom 10% of the progress measure for three consecutive years to choose to either close or implement an alternative to closure. SB 295 is scheduled for a hearing in Senate Education but not for a vote as of writing this article. The bill could be amended in HB 206. Like other education-related bills, if it fails to be enacted during this General Assembly, it will likely be introduced in the next. 

HB 206 
Sponsored by Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana), HB 206 would make changes regarding the expulsion of a student from a public school for actions that endanger other students' or school employees' health and safety. HB 206 could pick up Senate amendments as they look for an education-related vehicle to address any items the Senate wants to take legislative action on during this General Assembly. However, the House will need to concur with any Senate changes. 

SB 208 
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson). It would require school districts to include an exception for children of active-duty military personnel in their open enrollment policies and permit a student enrolled under a district's open enrollment policy exception for children of military personnel to continue to attend that district and receive transportation services for the remainder of the school year if the student's parent is no longer on active duty. SB 208 does address a few additional education-related issues: 

  • requires the board of education of a school district and the governing board of an educational service center to seek to meet the "varying and unique needs of students and teachers" when purchasing technological office equipment and computer hardware and software and requires the board to consider the long-term cost of ownership, flexibility for innovation and any anticipated residual or salvage value at the end of the target life cycle;  

  • permits educational aides or assistants and instructional assistants to provide services under the Autism and Jon Peterson Special Needs scholarships virtually;  

  • permits, rather than requires, public schools to have law enforcement officers or prosecutors with relevant experience provide employee in-service training on child sexual abuse and specifies that those officers and prosecutors may provide the training at their discretion so long as they have relevant experience;  

  • eliminates provisions of law that required the following: the Department of Education and Workforce to adopt a model curriculum for high school students on proper interactions with peace officers during traffic stops and other encounters;  school districts and other public schools to use the department's model curriculum in at least one course required for high school graduation; and the director of Public Safety to adapt the department's model curriculum for use in driver training programs and new driver instructional materials;  

  • establishes the Prenatal-to-Five Early Childhood to Post-Secondary Regional Partnerships Program to support early childhood to post-secondary regional partnerships throughout Ohio;  

  • permits a preservice teacher permit to be one year in duration, in addition to three years as under continuing law. 

This bill is awaiting a concurrence vote in Senate, and the Senate will likely agree to the changes in the bill. 

Lame duck is always a flurry of activity, and the remaining hours of a General Assembly can see unexpected action or inaction.