Things are picking up for the 136th 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 Education Committee  

The committee heard sponsor testimony from Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) on SB 44. This bill would allow students to concurrently receive an Educational Choice scholarship or Pilot Project scholarship and either an Autism or Jon Peterson Special Needs scholarship and make a $42 million appropriation in FY26 and FY27 to offset costs. 

The committee also held its first hearing on SB 7, including sponsor testimony from Senator Terry Johnson (R-Portsmouth). SB 7 would require all types of school districts to provide annual instruction to students in grades K-12 on short-term and chronic substance use, in a manner determined by the local school board. 

Finally, the committee held its first hearing on SB 19, with  Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) providing sponsor testimony. This bill would require districts and schools to develop a mathematics improvement and monitoring plan for each student who qualifies for math intervention services beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.  

Senate Ways and Means Committee 

The committee held its first hearing on SB 3, with sponsor testimony given by Senators George Lang (R-West Chester) and Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City). SB 3 would phase down the state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75% over two years. When asked how this would impact state revenues and the funding available for the Fair School Funding Formula, the sponsors stated their belief that reduction of the income tax rate would spur the economy and increase state revenues in other ways, such as job creation. The LSC Fiscal Analysis on the bill as written has yet to be published.  

New Bills Introduced 

  • SB 3 – Sponsored by Sens. George Lang (R-West Chester) and Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), this bill would phase down the state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75% over two years.  
  • SB 7 – Sponsored by Sen. Johnson, this bill would require all types of school districts to provide annual instruction to students in grades K-12 on short-term or chronic substance use. ODEW and OMHAS would be required to compile a list of best practice curricula and materials, while local boards of education would determine how instruction is delivered and ensure that delivery is age-appropriate and within the ODEW and OMHAS best practice framework.  
  • SB 12 – Sponsored by Sens. Steve Wilson (R-Maineville) and Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), this bill would permit a community foundation to be trustee of endowments and other charitable funds received by public schools, allow a public school to appoint a community foundation to invest money in the Education Foundation Fund created under continuing law and classify a fund held for an institution by a community foundation trustee as an “institutional fund.” 
  • SB 13 – Sponsored by Sen. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester), this bill would establish the Foster-to-College Scholarship Program, require the Department of Education and Workforce to hire a full-time school foster care liaison, and make an appropriation for program. 
  • SB 19 – Sponsored by Sen. Brenner, this bill would require districts and schools to develop a mathematics improvement and monitoring plan for each student who qualifies for math intervention services beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Each district or school with 51% or fewer students attaining at least a proficient score on the third-grade math achievement assessment would have to develop a mathematics achievement improvement plan. Additionally, the bill would require ODEW to randomly select 5% of districts and schools annually for a review of their academic intervention services. 
  • SB 22 – Sponsored by Sens. Louis W. Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Hearcel F. Craig (D-Columbus), this bill would authorize a refundable income tax credit or rebate for homeowners and renters whose property taxes or a portion of their rent exceed 5% of their income. 
  • SB 28 – Sponsored by Sens. Blessing and Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), this bill would levy a tax on certain high-volume landlords.  
  • SB 29 – Sponsored by Sens. Blessing and Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati), this bill would allow two or more municipalities to create a joint economic development district without involving a township. 
  • SB 34 – Sponsored by Sen. Johnson, this bill would require public school boards to select at least one of the bill's listed historical educational documents to display in every classroom in each school building the district operates by July 1, 2026. It would also permit the school board to accept donated funds and/or donated displays to meet the requirements of the bill. 
  • SB 44 – Sponsored by Sen. O’Brien, this bill would allow students to concurrently receive an Educational Choice scholarship or Pilot Project scholarship and either an Autism or Jon Peterson Special Needs scholarship. It would also make a $42 million appropriation in FY26 and FY27 to offset costs. 
  • SB 47 – Sponsored by Sen. Ingram, this bill would require disclosure of the for-profit status of community school operators and post-secondary educational institutions on various promotional materials and contracts for employment. 
  • SB 48 – Sponsored by Sen. Ingram, this bill would require the Auditor of State to annually audit each chartered nonpublic school that receives public money.  
  • SB 49 – Sponsored by Sen. Ingram, this bill would eliminate the right of first refusal for certain schools in the acquisition of school district real property. 
  • SB 62 - Sponsored by Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), the Senate’s version of the “School Bus Safety Act” would authorize a civil penalty system related to drivers who illegally pass a school bus but cannot be identified, direct fees and fines related to illegally passing a school bus to a bus safety grant fund at ODEW, and designate the month of August as "School Bus Safety Awareness Month". 
  • HB 3 –  Sponsored by Reps. Bernard Willis (R-Springfield) and Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), the “School Bus Safety Act” would appropriate $25 million to create a School Bus Safety Grant Fund at ODEW to assist districts with the cost of installing safety features on new and existing school buses. The bill would also increase the penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus and designate August as “School Bus Safety Month”.  
  • HB 7 – Sponsored by Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Sharon A. Ray (R-Wadsworth), this bill would make foster caregivers and kinship caregivers eligible for publicly funded child care. 
  • HB 10 – Sponsored by  Reps. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) and Jack Daniels (R-Akron), this bill would require public school boards of education and ODEW to adopt policies prohibiting the purchase of “cultivated-protein food” products or food “misbranded as a meat or egg product”. 
  • HB 22 – Sponsored by Reps. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) and Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), this bill would authorize a full homestead exemption for surviving spouses of members of the uniformed services killed in the line of duty. 
  • HB 25 – Sponsored by Reps. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Ray, this bill is the House companion bill to SB 13, establishing the Foster-to-College Scholarship Program.  
  • HB 28 – Sponsored by Reps. Adam Matthews (R-Lebanon) and Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.), this bill would eliminate the authority to levy replacement property tax levies.  

Rules Activity  

The Department of Education and Workforce has the following proposed rules open for public comment at this time:  

  • Chapter 3301-11: Educational Choice Scholarship Program 
    • OAC 3301-11-01: Definitions. 
    • OAC 3301-11-03: List of designated buildings used in eligibility determination; assignment areas. 
    • OAC 3301-11-04: Eligibility for program participation. 
    • OAC 3301-11-05: Application for program participation. 
    • OAC 3301-11-07: Awarding scholarships. 
    • OAC 3301-11-08: Transfer of scholarship. 
    • OAC 3301-11-09: Termination of eligibility. 
    • OAC 3301-11-10: Payment of scholarship amounts. 
    • OAC 3301-11-11: Participation by chartered nonpublic schools. 
    • OAC 3301-11-12: Entities designated to file applications. 
    • OAC 3301-11-14: Dispute resolution. 
    • OAC 3301-11-15: Program administration. 

Click here to view the ODEW rules open for public comment.

The State Board of Education does not have any rules open for public comment at this time.  

Federal Update 

Please click here to read the most recent Federal Advocacy Report which includes up-to-date information on federal education efforts. 

OSBA OFCC Workgroup 

OSBA would like to collect member feedback on your district’s experiences with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s (OFCC) K-12 building programs. We want to hear about your experiences, understand what has worked for your districts and collect your ideas on improvements to the OFCC process that could be taken to the Ohio General Assembly. If you are interested in participating in this workgroup, please sign up using the form linked here.  

Posted by Malania Birney on 1/31/2025