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, linked here. This memo offers a review and summary of the auditor’s primary findings, along with additional information from OEPI that is necessary to contextualize these findings appropriately.
To become a member of OEPI and access additional reports like this one, visit http://www.oepiohio.org/index.php/join/.
Register now for this year’s State Legislative Conference!
Registration is now open for the 2025 State Legislative Conference. Jointly sponsored by OSBA, BASA and OASBO, this event will be held on Tuesday, March 18 at the Athletic Club of Columbus from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm, with a legislative luncheon served at noon. Join us for a day of legislative panels on key education issues and the state budget, then meet with your Representative and Senator to share your local story. Click this link to register.
Governor’s activity
This week, Governor Mike DeWine tapped Jim Tressel to fill the lieutenant governor vacancy. Tressel -- a former Ohio State University football coach and president of Youngstown State University -- will replace Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance. Tressel’s appointment was confirmed by both chambers of the General Assembly.
The committee held its first hearing on Senate Bill (SB) 34, with Senator Terry Johnson (R- McDermott) providing sponsor testimony. This bill would require public school boards to select at least one of the bill's listed historical educational documents to display in each classroom by July 1, 2026. The display must also include an explanation of the document. The listed documents include the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the mottoes of the United States and Ohio, the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution, or the Articles of Confederation. The bill would permit the school board to accept donated funds and/or donated displays to meet the requirements of the bill.
The committee heard sponsor testimony from Senator Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) on SB 47. 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.
Senator Ingram provided sponsor testimony on SB 48. This bill would require the Auditor of State to annually audit each chartered nonpublic school that receives public money.
Senator Ingram also provided sponsor testimony on SB 49, a bill that would eliminate the right of first refusal for certain schools in the acquisition of school district real property.
The committee held its second hearing on SB 7. Sponsored by Senator Johnson, 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 second hearing on SB 19, sponsored by Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware), and heard proponent 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.
The committee heard testimony on the biennial budget from:
- Gregg Thorton, executive director, Speech and Hearing Professionals Board;
- William Hall, executive director, Commission on Service and Volunteerism;
- Lou Maynus, superintendent, Ohio Deaf and Blind Education Services; and
- Michelle Gillcrist, director, Ohio Lottery Commission.
The committee accepted a substitute version and passed House Bill (HB) 43 sponsored by Reps. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula) and David Thomas (R-Jefferson). HB 43 would waive minimum instructional hours for Ashtabula Lakeside High School, due to extreme winter weather conditions this school year. Lisa Newsome, superintendent, Ashtabula Area City, provided proponent testimony. The substitute version of the bill, which the committee favorably reported, would do the following:
- Expand the description of the effects of winter weather to include six factors such as 10 days of unusable residential roads;
- Clarify the waiver language for Ashtabula City School District seniors by requiring ODEW to provide flexibility in granting a high school diploma to a senior who attended Ashtabula Lakeside High School during the 2024-2025 school year “based on the student’s demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completing hours of classroom instruction, as permitted in accordance with the department’s statewide plan for awarding high school credit through demonstrations of subject area competency under current law;”
- Limit the number of instructional hours that may be waived to 24 hours;
- Include an emergency clause.
Senate Energy Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on SB 2, sponsored by Sen. Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin). The bill makes changes to the competitive retail electric service law and makes changes regarding electric company property taxation. The bill is similar to HB 15 but addresses public utility tangible personal property tax differently. Learn more in this legislative analysis.
Senate Workforce Development Committee
The committee held a first hearing on SB 50 with Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) providing sponsor testimony. This bill would make changes regarding age and schooling certificate requirements and work hours for a person under sixteen years of age.
Senate Local Government Committee
The committee held its first hearing on SB 29, with Sens. Louis W. Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Ingram providing sponsor testimony. This bill would allow two or more municipalities to create a joint economic development district without involving a township.
The committee also held a first hearing on SB 42, including sponsor testimony from Sens. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) and Michele Reynolds (D-Canal Winchester). This bill would allow limited home rule townships, counties and municipalities to establish temporary zones where certain homeowners may apply for a partial property tax exemption equal to a percentage of the increase in assessed valuation of their homes.
House Children and Human Services Committee
On Tuesday, the committee began hearings on portions of Gov. DeWine’s biennial budget proposal, including testimony from Kara Wente, director of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.
On Wednesday, the committee continued to hear invited budget testimony from:
- LeeAnne Cornyn, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services;
- Angela Dawson, director of the Commission on Minority Health; and
- Jill Smock, director of the Chemical Dependency Board.
House Ways and Means Committee
The committee heard testimony on the biennial budget from:
- Kathleen Crowley, executive director, Board of Tax Appeals;
- Donna M. Oklok, executive director, Accountancy Board of Ohio.
The committee held its first hearing on HB 22, with sponsor testimony provided by Reps. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) and Thomas. This bill would authorize a full homestead exemption for surviving spouses of members of the uniformed services killed in the line of duty.
The committee held its second hearing on HB 15, introduced by Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland). This bill makes changes to the competitive retail electric service law and makes changes regarding electric company property taxation. The committee heard interested party and proponent testimony on the bill.
New bills introduced
- HB 77 - Sponsored by Reps. Joseph A. Miller III (D-Amherst) and Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.), this bill would require the Department of Health to develop informational materials on type 1 diabetes for parents and guardians of elementary school students.
- HB 79 – Sponsored by Reps. Miller and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), this bill would increase the penalties for assault if the victim were acting as a sports official or the assault were committed in retaliation for the victim's actions as a sports official.
- HB 88 – Sponsored by Reps. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton), this bill would, among other things, require public schools to incorporate instruction on fentanyl awareness and abuse prevention for grades K-12 and require boards of education to designate one week of the school year as "fentanyl poisoning awareness week".
- HB 89 - Sponsored by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland), this bill would authorize a temporary property tax reduction to eligible properties in tax year 2024 by the difference in taxes owed in 2022.
- HB 96 - Sponsored by House Finance Chairman Brian Stewart (R-Ashville), this bill is the House’s version of the FY26-27 state operating budget.
- HB 97 – Sponsored by Reps. Darnell T. Brewer (D-Cleveland) and Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus), this bill would require public schools to provide free meals to students regardless of their ability to pay.
- HB 98 – Sponsored by Reps. Nick Santucci (R-Niles) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.), this bill would establish the Community Connectors Workforce Program to support connecting students to jobs, internships and career professionals in their communities and would appropriate $8 million in state lottery funds to the program.
- SB 92 – Sponsored by Sen. Thomas F. Patton (R- Strongsville), this bill would authorize a total property tax exemption for the homesteads of totally disabled veterans and their surviving spouses.
- SB 93 - Sponsored by Sen. Brenner, this bill declares the General Assembly's intent to establish a new school financing system that provides a statewide per-pupil funding payment to public and chartered nonpublic schools based on a single statewide property tax and increased state sales tax.
- Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 4 - Sponsored by Sen. Brenner, this resolution proposes a constitutional ballot initiative in the November 2026 election to enact Section 12 of Article VIII. This section of the Ohio Constitution would conditionally authorize the issuance of state obligations to refund pending school district obligations, to conditionally waive the requirement that schools levy property taxes to pay debt charges on their obligations, and conditionally authorize a treasury fund that is restricted exclusively to educational purposes.
Rules activity
The Department of Education and Workforce does not have any rules open for public comment at this time.
The State Board of Education has the following draft rules open for public comment at this time:
- Chapter 3302-24: Licensing and Education Programs
- OAC 3302-24-22: Career-Technical Workforce Development Teaching Licenses
- OAC 3302-24-29: Temporary military duty license
- Chapter 3302-25: Educational Aide Permits
- OAC 3302-25-01: One-year educational aide permits
- OAC 3302-25-03: One-year student monitor educational aide permit
- OAC 3302-25-05: Four-year educational aide permit
- OAC 3302-25-08: Validity of educational aide permits
Click here to view the SBOE rules open for public comment.
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.