General Assembly activity
The General Assembly sent the following bills to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature:

House Bill (HB) 45- sponsored by Reps. Thomas West (D-Canton) and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield). The bill would allow the state tax commissioner to administer a two-month amnesty program in 2023 with respect to delinquent state, local sales and use taxes and also certain fees. Earlier in the week, the bill was amended in the Senate Finance committee and included the following education-related items:

  • provides approximately $1.7 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) appropriation authority to schools, as requested by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE);
  • increases the Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) phase-in for fiscal year 2023 from 14% to 33.33%;
  • provides $112 million for additional grants under the School Safety Grant Program, which will be used to award competitive grants of up to $100,000 per school building to eligible public school districts and chartered nonpublic schools to put toward building security and safety enhancements;
  • increases the following weights to calculate transportation payments for school districts using miles driven for school bus service: 1.5 to the number of miles driven for community school and STEM school students for the current fiscal year; and 2.0 to the number of miles driven for nonpublic school students for the current fiscal year;
  • extends the ACE Educational Savings Account program through FY 2024, increases the amount from $500 to $1,000 for FY 2023 and FY2024 and amends eligibility requirements;
  • restores the ability of school districts to conduct a raffle, fixing the change included HB 110;
  • prohibits the Board of Building Standards from requiring the installation of storm shelters in school buildings operated by public or private schools which are undergoing or about to undergo construction, alteration, repair, or maintenance;
  • includes provisions of HB 255 that authorize the second publication of a county delinquent property tax list to be made online, provided the list's first publication continues to be made in a newspaper of general circulation.

Click here to read the HB 45 legislative analysis and here for a summary of floor amendments.

HB 554-sponsored by Reps. Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) and Adam C. Bird (R-New Richmond). The bill 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. Additionally, the bill was amended in committee to include the following education-related items:

  • includes provisions from Senate Bill (SB) 356, 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;
  • specifies that in the case of a state-assisted classroom facilities construction project for any independent STEM school, if the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) approves an increase in the basic project cost above the amount budgeted plus interest, the state and the school must share the increased cost in proportion to their respective contributions to the school's project construction fund;
  • makes changes to the funding base calculation for certain community schools to report the number of full-time enrolled students;
  • removes "registered behavior technician" and "certified Ohio behavior analyst" from the list of individuals who, while employed by and under the supervision of a licensed psychologist or licensed school psychologist, may provide intervention services under the Autism Scholarship Program;
  • allows children of a military family who participate in College Credit Plus courses to either complete remotely or withdraw without academic or financial penalty if the military family has to relocate;
  • allows a community school to establish a satellite facility in an adjacent county rather than only in the same county.

The bill contains a few additional amendments. Click here to read the bill analysis on HB 554.

SB 33- sponsored by Sens. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) and Andrew O. Brenner (R-Delaware). The bill would expand the income tax deduction allowed for contributions to Ohio’s 529 college savings plan and would include contributions to 529 plans established by other states. Additionally, the bill was amended in committee to include provisions of HB 123, which would modify community reinvestment areas (CRAs) by increasing the threshold to exempt school district approval from 50% to 75%. The bill also would establish a revenue-sharing agreement for income over $2 million and annually index the amount to inflation. Finally, the bill would allow limited home rule townships to use CRAs.

HB 66- sponsored by Rep. James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon). The bill would require the state’s tax expenditure report to include information on property tax exemptions and require a periodic review of each property tax exemption. Earlier in the week, the bill was amended to allow a school district to propose to renew an emergency property tax levy and a combination income and property tax levy in a single ballot question. Click here to read the legislative analysis of HB 66. OSBA, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) provided proponent testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

HB 458- sponsored by Rep. Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township). The bill 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. The bill also would make changes to election law, including voter identification, absentee voting, in-person voting and drop boxes.

SB 288-sponsored by Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville). The bill would update employment laws as they pertain to Head Start agencies, along with other changes. The bill was amended on the House Floor to include HB 105, which would require public schools to provide developmentally appropriate instruction in child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention and require in-service staff training in child sexual abuse prevention. The bill also allows parents to opt their children out of the abuse prevention and dating violence prevention education. Click here to read the legislative analysis of HB 105 and click here for SB 288.

HB 501-sponsored by Rep. Hall. The bill 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. The bill also clarifies that counties, townships and municipal corporations can regulate small solar facilities and allows the use of general funds to support broadband expansion, among other changes.

SB 131-sponsored by Sens. Kristina D. Roegner (R-Hudson) and Rob McColley (R-Napoleon). The bill 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. Earlier in the week, the bill was amended in committee. Click here to read the bill analysis.

HB 462-sponsored by Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Franklin Township). The bill would prohibit swatting. The bill was amended to reduce the offense from a third-degree felony to a fourth-degree felony.

HB 578- sponsored by Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield). The bill would create the Revere Local (Summit) Schools license plate and make an appropriation on revenues received from the purchase of the license plate. The bill also creates the Stephen T. Badin High School license plate and would make an appropriation. Additionally, the bill creates the Chardon High School State Football Champs license plate and would make a similar appropriation.

HB 281-sponsored by Reps. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Tom Young (R-Washington Township). The bill would change terminology in the Ohio Revised Code as it pertains to people with mental illnesses and disabilities.

House activity
The House voted not to concur on Senate changes to HB 151, sponsored by Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport), by a 46-41 vote. The bill was amended on the Senate Floor to include provisions from SB 178, the bill which would reform the functions and responsibilities of 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 would 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.

Additionally, the floor amendment included provisions from HB 739, which would prohibit a public or private school from discriminating against an individual based on COVID-19 vaccination status. HB 151 also would revise the Ohio Resident Educator Program and included provisions of HB 61, 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. Earlier in the week, OSBA provided opponent testimony on SB 178. Click here to read the testimony. Additional testimony on SB 178 was provided by the following individuals:

Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee held a second hearing 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. OSBA, BASA, OASBO, and the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators provided proponent testimony. Click here to read testimony.

House Ways and Means Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of 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. Click here to read the substitute version of the bill.

House Government Oversight Committee
The committee amended and passed 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 amendment pertained to drop boxes.

House Energy and Natural Resources Committee
The committee held a second hearing on HB 685, sponsored by Reps. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) and Jon Cross (R-Kenton), which would authorize the creation of an EnergizeOhio zone for specified areas to receive incentives, in the form of infrastructure loans, to encourage the development of natural gas pipelines and other infrastructure. Additionally, the bill would reduce the true value of a qualifying property by 75%, and would appropriate $20 million in fiscal year 2023 for the Pipeline Revolving Loan Program.

Senate Health Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 428, sponsored by Gail K. Pavliga (R-Atwater) and Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), which would establish the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study Commission.

The committee accepted a substitute version of SB 321, sponsored by Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), which would modify the authority of advanced practice registered nurses. Click here to read the substitute bill.

House Transportation and Public Safety Committee
The committee held a fourth hearing on HB 494, sponsored by Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria), which would authorize a municipal corporation, county or township to propose, by resolution, establishing a school adjacent zone on any street or highway located within a half mile of a school. The bill also would require consultation with the school administration and the county engineer before adopting the resolution. Finally, the bill allows local government fund reimbursement payments made on the basis of traffic camera fines collected by the subdivision for school zone infractions to be used for certain purposes other than school safety purposes.

House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 491, sponsored by Reps. Janine R. Boyd (D- Cleveland Heights) and C. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington), which would establish family and medical leave insurance benefits and require employers to provide an employee with paid bereavement leave in the event of a stillbirth, miscarriage or death of a child under the age of 21.

Governor activity
Gov. DeWine announced that the School Safety Center (OSSC) has finalized the state training requirements for school staff to be armed on school grounds. Click here for a link to the training information.

State Board of Education
The State Board postponed selecting a search firm to assist in hiring a state superintendent of public instruction by an 11-4 vote.

Additionally, the State Board passed an amended resolution by a 10-7 vote regarding the proposed federal changes to Title IX.

Federal update
Please click here to read the weekly Federal Advocacy Education Report that includes education related information.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 12/16/2022