Legislature passes state biennial budget  

This week, the General Assembly passed the state’s next two-year budget, House Bill (HB) 96. After receiving a report from the HB 96 Conference Committee, the House passed the bill with a vote of 59-38 and the Senate passed the bill with a vote of 23-10.  

Key education related changes made in the final version can be seen here. For a comprehensive review of all items in the bill, please refer to the comparison document, linked here. Gov. Mike DeWine has until June 30 to issue any vetoes and sign the bill.  

OSBA, BASA and OASBO sent a veto letter to the governor asking him to remove certain provisions from HB 96. Please reach out to Gov. DeWine and advocate for removing these items. Click here to contact Gov. DeWine. 

Senate Education Committee  

The committee held its third hearing on HB 57, sponsored by Reps. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Josh Williams (R- Sylvania Township). This bill would require any public or nonpublic school that elects to keep a supply of an overdose reversal drug for emergency use to adopt and implement a policy regarding the supply’s maintenance and the drug’s use. The committee accepted written proponent testimony and adopted a substitute version of the bill, which:  

  • Requires a district’s school board, rather than the superintendent, to adopt such policies.  
  • Requires the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to create a model policy that districts may use.  
  • Requires districts to report the use of overdose reversal drugs to ODEW annually, rather than after every use.  
  • Clarifies funds donated to districts to purchase overdose reversal drugs must only be used for that purpose and must be tracked by the treasurer.  

The committee also held a third hearing on Senate Bill (SB) 156, sponsored by Senator Al Cutrona (R-Canfield). This bill would require school districts to provide “success sequence” instruction in at least one course required for high school graduation. The committee heard opponent testimony on the bill, including from Chris Varwig, board member, Toledo City.  

Recently introduced bills  

  • HB 375 – Sponsored by Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula), this bill would establish a small district magnet community school pilot program. 

Rules activity  

The Department of Education and Workforce and the State Board of Education do 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. 

Posted by Malania Birney on 6/27/2025