General Assembly activity
The General Assembly sent Senate Bill (SB) 1 to Gov. Mike DeWine for his approval. The bill would require students who enter the ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2022, to complete at least one-half unit of instruction in the study of financial literacy in either an elective course or in lieu of one-half unit of a mathematics course. The mathematics course cannot be Algebra II, or its equivalent, or a course for which the State Board of Education requires an end-of-course exam, which is Algebra I. Additionally, SB 1 would provide flexibility to school districts regarding the educational requirements of substitute teachers for the 2021-22 school year.

Backpack bill activity
Reps. Riordan T. McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) and Marilyn S. John (R-Shelby), sponsors of House Bill (HB) 290, held a press conference to provide details on a substitute version of the bill, which would establish educational savings accounts (ESA) in the amount of $5,500 for K-8 and $7,500 for 9-12 students. The program would be open to all students, regardless of a family’s income. The ESA would be administered through the state treasurer’s office. The bill has not received a hearing from the House Finance Committee and the substitute bill has not been accepted yet. Click here to read the substitute bill.

Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee
The committee accepted a substitute version of SB 229, sponsored by Sen. Louis W. Blessing III (R-Colerain Township), which would temporarily extend the deadline to April 30, 2022, for a school district to submit a blended learning model to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for the 2021-22 school year. Additionally, SB 229 would prohibit the use of the chronic absenteeism measure on the state report card for the 2021-22 school year. The substitute version would make the following changes:

  • allow a school to offer remote learning to a student whose parent requests remote learning;
  • allow a school that operates an online learning school to allow a quarantined student in a traditional district school to participate in that online learning school during the period of quarantine;
  • clarify that schools that offer a blended learning model or remote option must ensure that the student has a computer and internet;
  • waive the requirement for the 2021-22 school year that a student be automatically withdrawn from an e-school if that student fails to take a state end-of-course exam;
  • require ODE to calculate an adjusted four-year graduation rate for those students who were continuously enrolled in the same district or building in grades nine-12.

The committee held a second hearing on HB 105, sponsored by Reps. P. Scott Lipps (R-Franklin) and Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati), which would require public schools to provide age-appropriate instruction in child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention and require in-service staff training in child sexual abuse prevention.

House Commerce and Labor Committee
The committee held an informal second hearing on HB 435, sponsored by Reps. Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Township) and Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), which would prohibit a school district from requiring a student or employee to receive a COVID-19 vaccine unless that vaccine has been granted final approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration; establish exemptions for students and employees should an approved COVID-19 vaccine be required by a school or employer; and establish restrictions and exemptions for public and private employers as they pertain to COVID-19 vaccines.

Senate Ways and Means Committee
The committee held a fourth hearing on SB 33, which expands the income tax deduction allowed for contributions to Ohio’s 529 college savings plan and includes contributions to 529 plans established by other states.

The committee held a second hearing on HB 51, sponsored by Rep. Brian E. Lampton (R-Beavercreek), which would revise the process for adjusting property values due to instances that result in injury or destruction to the property.

The committee also held a second hearing on HB 66, sponsored by Rep. James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon), which 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. OSBA, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators provided proponent testimony. Click here to read the testimony.

Senate Health Committee
The committee held sponsor testimony on HB 281, sponsored by Reps. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Tom Young (R-Washington Township), which would change terminology in the Ohio Revised Code as it pertains to people with mental illnesses and disabilities.

Senate Financial Institutions Committee
The committee held a third hearing on HB 177, which would permit school districts, among others, to use blockchain technology.

Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee
The committee passed SB 168, which would establish the Ohio Mobile Training Team Program that provides basic firearms training programs to school safety designees and includes quarterly training required for continued certification.

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

Controlling Board
The Ohio Controlling Board approved a request to use $100 million from Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) fund. Click here to read the approved request.

Ohio Department of Education
ODE provided guidance regarding student attendance and engagement due to student illnesses and quarantines. Click here for a link to the information.

Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 10/08/2021