Legislative Report

by Nicole Piscitani • Aug. 23, 2024

In June, the Senate Education Committee incorporated Senate Bill (SB) 49, which proposed the Religious Expression Days (RED) Act, requiring that each K-12 public school adopt a policy providing students with religious accommodations, into House Bill (HB) 214. HB 214 originally addressed public school staff members’ professional duties.

SB 49 was introduced in February 2023 and received numerous hearings before unanimously passing out of the Senate in April 2023. The House Primary and Secondary Education Committee held three…

by Nicole Piscitani • Aug. 13, 2024

Senate Bill (SB) 112, the Ohio Childhood Safety Act, was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 24, 2024. The bill was sponsored by former state Sen. Michael Rulli (R-Salem), who recently was elected to Ohio Congressional District 6. The bill requires annual inspections of doors in public schools by qualified inspectors. Rulli made the following statement during his sponsor testimony: “Overall, code-compliant doors play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of school occupants. By adhering to…

by Nicole Piscitani, deputy director of legislative services • July 19, 2024

House Bill (HB) 47, which requires the placement of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in public schools and chartered nonpublic schools, moved through the legislative process after being stalled in the Senate Health Committee for several months. The Ohio House passed HB 47 in June 2023, and the Senate quickly referred the bill to the Senate Health Committee. However, due to the legislature’s 2023 summer recess, committee hearings were delayed until the fall. The bill received two hearings…

by Nicole Piscitani, deputy director of legislative services • July 12, 2024

The Ohio General Assembly sent 29 bills to the Gov. Mike DeWine for his consideration and action, including the capital appropriations bill. House Bill (HB) 2 provides $600 million in school construction and renovation funding administered through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC). DeWine signed the bill on June 28.

The capital appropriations budget is passed every two years in even-numbered years. Traditionally, capital budgets are constructed with little…

by Nicole Piscitani • June 24, 2024

This is the last week that the Ohio General Assembly is scheduled to have sessions and committees before what could be an extended break. It is still unknown when the Ohio House and Ohio Senate will return to the Statehouse in the fall. Both chambers have numerous committees scheduled, and those committees are focused on moving important bills out of the committee to go to the floor for a vote.

An important bill, not only for education but for many organizations from around the state, is the capital budget. The capital budget is…

by Nicole Piscitani • June 5, 2024

The prior Legislative Report focused on bills that were moving in the Ohio House. This issue will look at bills that either recently passed in the Senate or could potentially pass in the Senate.

Senate Bill (SB) 208
This bill passed out of the Senate in late May and still needs to work its way through the Ohio House. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kristina D. Roegner…

by Nicole Piscitani • May 22, 2024

The Ohio General Assembly is scheduled to continue its work until June 26. After that it is unknown when the Ohio House and Ohio Senate will return to the Statehouse. The Ohio legislature typically takes a summer recess during an election year to allow incumbents running for reelection time to campaign in their districts. This election year there are several factors impacting the legislative calendar and, more importantly, legislative activity.

One of those factors is the change in several committee chairmanships. House Speaker…

by Nicole Piscitani • April 26, 2024

The Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform reconvened to learn the complexities of school funding. The panel of legislators heard invited testimony from Michael Sobul, a retired research administrator with the Ohio Department of Taxation and former treasurer for the Granville EV School District. Sobul provided historical knowledge and a detailed explanation of the portions of the Ohio Constitution that govern property tax laws and, in particular, the funding that school districts receive through inside and…

by Nicole Piscitani • April 12, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine delivered his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, April 10. This year’s address focused solely on children, including initiatives to focus on child care, access to medical services, foster care and education. The education-specific initiatives that DeWine discussed are outlined below.

Science of Reading
The Science of Reading is an initiative that DeWine focused heavily on during his 2023 State of the State. He successfully inserted this policy change into House…

by Nicole Piscitani • March 22, 2024

The Ohio legislature is on break following the March 19 primary election and is expected to return to Columbus the second week of April to resume committee and floor sessions. Gov. Mike DeWine will hold his State of State address on April 10 when he will discuss accomplishments and announce new areas of focus. This will be the first State of State address since the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce moved from oversight by the State Board of Education (SBOE) to the governor. DeWine could provide an update on the…