by Nicole Piscitani • Oct. 27, 2028
Although the fall legislative session has been mostly dominated by property tax discussions, other bills have seen movement. The Senate Education Committee has advanced several bills and more are expected to move forward before its winter break.
House Bill (HB) 57
Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 57, which requires 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. Additionally, the bill allows a school to accept monetary donations for purchasing overdose reversal drugs. A school would be required to report any emergency use of an overdose reversal drug to the school’s governing body and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the drug was administered as soon as practicable after that use. The school would also be required to annually report emergency uses of an overdose reversal drug to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW). Lastly, the bill would require ODEW, in consultation with the Ohio Department of Health, to develop a model policy on the maintenance and use of a supply of overdose reversal drugs by Aug. 1, 2026.
While the main subject in HB 57 deals with the emergency use of an overdose reversal drug, the legislature included provisions regarding religious release time. HB 96 had required that schools permit students to be excused from school for released time religious instruction for at least one period per week. HB 57 does not change that requirement. The bill permits a school district board of education’s released time religious instruction policy to set a higher time limit for released time courses than what is in current law. This bill will become effective law 90 days after being signed, or on Jan. 18, 2026.
SB 144
Senate Bill (SB) 144 would make changes to educator grade bands. The educator grade bands were changed in HB 33, the budget bill enacted in 2023. Since the change, legislators have continued to discuss the issue, particularly the grade bands that impact middle grades.
This bill would make the following adjustments:
- Requires the State Board of Education to specify whether an educator is licensed to teach grades pre-K through five, grades four through eight or grades seven through 12.
- Requires the State Board to at least issue licenses for grades pre-K through five that authorize a license holder to provide either general education instruction or both general and special education instruction.
- Requires the State Board to at least issue a license for grades four through eight that authorizes a license holder to provide general education instruction.
- Narrows a school district’s or community school’s authority to employ educators to teach outside of their grade band by limiting it only to educators who have at least one year of experience as a licensed classroom teacher.
SB 144 has passed out of committee and is currently waiting for a vote on the Senate floor.
SB 156
This bill would require that school districts provide instruction on the success sequence in at least one course required for high school graduation. The biennial budget HB 96, which went into effect on Sept. 30, 2025, included language that allowed the success sequence curriculum to be used with certain state and federal grants. The language was permissive in the budget bill. This bill defines the success sequence as the following: a three-pronged framework for youth and young adults, based on research from diverse institutions, that individuals who complete at least a high school education, obtain full-time work and marry before having children are overwhelmingly less likely to live in poverty in adulthood. The bill would also require ODEW to develop standards and model curriculum for the success sequence for grades six-12 and establish a committee to review the standards and model curriculum. ODEW would be permitted to propose revisions to the standards and model curriculum for review and comment. Lastly, ODEW would be required to adopt rules as necessary to administer the development and implementation of the success sequence curriculum.
The bill passed out of committee and also passed on the Senate Floor by a 24-9 vote. The bill will now head to the House for consideration. The House has a similar bill, HB 269, that would also require the success sequence to be taught in public schools, but the two bills are different.
SB 276
The past few General Assemblies have enacted several compact bills. A compact is an agreement among states that join the compact to establish pathways allowing out-of-state licensed professionals to obtain equivalent licenses to provide services in any member state. A state must enact the compact into law to become a member state. Additionally, the states that enact the compacts can’t pass a materially different law from the model compact defined by the commission’s rules. Typically, each compact addresses one type of license.
The Senate Education Committee has held a couple of hearings that would enter Ohio into the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists. If Ohio enacts the compact, our state would offer equivalent licenses to school psychologists from another member state of the compact. The bill would also require information to be submitted regarding school psychologist licensees to the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact Commission, including information related to identification, licensure, investigations and adverse action.
SB 276 is currently in the Senate Education Committee.