Governor’s activity  

Gov. Mike DeWine has announced the creation of the Ohio School Bus Safety Grant Program at the Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW). The grant program will provide $10 million in competitive grants to eligible applicants for the repair, replacement or addition of authorized school bus safety features to school buses in active service or for safety enhancements added to the purchase of a new school bus. 

Eligible applicants include city, local, exempted village and joint vocational school districts, as well as community schools, chartered nonpublic schools, STEM schools, educational service centers and county boards of developmental disabilities. The application window opens Oct. 15 and closes Nov. 14, 2025, at 5 p.m. Applications will be accepted through the ODEW’s e-grant ED STEPS system. 

House activity  

The House passed House Bill (HB) 129 with a vote of 81-16. HB 129 is sponsored by Rep. David Thomas (R-Jefferson). Amended in the House Ways and Means Committee earlier that afternoon, this bill as passed would do the following:  

  • Require that current expense fixed-sum levies be included in the calculation of a school district’s 20-mill floor or a joint vocational school district’s 2-mill floor for property tax purposes. The following types of levies will be included in the 20-mill floor calculation: emergency, substitute, conversion, growth and fixed-sum tax coupled with an income tax levy. 
  • Include fixed-sum levies in the first tax year, beginning in tax year 2026, in which a county in which the district has territory undergoes a reappraisal or triennial update. 
  • Allow school districts to pursue fixed-sum levies in two cases: if the district levied an emergency levy approved by voters before 2026; or if it is in fiscal emergency, watch or caution or if a president or governor has declared an emergency in the district's territory. 
  • In either circumstance, the levy must be labeled as a fixed-sum levy (not an emergency levy), must be for current operating expenses, may not be renewed and may only be levied for up to five years. 
  • Clarify that the renewal of a fixed-sum levy that was first approved by voters before September 29, 2013 is still subject to the property tax rollbacks for nonbusiness property (10%) and owner-occupied residences (2.5%) after its renewal as a fixed-sum levy under the amendment. 

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.  

The chamber passed HB 309 with a vote of 75-19. Sponsored by Rep. Thomas, this bill was also amended by the House Ways and Means Committee earlier that afternoon. The bill as passed would do the following:  

  • Allow county budget commissions (CBC) to reduce millage on any voter-approved tax levy aside from a debt levy if it finds it necessary or prudent to do so. 
  • Define "unnecessary" and "excessive" tax collections. 
  • Only allow such actions after five years and require a commission to hold a hearing prior to reducing the amount or rate of any tax.  
  • Limit CBC authority to reduce levies collected for the use of majority-elected taxing units below what the levies collected in the prior year or, for school districts, below 20-mills except by request of the school district. 

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.  

Finally, the chamber passed House Continuing Resolution (HCR) 22. HCR 22, sponsored by Reps. Bill Roemer (R–Richfield) and Jack K. Daniels (R-New Franklin), would encourage students in grades one through twelve to read the U.S. Declaration of Independence in the classroom during the 2025-2026 school year in celebration of its 250th anniversary. 

House Education Committee  

The committee held a series of first hearings on multiple bills, including:  

  • HB 415, sponsored by Reps. Juanita O. Brent (D-Cleveland) and Jamie Callender (R-Concord). This bill would enact the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act to prohibit discrimination by a public school against an individual based on hair texture and protective hair styles. 
  • HB 431, sponsored by Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township). This bill would require human trafficking screening in public schools. 
  • HB 485, sponsored by Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland). This bill would enact the Baby Olivia Act to include human growth and development instruction in health education. 
  • HB 486, sponsored by Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Mike Dovilla (R-Berea). This bill would enact the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act to permit teachers in public schools and state institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the influence of Christianity on history and culture. 

Senate Education Committee  

The committee heard sponsor testimony on Senate Bill (SB) 272, introduced by Sen. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield). This bill would require a civics assessment in lieu of the American government end-of-course exam. 

The committee also heard sponsor testimony on SB 276, introduced by Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) after accepting a corrective amendment. This bill would ratify the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists. 

The committee held its second hearing on SB 144  sponsored by Senator Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati). This bill would make changes to educator licensure grade bands. 

House Public Safety Committee 

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 371 from Reps. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) and Thomas Young (R-Washington Township). This bill would make elected officials mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. 

House Technology and Innovation Committee 

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 413 from Reps. Young and Bob Peterson (R-Sabina). HB 413 would create the Ohio Local Government Expenditure Database and require reporting to the database from political subdivisions and the state retirement systems. 

House Health Committee  

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 462 from Rep. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville). This bill would permit the student use of a nasal epinephrine delivery device. 

House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee  

The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 473 from Rep. Thomas. This bill would prohibit a public employer from paying employee contributions to a state retirement system. 

House Commerce and Labor Committee  

 The committee held its second hearing on Senate Bill (SB) 50 sponsored by Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster). This bill would make changes regarding age and schooling certificate requirements and work hours for a person under sixteen years of age. The committee heard proponent testimony on the bill. 

House Ways and Means Committee 

HB 186, sponsored by Reps. James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon) and Thomas, got its seventh hearing. HB 186 would cap tax growth for districts on the 20-mill floor to inflation through a retroactive tax credit. The committee amended the bill to adjust the tax credit formula to account for levy reductions made by a school district or required by a county budget commission. The adjustment calculates the credit as though any such reductions did not occur but then accounts for the reductions after the credit has been calculated. 

The committee held its third hearing on HB 335. Also sponsored by Rep. Thomas, this bill would cap the inflationary growth on all inside millage beginning in tax year 2026. The committee amended the bill to modify the limit on the growth of inside millage collections from three percent to the GDP deflator growth (an inflation index) over the three preceding years. 

Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee  

The committee held its second hearing on HB 10, sponsored by Reps. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) and Daniels. HB 10 would require public school boards of education and ODEW to adopt policies prohibiting the purchase of “cultivated-protein food” products or food “misbranded as a meat or egg product”. The committee heard proponent testimony on the bill. 

Senate Housing Committee  

The committee held its first hearing on SB 250, sponsored by Sen. Michelle Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester). "The Promised Land Act” would authorize a nonrefundable, transferable tax credit for charitable organizations that construct owner-occupied housing. The committee heard proponent testimony on the bill.  

Recently introduced bills  

  • HB 493 – Sponsored by Reps. Thomas and Daniel P. Troy (D-Willowick), this bill would sunset the sale of delinquent property tax certificates on January 1, 2027. 
  • HB 499 – Sponsored by Reps. Tim Barhorst (R-Fort Loramie) and Angela N. King (R-Celina), this bill would modify the law governing county budget commissions and property taxation. The bill allows county budget commissions to reduce property tax collections to the prior year’s level and protects school districts on the 20-mill floor from losing state funding under the bill.
  • HB 500 – Sponsored by Reps. Ty D. Matthews (R-Findlay) and Ritter, this bill would designate a JROTC program offered by a school district as a career-technical education program.  
  • HB 504 – Sponsored by Rep. King, this bill would authorize counties to temporarily exempt a portion of a property's increased value from taxation following a reappraisal and to name this act the Calculated Adjustments for Property Surges (CAPS) Act.
  • HCR 25 – Sponsored by Sean P. Brennan (D-Parma) and Joe Miller (D-Amherst), this resolution would encourage students in grades one through twelve to read, study and discuss the U.S. Declaration of Independence in the classroom during the 2025-2026 school year in celebration of its 250th anniversary. 
  • SB 290 – Sponsored by Sen. Thomas Patton (R-Strongsville) and Reynolds, this bill would require public and chartered nonpublic schools to purchase and install an exterior secure master key box on each school building. 

Rules activity  

ODEW has the following rule open for public comment:  

  • Chapter 3301-13: Proficiency Tests  
    • OAC 3301-13-02: Administering state tests at the designated grades. 

Click here to view the ODEW rules open for public comment.  

The State Board of Education has the following rule open for public comment:  

  • Chapter 3302-89-02 and 3302-89-03: Requests for Territory Transfer 
    • Proposed changes to OAC 3302-89-02 and 3302-89-03 are in the interest of efficiency and clarity regarding the territory transfer processes under Ohio Revised Code sections 3311.06 and 3311.24. Changes include replacing the “25 Questions Form” with the opportunity for each school district and petitioners to submit position statements, directing the State Board of Education to submit the most recent report cards and five year-forecasts as evidence for proceedings, and specifying the evidence the Board will review if no hearing is requested. 

Click here to view the SBOE rules open for public comment. 

Federal update 

Please click here to read the most recent Federal Advocacy Report, which includes up-to-date information on federal education efforts. Click here to read the most recent Federal Court Report. 

Posted by Malania Birney on 10/10/2025