The Senate voted 31-0 to pass House Bill (HB) 124, sponsored by Reps. David Thomas (R-Jefferson) and Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township). HB 124 would modify the process for property tax sales-assessment ratio studies. The bill now goes to the governor for signature.
The upper chamber also voted 31-0 to pass Senate Bill (SB) 276, sponsored by Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson). This bill would ratify the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
Finally, the Senate voted 29-2 to pass SB 174, sponsored by Sens. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo). This bill would make changes regarding the allocation of parenting responsibilities in a parenting plan. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
The House voted 94-0 to pass HB 213, sponsored by Reps. Jodi Salvo R-Zoar) and Kevin Miller (R-Newark). HB 213 would designate a portion of Interstate 70 in Licking County as the "Tuscarawas Valley Memorial Highway." The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The House also voted 94-0 to pass HB 462, sponsored by Rep. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville). HB 462 would allow students to possess and use a nasal epinephrine delivery device in public and private schools, in addition to an epinephrine autoinjector as already permitted under law. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The House also concurred with the Senate’s amendments to HB 10 sponsored by Reps. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) and Jack Daniels (R-New Franklin). The bill 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 bill now heads to the governor for signature.
The committee held its fourth hearing on HB 455, sponsored by Reps. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Adam Bird (R-New Richmond). This bill would make changes to the operation of public schools and ODEW and eliminate obsolete provisions of education law. The committee accepted a substitute bill before passing the bill out of committee. A comparison document showing the subbill’s changes can be seen here.
The committee held its fourth hearing on 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. The committee accepted an amendment to change references to Christianity in the bill to Judeo-Christian values before passing the bill out of committee.
The committee held its third hearing on 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. The committee accepted a substitute version of the bill that requires such instruction in grades 5 through twelve and allows other videos substantially to the “Baby Olivia” video to be shown. The committee heard opponent and interested party testimony on the bill, including from:
- Lindsey Wyckoff, North Canton City
- Jeremy Ward, Forrest Hills City
- Dr. Amanda Graf, Centerville City
The committee held its third hearing on HB 326, sponsored by Reps. Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta) and Jonathan Newman (R-Troy). This bill would make changes regarding the Classic Learning Test entrance exam. The committee accepted an amendment to the bill that:
- Permits public and chartered nonpublic schools to administer any nationally standardized assessment by eliminating the requirement that the Department of Education and Workforce and the Chancellor of Higher Education jointly select the assessments from which schools must choose.
- Expressly permits a district to choose to administer the ACT, SAT, Classic Learning Test or any other valid, reliable, nationally norm-referenced exam used for college admission.
- Requires each state institution of higher education that accepts any of the ACT, SAT, Classic Learning Test or any other valid, reliable, nationally norm-referenced college entrance exam to accept all of those assessments for admission.
Senate Local Government Committee
The committee held its fourth hearing on HB 129 sponsored by Rep. Thomas. This bill would include certain property tax levies in the calculation of a school district's effective millage floor. The committee accepted written testimony on the bill, including opponent testimony from Terrah Stacy, treasurer, Springboro Community City.
The committee also held its fourth hearing on HB 309, sponsored by Rep. Thomas. This bill allows county budget commissions (CBC) to reduce millage on certain voter-approved tax levies, excluding debt levies, if they find it necessary or prudent to do so. The committee accepted written testimony on the bill.
HB 186, sponsored by Reps. James M. Hoops (R-Napoleon) and Thomas, got its third hearing. HB 186 would cap tax growth for districts on the 20-mill floor to inflation through a retroactive tax credit and provide funds to reimburse school districts for some losses in 2026 and 2027. The committee heard interested party testimony from BASA, OSBA and OASBO . The committee also accepted interested party and opponent testimony from:
- Scott Wludyga, Ohio ACTE, OACTS, Ohio CCS
- Fair School Funding Workgroup
- Terrah Stacy, treasurer, Springboro Community City
- Kristine Blind, treasurer, London City
- Kevin Miller, superintendent and Todd Griffith, treasurer, Licking Heights Local
The committee also held its third hearing on HB 335 from Rep. Thomas. This bill would cap the inflationary growth on all inside millage beginning in tax year 2026. The committee heard interested party testimony from BASA, OSBA and OASBO. They also accepted opponent testimony from:
- Terrah Stacy, treasurer, Springboro Community City
- Rebecca Jenkins, treasurer, New Albany-Plain Local
- Ryan Stechschulte, treasurer, Toledo City
The committee held its fourth hearing on HB 88, sponsored by Reps. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton). This bill would, among other things, require public schools to incorporate instruction on fentanyl awareness and abuse prevention for grades K-12 and require boards of education to designate one week of the school year as "fentanyl poisoning awareness week." The committee heard proponent, opponent and interested party testimony on the bill.
House Ways and Means Committee
The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 266, sponsored by Reps. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) and Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester). This bill would provide a $300 property tax credit, for the next five years, for owner-occupied homes that have been continuously owned for at least one year and reimburse local taxing units.
The committee also heard sponsor testimony on HB 391, sponsored by Reps. Daniels and Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown), which would require tax rates to be expressed as a percentage of true value in addition to mills on tax bills, election notices and ballot language.
Lastly, the committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 483, sponsored by Reps. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.). This bill would allow eligible homeowners to defer the payment of a portion of their property taxes.
The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 437 from by Reps. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) and Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland). This bill would alter existing requirements regarding youth cardiac monitoring. The committee accepted an amendment that:
- Revises the timeline for conducting a student or youth athlete's preparticipation physical examination, requiring it to be conducted no more than three months before the first day of participation (rather than conducted within the later of six weeks of the first day of official practice or six weeks of the first day of participation, as under the As Introduced version).
- Eliminates the requirement that the Department of Health and Department of Education and Workforce develop an educational pamphlet describing sudden cardiac arrest, relying instead on the bill's existing requirement that the Departments develop guidelines and other relevant materials describing sudden cardiac arrest (renames relevant materials as relevant educational materials).
- With respect to the preparticipation physical evaluation form to be developed by the Department of Health and completed by a health care professional when examining an individual 19 years of age and under, makes the following changes:
- Removes references to specific medical organizations;
- Modifies the form's components by eliminating specific questions required during the examination and instead requiring examinations to address broader topics relevant to sudden cardiac arrest (personal history, family history, screening for certain conditions).
- Requires the Department of Health and Department of Education and Workforce to jointly adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill's provisions and requires those rules to follow nationally-recognized, evidence-based guidelines recommended by organizations focused on pediatric cardiovascular care.
- Eliminates provisions that – in the event a health care professional fails to comply with the bill's requirements – establish criminal penalties and authorize the professional's licensing board to impose fines, while maintaining existing provisions authorizing the licensing board to take disciplinary action against the professional for a failure to comply.
House General Government Committee
The committee heard sponsor testimony on HB 554 from Rep. Thomas. This bill would require governmental entities and private sellers to accept cash as payment under certain conditions.
House Local Government Committee
HB 520, sponsored by Reps. Thomas and Matthews, received its second hearing. This bill would establish and convene a Blue Ribbon Committee in each county to review and assess each taxing unit within the county and each county program or department to identify duplication of services and generally to streamline and improve county efficiency and effectiveness. The committee accepted an amendment to alter the makeup of the committee as follows:
- Require one township representative, selected by the county's township association.
- Require one municipal representative, selected by the various legislative authorities.
- Eliminate school district superintendents and instead require one ESC representative from the ESC serving the most students in the county.
The committee held its third hearing on HB 476, sponsored by Reps. Meredith Craig (R-Smithville) and Thomas. This bill would authorize online raffles under the Charitable Gaming Law. The committee adopted a substitute version of the bill and stated their intent to make final changes and vote next week.
Recently introduced bills
- SB 320 – Sponsored by Sen. Roegner, this bill would enter Ohio into the Athletic Trainer Compact.
- SB 322 – Sponsored by Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield), this bill would dissolve academic distress commissions and instead require student support teams for certain low-performing school buildings.
- SB 326 – Sponsored by Sens. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) and Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati), this bill would require school districts to offer, and students to complete, at least one high school computer science course.
- HB 583 – Sponsored by Reps. Ritter and Newman, this bill would make changes to online library database resources at public schools, public libraries and state agencies.
- HB 590 – Sponsored by Reps. Thomas and Williams, this bill would modify the law governing tax appeals and property tax complaints.
Rules activity
ODEW has the following rules open for public comment:
- Chapter 3301-18: Calculating Student Attendance Rate
- OAC 3301-18-01: Calculating student attendance rate
- Chapter 3301-35: Standards for Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
- OAC 3301-35-01: Purpose and definitions
- OAC 3301-35-02: Governance, leadership, and strategic planning
- OAC 3301-35-03: Blended learning
- OAC 3301-35-04: Student and other stakeholder focus
- OAC 3301-35-05: Faculty and staff focus
- OAC 3301-35-06: Educational programs and support
- OAC 3301-35-07: Data-driven improvement
- OAC 3301-35-08: Non-chartered, non-tax supported school
- OAC 3301-35-09: Chartered nonpublic schools
- OAC 3301-35-15: Standards for the implementation of positive behavior intervention supports and the use of restraint and seclusion
- OAC 3301-35-16: Online learning
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 3302-24-18: Resident educator license.
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.