For the Week
of December 6, 2015
Featured News
No Competition for Interim Superintendent Post as VP Backs Rivera Hannah
Just one person was nominated by Wednesday's deadline for submitting candidates to be Superintendent Richard Ross' interim successor: Lonny Rivera, associate superintendent and already deemed next in line in Ohio Department of Education (ODE) contingency plans. Tess Elshoff, vice president of the State Board of Education, was the only board member to submit a nomination before the Wednesday deadline set by President Tom Gunlock. Her nomination came with a short statement of interest from Rivera. "If chosen, I would be honored to serve in this position for as long as my services are needed," he wrote.
Fill-in state superintendent will be Lonny Rivera, former head of Oregon school district The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Lonny Rivera, the former superintendent of the Oregon schools near Toledo, has a clear path to becoming the interim state superintendent. State school board members were able to nominate candidates for the position through Wednesday. But only Rivera, a Cleveland State University graduate and associate superintendent with the Ohio Department of Education, was nominated.
Federal, National and U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Senate Vote Sends New Federal Education Measures to President's Desk Hannah
The long overdue reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) cleared Congress on Wednesday, after the Senate voted 85-12 to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which cleared the House last week. Ohio's two U.S. senators touted their contributions to the bill after Wednesday's vote, while Ohio's teachers unions cheered the bill's reduction of testing requirements under the predecessor legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act. The compromise legislation, melding versions passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee, gives states more control over their accountability systems.
ESEA Rewrite Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk Education Week
Hear that collective whoop from the Capitol? That's the sound of education advocates and lawmakers cheering at the finish line as the first rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in more than a dozen years sails through Congress and on to the White House. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved the rewrite of the withering No Child Left Behind Act—the current version of the ESEA—by a huge bipartisan margin, 85 to 12, mirroring the vote of 359 to 64 in the U.S. House of Representatives just days earlier. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill Thursday.
ESEA-Rewrite Bill Includes Controversial Teacher-Prep Provisions Education Week
One little-noticed provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, seems to be raising some consternation in the teacher-prep field: a proposal to allow states to use federal teacher-quality funds to sponsor a new kind of teacher-preparation program. ESSA is poised to replace the No Child Left Behind Act. Under the conference report before the Senate—the last major hurdle before it's signed into law—states would now be authorized to set up teacher-preparation "academies," both inside or outside of higher education, which could operate apart from states' usual rules and regulations for teacher prep.
Ohio Legislation Update (recent bill action in red)
131st General Assembly
House
HB1 WORKFORCE GRANT PROGRAM (Rep. Kirk Schuring, Rep. Nathan Manning) To establish the Workforce Grant Program, to authorize an income tax credit equal to 25% of the student loan payments a grant recipient makes per year, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Re-Referred to House Finance Committee
HB2 CHARTER SCHOOL SPONSORSHIP (Rep. Mike Dovilla, Rep. Kristina Roegner) With regard to sponsorship and management of community schools
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 1/29/16
HB5 PUBLIC OFFICE-STATE AGENCY EFFICIENCY STUDIES (Rep. Stephanie Kunze, Rep. Kyle Koehler) To allow the Auditor of State to conduct business case studies regarding the efficiency of local public offices and state agencies
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
HB7 ASSESSMENT SCORE DETERMINATIONS (Rep. Jim Buchy) To prohibit individual student scores from certain elementary and secondary achievement assessments administered for the 2014-2015 school year from being used to determine promotion or retention or to grant course credit
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective immediately
HB12 TIF-INCENTIVE DISTRICTS (Rep. James Butler, Jr., Rep. Tony Burkley) To establish a procedure by which political subdivisions proposing a tax increment financing (TIF) incentive district are required to provide notice to the record owner of each parcel within the proposed incentive district before creating the district
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB15 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERSHIP (Rep. Ron Gerberry) To change the voting membership of the State Board of Education to consist of a member from each of several electoral districts with boundaries coinciding with the state's Congressional districts and a president to be appointed by the Governor if there is an even number of such electoral districts
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB20 CONCEALED CARRY-SCHOOL SAFETY ZONE (Rep. Anne Gonzales, Rep. Kyle Koehler) To expand and clarify the authority of a concealed handgun licensee to possess a handgun in a school safety zone
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House State Government Committee
HB25 FOOD-DRINK SCHOOL SALES (Rep. Stephanie Kunze) To require the State Board of Education to adopt rules regarding the sale of beverages and food during the regular school day in connection with a school-sponsored fundraiser
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB27 FINANCIAL AID-FINISH FUND (Rep. Dan Ramos) To create the Finish Fund and the Finish Reserve Fund to provide grants to students who are nearing completion of their associate or bachelor's degrees and display financial need or hardship
STATUS: Referred to House Finance Committee
HB28 SUICIDE PREVENTION-HIGHER EDUCATION (Rep. Marlene Anielski) With regard to suicide prevention programs at state institutions of higher education
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 10/14/15
HB39 SCHOOL-CAMP INHALER PERMIT (Rep. Mike Duffey, Rep. Anthony DeVitis) To permit schools and camps to procure and use a metered dose inhaler or dry powdered inhaler used to alleviate asthmatic symptoms in accordance with prescribed policies and to exempt them from licensing requirements related to the possession of these inhalers
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 1/29/16
HB42 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUND (Rep. Ron Gerberry, Rep. Jack Cera) To require that, for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Local Government Fund must receive the same proportion of state tax revenue that the Fund received in fiscal year 2005
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance Committee
HB43 CLASSROOM FACILITIES-PROPERTY TAX ROLLBACKS (Rep. Ron Gerberry) To revise the law governing classroom facilities assistance programs and to restore the application of the 10% and 2.5% property tax rollbacks to school district tax levies approved on or after the effective date of Am. Sub. H.B. 59 of the 130th General Assembly
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB44 LOTTERY PROFITS-SCHOOLS (Rep. Ron Gerberry) To require that a portion of lottery profits be distributed annually on a per pupil basis to public and chartered nonpublic schools
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB46 GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE DATABASE (Rep. Mike Dovilla, Rep. Jonathan Dever) To require the Treasurer of State to establish the Ohio State Government Expenditure Database
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Finance Committee
HB52 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW (Rep. Robert Hackett) To make changes to the Workers' Compensation Law, to make appropriations for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for the biennium beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2017, and to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of the Bureau's programs
STATUS: Passed House 96-0
HB54 VOCATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS-OFFICE TERMS (Rep. Marlene Anielski) To revise the law regarding terms of office of members of certain joint vocational school district boards of education
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee
HB55 THIRD-GRADE READING GUARANTEE (Rep. Robert Sprague) To specify deadlines for the administration of reading skills assessments for purposes of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee
HB56 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT-CRIMINAL RECORDS (Rep. Kirk Schuring, Rep. Stephen Slesnick) To limit the use of criminal records in the hiring and employment practices of public employers
STATUS: (Passed by House) Senate State & Local Government Committee – Reported out as amended; Passed by Senate, Vote 31-1; House concurred, Vote 90-1
HB64 OPERATING BUDGET (Rep. Ryan Smith) To make operating appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2017, and to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective immediately
HB70 SCHOOL RESTRUCTURING (Rep. Denise Driehaus, Rep. Andrew Brenner) To authorize school districts and community schools to initiate a community learning center process to assist and guide school restructuring
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 10/14/15
HB74 PRIMARY-SECONDARY ASSESSMENTS (Rep. Andrew Brenner) With regard to the administration of state primary and secondary education assessments
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Education Committee
HB81 SPECIAL ELECTIONS (Rep. Steve Hambley) To eliminate the ability to conduct special elections in February and to require a political subdivision to prepay sixty-five per cent of the estimated cost of a special election
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB85 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION (Rep. Dan Ramos, Rep. Christina Hagan) With respect to age-appropriate student instruction in child sexual abuse and sexual violence prevention and in-service staff training in child sexual abuse prevention
STATUS: House Judiciary Committee – Reported out
HB89 MEDICAID SCHOOL PROGRAM (Rep. Anthony DeVitis) Regarding the Medicaid School Program
STATUS: House Health & Aging Committee – Substitute bill accepted
HB92 SCHOOLS EMPLOYEES-SEXUAL CONDUCT (Rep. Christina Hagan) To prohibit an employee of a public or nonpublic school or institution of higher education who is not in a position of authority from engaging in sexual conduct with a minor at least four years younger than the employee who is enrolled in or attends that public or nonpublic school or who is enrolled in or attends that institution of higher education
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
HB99 INCOME TAX-SCHOOL FUNDING (Rep. Mike Curtin) To require that an amount equal to state income tax collections, less amounts contributed to the Ohio political party fund via the income tax checkoff, be distributed for the support of elementary, secondary, vocational, and special education programs
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB113 CPR-GRADUATION REQUIREMENT (Rep. Cheryl Grossman, Rep. Nathan Manning) To require instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator as a requirement for high school graduation
STATUS: House Education Committee – Bill amended
HB114 SCHOOL DOOR-BARRICADE (Rep. Kristina Roegner, Rep. Heather Bishoff) To require the Board of Building Standards to adopt rules for the use of a barricade device on a school door in an emergency situation and to prohibit the State Fire Code from prohibiting the use of the device in such a situation
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate State & Local Government Committee
HB118 TUITION FEES (DeVitis, T., Patmon, B.) With respect to tuition overload fees at state institutions of higher education.
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB120 HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (Schuring, K.) To create the Ohio Higher Education Innovation Grant Program and to make an appropriation.
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB130 PUBLIC RECORDS-DATA BOARD (Rep. Christina Hagan, Rep. Mike Duffey) To create the DataOhio Board, to specify requirements for posting public records online, to require the Auditor of State to adopt rules regarding a uniform accounting system for public offices, to establish an online catalog of public data at data.Ohio.gov, to establish the Local Government Information Exchange Grant Program, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Re-referred to House Finance Committee
HB132 CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE-EDUCATION (Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, Rep. Heather Bishoff) Regarding coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, the provision of certain hospital and pregnancy prevention services for victims of sexual assault, and comprehensive sexual health and sexually transmitted infection education in schools
STATUS: Referred to House Health & Aging Committee
HB133 NONPROFIT DEGREE-TAX CREDIT (Rep. Tim Schaffer, Rep. Michael Ashford) To authorize an income tax credit for individuals that earn a nonprofit management degree or certain professional designations and to allow a sales tax exemption for out-of-state nonprofit corporations that relocate jobs to Ohio
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB136 STEM PROGRAM-LAKE COUNTY (Rep. Ron Young, Rep. John Rogers) To fund the Lake County Educational Service Center pilot project to support STEM initiatives for middle school students and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to House Finance Committee
HB137 ORGAN DONATION-HEALTH CURRICULUM (Rep. Cheryl Grossman, Rep. Debbie Phillips) To require the health curriculum of each school district to include instruction on the positive effects of organ and tissue donation
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB138 STATE TESTING WAIVER (Rep. Paul Zeltwanger, Rep. Kyle Koehler) To revise the requirements regarding the administration of the state achievement assessments, to require the Department of Education to request a waiver from federal testing requirements, and to declare an emergency
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB145 STEM PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (Rep. Robert McColley, Rep. Stephanie Howse) To establish the STEM Public-Private Partnership Pilot Program to provide high school students the opportunity to receive education in a targeted industry while simultaneously earning high school and college credit and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to House Finance Committee
HB146 CURSIVE HANDWRITING (Rep. Cheryl Grossman, Rep. Andrew Brenner) To require instruction in cursive handwriting
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB148 CLASSROOM FACILITIES ASSISTANCE (Rep. John Patterson, Rep. Sarah LaTourette) To require the Ohio School Facilities Commission to provide classroom facilities assistance to a school district resulting from the consolidation of two or more school districts or from the voluntary transfer of the entire territory of a school district if specified conditions are satisfied
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB153 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATE (Rep. Mike Dovilla) - To change the date on which presidential primary elections are held
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 9/10/15
HB156 CHARTER SCHOOL OVERSIGHT (Rep. Kristina Roegner, Rep. John Patterson) To make changes to the law regarding governance, operation, and management of community schools, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB158 INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY TERM (Rep. Jonathan Dever, Rep. Stephanie Howse) To change the variations of the term "mentally retarded person" to "person with an intellectual disability”
STATUS: House Health & Aging Committee – Substitute bill accepted & reported out
HB160 TEXTBOOKS-HIGHER EDUCATION (Rep. Anthony DeVitis) With regard to the selection, availability, and purchase of textbooks that are required for a course offered by any state institution of higher education
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB166 LOCAL TAX-FISCAL REVISIONS (Rep. Doug Green) To extend the deadline for filing an application for the homestead exemption or 2 1/2% property tax rollback to the end of the tax year, to require that auditors certify Local Government Fund allocations to subdivisions by regular or electronic, rather than certified mail, and to repeal laws requiring county auditors to issue permits for traveling shows, issue licenses for new merchandise public auctions, certify the annual state tax interest rate to local courts, and provide certain certifications related to the repealed personal property tax
STATUS: House Ways & Means Committee – Reported out
HB174 GRADUATE DEGREE-ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS (Rep. John Barnes, Jr.) With regard to entrepreneurial skills education requirements for professional graduate degree programs at state institutions of higher education
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB181 ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION-AUTO UPDATE (Rep. Kathleen Clyde) To require that eligible persons in certain government and school databases be automatically registered to vote or have their registrations updated automatically unless those persons decline to do so and to create an online voter registration system
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB183 STUDENT TRUSTEE-VOTING AUTHORITY (Rep. Niraj Antani, Rep. Michael Stinziano) To grant student members of the boards of trustees of state universities and the Northeast Ohio Medical University voting power and the authority to attend executive sessions
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB192 SAFETY ENHANCEMENT STANDARDS (Rep. John Rogers, Rep. Rick Perales) To require the State Board of Education to adopt rules prescribing standards for safety enhancements to new public and nonpublic school facilities and to require the Ohio School Facilities Commission to revise its construction and design standards to comply with the State Board's standards
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB200 EPINEPHRINE AUTOINJECTORS (Rep. Christina Hagan) To permit epinephrine autoinjectors for which no prescriptions have been written to be stored and accessed for use in case of emergency
STATUS: House Health & Aging Committee – Reported out as amended
HB212 ACADEMIC STANDARDS-CURRICULA (Rep. Andrew Thompson) With regard to state achievement assessments, statewide academic content standards and model curricula, and teacher and administrator evaluations
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee
HB221 TOBACCO USE-PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Rep. Margaret Ann Ruhl, Rep. Michael Ashford) To revise the law regarding tobacco and nicotine use in public schools and at public school-sponsored functions
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Health & Aging Committee
HB223 YOUTH ATHLETICS-MINOR EMPLOYMENT (Rep. Michael Stinziano) To allow minors to be employed by a youth athletic program if certain conditions are satisfied
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB231 PROPERTY VALUATION COMPLAINTS (Rep. Cheryl Grossman, Rep. Jeffrey McClain) To require counties, municipal corporations, townships, and school boards that file complaints against the valuation of property they do not own to pass a resolution approving the complaint and specifying the compensation paid to any person retained to represent the county, municipal corporation, township, or school board in the matter of the complaint
STATUS: Introduced
HB274 APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS (Hagan, C.) To create a subprogram of the College Credit Plus Program that permits students to participate in certified apprenticeship programs. Am. 3365.16
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB287 YOUTH SUMMER EMPLOYMENT (Rep. John Barnes, Jr.) To require the Director of Development Services to establish a youth summer jobs pledging initiative to increase access to summer employment opportunities for high school and college youth
STATUS: Referred to House Economic & Workforce Development Committee
HB299 CUSTODIAN-AUTISM SCHOLARSHIP (Rep. Louis Blessing III, Rep. Jeffrey Rezabek) To permit the temporary, legal, or permanent custodian of a qualified child to apply for an Autism Scholarship
STATUS: Passed by House, Vote 91-0
HB308 TEXTBOOKS-TAX EXEMPTION (Rep. Mike Duffey, Rep. Michael Stinziano) To exempt from sales and use tax textbooks purchased by post-secondary students
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB311 PENSION-SALARY PERCENTAGE (Rep. Kirk Schuring) To base the percentage of an employee's salary that must be contributed to the State Teachers Retirement System to mitigate the effect of the employee's participation in an alternative retirement program on the average percentage used to amortize the Retirement System's unfunded actuarial accrued pension liabilities
STATUS: Referred to House Health & Aging Committee
HB323 SCHOOL DISTRICTS-LICENSE PLATES (Rep. Marlene Anielski, Rep. Bill Patmon) To provide for the issuance of public school district license plates and private school license plates
STATUS: Referred to House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
HB340 LOCAL GOVERNMENT INNOVATION COUNCIL (Rep. Ron Amstutz) To extend the operation of the Local Government Innovation Council until December 31, 2019, and to declare an emergency
STATUS: (Passed by House) Senate Finance Committee – Substitute bill accepted & reported out as amended; Passed by Senate, Vote 32-0, Emergency clause passed 32-0; House concurred, Vote 91-1, Emergency clause passed 87-3
HB346 PER-PUPIL STATE FUNDING (Rep. Andrew Brenner) To require that each city, local, and exempted village school district receive a per-pupil amount of state funding that is at least as much as the statewide per pupil amount paid for chartered nonpublic schools in Auxiliary Services funds and for administrative cost reimbursement
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance Committee
HB350 AUTISM TREATMENT-COVERAGE (Rep. Cheryl Grossman, Rep. Louis Terhar) To mandate coverage of autism treatment
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB355 EMPLOYEE DEFINITION (Rep. Wes Retherford) To create a generally uniform definition of employee for specified labor laws and to prohibit employee misclassification under those laws
STATUS: Referred to House State Government Committee
HB372 EDUCATIONAL SERVICE PERSONNEL (Rep. Debbie Phillips) To require city, exempted village, and local school districts to employ, for each 1,000 students, at least five full-time equivalent educational service personnel in specified areas
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB379 ACADEMIC DISTRESS COMMISSIONS (Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan) With regard to the operation of academic distress commissions and to modify the earmarked funding for the establishment of academic distress commissions
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB382 OHIO PRINCIPALS MONTH (Rep. David Leland) To designate the month of October as "Ohio Principals Month”
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB383 INFORMED STUDENT DOCUMENT (Rep. Christina Hagan, Rep. Robert McColley) To require one-half unit of economic and financial literacy in the high school social studies curriculum, to require the Chancellor of Higher Education to prepare an informed student document for each state institution of higher education, to require the State Board of Education to include information on the informed student document in the standards and model curricula it creates for financial literacy and entrepreneurship
STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee
HB384 HIGHER EDUCATION AUDITS (Rep. Tim Schaffer, Rep. Mike Duffey) To specify that state institutions of higher education may be subject to performance audits conducted by the Auditor of State
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB391 FINANCE LITERACY PROGRAM (Rep. Louis Terhar) To require the Chancellor of Higher Education to create the SmartOhio Financial Literacy Pilot Program at the University of Cincinnati to operate for the 2016-2017 school year and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance Committee
HB399 COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS-HOME INSTRUCTION (Rep. Kyle Koehler) To increase the earmarked funding for the College Credit Plus Program for home instructed students
STATUS: Introduced
HB410 TRUANCY (Rep. Jeff Rezabek, Rep. Bill Hayes) - With regard to habitual and chronic truancy and compulsory school attendance
STATUS: Introduced
Senate
SB3 HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT EXEMPTION (Sen. Cliff Hite, Sen. Keith Faber) To exempt high-performing school districts from certain laws
STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Referred to House Education Committee
SB4 IN-STATE TUITION REDUCTION (Sen. Keith Faber) To require each state institution of higher education to develop a plan to reduce in-state student cost of attendance by five per cent for the 2016-2017 academic year
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB6 JOINT COMMITTEE ON OHIO COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY (Sen. Shannon Jones, Sen. John Eklund) To increase the maximum income tax deduction for college savings contributions to $10,000 annually for each beneficiary
STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
SB12 INCOME TAX CREDIT-SCIENCE RELATED DEGREE (Sen. Jay Hottinger) To grant an income tax credit to individuals who earn degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math-based fields of study
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Ways & Means Committee
SB19 OHIO COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY GRANT (Sen. Tom Sawyer) To make changes to the Ohio College Opportunity Grant, to limit state university over load fees, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB20 CHARTER SCHOOLS-RECORD KEEPING (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) Regarding audit and record-keeping requirements for community school sponsors and operators
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB22 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUND-ALLOCATION INCREASE (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To increase monthly allocations to the Local Government Fund from 1.66% to 3.68% of the total tax revenue credited to the GRF each month
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB24 OHIO COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY GRANT QUALIFICATION (Sen. Sandra Williams) To qualify students in noncredit community college programs for Ohio College Opportunity Grants and to require the awarding of academic credit for community colleges’ career certification programs
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB34 SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICY-DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR (Sen. Charleta Tavares) With respect to school district policies for violent, disruptive, or inappropriate behavior
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB39 PEDESTRIAN RIGHT OF WAY-SCHOOL ZONE (Sen. Bill Beagle) To increase the penalties for failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian who is crossing a roadway within a crosswalk when the crosswalk is located within a school zone
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Criminal Justice Committee
SB43 COLUMBUS STATE LOGISTICS PROGRAM (Sen. Jim Hughes) To establish the Columbus State Logistics Program and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB59 COMMUNITY SCHOOLS-STATE APPROPRIATED FUNDS (Sen. Michael Skindell) With respect to the use of state-appropriated funds by operators of community schools
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB71 TRIO-PROGRAM APPROPRIATION (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To make an appropriation for the provision of state matching funds for federal TRIO programs at Ohio institutions of higher education for FY 2016 and FY 2017
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB73 MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To require community colleges, state community colleges, technical colleges, and university branches to comply with minority business enterprise set-aside requirements, and to require the Director of Administrative Services to establish guidelines for these entities, and the Northeast Ohio Medical University, to establish procurement goals for contracting with EDGE business enterprises
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB78 GED GRANT PROGRAM (Sen. Sandra Williams) To create the GED Grant Program for undergraduate students who have earned high school equivalence diplomas and are enrolled in two-year state institutions of higher education and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB82 GED-TEST COST (Sen. Sandra Williams) With regard to the administration and cost of the tests of general educational development required to earn a high school equivalence diploma
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB85 PROPERTY-TAX COMPLAINTS (Sen. William Coley) To limit the right to initiate most types of property tax complaints to the property owner and the county recorder of the county in which the property is located
STATUS: Referred to Senate Ways & Means Committee
SB92 SCHOOL SAFETY FUNDS (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) To require the State Board of Education to establish criteria and procedures for the awarding of school safety funds to school districts and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB93 BULLYING PREVENTION FUNDS (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) To require the State Board of Education to establish criteria and procedures for the awarding of bullying prevention and education funds to school districts and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB94 MEDICAID SCHOOL PROGRAM (Sen. Kevin Bacon, Sen. Peggy Lehner) Regarding the Medicaid School Program
STATUS: Referred to Senate Medicaid Committee
SB101 CONTRACEPTION EDUCATION (Sen. Capri Cafaro) Regarding coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, the provision of certain hospital and pregnancy prevention services for victims of sexual assault, and comprehensive sexual health and sexually transmitted infection education in schools
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Health & Human Services Committee
SB121 IMMUNIZATIONS (Hite, C.) To require pupils to be immunized against meningococcal disease at an age recommended by the Department of Health.
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective 10/14/15
SB122 HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION (Gentile, L.) To extend eligibility for the homestead exemption to elderly or disabled homeowners who did not receive the exemption for 2013 and have $30,000 or more in Ohio adjusted gross income.
STATUS: Introduced
SB125 SCHOOL BARRICADES (LaRose, F., Hottinger, J.) To require the Board of Building Standards to adopt rules for the use of a barricade device on a school door in an emergency situation and to prohibit the State Fire Code from prohibiting the use of the device in such a situation.
STATUS: Referred to Senate Transportation, Commerce & Labor Committee
SB126 OPEN ENROLLMENT (Sawyer, T.) To terminate interdistrict open enrollment on that date with the possibility of renewal following the General Assembly's examination of the study's findings.
STATUS : Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB136 SCHOOL SECLUSION ROOMS (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To prohibit the use of seclusion on students in public schools
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB144 STEM PROGRAM-LAKE COUNTY (Sen. John Eklund) To fund the Lake County Educational Service Center pilot project to support STEM initiatives for middle school students and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB148 CHARTER SCHOOL OVERSIGHT (Sen. Peggy Lehner, Sen. Tom Sawyer) To make changes to the law regarding governance, operation, and management of community schools, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance – Education Subcommittee
SB158 AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION (Sen. Kenny Yuko) To require that eligible persons in certain government and school databases be automatically registered to vote
STATUS: Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB163 COMMON CORE STANDARDS (Sen. Kris Jordan) With respect to the Common Core State Standards academic standards, powers of the State Board of Education, and the distribution of student information
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB168 STUDENT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR INFORMATION (Sen. Frank LaRose) To require the Education Management Information System to include information regarding persons at whom a student’s violent behavior that resulted in discipline was directed
STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Referred to House Education Committee
SB173 SPECIAL ELECTIONS (Sen. Kris Jordan) To eliminate the ability to conduct special elections in February and August
STATUS: Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB217 LOCAL OFFICIAL-CONTINUING EDUCATION EXEMPTION (Sen. John Eklund) To permit exemptions for local officials from continuing education requirements of the office for an illness or disability or for out-of-state military service
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee
SB220 OHIO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE-ROTH FEATURES (Sen. Jay Hottinger) To authorize the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Board and local governments to establish designated Roth account features and other tax-deferred or non-tax deferred features permitted for government deferred compensation plans
STATUS: Introduced
SB230 ACADEMIC DISTRESS COMMISSION (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) With regard to the operation of academic distress commissions and to modify the earmarked funding for the establishment of academic distress commissions
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB234 STUDENT ENROLLMENT-CHILDREN SERVICES (Sen. Capri Cafaro) To require specified public and nonpublic school officials to search the Uniform Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB235 INCREASED VALUE-PROPERTY TAX (Sen. Bill Beagle, Sen. William Coley) To exempt from property tax the increased value of property on which industrial or commercial development is planned until construction of new commercial or industrial facilities at the property commences
STATUS: Referred to Senate Ways & Means Committee
SB238 MONTH NAME DESIGNATION (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To designate the month of October as "Ohio Principals Month”
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB240 FEDERAL FOSTER CARE (Sen. John Eklund) To extend the age for which a person is eligible for federal foster care and adoption assistance payments under Title IV-E to age twenty-one; and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Introduced
SB241 EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS-EMPLOYMENT (Sen. Frank LaRose) With regard to the employment of specified education professionals by city, exempted village, and local school districts
STATUS: Introduced
SB246 CAUV COMPUTATION-CAPITALIZATION RATE (Sen. Cliff Hite) To require that the computation of the capitalization rate for the purposes of determining CAUV of agricultural land be computed using a method that excludes appreciation and equity buildup
STATUS: Referred to Senate Ways & Means Committee
SB247 SCHOOL DISTRICT-SUMMER MEALS (Sen. Edna Brown, Sen. Peggy Lehner) To require school districts to allow alternative summer meal sponsors to use school facilities to provide food service for summer intervention services under certain conditions
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB250 CHARTER SCHOOLS-STATE MONEY (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) To prohibit community schools from using state moneys to pay for advertising, recruiting, or promotional materials
STATUS: Introduced
Ohio Budget and Politics
Charter schools start last-minute radio campaign to avoid bad grades for report cards and sponsor evaluations The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Some charter schools have started a radio ad campaign to renew their call for "immediate" changes to state report cards that would boost grades for schools with poor or transient students. The schools already lobbied state legislators for the change last summer and fall -- all without a public hearing -- before the legislature decided they had to study the issue carefully first.
Sunset Panel Reviews Education Agencies Hannah
Members of the Sunset Review Committee on Monday heard testimony form a number of education-related agencies, including one that has yet to officially be formed. Charles See, assistant deputy chancellor for external relations at the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), said College Credit Plus (CCP) -- Ohio's new dual enrollment program -- was created in 130-HB487 (Brenner). He said that legislation requires ODHE's chancellor and the Ohio Department of Education's (ODE) superintendent of public instruction to jointly establish the College Credit Plus Advisory Committee, which will review data received from colleges and universities to determine the effectiveness of the program and how it could be improved or adjusted.
Senate Committee Turns HB340 into Budget Corrections/'Christmas Tree' Bill Hannah
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday accepted a substitute version of HB340 (Amstutz), making the legislation the General Assembly's budget corrections or "Christmas Tree" bill this session. The bill ballooned from the three pages it covered as passed by the House to 247 pages with Tuesday's amendment. The sub bill made a number of changes, including adding spending authority for the school district tangible personal property tax (TPP) supplement. The sub bill adds $5.9 million in FY16 and $44 million in FY17 bringing that appropriation to a total of $56.5 million in FY16 and $44 million in FY17. SB208 (Beagle) initially restored some TPP funding that was vetoed by Gov. John Kasich in HB64 (R. Smith). Sub HB340 addresses the appropriation authority for this line item.
New bill would ban charter schools from paying for ads with tax dollars The Cleveland Plain Dealer
The state would ban charter schools from using tax money to pay for advertising under a new bill introduced in the Ohio Senate today. The proposal from Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, a Boardman Democrat, would prevent charter schools from using any tax dollars on "advertising, recruiting, or promotional materials."
House Easily Clears Calendar, Agrees to 'Christmas Tree' Changes Hannah
The House passed seven bills with little or no opposition and agreed to Senate amendments on budget corrections/"Christmas Tree" legislation HB340 (Amstutz) during the chamber's last session of the year on Wednesday. Members voted to approve the amendments to HB340 91-1 after Reps. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster) and Ryan Smith (R-Gallipolis) explained a number of the changes made in the upper chamber. (See The Hannah Report, 12/8/15.) The bill includes an emergency clause. Smith noted the bill provides an exemption for legislative employees from a Department of Administrative Services (DAS) rule requiring state employees take personal leave in minimum two-hour increments.
Kasich asks schools for help with drug crisis Youngstown Vindicator
Ohio’s governor and top law enforcer asked educators across the state on Thursday to help in the battle against opiate addiction.Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine, both Republicans, made the plea in a conference call with about 200 school superintendents, principals, counselors and other education leaders.
Ohio Department of Education/State Board of Education
Benyo to Chair Academic Distress Commission Business Journal Daily
Brian Benyo, president of Brilex Industries and a founding member of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers’ Coalition, has been named chairman of the city’s Academic Distress Commission. State Education Superintendent Richard Ross announced the selection Friday. “I am honored to serve as the commission’s chairperson,” Benyo said in a statement. “I think I speak for the entire commission when I say we are eager to get on with the work required to help turn around Youngstown City Schools. It’s going to require a commitment by everyone in our community to work together to create and carry out a strong plan. Our children, their future, and our city’s future, is at stake.”
Yost Puts School District in Fiscal Emergency Hannah
After nearly two decades of financial monitoring, a Northeast Ohio school district was downgraded to fiscal emergency status, triggering creation of a state oversight commission. Coventry Local Schools in Summit County was declared to be in fiscal emergency Friday by Auditor Dave Yost. That decision will spark the creation of a three-member Financial Planning and Supervision Commission to assume some or all of the Coventry Board of Education's powers. Yost's office will also conduct a "full financial analysis" and certify its deficit.
ODE Updates Lawmakers on Report Card Plans Hannah
The Ohio Department of Education briefed House and Senate committees Tuesday on its plans for calculating the upcoming state report cards for local schools. Per ORC 3302.03(B)(3), the department is required to present to the House and Senate education committees on how it will measure statutory performance standards at least 45 days before formal adoption of the rules for calculating the report cards.
Second Response Goes to Feds for Inquiry on Charter School Grant Hannah
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) this week delivered its second set of responses on charter school oversight to the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), which is seeking assurances on the state's ability to administer a recent $32 million grant to expand and improve the charter sector. The latest letter from Superintendent Richard Ross to USDOE Charter Schools Program Director Stefan Huh focuses on state auditing procedures for charter schools.
Straight A Fund Sees 140 Applications in Latest Round Hannah
The first round of the Straight A Fund for this biennium drew 140 applications, a smaller field to correspond to the smaller pool of money available than in the past two years. Schools and educational organizations can apply on their own or as part of a consortium, and the 140 applications represent more than 300 organizations requesting more than $100 million. Lawmakers appropriated $15 million for each fiscal year of the program in HB64 (R. Smith), versus $250 million available in FY14-15.
New Leadership, Federal Law, Gifted Standards on School Board Agenda Hannah
The State Board of Education will pick an interim state superintendent, vet search firms vying to help find the permanent superintendent, and get an overview of the new federal education law at its meeting next week. The board is starting a day earlier, setting aside Sunday afternoon to interview executive search firms. Superintendent Richard Ross announced earlier this year that he'll retire at the end of 2015..
College and Career Readiness
State lawmakers in 10 states push debt-free college options Limaohio.Com
Lawmakers in 10 states launched a legislative push Monday intended to make debt-free public college a priority of the 2016 election. In a teleconference, the group of Democrats announced plans to introduce resolutions in the early primary states of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, the political battleground state of Ohio and in Illinois, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Missouri, South Dakota and Hawaii.
Northeast Ohio Schools
Cuyahoga County
Cleveland school students who get good grades can earn money to attend Kent State University Northeast Ohio Media Group
Parma City School District bills the state for $46 million for 'excess' charter school funding Cleveland.com
Rocky River school board tentatively agrees to add full-day kindergarten next school year Sun News
Westlake schools support staff votes down contract Sun News
Lake County
Mentor School Board reappoints three Citizens Financial Advisory members Willoughby News-Herald
City of Mentor purchases Rice Elementary property from school district Willoughby News-Herald
Lorain County
Lorain Schools committee announces school project finances Lorain Morning Journal
Lorain School Board approves new administrators Lorain Morning Journal
Survey finds community wants more dialog with Lorain City Schools Lorain Morning Journal
New Lorain subdivision could hurt Amherst schools, superintendent says Lorain Morning Journal