The ESC BRIDGE
Bridging Resources, Information, and Data from
Government and Education
For the Week of December 25th, 2017
Colleagues,
The ESC Bridge is a weekly review of important news, research and legislation from national, state and local education entities presented in one document to help you stay up to date on issues that affect your district or organization. I welcome your feedback as we work to improve this resource to meet your needs. If you are aware of any other colleagues that are interested in receiving this weekly document, please have them send an email to me at [email protected].
Bob
National, Federal, US Department of Education
USDOE Offers Guidance to Schools on Supreme Court Ruling on Disability Education Hannah
U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled earlier this year that schools must offer educational plans "reasonably calculated" to enable academic progress for students with disabilities, and the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) is now offering advice to school districts on how to address the issues raised in the case, Endrew F. v Douglas County School District. In the case, parents of a child with autism, Endrew F., enrolled him in a private school over concerns his academic progress had stalled under the individualized education programs (IEPs) developed over the years by the Douglas County School District in Colorado. They then sought reimbursement for the private school tuition via a complaint under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to the Colorado Department of Education.
Here's Where the GOP Tax Bill Could Hit School Funding the Hardest Education Week
The most significant change for schools in the Republican tax reform plan is likely how state and local taxes are handled because of its potential impact on school funding. But why? And where could it have the greatest impact? Buckle up. Here's a bit of background: The final bill agreed to by a group of House and Senate lawmakers on Friday imposes a new cap of $10,000 on deductions taxpayers can take for either property and income taxes, or property and sales taxes. That's much less than what some people, particularly in high-tax states, can deduct now. However, the standard deduction is doubled in the bills, meaning some taxpayers may no longer take state and local tax deductions yet still benefit.
Final Tax Bill Keeps Teacher Deduction at $250, Cuts State and Local Deductions Education Week
After extensive negotiations, a congressional conference committee has agreed to a final tax reform bill that could impact state and local funding and teachers' pocketbooks, as well as school choice. The legislation still needs to be passed by both the House and Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump, who wants a tax bill to sign before Christmas. Here are a few key details we know about it.
Senate OKs Tax Bill Changing Teacher Deduction, Expanding School Choice Education week
The U.S. Senate has passed its version of a tax overhaul package that contains potential changes for how teachers do their taxes and for state and local education funding, as well as a provision aimed at boosting school choice. Senators passed the GOP-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the early hours of Saturday morning after extensive negotiations. It contains numerous changes to the current tax code with notable implications for K-12. The legislation approved by a 51-49 vote must now be reconciled with a House tax bill, which passed last month.
Senators Fail (So Far) to Attach School Choice Measures to Tax Bill Education week
The proposed amendments described below from Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., are not slated to receive a vote, according to a source. A proposed amendment to the Senate tax bill resembles the House legislation's plan to allow for college savings plans to be used for private school choice expenses.
Trump Education Department Will Reconsider Rules for Title I, Charter Schools Education Week
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her team will be taking a second look at rules for Title I, Part A, also known as the part of the Every Student Succeeds Act that deals with accountability, testing, standards, and more. And they are also considering a revamp of language governing the charter schools program. The department put out a notice Thursday alerting everyone who spends their life combing the federal register that they planned to examine Title I rules.
Four Things Educators Should Know About the Tax Bill Trump Just Signed Education week
President Donald Trump just signed a major tax bill into law. It took two votes in the House to finally get it done, and the holdup was related to education. (More on that below.) So what does it mean for education? Here's a short list.
How Well Is Your State Improving High School Graduation Rates? Education Week
Nationwide, high school graduation rates have climbed for the past five years, but the improvement has been far from equal across states. Iowa, for one example, has led other states, both for the class of 2010-11 and the most recent class of 2015-16, when it graduated 91.3 percent of its students. For comparison, the national graduation rate is 84.1 percent, also a record high.
Ten Politics K-12 Headlines You Probably Won't See in 2018 Education Week
It's that time of year again! We're taking stock of the past year and looking forward to 2018. We don't know for certain what the New Year will bring, but something tells us we almost certainly won't be writing any stories with these headlines.
Ohio Legislation Update (recent bill action in red)
132nd General Assembly
House
HB3 DATAOHIO BOARD CREATION (Rep. Mike Duffey, Rep. Christina Hagan) 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 appropriations
STATUS: House Finance Committee – Reported out
HB8 PUBLIC RECORDS-MINORS (Rep. Steve Hambley, Rep. Jeffrey Rezabek) To exempt from the Public Records Law certain information concerning a minor that is included in a record related to a traffic accident involving a school vehicle in which the minor was an occupant at the time of the accident
STATUS: (Passed by House) Senate Local Government, Public Safety & Veterans Affairs Committee – Reported out
HB21 COMMUNITY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION (Rep. Steve Hambley) Regarding verification of community school enrollments
STATUS: Passed by House, Vote 94-0
HB37 SCHOOL SAFETY-STRUCTURES (Rep. Steve Arndt) To require the Ohio School Facilities Commission to establish a program assisting school districts in purchasing technology and making physical alterations to improve technology infrastructure and school safety and security
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Substitute bill accepted
HB47 STUDENTS IN MILITARY (Rep. John Boccieri) To enact the "Students to Soldiers Support Act (S3A)" regarding the participation of students who are serving in the uniformed services in extracurricular activities at public and nonpublic schools and public and private colleges
STATUS: Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB49 OPERATING BUDGET (Rep. Ryan Smith) Creates FY 2018-2019 main operating budget
STATUS: (Passed by House) (Passed by Senate) Signed by Governor – Effective July 1, 2017; House has voted to override several vetoes; Senate considering
HB53 PUBLIC EMPLOYEES-MEMBER DUES (Rep. John Becker) To remove any requirement under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law that public employees join or pay dues to any employee organization, to prohibit public employers from requiring public employees to join or pay dues to any employee organization, to prohibit an employee organization from being required to represent public employees who are not members of the employee organization, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance Committee
HB58 CURSIVE HANDWRITING INSTRUCTION (Rep. Andrew Brenner, Rep. Marilyn Slaby) To require instruction in cursive handwriting
STATUS: Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee – Reported out
HB66 TENURED TEACHING REQUIREMENTS (Rep. Ron Young) To require permanently tenured state university or college faculty members to teach at least three credit hours of undergraduate courses per semester
STATUS: Passed by House, Vote 86-8
HB69 LEVY REVENUE REIMBURSEMENT (Rep. Bob Cupp) To require reimbursement of certain township fire and emergency medical service levy revenue forgone because of the creation of a municipal tax increment financing district
STATUS: (Passed by House) Passed by Senate, Vote 32-0; House concurs, Vote 85-7
HB74 INCREASE COLLEGE TAX DEDUCTION (Rep. Stephen Huffman, Rep. Theresa Gavarone) To increase the maximum income tax deduction for contributions to the state's 529 college savings program from $2,000 to $3,000 per beneficiary per year
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB77 SICK-CHILD CARE LICENSURE (Rep. Wes Retherford) To provide for the licensure of sick-child care centers
STATUS: Referred to House Economic Development, Commerce & Labor Committee
HB80 SCHOOL FOOD-SUMMER INTERVENTION (Rep. Sarah LaTourette, Rep. Kent Smith) To require school districts to allow approved summer food service program sponsors to use school facilities to provide food service for summer intervention services under certain conditions
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
HB87 COMMUNITY SCHOOL PUBLIC MONEYS (Rep. Kristina Roegner) Regarding public moneys returned to the state as a result of a finding for recovery issued pursuant to an audit of a community school
STATUS: House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee – Bill amended
HB89 AUGUST SALES TAX HOLIDAY (Rep. John Patterson, Rep. Brigid Kelly) To provide for a three-day sales tax "holiday" in August 2017 during which sales of clothing and school supplies are exempt from sales and use taxes
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB98 CAREER INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS (Rep. Mike Duffey, Rep. Kristin Boggs) Regarding the presentation of career information to students
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Education Committee
HB102 SCHOOL FUNDING REFORM (Rep. Andrew Brenner) To replace locally levied school district property taxes with a statewide property tax and require recipients of certain tax exemptions to reimburse the state for such levy revenue lost due to those exemptions; to increase the state sales and use tax rates and allocate additional revenue to state education purposes; to repeal school district income taxes; to require the Treasurer of State to issue general obligation bonds to refund certain school district debt obligations; to create a new system of funding schools where the state pays a specified amount per student that each student may use to attend the public or chartered nonpublic school of the student's choice, without the requirement of a local contribution; to eliminate the School Facilities Commission; to eliminate the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program, Pilot Project Scholarship Program, Autism Scholarship Program, and Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program; to eliminate interdistrict open enrollment; to require educational service centers to transport students on a countywide basis; and to permit school districts to enter into a memoranda of understanding for one district to manage another
STATUS: Referred to House Finance Committee
HB103 FISCAL EMERGENCY PROVISIONS (Rep. William Reineke) To modify the composition and powers of the financial planning and supervision commission of a political subdivision that is in a state of fiscal emergency and to clarify the duties of that political subdivision
STATUS: (Passed by House) (Passed by Senate) Signed by Governor
HB108 INFORMED STUDENT DOCUMENT ACT (Rep. Christina Hagan, Rep. Robert McColley) To require one-half unit of financial literacy in the high school curriculum, to require the Chancellor of Higher Education to prepare an informed student document for each 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, and to entitle the act the "Informed Student Document Act"
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Bill amended
HB110 COLLEGE CREDIT APPRENTICESHIPS (Rep. Christina Hagan, Rep. Bill Dean) To create a subprogram of the College Credit Plus Program that permits students to participate in certified apprenticeship programs
STATUS: Referred to House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
HB118 TAX COMPLAINT DISMISSAL (Rep. Derek Merrin) To expressly prohibit the dismissal of a property tax complaint for failure to correctly identify the property owner
STATUS: (Passed by House) Passed by Senate, Vote 32-0
HB124 VOCATIONAL SCHOOL TAX LEVY (Rep. Andrew Brenner, Rep. Rick Carfagna) To authorize a joint vocational school district to submit the question of a renewal tax levy to voters who did not have an opportunity to vote on the levy at an election held in November of 2015 because the levy was only placed on the ballot in one of several counties in which the district has territory
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective immediately
HB129 SCHOOL EXTERNSHIPS-GOVERNOR (Rep. Kent Smith, Rep. Brigid Kelly) To require the Governor to complete a forty-hour externship consisting of on-site work experience in city, local, and exempted village school districts in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years
STATUS: Referred to House State & Local Government Committee
HB134 SCHOOL COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS (Rep. Steve Hambley, Rep. Darrell Kick) To allow community improvements board grants to a school district to be spent for permanent improvements outside the county so long as the improvements are within the school district
STATUS: House State & Local Government Committee – Reported out as amended
HB163 PREVAILING WAGE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS (Rep. Kristina Roegner, Rep. Craig Riedel) To allow political subdivisions, special districts, and state institutions of higher education to elect to apply the Prevailing Wage Law to public improvement projects
STATUS: Introduced
HB166 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM REVISIONS (Rep. William Reineke, Rep. Bob Cupp) To revise the laws governing the state's workforce development system, programs that may be offered by primary and secondary schools, certificates of qualification for employment, and the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency, and to designate the first week of May as In-Demand Jobs Week
STATUS: House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee – Substitute bill accepted
HB170 COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION (Rep. Rick Carfagna, Rep. Mike Duffey) With regard to academic content standards and curriculum requirements for computer science; to revise educator qualifications regarding computer science; to create a competitive technology STATUS: (Passed by House) Passed by Senate, Vote 31-0; House concurs, Vote 85-8
HB176 SCHOOL ASSESSMENTS (Rep. Andrew Thompson) With regard to state achievement assessments, statewide academic content standards and model curricula, and teacher and administrator evaluations
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Bill amended
HB179 IMMIGRATION LAW COMPLIANCE (Rep. Candice Keller) To require state and local authorities to cooperate with the federal government in the enforcement of immigration laws, to prohibit a local government that fails to do so from receiving certain state funds, to provide for the removal of officers of a local government that fails to do so, and to declare an emergency
STATUS: Introduced
HB181 ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT STANDARDS (Rep. Ron Hood, Rep. Tom Brinkman) With regard to the state academic content standards and primary and secondary education assessments
STATUS: Introduced
HB186 COLLEGE TAX DEDUCTION (Rep. John Rogers, Rep. Gary Scherer) To enact the "Blair Deduction" to allow an individual obtaining a postsecondary degree or credential from an eligible educational institution to claim an income tax deduction for qualified higher education expenses
STATUS: Introduced
HB200 OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CREATION (Koehler, K) - To eliminate the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program and Pilot Project Scholarship Program and to create the Opportunity Scholarship Program
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Bill amended
HB217 COLLEGE APPLICATIONS-DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS (Rep. Andrew Brenner) To prohibit institutions of higher education from requiring students to disclose disciplinary actions on their applications for admission
STATUS: Referred to House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
HB220 NONPUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDS (Rep. David Leland) With regard to the use of funds by community schools and nonpublic schools
STATUS: Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB224 RE-SERVING SCHOOL LUNCH ITEMS (Rep. Catherine Ingram) To permit districts and schools to re-serve time- and temperature-controlled food items to students if items are unused and returned unopened, undamaged, and in the original packaging
STATUS: Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB227 LICENSE PLATE-KENSTON LOCAL SCHOOLS (Rep. Sarah LaTourette) To create the "Kenston Local Schools" license plate
STATUS: House Transportation & Public Safety Committee – Reported out as amended
HB235 EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT PROCEDURE (Rep. Theresa Gavarone) Regarding procedures for approval or disapproval of the state education plan for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Education Committee
HB237 MULTICOUNTY LOCAL ELECTIONS (Rep. Dorothy Pelanda) To require a political subdivision with territory in more than one county that places an issue on the ballot to notify the board of elections of every county in which the political subdivision has territory, to require the Secretary of State to establish a database to facilitate communication between the boards of elections and the Secretary concerning local elections, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB242 SCHOOL RETIREMENT-COST OF LIVING (Rep. Rick Carfagna) Regarding School Employees Retirement System annual cost-of-living adjustments
STATUS: House Aging & Long Term Care Committee – Substitute bill accepted
HB246 DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY CLASSROOMS (Rep. John Boccieri, Rep. Jeffrey Rezabek) To require the Ohio School Facilities Commission to provide funding to certain county boards of developmental disabilities to assist in the acquisition of classroom facilities
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Substitute bill
HB262 INDEPENDENT BUDGET PROCESS (Rep. James Butler, Jr., Rep. Mark Romanchuk) To provide for the preparation of a state biennial budget independent of that submitted by the Governor and to authorize the Legislative Service Commission, upon the request of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate, to arrange for an independent actuarial review of a proposed bill, specified analyses of economic policy initiatives and state benchmarking data, and a study of the state's long-range financial outlook
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB298 PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SICK DAYS (Rep. Derek Merrin) To make changes with respect to the number of sick days provided to public employees
STATUS: Introduced
HB312 LOCAL GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS (Rep. Kirk Schuring, Rep. Dave Greenspan) Regarding use of credit cards and debit cards by political subdivisions
STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
HB318 SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER DEFINITION (Rep. John Patterson, Rep. Sarah LaTourette) To define the necessary qualifications and responsibilities of school resource officers
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB322 SCHOOL EMERGENCY PLANS (Rep. Adam Miller, Rep. Bernadine Kent) To revise the law regarding emergency management plans and school safety drills; to require each educational service center to employ an emergency response planner; to make an appropriation; and to declare an emergency
STATUS: House Finance Committee
HB337 TEXTBOOK SALES TAX EXEMPTION (Rep. Mike Duffey) To exempt from sales and use tax textbooks purchased by post-secondary students
STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
HB338 BUS DRIVER MEDICAL EXAMS (Rep. Tim Ginter) Regarding medical examinations for school bus drivers
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Reported out
HB342 LOCAL TAX ISSUES-ELECTION DATES (Rep. Derek Merrin) To permit local tax-related proposals to appear only on general and primary election ballots and not on an August special election ballot and to modify the information conveyed in election notices and ballot language for property tax levies
STATUS: Referred to House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee
HB343 PROPERTY VALUE CONTEST-RESOLUTIONS (Rep. Derek Merrin) To require local governments that contest property values to formally pass an authorizing resolution for each contest and to notify property owners
STATUS: House Ways & Means Committee – Bill amended
HB360 ANTI-BULLYING AND HAZING (Rep. Dave Greenspan) To enact the "Ohio Anti-Bullying and Hazing Act" with regard to school discipline and bullying and hazing policies at public schools and public colleges
STATUS: House Education & Career Readiness Committee – Substitute bill accepted
HB361 PROPERTY TAX COMPLAINTS TIMEFRAME (Rep. Dave Greenspan) To increase the time within which boards of revision must decide property tax complaints
STATUS: House Government Accountability & Oversight Committee – Bill amended
HB363 CAMPUS FREE SPEECH (Rep. Rick Carfagna, Rep. Andrew Brenner) To enact the "Campus Free Speech Act" with respect to the freedom of speech and assembly at state institutions of higher education and the charging and allocation of student activity fees
STATUS: Referred to House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
HB369 PER PUPIL FUNDING GUARANTEE (Rep. Martin Sweeney) To prescribe a per pupil funding guarantee for certain school districts and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to House Finance Committee
HB377 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE EDUCATION (Rep. Christina Hagan, Rep. Dan Ramos) 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: Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB383 CHILD CARE HEALTH & SAFETY RISKS (Rep. Rick Carfagna) Regarding parental notice of serious risks to the health or safety of children receiving child care
STATUS: Referred to House Community & Family Advancement Committee
HB396 STEM DEGREE LOAN REPAYMENT (Rep. John Patterson, Rep. Rick Carfagna) To create the STEM Degree Loan Repayment Program and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance Committee
HB399 HEALTH INSURANCE SAVINGS INCENTIVES (Rep. Michael Henne, Rep. James Butler, Jr.) To enact the Ohio Right to Shop Act to require health insurers to establish shared savings incentive programs for enrollees
STATUS: Introduced
HB413 PERS ADJUSTMENT-DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES EMPLOYEES (Rep. Gary Scherer) Regarding Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) annual cost-of-living adjustments granted to allowance and benefit recipients and PERS service credit for services as a nonteaching school employee of a county board of developmental disabilities
STATUS: Referred to House Aging & Long Term Care Committee
HB418 SCHOOL RECORDS TRANSFER (Rep. Catherine Ingram) To require a public or chartered nonpublic school to transmit a student's records within five business days when the student transfers to another school
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB426 SCHOOL SEXUAL CONDUCT (Rep. Christina Hagan) To prohibit an employee of a school or institution of higher education who is not in a position of authority from engaging in sexual conduct with certain students
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Criminal Justice Committee
HB428 STUDENT RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES ACT (Rep. Tim Ginter, Rep. Sarah LaTourette) Regarding student religious expression and to entitle the act the "Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2018”
STATUS: Referred to House Education & Career Readiness Committee
HB432 STUDENT LOAN OMBUDSMAN & LICENSURE (Rep. Kristin Boggs, Rep. Brigid Kelly) To require student loan servicers to be licensed by the Division of Financial Institutions and to create the position of student loan ombudsperson in the Division of Financial Institutions to provide assistance to student loan borrowers
STATUS: Introduced
HB438 ESC ANNEXATION (Rep. Steve Hambley, Rep. Darrell Kick) To permit the addition of appointed members to educational service center boards and to permit a local school district to sever its territory from one educational service center and annex that territory to an adjacent service center under specified conditions
STATUS: Introduced
HB442 SCHOOL ATHLETICS-F1 VISA (Rep. Niraj Antani) To authorize any student from a country or province outside the United States who attends an elementary or secondary school in Ohio and holds an F-1 visa to participate in interscholastic athletics at that school on the same basis as Ohio residents
STATUS: Introduced
HB443 MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION (Rep. Martin Sweeney) To require school district boards of education to incorporate mental health instruction into their health education curricula
STATUS: Introduced
HB449 CHARTER SCHOOL SPONSOR RATINGS-UNIVERSITIES (Rep. John Rogers, Rep. John Patterson) To require the Department of Education to attribute any community school sponsor ratings an entity received during its relationship with a state university board of trustees to that entity even if it no longer has a relationship with the university
STATUS: Introduced
Senate
SB3 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (Sen. Bill Beagle, Sen. Troy Balderson) To revise the laws governing the state's workforce development system, programs that may be offered by primary and secondary schools, certificates of qualification for employment, and the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency, and to designate the first week of May as In-Demand Jobs Week
STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Passed by House, Vote 93-1; Senate concurs, Vote 32-0
SB5 INCREASING INCOME TAX DEDUCTIONS (Sen. Jay Hottinger, Sen. John Eklund) To increase the maximum income tax deduction for contributions to college savings accounts and disability expense savings accounts to $10,000 annually for each beneficiary, to create the Joint Committee on Ohio College Affordability, and to declare an emergency
STATUS: Senate Finance Committee – Reported out as amended; Passed by Senate, Vote 33-0; Emergency clause, Vote 32-1
SB8 SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY (Sen. Randy Gardner, Sen. Louis Terhar) To require the Ohio School Facilities Commission to establish a program assisting school districts in purchasing technology and making physical alterations to improve technology infrastructure and school safety and security
STATUS: (Passed by Senate) (Passed by House) Conference Committee – Reported out; Senate accepts report, Vote 32-0; House accepts report, Vote 88-4
SB9 AUGUST TAX HOLIDAY (Sen. Kevin Bacon) To provide for a three-day sales tax "holiday" in August 2017 during which sales of clothing and school supplies are exempt from sales and use taxes
STATUS: Signed by Governor – Effective immediately
SB15 COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS (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: Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB17 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUND ALLOCATION (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 General Revenue Fund each month
STATUS: Senate Finance Committee
SB34 SCHOOL YEARS (Sen. Gayle Manning) To generally require public and chartered nonpublic schools to open for instruction after Labor Day
STATUS: Introduced
SB39 COMMUNITY SCHOOL OPERATION (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) Regarding community school operator contracts, the operation of Internet- and computer-based community schools, and performance metrics for blended learning schools
STATUS: Introduced
SB39 COMMUNITY SCHOOL OPERATION (Sen. Joe Schiavoni) Regarding community school operator contracts, the operation of Internet- and computer-based community schools, and performance metrics for blended learning schools
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB54 SUMMER FOOD PROGRAMS (Sen. Edna Brown, Sen. Peggy Lehner) To require school districts to allow approved summer food service program sponsors to use school facilities to provide food service for summer intervention services under certain conditions
STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB72 PREVAILING WAGE LAW (Sen. Matt Huffman) To allow political subdivisions, special districts, and state institutions of higher education to elect to apply the Prevailing Wage Law to public improvement projects
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
SB82 SCHOOL ABSENCES-PARENTAL NOTIFICATION (Sen. Sandra Williams, Sen. Peggy Lehner) To require a public school to place a telephone call within one hour of the start of the school day to a parent whose child is absent without legitimate excuse
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB85 OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CREATION (Sen. Matt Huffman) To eliminate the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program and Pilot Project Scholarship Program and to create the Opportunity Scholarship Program
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB88 SUBDIVISION COMMISSIONS-FISCAL EMERGENCY (Sen. Louis Terhar) To modify the composition and powers of the financial planning and supervision commission of a political subdivision that is in a state of fiscal emergency and to clarify the duties of that political subdivision
STATUS: Passed by Senate, Vote 33-0
SB97 REGIONAL STUDY COMMITTEE CREATION (Sen. Frank LaRose, Sen. Kenny Yuko) To establish a Regional Economic Development Alliance Study Committee to study the benefits and challenges involved in creating regional economic development alliances
STATUS: Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB104 PROHIBIT SECLUSION USE-SCHOOLS (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To prohibit the use of seclusion on students in public schools
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee
SB105 MONTH DESIGNATION-OHIO PRINCIPALS (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To designate the month of October as "Ohio Principals Month”
STATUS: Senate Education Committee – Reported out
SB111 SCHOOL ZONE SIGN LIGHTS (Sen. Charleta Tavares) To require school zones to be indicated by signs equipped with flashing or other lights or that indicate the times during which the restrictive speed limit is enforced, and to make an appropriation
STATUS: Referred to Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
SB123 PROPERTY TAX COMPLAINT PROCESS (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
SB124 COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY GRANTS (Sen. Sandra Williams) To qualify students in noncredit community college and career and technical programs for Ohio College Opportunity Grants and to require the awarding of academic credit for community colleges’ career certification programs
STATUS: Referred to Senate Finance Higher Education Subcommittee
SB133 STUDENT DISCIPLINE-VIOLENT BEHAVIOR (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 and to require the Department of Education to submit a one-time report to the General Assembly regarding that information
STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee