ADVOCATE Government Affairs News and Information

"A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern." -Pope Francis

ISSUE 2, February 16, 2021

Legislative Action Network

Do you know a fellow parent or community leader who would be a great advocate for our schools? Nominate him/her to be a Legislative Action Leader!

With support from the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS), Legislative Action Leaders will help organize and lead advocacy in local school communities. If you are interested in serving or would like to nominate someone, please email Alison Cozad. For more information, please visit the LAN page of the OCS website

Legislature 101 - Biennial Budget Timeline

Beginning of February: -Governor introduces the “Executive Budget” to the House of Representatives.

February-March: -The Ohio House hears testimony from state agencies about the Governor’s budget.

February-April: -The Executive Budget is referred to finance subcommittees of the House for public testimony. -Finance Committee members make changes through amendments and pass out a substitute bill (sub-bill). -Once the sub-bill passes out of committee, it goes to the House for a full vote. April-June: -The undertakes the same process as the Ohio House. -Once the bill passes out of the Senate, it is sent to the conference committee to reconcile the differences between both bills.

Mid-June: -The conference committee version of the budget is sent back to both chambers for final votes. -The bill must be sent to the Governor by June 28.

June 30: -By law, the Governor must sign the budget into law by this date. He may veto individual line items.

Committee Assignments are Out

Senate Primary & Secondary Education Chair (R), Vice Chair III (R), Ranking Member (D), Stephen Huffman (R), (R), Sandra O'Brien (R), (D)

House Primary & Secondary Education Committee Chair (R), Vice Chair Adam Bird (R), Ranking Member Phillip Robinson (D), (R), Sarah Fowler Arthur (R), (D), Don Jones (D), J. (D), (D), (R), Joseph Miller III (D), (R), (R), (D), D.J. Swearingen (R)

Legislator Spotlight - Senator Andy Brenner (R)

Senator Brenner represents Senate District 19, which covers Delaware, Part of Franklin, and Knox Counties. He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2019. Hometown: Powell OH

Leadership: Chair of the Senate Primary & Secondary Education Committee

Senator Brenner has shown an interest in private education and educational choice, as well as transportation for private school students. He has supported religious freedom legislation, as well as positive school choice legislation.

Highlighted Bills and Resolutions: HB 97 (130 GA) Dyslexia Awareness Month (Passed) HR 19 (132 GA) Designate School Choice Week in Ohio (Passed) HB 795 (132 GA) Student Transportation (Introduced) SB 125 (133 GA) Expand Tax Deduction for 529 Education Savings Plan (Introduced) SB 350 (133 GA) Prohibit K-8 school transportation vouchers for 20-21 (Introduced) SB 33 (134 GA) Expand Tax Deduction for 529 Education Savings Plan (Introduced)

What's Happening on Capitol Square?

SB 1, introduced by Sens. McColley and Wilson, regards teaching financial literacy in high school. It has had one hearing in the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 1, introduced by Reps. Callender and Sweeney, would create a new school funding system for Ohio. It has had one hearing in the House Finance Committee.

SB 8 and HB 2 both address Broadband Access. SB 8, introduced by Sen. McColley, had three hearings in the Senate Energy & Public Utilities Committee, and on February 10, passed out of the Ohio Senate. It now moves to the Ohio House for consideration.

SB 37, introduced by Sens. Manning and Fedor, makes changes in response to COVID-19. This includes changes to state assessments and end-of-course exams for this year. It was referred to the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 40, introduced by Reps. Sobecki and Crossman, would exempt all public and chartered nonpublic schools from administering the state achievement assessments for the 2020-2021 school year. It has had one hearing in the House Primary & Secondary Education Committee.

Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS)

Ohio has been allocated $155 million in Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) grants through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. Funds would go to all non-public schools and allocations would be determined based on low income data. Further details are expected, including the allocation formula, after the state receives the funds. Schools cannot receive both the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and EANS funds; they must choose one.

Read more

Click on the organizations below to access additional information and to stay abreast of news related to government and education.

Ohio Legislature Statehouse News Bureau

Ohio Department of Education

Please contact Alison Cozad, Associate Director for Government Affairs for the Office of Catholic Schools, with questions or to become more involved in our advocacy efforts.

A student at St. Brendan the Navigator School in Hilliard stops to encounter Jesus at the start of his day. Photo courtesy of Will Gruber, Principal

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