between the School Boards Association and its legislative liaisons Volume 30 issue 3 March 2020 EdChoice voucher debate continues in the House and Senate The House on Feb. 5 took action on the EdChoice voucher issue by amending and voting out Senate Bill (SB) 89 by a vote of 88-7. It phases out performance-based vouchers and increases income-based voucher eligibility from 200% to 250% of the federal poverty level. In addition, SB 89 dissolves the three academic distress commissions (ADCs) and sunsets the school district territory transfer law on Sept. 1. The Senate did not agree with the amended bill and, in response, Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport) scheduled nine conference committee hearings on House Bill (HB) 9 focused exclusively on the voucher issue.

For information on HB 9 click here. For information on SB 89 click here.

The hearings began on Feb. 11 and board members, superintendents and treasurers from across the state testified before the conference committee. Members of the committee consist of Jones, who served as chairman, Reps. (R-Nelsonville) and Phillip M. Robinson Jr. (D-Solon) and Sens. (R-Lima), Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) and (D-Toledo). Sen. Kristina D. Roegner (R-Hudson) served as a temporary replacement for Huffman and Sen. (D-Columbus) served as a temporary replacement for Fedor.

Click here to see a list of board members, superintendents and treasures who testified.

As the House and Senate move into recess, House Speaker (R-Glenford) recently told reporters, "You can only reach the olive branch out so far. Without a partner, I can't do anything about it.” Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) responded to Householder’s comment, "I am unaware of any 'olive branch' on the core issues under discussion.” The House will be in recess starting on Feb. 27, and the Senate will be in recess starting on March 5 to campaign for the March 17 primary election. Both chambers are scheduled to resume session the week of March 23.

Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters, "It's clear this has to be settled. It's also clear the House and Senate are far apart. So, we are starting to weigh in and we're going to try to collectively come up with a bill. We have to do that." He further commented that, "We have an obligation to make sure every child has the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential, and they can't do that if they're in a school that's not functioning very well or if they're not getting a good education. So, we've got to preserve our public schools, but we also have to at the same time give families choices when they're poor and their kids are going to a school that's not performing very well." Householder and Obhof met with DeWine the week of Feb. 24. Legislative action must be concluded prior to the start of the April 1 application window. President Gives State of the Union Address President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 4 had considerable focus on “choice” issues and “privatization” of public education through his call for passage of the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act (H.R. 1434) and (S. 634). The proposed legislation is a $5 billion federal tax credit program to fund scholarships for one million students to attend a school of their choice. By giving an individual a tax credit for donating to a scholarship program, this reduces federal revenues resulting in $5 billion less to fund public education and other important programs. In Ohio, Sen. Matt Huffman introduced SB 199 to formally state the General Assembly's intention to create a process for certifying eligible scholarship-granting organizations. Click here to read the press release from the U.S. Department of Education detailing the program.

Recently introduced legislation • HB 466 introduced by Rep. (D-), to create an automated voter registration system and to require each public or private secondary school to provide, unless prohibited by federal law, electronic records to the concerning each person who reaches age 16, 17, or 18 and who appears to be eligible to register or preregister to vote or to update the person’s registration or preregistration. • HB 493 introduced by Rep. (R-Wooster), to permit a child whose parents live in different school districts to continue to attend school in the school district in which the child attended school at the beginning of the school year even if the child moves to a different school district. • HB 494 introduced by Rep. (D-Westerville), to establish a loan repayment program for eligible teachers. • HB 504 introduced by Sweeney, to prescribe a per-pupil funding guarantee for school districts whose median income is below the statewide median. • HB 507 introduced by Rep. Don Manning (R-New Middletown), to prohibit enforcement of delinquent property tax liens against owner-occupied homesteads and to require that any delinquent tax be paid before the title to a homestead may be transferred. • HB 511 introduced by Reps. John Rogers (D-Mentor on the Lake) and Tracy M. Richardson (R-Marysville), to permit schools and camps to procure and use injectable or nasally administered glucagon in accordance with prescribed policies and to exempt them from licensing requirements related to the possession of glucagon. • HB 513 introduced by Reps. (R-Ashville) and (R-Xenia), to enact the "Vulnerable Child Protection Act" regarding sexuality and identity counseling and to prohibit certain procedures and activities intended to change, reinforce, or affirm a minor's perception of his or her own sexual attraction, sexual behaviors or identity. • HB 515 introduced by Reps. (D-) and (R- Perrysburg), to require the boards of the state retirement systems to disclose certain financial information regarding alternative investments. • HB 516 introduced by Kelly and Ghanbari, to prohibit the state retirement systems doing business with a former state retirement system employee, officer or board member. • HB 517 introduced by Sweeney, to explicitly exempt building and fire codes from certain rule review requirements. • HB 527 introduced by Reps. (R-Arcanum) and (R-Minerva), to enact the "Save Women's Sports Act" to require schools and public and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex. • SB 264 introduced by Sen. Sandra R. Williams (D-Cleveland), to authorize a nonrefundable tax credit for a business that assists an employee with the repayment of education loans. • SB 273 introduced by Williams, to reduce property taxes on owner-occupied homes to the extent the taxes increase by more than 10% per year and to prohibit school districts, among others, from placing a lien on property for unpaid water charges. • SB 281 introduced by Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), to appropriate $1.5 million in each fiscal year to New Richmond EV to offset the effects of power plant devaluations. • SB 288 introduced by Sen. (R-Bowling Green), regarding student religious expression in interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities.

KidsPAC Kids PAC is your political action committee (PAC). Kids PAC is a way to focus attention on OSBA’s legislative agenda and to support lawmakers who believe in our goals. Giving to Kids PAC helps you get more out of your own political contributions. It “pools” smaller, individual donations into a more sizable Kids PAC contribution that often garners more attention from the political candidate.

Contributions can be made by personal check, payable to Kids PAC, or cash up to $100. By law, school district and corporate checks cannot be accepted. You can also go to www.kidspac.org and donate online with your credit card. For more information or to obtain a membership form, contact Renee Gibson at [email protected] or (614) 540- 4000.

Note: Contributions or gifts to Kids PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. The Link is published monthly as a special newsletter for legislative liaisons by the Ohio School Boards Association Division of Legislative Services. Editor: Nicole Piscitani, lobbyist [email protected]

Ohio School Boards Association 8050 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43235 (614) 540-4000 • (800) 589-OSBA

between the Ohio School Boards Association and its legislative liaisons Volume 30 issue 4 April 2020

Education issues addressed in COVID-19 legislation The General Assembly on March 25 passed House Bill (HB) 197 in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on March 27 and said, "This bill does some things that we felt needed to be done in this crisis to help us get through this crisis that we are in."

HB 197 eliminates state and federal testing for the 2019-20 school year and prohibits the issuance of report cards for the 2019-20 school year. Additionally, it provides a one-year safe harbor from sanctions related to the report card. House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) told reporters, “The decisions on the report card and testing were necessary with Ohio students and teachers at home indefinitely due to the pandemic. It's just an unfair situation to try to determine how well a school has done or not done with their students when you're under this situation.”

The bill freezes EdChoice voucher eligibility at the 2019-20 list of 517 buildings. Additionally, students and their school-aged siblings who attended or would have attended a building that is on the 2019-20 list are also eligible to receive a voucher. Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) recently told reporters, “EdChoice scholarships, which had been scheduled to expand from 517 performance-based school buildings to over 1,200 in the new academic year, is a debate best left to another day.” Householder was asked about families who planned to apply due to the expanded list. He replied, “Well, you know, the portal never opened. They'd never been granted that voucher. They only applied. It could be like anything else you apply for, college, that doesn't mean you're going to end up with an acceptance. The state decided to wait on the acceptance, until next year. Hopefully we have a plan in place by that time, some type of a comprehensive plan to deal with it."

HB 197 set the final day to vote in the March 17 primary election to April 28 and prohibits in-person voting unless the voter is disabled or does not have access to mail at their residence or another residence. Obhof told reporters, “Members had concluded that the later, June 2 primary date ordered by Secretary of State Frank LaRose would create a variety of problems for candidates and local government budgets.”

Click here for information on the primary election. Click here for information on HB 197.

The White House and Congress respond to COVID-19 through multiple stimulus bills Congress recently passed three separate bills that appropriated supplemental emergency funding and made important policy changes, many of which impact K-12 education. The first emergency bill (H.R. 6074) provided support for state and local governments, and assistance for affected small businesses. The second emergency bill (H.R. 6201) provided assistance to public health, nutrition, and emergency leave. In particular to nutrition it waived several federal regulations regarding the National School Lunch Act. The third emergency bill (H.R. 748) provided states and local governments with funding to address many concerns. In regard to education, the third bill provided $30.75 billion in stabilization funding for early childhood education, school districts and higher education. As the federal government continues to respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis, additional emergency bills may be passed.

Recently introduced legislation • HB 529 introduced by Reps. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) and Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown), to require one-time performance audits of school districts with a current academic distress commission. • HB 530 introduced by Rep. Diane V. Grendell (R-Chesterland), to impose salary restrictions on employees of the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS); establish restrictions for OPERS when contracting with investment managers; and create a state committee to investigate, study and report on the salaries paid to employees of and investment managers for the state’s retirement systems. • HB 532 introduced by Reps. (R-Mt. Lookout) and Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati), to require the State Board of Education to adopt standards for mental health education and to permit school districts to include mental health education in their curriculum. • HB 541 introduced by Rep. (R-Beavercreek), revises the process for adjusting property values due to instances that result in injury or destruction to the property, and increases from $100 to $1,000 the limit by which property valuation deductions may be made in cases of destruction or injury. • HB 549 introduced by Reps. (D-Parma) and (R-North Ridgeville), to amend the operation, management and accountability of community schools. • HB 557 introduced by Rep. (D-Toledo), to authorize public bodies, including boards of education, to meet via teleconference and video conference during a public health state of emergency as declared by the governor. • HB 560 introduced by Reps. Lepore-Hagan and (D-Dublin), to modify the law governing voter registration and the method of conducting elections. • HB 565 introduced by Reps. John Rogers (D-Mentor on the Lake) and Crossman, to extend the filing and payment dates for state, municipal and school district income taxes by the same period as any federal income tax extension granted in response to the COVID-19 disease outbreak. • HB 577 introduced by Reps. Miller and Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville), to dissolve existing academic distress commissions, place a moratorium on the creation of academic distress commissions and establish the School Transformation Board to oversee school improvement efforts. • HB 581 introduced by Rep. (R-Concord), to address immediate concerns related to COVID-19. • HB 582 introduced by Callender, to make appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2021, and capital reappropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2022. • HB 585 introduced by Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and Phil Robinson (D-Solon), to waive certain primary and secondary education requirements to account for school closings in compliance with the Director of Health's order due to the implications of COVID-19. • HB 587 introduced by Robinson and Patterson, to suspend all performance-based Educational Choice vouchers for the 2020-21 school year and to make changes to the Educational Choice Voucher Program and the expansion of that program beginning with the 2021-22 school year. • SB 292 introduced by Sen. Louis W. Blessing, III (R-Colerain Township), to enact student attendance at e-schools that are not dropout prevention and recovery schools. • SB 293 introduced Sens. Nathan H. Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Blessing, to create a procedure within the Court of Claims to hear complaints alleging a violation of the Open Meetings Law. • SB 294 introduced by Sen. Matt Huffman (R-Lima), to extend absent voting by mail for the March 17 primary election to April 28, 2020.

KidsPAC Kids PAC is your political action committee (PAC). Kids PAC is a way to focus attention on OSBA’s legislative agenda and to support lawmakers who believe in our goals. Giving to Kids PAC helps you get more out of your own political contributions. It “pools” smaller, individual donations into a more sizable Kids PAC contribution that often garners more attention from the political candidate.

Contributions can be made by personal check, payable to Kids PAC, or cash up to $100. By law, school district and corporate checks cannot be accepted. You can also go to www.kidspac.org and donate online with your credit card. For more information or to obtain a membership form, contact Renee Gibson at [email protected] or (614) 540-4000.

Note: Contributions or gifts to Kids PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. The Link is published monthly as a special newsletter for legislative liaisons by the Ohio School Boards Association Division of Legislative Services. Editor: Nicole Piscitani, lobbyist [email protected]

Ohio School Boards Association 8050 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43235 (614) 540-4000 • (800) 589-OSBA