Contentious education bills could still pass Ohio Statehouse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are racing against the clock to get a number of bills through, including several that have to do with education, but those bills are now stalled for another day after the Ohio Senate Education Committee met for less than a minute and took no action.      

“The delay is, to me, an opportunity not to discuss some of these amendments and so why not take the opportunity to do that,” ranking member of the Ohio Senate Education Committee Sen. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) said.

Still, the chairman of the committee, Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware), said the chances are “very high” that the bills get through before the end of the year.    

House Bill 206, Expulsion Bill    

House Bill 206 lays out guidelines for expelling a student who poses an “imminent and severe endangerment” to other students and staff. Before the student can be re-admitted, they must receive psychiatric or psychological help, then be evaluated by their superintendent alongside a multi-disciplinary team. 

“There needs to be some work as far as how that gets done, and  right now, it's just superintendents saying, ‘Hey, I don't want you back.’ Okay, so what happens to the kids? So, we have to be clear about that,” Ingram said.    

Those opposing the proposal worry about students being unfairly discriminated against and being out of school for extended periods of time.  

When the House voted on the bill, all Republicans supported it. Democrats split, and only 15 voted against it.

“I'm not sure that the concerns that many of us had about that bill will necessarily be addressed, so I anticipate it will still remain mixed,” Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. “My main concern is how do we address the disproportionate impact of expulsions, especially on children of color and students of color? And the bill doesn't seem, I think, to have enough safeguards to address that issue and concern.” 

“We're talking about extreme situations,” Rep. Tom Young (R-Washington Township) said. “I think you can use that explanation, but if you look across the country, it's different situations every single time. And tragedies are tragedies. A life is a life. And irrespective of what color anyone is or any ethnic background.”  

Brenner said he was also considering amending Senate Bill 295 into that bill, but now said that bill is off the table for this year. That legislation was to revise poor-performing school closure requirements.    

“We should no longer just tolerate, ‘Okay, well, the kids, even though we're spending $25-$35,000 per student in our traditional public schools, and we're only getting 20% to 30%, 40% of the kids to pass the state standardized test that that's acceptable.’ That is thoroughly unacceptable,” he said. “Having a school closure law that applies to all schools and all school districts is fair. And it's something that we should have been doing years ago.”
      

House Bill 8, “Parents’ Bill of Rights”   

House Bill 8 has been in the Senate Education Committee for a year and a half, and scheduled for a vote several times, but none have come to fruition. 

“We’re working with various colleagues in both chambers as well as leadership in both chambers,” Brenner said. “I think we’ve come to an agreement on House Bill 8.”    

The bill would allow parents to opt their students out of “sexuality content,” would require that parents be notified about changes in their child’s mental, emotional, or physical health, and prohibit school personnel from encouraging a student to withhold information from a parent, unless it would result in abuse, abandonment or neglect. 

The bill could be amended in the Senate to include several other provisions, like one that requires public schools to allow students to leave campus during the day for religious instruction. 

The Senate Education Committee still needs to vote House Bill 8 out of committee, then the Senate floor will also need to vote. The final stamp of approval will need to come from the House.

“I’ll reserve comment until we see what we get,” Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) said. “Especially during lame duck, it's hard to say what and if because things can change so rapidly. So, you know, we'll see what the Senate does. They're watching what we're doing.”  

“I maintain that we are a ‘no’ on that legislation,” Russo said. “We believe firmly that those decisions should remain with the local school districts.” 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine indicated that he would like to see the Parents’ Bill of Rights and religious release time bill on his desk. Brenner said he has been working with DeWine’s office on all the education measures.  

Wednesday is likely the final day of both House and Senate sessions before lawmakers break for the rest of the year. Whatever does not get through this week will have to start from scratch next year.