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Tag: Susan Tebben

  • Ohio abortion rights groups merge and set sights for amendment on November ballot

    Ohio abortion rights groups merge and set sights for amendment on November ballot

    Getty Image

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Two groups who had already committed to separate efforts to get reproductive rights in the hands of Ohio voters have now merged and set an end goal: abortion access on the November ballot.

    Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights announced Thursday that they are joining together to “file language with the Ohio Attorney General to place a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to restore and protect reproductive rights and abortion access on the November 2023 statewide general election ballot.”

    “This grassroots initiative – by and for the people of Ohio – is foundational to ensuring access to abortion and the right to bodily autonomy, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio and member of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, said in the announcement.

    The groups said the constitutional amendment will look similar to a Michigan amendment which voters approved in November 2022.

    After the amendment is drafted and reviewed by the state Attorney General and Ohio Ballot Board, the groups plan to circulate petitions to place the issue on the ballot.

    Rumblings of a constitutional amendment have been floating for months now, spurred on by the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decades old nationwide rights to abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade.

    Placing the measure on the 2023 ballot was called a “moral imperative” which “offers the best prospects for success,” according to Dr. Lauren Beene, executive director of the OPRR.

    “The lives and health of Ohioans have been at risk since Roe was overturned,” Beene said in a statement. “That is why we must seize the earliest possible opportunity to ensure that doctors and patients, rather than politicians and the government, are empowered to make decisions about pregnancy, contraception and abortion.”

    The move comes as some abortion rights advocates are ramping up legal efforts to protect patients and physicians seeking abortion care or advice, along with a battle involving Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost to keep abortion pills from being distributed through the mail or at national pharmacies, and a new study that showed abortion clinics find it more and more difficult to comply with laws on the subject because of bureaucratic discretion.

    The ballot measure might have another issue if in-fighting within the state’s Republican caucus continues. One side of the caucus is promoting the controversial legislation that would raise the threshold to approve constitutional amendments, while House Speaker Jason Stephens didn’t list it as one of the priority bills he and his faction unveiled on Wednesday.

    Republicans on both sides of the aisle have expressed interest in legislative prohibitions to abortion since the downfall of Roe, and both sides are awaiting the resolution of a court case under which a six-week abortion ban is paused indefinitely as appeals go through.






  • Ohio abortion rights advocates prepare for more legal fights

    Ohio abortion rights advocates prepare for more legal fights

    Getty Image

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal


    With the abortion landscape changing in Ohio and around the country, one abortion rights group is building up its legal effort for those seeking or providing abortion care.

    Abortion Fund of Ohio recently announced the launch its Legal Access Program, through a partnership with law firm Friedman, Nemecek, & Long, L.L.C., that will provide free legal assistance and referrals to attorneys “for Ohioans facing criminal and civil penalties for reproductive health care.”

    “We’re building out a network of lawyers who will take on these cases, so that we have more lawyer power,” said Morgan Mitchell, legal access fellow for AFO.

    Mitchell said cases are popping up in the state where confusion and lack of knowledge of where abortion and procedures that could be connected to abortion (like miscarriage, medically called a “spontaneous abortion”) legally stands.

    In one such case, covered by NPR, a woman wondered if the six-week abortion ban was causing doctors to hesitate in treating her heavy bleeding at a Painesville emergency room, bleeding that had already been confirmed to be caused by a miscarriage.

    Currently, abortion is still legal up to 22 weeks in Ohio after a state court blocked a six-week ban indefinitely, but national fights against receiving medication abortion through the mail and a discussion of abortion bans on the federal level have advocates worried that reproductive healthcare may be fought for in the courts rather than medical clinics and hospitals.

    Ohio’s own Attorney General Dave Yost signed onto a letter with more than a dozen other state attorneys general warning CVS and Walgreens against distributing medication to induce abortions through the mail due to various state laws that prohibit it. Ohio’s law, passed in 2022, forbids abortion medication to be provided to patients without a physician present.

    A recent study published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, co-authored by researchers from three Ohio universities, said even the regulations that are in effect involve working with state administration, and the bureaucracy has created an system where regulations “have become exceedingly difficult to comply with” for abortion providers.

    Even medical students in the state are left nervous and confused about what restrictions may mean for their education and future career, should they decide to provide reproductive healthcare.

    One group the legal access program is particularly hoping to help is minors who may want to use a legal method to get around needing the consent of their parents to obtain an abortion, a method called judicial bypass.

    According to the Ohio Supreme Court, a minor seeking consent to have an abortion can petition the juvenile court in their county of residence or in a border county, with the help of a court-appointed attorney if they don’t have one.

    A judge then determines if a minor “is sufficiently mature and well enough informed to decide intelligently whether to consent to an abortion or that the abortion is in the best interests of the (minor).”

    Judicial bypass has been on the books since before the fall of Roe v. Wade, but the legal access program is only including that as part of the legal options so that Ohioans know all their legal rights.

    “We’re just trying to let people know this exists, we’re not telling people to have an abortion, or telling their parents they’re bad parents,” Mitchell said.

    With the six-week ban (and other abortion bans that were attempted but not passed by Ohio legislators in previous years) not including any exceptions for rape or incest, and no standards for sex education present in the state, Mitchell said it’s frustrating that a minor has to go to court to prove maturity and intelligence, when some legislators would force them to bear a child, no matter their age.

    “It’s really an attack on bodily autonomy and it’s scary to see it be separated from health care, because this is a decision you’re making for your body,” Mitchell said. “We want to be able to give anyone regardless of age the opportunity to pursue whatever they want with their bodies.”

    The six-week ban pause is being appealed by the state.

  • Awaiting budget proposal, child advocates hope for more

    Awaiting budget proposal, child advocates hope for more

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    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    As policymakers await the newest budget priorities to be laid out by Gov. Mike DeWine, advocates for the state’s children are hoping comprehensive child well-being will be at the top of the list.

    The Ohio Children’s Budget Coalition released their policy agenda for the 2024-2025 state budget, which they hope will include whole-child services to address housing, health, child care, economic stability, and adoption of the Fair School Funding Plan, which was only approved for two years of the six-year phase-in so far.

    “Children do not come in pieces, and neither should the policies and investments that crucially provide and pave the way for them to grow and flourish into successful adulthood,” said Katherine Ungar, senior policy associate with the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio.

    Recommendations by the OCBC also targeted structural racism, the effects of which “negatively impact child outcomes,” according to the announcement of budget priorities.

    “The budget is a moral document that reflects our state’s priorities,” OCBC co-leader and Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio policy associate Matthew Tippit said in a statement.

    The policy report also laid out challenges to combatting the teacher shortage the state has suffered from for several years, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics stating 21,000 fewer teachers were employed in K-12 public school in the state from September 2021 to September 2019.

    The state has faced recruitment and retention issues, which the coalition attributes to “mounting pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, under-resourced schools, politicization of education and lack of respect for educators and the education profession.”

    “While a mass exodus of experienced educators from the teaching profession has not yet materialized, it is cause for significant concern when so many are expressing deep frustrations over what they believe is a lack of support and respect for the work they do with students,” the report stated.

     Groundwork Ohio

    The policy recommendations also come on the heels of a recent early childhood dashboard released by the advocacy group Groundwork Ohio. The dashboard has been in the works since 2021 to “help inform policy makers about the realities facing Ohio families with young children.”

    Groundwork Ohio president and CEO Shannon Jones said the dashboard “tells us where to focus on making positive change for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.”

    The report found that one in five Ohio infants don’t have access to child care or early learning and six in 10 children aren’t ready to attend school based on kindergarten readiness, fourth-grade reading proficiency and eighth-grade math proficiency.

    Racial issues appeared as part of Groundwork Ohio’s analysis, with the group finding that infant mortality rates are still above the U.S. average in Ohio “with a large and appalling racial disparity.”

    “While there are many ways we can begin to improve outcomes for young children, focusing state efforts on its very youngest citizens is an urgent moral imperative as well as a wise state investment,” according to the report.

    The organization was encouraged by state performance in areas like eighth grade math proficiency and improved homeless students and housing cost burdens.

    Early investments are needed to benefit Ohio children throughout their lives, the dashboard concluded as state performance compared to the rest of the country was worse in categories such as early intervention service access and young child poverty.

    Large disparities were found particularly in Black, Hispanic and Native American/American Indian children living below the poverty level.

    The state has also worsened in terms of kindergarten literacy, chronic absenteeism and special needs preschools, according to the dashboard.

  • Air pollution impacting maternal, infant health of Ohioans

    Air pollution impacting maternal, infant health of Ohioans

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN Ohio Capital Journal

    Traffic on a highway. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

    Improving air quality in the state would lead to better health for Ohioans, and could be done through policy changes, according to a policy think tank.

    In a recent examination of the connections between air pollution and health, the Health Policy Institute focused on maternal and infant health, lung and heart conditions and cognitive conditions, all of which could see better outcomes with increased monitoring and control of air pollutants.

    “Exposure to air pollution can also increase the severity, lethality and prevalence of COVID-19 due to its negative impact on cardiopulmonary diseases and immune responses,” the HPIO said in a policy brief on the issue.

    Sources of air pollution range from power plants to vehicle exhaust, and even natural sources like dust.

    Improvements have been made through the federal Clean Air Act in 1970, which sought to regulate emissions through EPA oversight, and through implementation of plans in each individual state.

    “The EPA can also take civil or criminal action against an entity that has violated environmental law, such as not installing a required air pollution control device,” the HPIO stated.

    But Ohio “ranks poorly on outdoor air quality” according to the institute’s research, and performs worse than most other states.

     Graph provided by the Health Policy Institute.

    More than 32% of Ohioans commute more than 30 minutes to work alone, verses 4.1% who walk, cycle or use public transportation, according to a 2021 Health Value Dashboard cited in the policy brief.

    But more than the choice of commute, some Ohioans are unwittingly in danger of air pollution effects based solely on where they live and the zoning policies in those communities. Even “redlining,” the use of discriminatory practice of denying mortgages and other financial services based on race or ethnicity, can cause minorities to end up in more polluted areas.

    “Historically, zoning policies and redlining placed industrial plants and highways closer to predominantly Black neighborhoods and prohibited Black people from living in areas that did not have these sources of pollution near them,” the HPIO stated.

    According to research from the National Equity Atlas, Black Ohioans face a risk of air pollution 1.5 times higher than white residents of the state.

    Part of the problem in Ohio was the passage of the scandal-ridden House Bill 6, a bailout of energy companies that led to, among other things, a bribery investigation and, beginning this month, the criminal trial of former House Speaker Larry Householder.

    Parts of the legislation were repealed in March 2021 related to the bailout, but measures that severely cut energy-efficiency programs and standards for renewable energy stayed in place.

    “By reducing the renewable energy benchmark, Ohioans are more likely to continue to use fossil fuel-based energy and be more at risk of air pollution exposure,” the HPIO policy brief stated.

    Ohio’s legislature also passed Senate Bill 52 in 2021, which hampers the development of energy sources such as wind farms and solar facilities and allows local governments to turn down wind and solar proposals.

    Local governments have done their part to reduce air pollution, however, with the Central Ohio Transportation Authority planning a fleet transition to non-diesel by 2025 after receiving federal funding for the effort.

    After a settlement between Volkswagen and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over an emissions scandal, Ohio is set to receive $75 million over 10 years to be used to fund emission-reduction projects.

    “The latest round of grants, awarded in November 2021, were estimated to remove 33 tons of nitrogen oxides and 16 tons of other air pollutants annually,” the HPIO stated.

    Moving forward, the policy institute said more legislation could set targets for “renewable energy procurement” and use air quality monitors to capture data on exposure. Increased funding for public transportation and an “environmental legislature review process” were also recommended by the HPIO.

    Follow Susan Tebben on Twitter.

  • Federal funding coming to Ohio for kindergarten readiness

    Federal funding coming to Ohio for kindergarten readiness

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    An infusion of federal funds is coming to Ohio, targeted at improving kindergarten readiness.

    The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is set to receive a total of $48 million over three years as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Preschool Development Grant, according to an announcement from Gov. Mike DeWine’s office.

    ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder said plans for the grant are “expansive,” and will include “culturally appropriate trauma training, credentialing and parent supports,” along with “creating long-term and sustainable local, state and federal funding for early childhood education programs.”

    Through a partnership with the state departments of education, health, mental health and addiction, Medicaid and developmental disabilities, the grant will also be used to expand child care for special needs, homeless and English language learners.

  • Ohio coalition moves forward with plans for abortion ballot measure

    Ohio coalition moves forward with plans for abortion ballot measure

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    A coalition of reproductive rights groups, along with the ACLU of Ohio say they plan to have a pro-abortion ballot initiative on the Ohio Attorney General’s desk by February.

    Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom announced the plan to do this with the help of a recently hired “general consultant” with experience boosting ballot initiatives on the topic in two other states.

    The coalition – made up of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Abortion Fund of Ohio, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, the Ohio Women’s Alliance, Preterm-Cleveland, Pro-Choice Ohio and Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE), along with the ACLU of Ohio – said the amendment would “explicitly protect reproductive freedom for all Ohioans.”

    “We are working expeditiously and prudently because we know that skipping steps or rushing the process would be a reckless approach when stakes are so high,” said Erin Scott, co-founder and director of the Ohio Women’s Alliance, in a joint statement of ORP members.

    Mission Control, Inc., was hired by the group to help with the effort, after previously working on ballot initiative campaigns in Kansas and Kentucky, both of which showed voters in support of abortion rights. The company has offices in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Colorado and California.

    ORP said it has “completed initial language drafting and is now moving into comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research and message testing.”

    Anti-abortion groups were quick to criticize the effort, saying support for the measure wouldn’t come in Ohio.

    “Any attempt to change Ohio’s constitution by these large out-of-state abortion groups will ultimately fail here in Ohio,” said Peter Range, Ohio Right to Life CEO, in a statement.

    The religious lobby group Center for Christian Virtue acknowledged Mission Control’s success in other states, but also said the Ohio effort is “doomed to fail.”

    CCV president Aaron Baer used his statement against the measure to support a joint resolution that would make it harder for the state constitution to be amended by raising the voting threshold to 60%. The measure was HJR 6 in the last General Assembly, and is now being led by state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, and state Rep. Derrick Merrin, R-Monclova.

  • Law removing harmful language on mental health, disabilities praised by advocates

    Law removing harmful language on mental health, disabilities praised by advocates

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    A law recently signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine finally removes derogatory language about people with disabilities from state law, a move years in the making.

    Advocates praised the passage and signing of the Mental Health and Disability Terminology Act, introduced with bipartisan sponsors as House Bill 281.

    The bill was years in the making, and removes words like “idiot,” “lunatics,” and “derangement” that were still a part of Ohio Revised Code.

    “The words are very stigmatizing, they’re very traumatizing and antiquated,” said Katherine Yoder, executive director of Ohio’s Adult Advocacy Centers. “It’s one of those things that as society … and as people’s humanity evolves, language is the most obvious thing that changes.”

    As the work began in 2021 to get the bill into the Ohio House, legislators reacted with surprise, mainly because they thought the changes had already been made.

    State agencies were renamed in 2009 to remove the word “mental retardation” from county and state agencies, but the language remained in revised code.

    Yoder said it’s common for people to think these language changes have been made to eliminate words so commonly known as pejorative, but those not working directly with people with disabilities may overlook changes that haven’t been made.

    So, when the attempt to remove the language was put together in 2021, Yoder was relieved to find the legislative push led by organizations doing the work. It’s one thing to be supportive of the moves and take charge without knowing the world in which people with disabilities live, Yoder said.

    “It’s another thing to kind of step back and allow that community or that cultural group to make the necessary changes and advocate for themselves,” Yoder said.

    Part of the measure’s journey through the Ohio House and Senate was educating legislators in committee meetings. HB 281 passed quickly through the House with state Reps. Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus, and Tom Young, R-Washington Twp. at the helm.

    “It’s something that obviously you have to seek out and you have to learn,” Yoder said.

    The legislation was bolstered by a host of organizations, such as Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Ohio, and the Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition.

    “Emphasizing a person’s humanity and individuality rather than defining them solely by a specific characteristic fosters understanding and inclusion, and the use of people-first language in statute will promote more equitable access to the benefits of our laws and civil society,” said Erich Bittner, director of government relations for the Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, during a November meeting of the Senate Health Committee.

    For the Adult Advocacy Centers, language is particularly important because of the work they do helping crime victims who have developmental disabilities. Language is a “foundational piece” to avoid marginalizing individuals, and when Ohio Revised Code can be cited with antiquated language still included, equity is hard to achieve, according to Yoder.

    In criminal justice, Yoder said there’s a gap in training for those investigating crimes where the victim has disabilities. From talking to victims to creating accessibility at courthouse for those attending court cases, the many layers of changes needed to help start with allowing the voices of the victims to be heard.

    “The justice system was never set up with people with disabilities in mind,” Yoder said.

    With the language changes approved, advocates are hoping to move forward with more changes, like increased representation in criminal justice with forensic interviewers, more specifically trained to help those with disabilities through criminal cases.

    “The goal or the focus (of forensic interviewing) is not helping people with developmental disabilities find their voice,” Yoder said. “They already have their voice. It’s about allowing their voice to be heard.”

    As the year goes along, advocates also hope to receive some of the remaining American Rescue Plan funds to help build facilities for advocacy work, and to tackle crimes like benefits trafficking – the victimization of people with disabilities for their government assistance checks.

  • Public school funding set for court battle in 2023

    Public school funding set for court battle in 2023

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    While the trial of former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder will hold the attention of many this year, the battle over public school funding will also be subject to court drama.

    Public school districts, some individual students in public schools, and the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, spent the last year fighting to keep a lawsuit on the books in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. That lawsuit aims a direct hit at Ohio’s EdChoice private school voucher program, which plaintiffs say takes away needed funding from the public schools attended by a vast majority of Ohio students.

    The private school voucher system goes against the Ohio Constitution’s demand for a “thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state,” the schools and their advocates say.

    Late in 2022, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page denied attempts by the Ohio Department of Education, the state Board of Education, and a group of “Catholic school family intervenors” and other individuals, hoping to quash the lawsuit.

    “Plaintiffs have adequately pleaded that the difference in funding levels has resulted in students in the public-school districts being denied adequate facilities and learning supports,” Page wrote in denying the private school advocates’ request to end the case.

    The ODE and the state board argued the public school group didn’t have standing to sue, but Page rejected that argument as well, saying the problem in the case is “unique to students within the districts and is not experienced by the general public,” and could be rectified by the state.

    EdChoice, first implemented in 2005, has been a point of contention for the state legislature and public/private school advocates across the state for decades, since the first time the Ohio Supreme Court deemed the state’s education funding system unconstitutional.

    That case, DeRolph v. State of Ohio, was ruled on multiple times by the state’s highest court, but the rulings were the same: the state’s public school funding system doesn’t meet the requirements of the state constitution.

    While both the public school advocates who filed the suit and private school supporters who discredit the case use DeRolph to argue their sides, Page found the private school supporters’ interpretation that a court does not have the authority to establish per pupil funding without merit.

    “This ignores the fact that the DeRolph court held that the level of funding was unconstitutional and was a violation of the ‘thorough and efficient system’ clause,” Page wrote.

    In all the decisions, the General Assembly was ordered to come up with a new system of education funding. Ohioans have yet to see a plan come to full fruition.

    Another former House speaker, Bob Cupp, worked with fellow legislator John Patterson to put together an education plan that would later be called the Fair School Funding Plan. But the plan requires a six-year phase-in, something legislative leadership wasn’t willing to do when the budget came up in the last General Assembly.

    “For the 2023 school year, only 33% of the Fair School Funding Plan will be funded,” Page wrote in her most recent decision in the case.

    Public school students in the districts represented in the case are funded at $340, $1,700 and $2,800 per pupil, based on their grade level, in core funding from the Ohio Department of Education.

    Currently, the vouchers allow students who choose to attend private schools instead of their public school district to receive $5,500 for kindergarten through eighth grades and $7,500 for high schoolers.

    The program has seen expansions over the years, and with the passage of House Bill 110 in 2021, private school vouchers were directly funded through the state, rather than filtered through adjacent public school districts.

    A new expansion was proposed last month, though it didn’t make it through the end of the General Assembly, and will have to be reintroduced. That could be possible in the new year with a bolstered GOP supermajority full of “school choice” advocates.

    With a new budget cycle upcoming, public school advocates are hopeful more funding for the plan may be ahead, though Senate President Matt Huffman has said one priority on the topic of education for this General Assembly will be an overhaul of the entire education system in the state.

    That overhaul could include a restructuring of the Ohio Department of Education and a changing of roles for the state Board of Education, which could add a layer of fog to the state’s educational future and delay funding changes as the potentially brand new department finds its footing.

    The 134th General Assembly saw the legislation in the waning hours of their term, but the legislation ultimately fell short as amendments and the 2,000-page volume of the bill tripped up its success.

    Meanwhile, the department and the other state education leaders named in the lawsuit have until Jan. 20 to file responses in the case.

  • Ohio Redistricting: The Sequel

    Ohio Redistricting: The Sequel

    Ohio legislators will head back to the drawing board on congressional and Statehouse maps

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    The new year could include many different developments in the redistricting arena, but one thing is for sure: new maps have to be on the agenda.

    But this time around, majority leaders may not have as much trouble getting maps through the current approving authority: The Ohio Supreme Court.

    With the departure of Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor due to age limits, Justice Sharon Kennedy was elected to take the top spot, and Kennedy made clear how she felt about redistricting in the past, accusing the court majority of judicial overreach in rejecting maps as unconstitutional.

    The maps have gone through the ringer: Statehouse district maps have been rejected by the state’s highest court five times, and congressional maps have been turned down twice.

    After the last round of rejection, GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission turned to a federal U.S. District Court for an answer, which came in the form of the temporary approval of a map passed in February, but still deemed unconstitutional by the state supreme court.

    The three-judge panel in federal court said they did not intend for the map to last ten years, or even the four years laid out in the constitutional amendment that reformed the process. The ORC could pass a map without bipartisan support, but the map would only last four years.

    The GOP took another step around the Ohio Supreme Court, by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court on congressional redistricting, and the power of the state legislature over the state supreme court.

    The nation’s highest court has not yet decided whether it will take up the case, and is still deciding a different redistricting-related case, Moore v. Harper, which also addresses the role of the state legislature in elections.

    U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown pointed to ousted Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s corruption scandal as part of the problem the state is having in attempting to resolve the redistricting issue.

    “This state government is the most corrupt in the country,” Brown said on a press call. “I think there’s no question about that.”

    Householder wasn’t a part of redistricting, but his predecessor as Speaker, Bob Cupp was, along with Senate President Matt Huffman.

    “Of course, (GOP members of the legislature) know they’re losing elections all over the country based on the fact that they are out of step with the majority of voters, so they believe the only way to win is change the rules,” Brown said.

    Legislative leaders have not made any indication for sure as to when the process will start again, though the need to pass a new state budget may slow the process down.

    Voting advocates have said they are pulling together a new ballot measure, that could change redistricting yet again. Outgoing Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has said she plans to help anti-gerrymandering efforts.

  • Education sees some funding boosts, some missed opportunities in 2022

    Education sees some funding boosts, some missed opportunities in 2022

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Next year is sure to be a busy one when it comes to education in Ohio, with potential state agency overhauls and funding changes still on the agenda for the state legislature.

    The end of 2022 was capped by an 11th-hour push and ultimately failure for an attempted overhaul of the Ohio Department of Education and the state Board of Education. Senate Bill 178 was never passed in an Ohio House committee, so it was folded into another bill with controversial provisions, House Bill 151.

    House Bill 151 included bans for trans youth in participating in sports based on their gender identity, and after SB 178 was included, the bill came in at more than 2,000 pages. But despite delaying the vote until after 2 a.m. on the last day of the legislative session, the bill and its many provisions failed to garner enough votes in the House.

    LGBTQ advocates hailed the failure of House Bill 151, which still would have required the use of birth certificates to prove a student’s gender, despite the elimination of a provision that would have required a genital exam.

    “I can not begin to express my gratitude to the hundreds of community members and advocates who stood up for the rights of all transgender youth to participate in all parts of life as whole people, including sports, just like everyone else,” said Alana Jochum, executive director of Equality Ohio, after the bill failed to pass.

    Dr. Rhea Debussy, director of external affairs for Equitas Health and former facilitator for the NCAA’s Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Program, said the thrill of seeing the legislation voted down was tempered by concern that the bill even existed.

    “It’s very alarming that a group of legislators thought bullying gender expansive and intersex youth was an urgent need for the final hours of Ohio’s 134th General Assembly,” Debussy said in a statement.

    Senate Bill 178

    Education officials not only celebrated the failure of HB 151’s anti-trans legislation, but the downfall of the rapid-fire education overhaul they overwhelmingly said needed more time and more vetting.

    “OEA believes it is worth taking a hard look at how Ohio’s schools are governed and supported at the state level,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro in a statement. “However, collaboration is key.”

    Senate President Matt Huffman said he was “disappointed that our school reform bill and our attempt to do something about girls’ sports … I’m disappointed that those things failed.”

    But Huffman maintained the stance he took after the Senate passed HB 151 on to the House for a vote earlier this month, that if the education overhaul part of the bill didn’t pass during the 134th GA, it would move on to the 135th.

    “I’m glad we took the vote because we kind of have on the record who’s where, and there probably is a lot more due diligence that needs to be done on that issue,” Huffman said.

    Some ups, more downs

    While some funding changes were implemented — such as $56 million in state funding for Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid, increases in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds and federal monies for school security and safety — public schools are still looking for full funding of the Fair School Funding Plan (formerly called the Cupp-Patterson plan, after Speaker Bob Cupp and former state Rep. John Patterson, the legislators who created it). The plan was previously funded for the two years of the current General Assembly, but needs another four-year commitment of funds to be fully phased in.

    That plan, according to the OEA, “represents the first constitutional school funding system in the state in decades.”

    The effort for better public school funding is flanked by a lawsuit moving forward in Franklin County Common Pleas Court that seeks to nullify the EdChoice private school voucher system in the state. A coalition of school districts and individuals joined together to file the lawsuit, and Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page recently ruled against the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, who argued the lawsuit should not be allowed to continue.

    “This means we will put vouchers on trial in a court of law,” the coalition behind the lawsuit, Vouchers Hurt Ohio, wrote in an email newsletter, though the timeline for the court case could go on for some time.

    Private school vouchers are on the minds of congressional Ohioans as well, with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown pushing for more investment in federal Head Start programs and more funding for public schools.

    “We have a state government, one of whose major aims seems to be to privatize public schools,” Brown said in a press call. “They have moved more and more money out of public education into religious schools and other private schools … and really undermined what state government should be doing and that is funding public education for the great majority of students in our state.”

    Teachers unions and public officials alike wanted to see efforts to stem the state’s teacher shortage, a rise in the teacher wages that have stagnated over the last 25 years and changes to the third-grade reading guarantee, both of which saw action in the legislature, but did not come to fruition.

    As the state’s Board of Education awaits the fate of the department and the board itself, they still have a decision to make: the search for a superintendent of public instruction.

    The board spent months on issues such as a resolution condemning racism in education, then a resolution repealing that racism measure, and finally a resolution urging the federal government not to include gender identity in anti-discrimination language that would impact education policy.

    But in their December meeting, they decided to punt on the issue of hiring a search firm to select candidates to fill the open position that heads the department.

    The board voted to wait until SB 178 was passed or rejected by the legislature, for fear that candidates for the position might change their minds once they found out how the roles of superintendent would change under the new bill.