The Senate Finance Committee yesterday made its first round of changes to the state budget bill, House Bill (HB) 110. The committee is expected to hear witness testimony this week and make more changes as soon as this Friday, June 4. A full vote of the Senate is expected on Thursday, June 10. Members are encouraged to contact their legislators or testify at the hearing dates listed below.
- Wednesday, June 2 at 3:00 p.m. or after Senate session;
- Thursday, June 3 at 9:00 a.m.;
- Friday, June 4 at 9:00 a.m. This is an “if-needed” hearing.
The Comparison Document provided by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission can be accessed here.
Simulations for traditional school districts can be accessed here.
Simulations for joint vocational school districts can be accessed here.
The Senate substitute bill makes the following changes:
- removes the House’s Fair School Funding Plan and replaces it with a new funding formula that utilizes a different base cost methodology and restores the State Share Index (SSI) to determine state and local share calculation;
- establishes a base cost methodology under which the per-pupil base cost amount is $6,065 in FY 2022 and $6,110 in FY 2023;
- maintains the Student Wellness and Success Funds with a $350 million appropriation in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and $300 million in FY 2023;
- maintains the gain cap and transitional aid guarantees for certain districts;
- provides gain cap relief for growing districts, gap aid, and a formula transition supplement, or guarantee, to eligible districts;
- establishes a direct funding mechanism for students enrolled in community schools, STEM schools, and nonpublic schools through a voucher program;
- maintains the district deduction for students who open enroll to another district;
- increases the EdChoice voucher payment amounts to $5,500 for K-8 students and $7,500 for 9-12 students (currently, those amounts are set at $4,650 and $6,000, respectively);
- expands EdChoice eligibility to restore the high school eligibility and sibling eligibility provisions that were previously repealed;
- removes the bill’s provision that extends to Dec. 31, 2021, the temporary authorization for boards of education and other public bodies to meet via electronic technology, which is currently set to expire July 1, 2021;
- eliminates bus purchase funding;
- removes geographic restrictions on where new community schools can be created;
- maintains the bill’s temporary prohibition on creating new academic distress commissions (ADCs) and establishes a process by which the Lorain City School District can be relieved from the oversight of its ADC;
- maintains the bill’s provisions regarding computer science education; and
- maintains the bill’s provisions regarding prohibitions on mass transit use by school districts for community and nonpublic school students.
Click here for a full discussion of the changes made by the Senate.
We will update members as we receive more information. Please contact us with questions.
Important Resources
Legislator Contact Lookup Resources:
ODE Legislative Search Tool (search by district)