Training Requirements for Armed Persons in Schools
Gov. DeWine signed House Bill (HB) 99 on June 13, a bill related to armed persons within a school safety zone. It will become effective on September 10. In accordance with this legislation, educators authorized by their local school board to carry guns on campus will now only be required to undergo 24 hours of training, down from the 737 hours of police officer training currently needed under Ohio law.
Click here for the bill text, LSC analysis, and fiscal notes.
School Safety Grants - Capital Appropriations Bill
On June 14, Gov. DeWine signed the capital appropriations bill, House Bill (HB) 687, into law. HB 687 provides $100 million in new safety grants to improve the security and safety of school buildings. The school safety grants will be administered by Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).
Click here for the bill text, LSC analysis, and fiscal notes.
Education Omnibus Bill – Substitute Flexibility, Dyslexia
The education omnibus bill, House Bill (HB) 583, was delivered to Gov. DeWine on June 16 and is anticipated to be signed in the coming days. This means that the effective date of the legislation will be mid-September.
HB 583 extends the substitute flexibility for school districts related the educational requirements of substitute teachers to June 30, 2024 and establishes a study committee to examine the substitute teacher shortage. In addition, it includes the following provisions, among others:
- Allows for unexpended funds in Educational Savings Accounts set up by parents through a $125 million appropriation of federal funds in HB 110 to roll over from FY22-23, and remain in those parents’ accounts until expended or until the student has graduated;
- Makes technical corrections to the school-funding formula that was implemented in HB 110;
- Eliminates the proration of scholarships and income caps awarded under the EdChoice expansion program and qualifies siblings to receive the scholarship for the same school;
- Regarding dyslexia legislation, the bill:
- Delays until ’23-’24 the screening of all students in grades K through 3 and serving students identified as having dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies, but allows districts to start screening students earlier;
- Specifies that art, music, and physical education teachers are not required to receive professional development in dyslexia intervention but authorizes school districts to require their employees to go through additional professional development if so desired; and
- Clarifies that districts must only comply with provisions in the Dyslexia Guidebook that are statutorily required.
- Permits community schools, otherwise subject to Section 3314.034 of the Ohio Revised Code, to enter into a contract with a new sponsor without first having to get approval from ODE; and
- Includes Senate Bill (SB) 306, which would establish a voluntary tutoring and remedial instruction program that public schools and chartered nonpublic schools could choose to participate in by notifying the coordinating educational service center.
Click here for the bill text, LSC analysis, and fiscal notes.