Budget Update – In an unusual twist on budget deliberations, the House Finance Primary and Secondary Subcommittee took final public testimony on HB1 (Cupp-Patterson school funding) on Monday and then invited testimony on HB110 (biennial budget) Tuesday-Thursday. The usual process is that the subcommittee holds hearings over several weeks and various topics on just the budget bill. OAGC provided testimony on Monday. Representative Dan Troy. (D) asked about whether gifted units (last used in 2009) would be better (there are pros and cons), and Committee Chair Tracy Richardson asked about how to strengthen accountability provisions. You can read the OAGC testimony at http://www.oagc.com/files/SheldonTestimonyHB1.HB110.March%201,2021.pdf.
The full House Finance Committee will be taking testimony on HB110 – all issues next week.
HB67 Passes the House – HB67 passed the Ohio House yesterday. It would allow grades to be used to meet some graduation requirements and extend the window for state testing. An emergency provision that would allow the bill to take effect immediately failed so the bill won’t really be effective as it would take effect well into summer at this point. The Chair of the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee, Andrew Brenner, has indicated that the committee will take up the bill next week though it will likely look a bit different from the House version.
