Advocacy Update – 8.8.22 – School Begins; Legislators Still on Summer Break
Back to School News – As Ohio’s children head back to school, there is little to report on the legislative front. No Senate or House hearings are scheduled this month, and there are only three weeks of Senate committee hearings in September. After September, nothing will happen in the General Assembly until after the November elections when we enter the lame duck session. We might see some interesting education policy changes after the election during this session. OAGC will be gearing up for the state budget season which will begin in Winter of 2023. One of the first things the governing board will do is to approve a new legislative platform for the 135th General Assembly. If you would like to provide input to the board, please review the current platform and email [email protected] with any suggestions for changes. You can view the current platform at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BA6Fd7pJ6TIcTbMfisLdEVzKM1VDI9ZM/view.
Gifted Rule Revision – The gifted rule revision process is likely to pick up steam in September. The Ohio Department of Education is scheduling stakeholder outreach and feedback on the rule between September and December with a draft of the new rule to be posted in October. As part of the process, the State Board of Education heard a joint ODE/OAGC presentation in June. You can view the presentation which can be viewed at https://www.ohiochannel.org/video/state-board-of-education-6-13-2022 at the 5:35:00 mark.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Search – The State Board of Education voted to retain Stephanie Siddons as Interim State Superintendent of Public Instruction after Steve Dackin resigned less than one month into the job. Mr. Dackin cited potential ethical concerns based on his previous role as State Board of Education Vice President and head of the board’s superintendent search committee. After some discussion about hiring the number two candidate, state board members largely seem content to carry on with Dr. Siddons for as long as needed.