Last week, state Senator Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) issued a statement after the Ohio Senate voted along party lines to pass Senate Bill 1, which drastically limits the duties and function of the State Board of Education and Department of Education.
“Ohio’s education system has been based on the principle of ‘common schools’ and directed by the voters in local districts for almost two centuries,” said Sen. Hicks-Hudson. “This bill would remove their voices without any evidence that it will lead to an overall improvement in scholastic performance for Ohio children.”
S.B. 1 would transfer almost all the current powers and duties of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to the new Department of Education and Workforce (DEW), which would be a cabinet-level agency. It would allow the Governor to appoint the director of the DEW. S.B. 1 also weakens homeschooling regulations.
The bill is a politically motivated takeover of public education that Democrats believe will not serve Ohio’s students.
S.B. 1 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.