ADVOCATE
Government Affairs News and Information
"As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the
common good."
Deus Caritas Est (“God is Love”), Pope Benedict XVI, 2005, #29

ISSUE 4; April 20, 2021
Legislative Action Network
Do you know a fellow parent or community leader who would be a great advocate for our schools? Nominate him/her to be a Legislative Action Leader (LAN)!

With support from the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS), LANs help to organize and lead advocacy in local school communities. If you are interested in serving or would like to nominate someone, please email Alison Cozad. For more information, please visit the LAN page of the OCS website.
Legislature 101 
HB 110 - The State Biennial Budget

The House Finance Committee recently released their substitute bill for the state budget. A substitute bill is a redrafted version of a bill that replaces the former version. This is usually because there are substantial changes to the bill.

The substitute now reflects the changes and amendments that the House Finance Committee has approved. The bill still needs to be passed out of the House Finance Committee and the House Floor before it is sent to the Ohio Senate for their changes.

The education provisions in Sub. H.B. 110 include:

  • Fair School Funding Plan (HB 1)
  • Allows flexibility for chartered nonpublic schools that do not participate in the College Credit Plus program
  • Requires school districts and chartered nonpublic high schools to inform students in grades 6 through 11 of advanced standing programs annually
  • Direct Funding for EdChoice and Jon Peterson Educational Scholarships
  • Keeps the provision that allows chartered nonpublic schools to receive auxiliary funds directly
  • Transportation language was the same as the executive budget

Helpful Hint: See this Glossary for definitions of legislative terms.








Legislative Action Leaders To Do Checklist:

  1. Make sure you send out the budget template correspondence so your parents may email their representatives.
  2. Continue to expand your parent network by gathering emails addresses of interested parents and community members.
  3. Begin thinking of families that could testify in support of EdChoice, in the event we need to bolster support during the budget process.
  4. Become familiar with whom your school's state representative and senator are - follow them on social media.
HB 110 - Proposed Amendments
Below are amendments from the Catholic Conference for which we are asking support:

  • Increase maximum scholarship amounts to $5,500 (from $4,650) for grades K-8 and $8,000 (from $6,000) for grades 9-12 for students in the performance-based Ed Choice Scholarship, Ed Choice Expansion, and Cleveland Scholarship Program
  • Support the provision in the Executive Budget for Catholic Schools to have the option of receiving direct Auxiliary Services payments
  • Permit Administrative Cost Reimbursement (ACR) to be up to $475 per student, notwithstanding the statutory cap of $360 per student
  • Increase the payment in lieu of transportation from $250 to the state average to transport students.
  • Support the additional provisions in the executive budget for school transportation
In the News - EdChoice
EdChoice is an important tool for our schools to help parents choose the best educational options for their children.

There are families out there that could share their stories about how EdChoice has benefitted them. Begin compiling a list in the event we need to show legislators how important EdChoice is to families in Our Catholic Schools.


Under the most recent EdChoice provisions, students currently attending a nonpublic school are not eligible for a Traditional EdChoice Scholarship. They would be eligible to apply for an Expansion Scholarship based on their family's household income if qualified.

ODE has released guidance for Traditional EdChoice SB 89 Provisions. Students who were eligible to apply for a scholarship for the 2020-2021 school year have another chance to apply for a scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year. The eligibility information for the current year is still on the ODE website. Due to the confusion this temporary provision creates, ODE encourages anyone who believes they would have qualified this year and want to use the “second chance” opportunity to reach out to the EdChoice office directly at 614-728- 2743. Staff will work through applications on a case-by-case basis to determine eligibility.
Legislator Spotlight - Rep. Tracy Richardson

Representative Tracy Richardson (R, HD 86) is currently serving her second term in the Ohio House. She represents Union and Marion Counties, including one of our schools, St. Mary, Marion.

Rep. Richardson is a graduate of West Point and was deployed in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, where she earned a Bronze Star Medal. She is an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.

Hometown: Marysville, OH

Leadership: Chair of the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary & Secondary Education

Highlighted Bills and Resolutions:

HB 170 (Bird, Richardson) - Provides assistance to schools, based on Federal COVID relief (As Re-referred to House Finance)

What's Happening on Capitol Square?
SB 1, introduced by Sens. McColley and Wilson, regards teaching financial literacy in high school. Currently, the bill would exempt chartered nonpublic schools.

HB 1, introduced by Reps. Callender and Sweeney, would create a new school funding system for Ohio.

SB 111 and HB 170 both deal with appropriating federal COVID relief funds to support schools. SB 11 has passed the Senate and HB 170 has been rereferred to the House Finance Committee.

HB 34 (Ingram) passed the House Primary & Secondary Education Committee on April 13 and would require schools to transfer academic records within five school days. Three members attempted to include an amendment to the bill that would only require chartered non-publics to comply involving scholarship students at or below 200% the federal poverty line.
Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS)
Ohio has been allocated $155 million in Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) grants through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. Applications for schools were due March 18, and final service amounts were released by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) on April 1. Services will be provided by Educational Service Centers (ESC) and are expected to be available between May and August, after the Ohio Department of Education has finalized contracts.
Click on the organizations below to access additional information and to stay abreast of news related to government and education.




Please contact Alison Cozad, Associate Director for Government Affairs for the Office of Catholic Schools, with questions or to become more involved in our advocacy efforts.