December 12, 2022

Urgent Legislative Update for Substitute Senate Bill 178 – TAKE ACTION TODAY

Legislative Update for Substitute Senate Bill 178. Please see NEXT ACTION step below.

As reported in last week’s call-to-action concerning Substitute Senate Bill 178, the legislation was passed out of the senate with 22 votes in favor and 7 nays on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. There are 33 members of the Ohio Senate. To view voting details, please visit the following page.

Sub. S. B. 178 is now being fast-tracked through the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee. The first Sponsor testimony hearing was heard today, December 12 at 1:00 p.m. Read the Sponsor Testimony presented by Senator Reineke.

The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, 2022, with a likely vote. If the bill is voted out of committee tomorrow it will likely go to the House floor for a final vote (before it ends up on the Governor’s desk) no later than Wednesday of this week, which is why it is imperative for all to take action.

If codified into law, Sub. S.B.178 would move all of the major policy decisions of our partially-elected State Board of Education to a new NON-ELECTED cabinet agency under the sole authority of the Governor and will REMOVE ALL ELECTED REPRESENTATION on all regulations affecting public schools, private schools and home education. We have seen over the past few years what happens when the voice is taken from the people and left to a bureaucrat.

Please TAKE ACTION by contacting State Rep. Gayle Manning, who is the Chair of the Primary and Secondary Education Committee, as well as the rest of the Committee members and your State Representative, who can be found by visiting this page. It is imperative to educate them on the concerns of Sub. S.B. 178 so they may consider a NO vote and hopefully the Chair of the Committee will seize from expediting a vote on this bill out of the Committee.

Here are the Committee Chair and Members contact information:

State Representative Gayle Manning

Committee Chair

Phone: (614) 644-5076

Email: [email protected]

State Representative Adam Bird

Committee Vice Chair

Phone: (614) 644-6034

Email: [email protected]

State Representative Phillip Robinson

Committee Ranking Member

Phone: (614) 644-6041