Smith Condemns Passage of Education Overhaul

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) 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.
 
“For the second week in a row, the Ohio Senate has passed legislation giving Governor DeWine authority that he did not ask for,” said Sen. Smith. “During the recent general election, Governor DeWine did not indicate he wanted to essentially become Ohio’s School Superintendent by taking over the Ohio Department of Education and significantly reducing the role of the State Board of Education. But, that's what Senate Bill 1 will do. 

“S.B. 1 ignores the newly-elected state school board members and every Ohio voter who cast their ballot for those individuals and instead, puts Governor DeWine in charge. We have seen this far too often as the Republican supermajority frequently ignores Ohio voter wishes and creates bad public education policy. Today we did both, in the same legislation.”

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.