Education Department - Catholic Conference of Ohio

The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified this week in support of two bills. HB6 would ensure fairness in sports by requiring schools to designate separate teams for participants according to their biological sex. CCO affirmed the bill’s alignment with the Church’s teaching about the equality of men and women and the need to create equitable opportunities for biological females to compete in sports. The Conference also expressed that harassment or unjust discrimination of those experiencing gender identity discordance is unequivocally wrong. In addition, CCO delivered a second round of proponent testimony on HB33 to expand the threshold for a family to receive an Ed Choice Income-Based Scholarship to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Catholic schools represent the largest system of nonpublic schools in Ohio. CCO again stressed the need to address issues in school transportation as well as necessary increases to auxiliary service funds, nonpublic administrative cost reimbursement, funding levels in the categories of disabilities, and tax credit for giving to scholarship granting organizations.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio testified in support of two bills this week. SB49 would require each K-12 public school to adopt a policy providing students, teachers, and staff up to three days of religious expression leave per academic year. CCO supported the bill and affirmed the religious liberty to allow Catholic students and public-school staff across Ohio the ability to observe Holy Days as excused absences. HB34 would excuse breastfeeding mothers from jury service. In support of the bill, CCO commented on the Catholic Church’s commitment to promoting and acting on a vision of society that stands with mothers during and after pregnancy through personal accompaniment and pro-family public policies.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio supports SB 11 (Enact the Parental Education Freedom Act), which would allow every student in the state of Ohio the opportunity to receive an EdChoice Scholarship. For decades, the Catholic Conference of Ohio and the Catholic Church nationwide have led advocacy for expanding school choice to allow more students of all backgrounds and income levels to attend Catholic schools. We must uphold public policies that strengthen the family as the central social institution of society.

Click below to take action and ask your Ohio Senator to support SB 11 and expand EdChoice Scholarships to all Ohio students.

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The Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in the case of Carson v. Makin, which challenged a decision by the First Circuit to allow the State of Maine to exclude religious schools from a tuition assistance benefit on the basis that those schools include religion as part of their instruction. By vote of 6-3, the Court ruled in favor of the petitioners. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Catholic Education, issued a statement in the response to the Court’s ruling.