Education Department - Catholic Conference of Ohio

The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation on March 26, 2020 addressing emergency needs due to the coronavirus. Among the provisions where changes and clarifications regarding the traditional EdChoice Scholarship Program.
 

 Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, praised members of Congress and the President for passing and signing into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Brian Corbin, executive vice president of member services at Catholic Charities USA, welcomed allocations in the CARES Act for a variety of social services, some of which are delivered by diocesan agencies.

According to Corbin, among the specific items being funded are an additional $15 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps; $8.8 billion for child nutrition assistance; $4 billion for emergency solutions grants to address homelessness; $5 billion for the Community Development Block Grant that often funds social services such as food programs; and $200 million for the emergency food and shelter program.

Archbishop Coakley also encouraged continued legislative responses.  "There are some areas where aid and relief can improve. We will continue to advocate for those most in need, for food security, for the homeless, for prisoners, for the sick who have large medical bills, for all Americans who are struggling to make ends meet, and for those who have lost friends and loved ones. It was disappointing that certain aid and relief was not extended to the undocumented, and extremely concerning that testing and access to health care coverage was denied to certain immigrants..."

Summary of Legislatve Changes in the CARES Act (National Conference of State Legislatures)

 Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the development of new resources to address gaps in preventing targeted violence in schools. These training materials provide guidance on the use of threat assessment protocols. The goal of a threat assessment is to identify persons of concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities, and identify intervention strategies to manage that risk. This free training is provided in a series of 10 video installments and a printed reference guide.

Testimony on behalf of the Catholic Conference of Ohio was presented by Larry Keough, Associate Director for Education.

The HB 9 Conference Committee has been conducting hearings regarding proposed changes to the EdChoice Voucher programs. Last year, the Ohio Department of Education released a widely expanded list of designated EdChoice public schools. Students at these underperforming schools would be eligible for an EdChoice Scholarship. Many public-school advocates argued that this expanded list was based on flawed data and wanted the entire performance-based part of the EdChoice program eliminated.  

The Ohio House passed SB 89 that would eliminate the performance-based program while expanding the income-based part of the EdChoice program. The Senate passed HB 9 that would remove the school buildings recently added. It would continue a pared down performance-based EdChoice program along with increased eligibility for the income-based EdChoice program. Both House and Senate would have provisions for grandparenting students currently receiving a voucher.

Hundreds of people have presented testimony on this issue.  Catholic Conference of Ohio staff, diocesan superintendents, principals, parents and students have presented compelling testimonies, voiced concerns and offered suggestions to elected officials.

Catholic Conference of Ohio Testimony
Fact Sheet: Common Misconceptions Regarding Catholic Schools: Catholic Conference of Ohio

Watch all the committeee hearings
Link to all testimonies