Education Department - Catholic Conference of Ohio

The Ohio House is finalizing their version of the state budget, HB 110. The Ohio Senate has begun their hearings.  A balanced budget must be enacted by July 1, 2021.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio issued a letter to all House members supporting features in the current version and recommending areas for improvement. The letter called attention to the Church's strong support for programs that assist people who are poor and vulnerable, and the Church's strong support for programs that help Catholic school students.

Education Action Alert 4-16-21

Health & Human Services Recommendations
Education Recommendations

The Catholic School Superintendents of Ohio issued a joint Response to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer that questioned the value of private school vouchers.

The Response stated:  "..The metric used in this article, comparing public districts to non-public schools on state testing, is deeply flawed and overly simplistic. This inaccurate analysis is at best misguided, or worse, inherently biased against non-public schools, including many faith-based schools that parents freely choose with state scholarships. This is more of an “apples to blueberries” than and “apples to apples” comparison..."

The Response encouraged that Catholic schools and public schools be viewed as partners rather than competitors.

The Supreme Court of the United States has issued its decision in the consolidated cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel. These cases involved the right of Catholic schools, free of government interference, to choose teachers who will teach and model the Catholic faith. By a vote of 7-2, the Court ruled in favor of the schools.

In the Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania case, the Court affirmed that religious employers cannot be forced to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans, if doing so would violate that organization's religious beliefs.

Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty, Bishop Michael C. Barber, S.J. of Oakland, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education issued a joint statement on Guadalupe decision. Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a joint statment on the Little Sisters decision.

In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the justices held that the application of the Montana Constitution’s “no-aid” provision to a state program providing tuition assistance to parents who send their children to private schools discriminated against religious schools and the families whose children attend or hope to attend them in violation of the free exercise clause.

USCCB Chairmen write: “...The Court has rightly ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not permit states to discriminate against religion. This decision means that religious persons and organizations can, like everyone else, participate in government programs that are open to all. This is good news, not only for people of faith, but for our country. A strong civil society needs the full participation of religious institutions. By ensuring the rights of faith-based organizations’ freedom to serve, the Court is also promoting the common good..."