Education

The Ohio House Finance Committee added additional support for two programs helping Catholic school students. The House Ominbus Amendment increased GRF appropriation for nonpublic administrative cost reimbursement by $816,000 in FY22 and $1.6 million in FY23. It also increased the maximum per-pupil amount of administrative cost reimbursement payments to nonpublic schools for each of FY22 and FY23 from $466 to $475.

The amendment also increased GRF appropriation to Auxiliary Services  by $1.8 million in FY22 and $3.65 million in FY23. 

The full House is expected to pass this substitute version of the budget bill (HB 110).  Action and advacacy will now occur in the Ohio Senate.  Emphasis will be upon maintaining gains made in the House version, while encouraging improvements in the EdChoice programs, school transportation, and funding for housing and hunger programs. A balanced budget must be enacted by July 1, 2021.

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.