Reps. Manning and Odioso Introduce House Bill 715
COLUMBUS—State Representatives Gayle Manning (R-Avon) and Mike Odioso (R-Green Twp.) recently introduced House Bill 715, legislation to establish reporting requirements for chartered, nonpublic schools that receive state scholarships.
Key provisions of the bill are as follows:
- Requires the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) to post annual data for each chartered nonpublic school, including total enrollment, the number of scholarship students, where those students attended the previous year, and the amount of state funding the school received;
- Requires DEW to post the total number of students participating in state scholarship programs, broken down by family income;
- Requires DEW to create a system that allows individuals to compare the academic performance data of scholarship students in chartered nonpublic schools with similar students in nearby schools; and
- Requires EdChoice applicants to list the school and, if applicable, the district they attended during the previous school year.
State scholarship programs under the bill include the EdChoice Scholarship Program, the Autism Scholarship Program, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, and the Cleveland Scholarship Program.
“Transparency in how we spend taxpayer dollars isn’t optional, it’s our responsibility," said Representative Manning. "In Ohio, every public dollar, whether for public schools or school choice programs, should be fully accountable, carefully tracked, and wisely invested to ensure all students benefit and our communities grow stronger together.”
“My goal is to preserve the awesome educational benefits of Ed Choice, Autism, and Peterson Special Needs scholarships for private school students and their parents,” said Representative Odioso. “House Bill 715 provides the transparency required to justify future public expenditures without placing burdens on private school administrators.”
House Bill 715 was assigned to the House Education Committee and awaits a first hearing.