BASA Member Update 6.21.19

HOT TOPICS Budget Bill Advances

On Wednesday evening, the Ohio Senate Finance Committee adopted a 678 page omnibus amendment to the budget bill (Amended Substitute House Bill 166) before unanimously recommending the bill to the Senate Rules and Reference Committee. The full Senate then adopted the budget bill yesterday, and the legislation now moves to the Ohio House where it is anticipated that the House will reject the bill (insist on its version), thereby sending it to a conference committee to resolve differences. BASA, OASBO, and OSBA have tentatively scheduled a webinar for next Monday, June 24, at 12:15 to review the Senate version of the budget for the FY 2020 and 2021 biennium. Additional details are being forwarded in a separate communication. Important Deadline Approaches Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.482 provides in part: (A)(1) Prior to the first day of August of each school year, the board of education of any school district or the governing authority of any chartered nonpublic school may adopt a plan to require students to access and complete classroom lessons posted on the district’s or nonpublic school’s web portal or web site in order tomake up hours in that school year on which it is necessary to close schools for disease epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, law enforcement emergencies, inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school’s operation, damage to a school building, or other temporary circumstances due to utility failure rendering the school building unfit for school use. Naturally, the law also recognizes “blizzard bags,” which are paper copies of the online lessons. However, the key is the adoption of the plan by August 1. As you make plans for next month’s Board meeting, you should include a resolution of adoption on the July Board agenda if you intend for your district to use this option. A sample resolution/plan is available here. There is no longer a requirement that you file the plan with the Ohio Department of Education.