WHEREAS, in 2022, thousands of Ohioans cast votes to elect new state school board members who had campaigned on dedicating the board to educational policy pursuits, rather than current culture war issues;
WHEREAS, soon after the 2022 election, a bill was introduced by the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee, supported by Gov. DeWine, to take over the Ohio Department of Education and the State Board of Education, thereby nullifying several thousand votes; and
WHEREAS, the state takeover bill did not pass in the Ohio Legislature, though it was unconstitutionally included in the FY 2024-2025 state budget; and
WHEREAS, in a last-minute Education Takeover Rider to the biennial budget bill, the General Assembly stripped the State School Board, the Ohio Department of Education, and the State Superintendent of Education of their core powers; and
WHEREAS, most of those core powers are slated to be transferred to a new Department of Education and Workforce under the control of political appointees of Gov. Mike DeWine; and
WHEREAS, Ohio’s current system includes elected representatives in direct oversight of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Ohio Department of Education, ensuring that the will of the public is well-represented.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Public Education Partners of Ohio supports the lawsuit filed against Gov. Mike DeWine’s education takeover and asks the court to void the unconstitutional State of Ohio Education Takeover from the FY 2024-2025 state budget.
Please sign and share this petition to show your support for the State School Board and the Ohio Department of Education.
