Background
House Bill 59 (HB 59) is the legislation for Ohio’s state budget for the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years. It represents Gov. John Kasich’s proposed state budget for the next two years.
It was introduced on Feb. 12, 2013.
The legislation is more than 4,000 pages long and includes a host of changes affecting all areas of state government. In terms of education, the legislation lays out the details of Kasich’s new, proposed funding plan for Ohio schools and of a proposed expansion of private-school vouchers.
HB 59 also includes big changes like requiring low-performing schools to turn some state money over to outside providers to educate students, expanding the state’s existing parent trigger law that allows parents vote to transform low-performing schools and giving charter schools money to pay for school buildings.
It also includes smaller changes like eliminating elected boards for regional educational service centers, making it easier for charter schools to apply for state and federal grants and adjusting school financial reporting requirements.
