by Reagan Reese
Ohio Republican lawmakers are pushing to take away some of the State Board of Education’s powers and give them to the governor, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The state senate heard Senate Bill 178 on Tuesday which would take power over K-12 curriculum standards and textbooks from the state’s board of education and give it to members of the governor’s executive workforce board, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The board would be left with control over the state superintendent and teacher licensing.
The hearing comes after the Ohio Board of Education pushed off voting on a resolution which would denounce the Biden administration’s proposed changes to Title IX, which requires schools to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of gender identity, the Ohio Capital Journal reported. The board voted on Tuesday to consider the resolution in December.
“Some people might look at this and conclude, well, we’re doing this because we’re frustrated with that particular action (critical race theory) or Title IX,” Matt Huffman, Republican Senate president, told the Columbus Dispatch. “But this is 15 years of frustration for me, it’s a series of endless discussions about attempted reform, all of which is stonewalled by the bureaucracy at ODE.”
On Nov. 8, three Democratic members were elected to the State Board of Education, the Columbus Dispatch stated. The board is composed of 11 elected members and eight members selected by the governor.
“We couldn’t be more proud of taking the majority on the state school board this year,” Liz Walters, Ohio Democratic Party chair, told the outlet.
Huffman and the Ohio State Board of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Reagan Reese is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
