A school expulsions proposal, with several last-second amendments, will be among the last rush of bills lawmakers send to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine this legislative session.
Senators voted House Bill 206 out of the Education committee by a 5-2 vote Wednesday morning. Before that, though, they amended it several times, including to require that schools hand demographic expulsions data over to the Department of Education and Workforce. Another amendment appropriated $4 million to the department to fight various school voucher lawsuits.
The Senate voted 23-7 on the floor Wednesday. Several hours later, the House voted 61-25 to concur with the changes the Senate made.
HB 206 allows school districts to expand their expulsion polices to cases that might not have traditionally qualified for permanent expulsion.
Under it, students who face expulsions for “imminent and severe endangerment,” which could go as long as 180 days, would have to undergo a psychological assessment prior to being allowed back to school. Assessment standards are to be set by schools in consultation with parents and other parties.
The bill defines imminent and severe endangerment in a few ways: bringing a gun or knife to school or extracurriculars, doing something that is a “criminal offense when committed by an adult,” making a bomb threat, or making a verbal or written threat—via a hit list, manifesto, or on social media.
Wednesday’s committee vote came just two days after a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, that left one teacher and one student dead and several more students injured, according to NPR.
Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana) brought the bill forward, though it received bipartisan backing on the House floor earlier in December, getting 10 votes from House Democrats.
“Every time there’s a school tragedy, people are out there saying, ‘Well, why didn't you see the warning signs?’ As the law stands now, we can see the warning signs and still not do anything about it,” Click said in an interview Tuesday.
Opponents, however, voiced concern with the potential for disproportionate effects, particularly on minority students. Black students face a significantly higher percentage of suspensions and expulsions as punishments, according to Ohio Domestic Violence Network data.
“The bill doesn’t seem to have enough safeguards to address that issue and that concern,” Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said.
In committee hearings, it faced similar criticism from the ACLU of Ohio and Ohio Poverty Law Center, among other opponents. Some local school districts testified as proponents—arguing it would provide them power to extend expulsions when they see fit.
