Ohio Republicans hellbent on turning state's public education system into political rubber stamp
Dishonest and dangerous. No other way to describe Matt Huffman’s fever dream to wrest control of educational policymaking from educators at the Ohio Department of Education and the state school board. The Ohio Senate president is hellbent on turning the state’s independent public education system into a political entity that he and other Republican lawmakers can align with their anti-public school agenda. Period.
The legislative vehicle to execute Huffman’s goal is Senate Bill 1, which was passed and sent to the Ohio House last week. The measure puts the governor in charge of the ODE and downgrades the duties of the education board to busy work. Apparently, it’s not enough for GOP autocrats in the Statehouse that the Republican governor already controls eight out of 19 board members that he appoints.
Huffman wants tight partisan management of all education matters in the state with compliant leadership in the executive branch subject to confirmation and coercion by Senate Republicans. Then Katy bar the door for the beginning of the end of Ohio’s constitutional system of common schools. Senate Bill 1 is a blatant power grab to privatize public education in Ohio to such a degree that public schools cease to exist.
Hyperbole? Not when the Lima Republican driving the take-over of ODE and diminishment of a duly elected statewide board is also driving passage of universal school vouchers destined to deplete funding and resources for public education. The GOP ploy to inject partisanship and politics into Ohio’s nonpartisan public school system has been framed as “historic” reform by Huffman to “improve transparency, accountability and outcomes for our children.”
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/03/07/ohio-republicans-hellbent-on-turning-states-public-education-system-into-political-rubber-stamp/