Urge Legislators to Support Public School Students by Updating the Fair School Funding Plan
The Fair School Funding Plan
The Fair School Funding Plan represents years of work by legislators, local school leaders, and education finance experts to provide a predictable, student-centered formula based upon how much it costs to educate a child and how much a local community cand afford to contribute toward these costs. The funding plan was intended to be fully implemented over six years, with several important components of the formula being updated over time.
The bipartisan funding plan was adopted in HB 110 from the 134th General Assembly (2021-2022) and was updated in years 3 and 4 in Ohio’s last budget bill (HB 33 – 135th General Assembly, 2023-2024).
House Bill 96, State Operating Budget for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027
The Executive Budget proposal contained in House Bill 96 continues the phase-in (years 5 and 6) of the Fair School Funding Plan. However, the proposal continues to use base cost components from Fiscal Year (FY) 22 data while the property and income values (i.e. local capacity) are based on more current data. This results in a shift of support to fund public schools with the local share of funding education increasing and the state responsibility decreasing.
Under the proposal, public school district formula funding decreases over the biennium by approximately $103 million when compared to FY 25 funding. Approximately 343 school districts (56%) experience a decrease in state formula funding from FY 25 to FY 26 and 360 districts (59%) in state formula funding from FY 26 to FY 27.
Talking Points
- Full implementation and updates to the funding plan will ensure that all children will be given the resources and supports needed to succeed in our schools.
- The Fair School Funding Plan funds schools more fairly by considering the different needs in Ohio’s small towns, large suburbs, big cities, and rural communities.
- The Fair School Funding Plan is a bipartisan plan supported by educators, parents, school administrators, and local leaders across Ohio.
- School districts need to budget for current prices. For example, your grocery or utilities bills are not the same as they were three years ago, and neither are school expenses.
- Without updating the base cost inputs, the funding formula does not keep up with the cost of educating students and shifts the burden of funding schools back to the local communities. This means our schools will be forced to continue over-relying on local tax levies, which are becoming harder to pass amid rising costs and property values.
- Under the proposal, the state’s responsibility to support public education drastically decreases to 32.3%. By comparison, in 1995 during the DeRolph Supreme Court Cases, which deemed the state funding system for public education at the time unconstitutional, the state share was 42%.
Urge Legislators to Support Public School Students!
Oppose SB 295 and Protect Our Public Schools
SB 295 represents an overreach that threatens public education and educators’ rights. This bill expands criteria for labeling schools as underperforming, forcing districts to take drastic actions such as closing schools, transferring control to private operators, or replacing staff—while overriding collective bargaining law and local collective bargaining agreements.
SB295 is a continuation of failed policies that punish schools without addressing root issues like poverty, underfunded mental health resources, and educator shortages. SB 295 ignores the real reforms we need to close opportunity gaps and instead repeats mistakes like HB 70 and academic distress commissions.
Even more concerning, legislators may attempt to pass this bill with limited public testimony during the final weeks of lame duck, violating normal order and silencing Ohioans.
We must act now. Contact your legislators and urge them to oppose SB 295. Let’s stand together for solutions that invest in our schools and empower educators to provide every child with the quality education they deserve.
Ohio Senate reintroduced as Senate Bill 1
Ohio Senate reintroduced as Senate Bill 1
Despite strong opposition to Senate Bill (SB) 83 during the 135th General Assembly, the Ohio Senate reintroduced it as SB 1, sponsored by Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirkland). The bill is expected to be on the fast track for passage clearing both chambers as early as the end of February.
Notably, SB 1 restores the faculty strike ban for full-time faculty members from the original version of SB 83 and contains the previous collective bargaining restrictions. This includes prohibiting bargaining regarding faculty evaluations, tenure, and retrenchment (the process for reduction of force).
SB 1 represents the largest restriction collective bargaining rights since Senate Bill 5 in 2011.
The bill also contains language that micromanages higher education classrooms and threatens academic freedom on Ohio’s public university and college campuses. OEA believes that these policies are best developed locally by faculty and administration determining systems that work best for their campuses, not top-down state mandates.
The Ohio Senate passed SB 1 on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, despite the thousands of Ohioans that called, emailed, and provided testimony against the bill. The bill now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for its consideration.
Email your State Representative and urge them to oppose Senate Bill 1!