A bill that passed the Ohio Senate and is now in the House aims to revamp the Ohio Board of Education by removing its superintendent and creating a director who is appointed by the state governor, according to The Dayton Daily News.
The current governor is Mike DeWine, a Republican. He handily won re-election Nov. 8 in a lopsided 62% win over Democrat Nan Whaley, a former Dayton mayor.
Linda Harvey of Mission: America tells AFN says the legislation sounds good – at least at first glance.
“But the problem is, ultimately,” she says, “it really strips away any public voice that would be given in education by having no elected or appointed members who represent the public.”
According to the Dayton Daily story, the state board would continue to exist, because the state constitution requires it, but its authority would shrink to a few oversight roles. The state superintendent would serve as an advisor to the governor-appointed director.
Harvey says there is concern that a future Ohio governor, a left-wing progressive, could use the executive authority to punish the state’s homeschooling families to please the teachers unions.
“You may,” she warns, “as a homeschooling family have to face a while range of new requirements.”
