Report: Ohio College Credit Program Covers Direct Costs

A new report shows Ohio’s College Credit Plus Program is covering the direct costs for colleges and universities offering courses to high school students around the state.

The report from Auditor Keith Faber also said colleges and universities that enroll more Ohio middle and high school students tend to be better off financially. It also said the program could benefit a college’s long-term financial health as traditional student enrollment declines.

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Report: Ohio Homelessness Rising

Homeless Person

Higher rents and a reduction in pandemic assistance caused a spike in homelessness in Ohio over the past year, according to a group advocating for more affordable housing around the state.

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio pointed to U.S. Department of House and Urban Development data that showed more than 11,000 Ohioans homeless on one January night in 2023. That number was a 6.9% increase from the previous year’s count.

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H2Ohio Water Conservation Program Now Will Include Large Rivers

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to include the health of the state’s large rivers in the ongoing H2Ohio program aimed at water efforts.

Since 2019, H2Ohio has predominantly worked on water infrastructure in low-income areas, wetland creation and reducing algal blooms. Now the program will expand to research PFAS contamination, remove eroding dams, conserve forest buffers and more.

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Bill Would Curb Court Power to Suspend Driver’s Licenses

Blessing Ingram

For nearly a year, Ohio lawmakers have been trying to stop the state from using driver’s license suspension as a punishment for things unrelated to driving.

The idea has support from Republicans, Democrats and countless other professional, policy and social groups. Still, despite four hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it has yet to move to a full vote in the Senate.

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Former U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs Endorses Kevin Coughlin’s Bid for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District

Former Ohio U.S. Representative Bob Gibbs endorsed Kevin Coughlin’s campaign for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District this week.

“I served with Kevin Coughlin in the Ohio Senate. He is a proven, dependable conservative who can be counted on in Congress to stand up for taxpayers. Kevin knows how to get things done and will quickly become an effective voice for the 13th District,” Gibbs said in a statement.

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Ohio Spending $150 Million to Develop Affordable Housing

The state of Ohio wants local governments to buy, rehabilitate, or build residential properties to improve affordable access.

The state will give local landbanks $100 million over the next 16 months to create housing for income-eligible Ohioans. It is also establishing another $50 million in nonrefundable tax credits to landbanks and developers for rehabs and new construction when the property is sold.

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U.S. Senator JD Vance Pens Letter to Irish Ambassador Regarding ‘Authoritarian,’ Anti-Free Speech Legislation

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason on Tuesday expressing his concern over a bill in the Irish parliament.

The bill, introduced last year, would combat “hate speech” by amending Irish law “relating to the prohibition of incitement to violence or hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of certain characteristics (referred to as protected characteristics) of the person or the group of persons.”

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Ohio’s Kent State University Rebrands DEI Efforts as Lawmakers Debate Bill to Outlaw It

Kent State University has embedded DEI efforts throughout its academics and programming in recent years, creating a new Division of People, Culture and Belonging and adding administrators, faculty, and projects centered around the ideology, a College Fix analysis found.

The new division, established in September, merged the Human Resources department and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices. The rebranding came as Buckeye State lawmakers considered legislation to ban mandatory DEI in higher education.

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Ohio Bill to Eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training at Colleges Advances

Despite objections from teacher organizations, the NAACP, the ACLU, physicians and social workers, an Ohio House committee passed a bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion training at Ohio colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 83, which has passed the Senate and heads to a full House vote after an 8-7 vote Wednesday in the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, also bans what it calls “controversial beliefs or policies,” including issues like climate change, electoral politics, foreign policy, immigration policy, marriage or abortion.”

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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Ensure Universities Comply with the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH)  introduced a bill to ensure colleges and universities comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

In June, SCOTUS determined that affirmative action violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, overruling a 2003 opinion that race could be a determining factor in the college admissions process.

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Major Publisher, Education Association Sue Iowa to Keep Sexually Explicit Books on School Shelves

Students in Library

Penguin Random House, authors and teachers with the Iowa State Education Association filed a lawsuit against Iowa State Board of Education officials on Thursday, claiming that a law banning pornographic books in schools is unconstitutional, according to court documents.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the law, SF496, in May, which bars books discussing gender identity in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms and requires educators to keep parents informed if their child expresses a desire to change their gender identity, according to the Associated Press. The plaintiffs, however, argued in the lawsuit that the ban is “unconstitutionally vague.”

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Ohio Detransitioner: Gender-Affirming Care a ‘Medical Scandal’

Morgan Keller

Morgan Keller was a gender-dysphoric female when she was sold a bill of goods wholly different than what she received when she was given synthetic testosterone treatment and weeks later had both of her breasts carved off her chest.

Keller shared her story at the Ohio Statehouse talking in support of Ohio House Bill 68 (HB 68) – legislation aimed at both protecting women’s sports from males and barring drugs and surgeries for minors who begin transitioning to a sex opposite that of their birth.

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Ohio House Moves Closer to Pushing Aside Federal Gun Laws

Ohio gun owners moved a step closer to guarantees that federal laws could not be used to take away those guns.

The Ohio House Government Oversight Committee recently advanced the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which would stop Ohio law enforcement agencies from enforcing what the act calls unconstitutional federal gun control laws, executive orders or agency rule interpretations.

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J.D. Vance Wants Investigation After DEI Company Founder Pens ‘Decentering Whiteness’ Article

The state of Ohio’s consultant for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is facing a state investigation after publishing a Forbes column on “decentering whiteness.”

Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance announced he would pursue an investigation into BWG Business Solutions, which was founded and headed by Janice Gassam Asare, who wrote the Forbes article.

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Boot Camps Put Ohio Teachers in Real-World Businesses

Ohio plans to spend $500,000 in taxpayer funds to reimburse colleges and universities across the state for K-12 teacher continuing education programs called “Teacher Bootcamps.”

The program puts teachers in local businesses to expose them to in-demand career skills specific communities need. According to Gov. Mike DeWine, that will help teachers better prepare students for a career after graduation.

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Ohio Lawmakers Push Free Speech in K-12 Schools

A plan Ohio lawmakers say would guarantee free speech for students and staff at the state’s public K-12 schools is now in the hands of the Senate.

Specifically, the legislation requires school districts, community schools and STEM schools to have a policy against using statements of commitment to or soliciting or requiring specified individuals to affirmatively ascribe to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals or principles concerning political movements or ideology.

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Emerson Poll: Trump Up in Ohio, Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown Leads All GOP Challengers

Emerson College Polling and WJW-TV Fox 8 Cleveland published results of a poll on Thursday revealing how likely voters in Ohio would vote in the 2024 presidential and Senate race.

In the 2024 presidential election, the poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 12-point lead (50 percent-38 percent) over incumbent President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup in the Buckeye State while 12 percent of voters remain undecided.

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Ohioans Could Be Allowed to Carry Weapons in Buildings with Courts

Local governments in Ohio could soon expand concealed carry laws and allow citizens to carry guns in courtrooms.

House Bill 272, which recently had its fourth hearing before the House Government Oversight Committee but has yet to be voted on, would allow local governments to create an exception to carry a deadline weapon into a building that contains a courtroom when court is not in session.

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Bill May Force Ohio Contractors to Verify Immigration Status

Contractors and larger employers in Ohio could soon be required to verify the immigration status of employers based on a proposed new law.

Reps. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, and D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, recently introduced legislation that would make contractors and subcontractors verify the immigration status of employees to work on public works construction projects.

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First Proposal Made for Ohio Marijuana Tax Revenue

An Ohio lawmaker already has plans for an expected boost to state revenues following voter approval of recreational marijuana.

State Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, plans a Tuesday news conference to outline her proposed legislation that would use $80 million of marijuana tax money over the next two years as a permanent funding source for training the state’s law enforcement officers.

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Senators JD Vance and Marco Rubio Send Letter to U.S. Census Bureau About Its Plan of Adding Gender, Sexuality Questions for Those Ages 15 and Up

The U.S. Census Bureau is under fire for embracing progressive ideology around gender and sexuality and pushing for taxpayer dollars to fund it.

U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and JD Vance, R-Ohio, sent a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos calling on him to rescind its plan to incorporate a gender identity and sexuality questions to the American Community Survey, which goes to more than 3.5 million Americans each year.

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