COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the Ohio State Board of Education returns to square one without a resolution providing recommendations to Ohio legislators concerning the federal government’s proposed changes to Title IX, the pressure remains on as the makeup of the board shifts in January.
What You Need To Know
- The current Ohio State Board of Education mainly leans conservative
- New members set to fill seats of outgoing members will shift the board to a more-liberal makeup
- Any end-of-year efforts to pass resolutions and get them through the general assembly’s lame duck session could be hard to undo if passed in the legislature
- There may not be time to repeal or rehash resolutions the new board may want to address due to other pressing issues
Spectrum News Political Analyst Brian Calfano explained that, like any other elected body, there could be those on the State Board of Education where members know they won’t return after the start of the new year.
“There’s a push among those who end up knowing that they’re not going to be back to try to encase their views in some kind of policy that they think or they hope will live beyond their immediate term which is coming to an end at the end of the year,” said Calfano.
Calfano said he believes cultural issues like Title IX provide “an opportunity for them to put their values, their viewpoints into public policy.”
While it’s not a guarantee what makes it to the Ohio House would pass through the Ohio Senate, he said there’s still an opportunity to connect with legislators who can push the agendas forward hoping to do so.
If something could get to the governor’s desk, it becomes a way for legislators to bolster their resume to show voters come election time.
“Go back then to your constituents and say, look what I’ve been doing and to take credit for it,” Calfano said. “That’s really essentially the bottom line when it comes to trying to be elected to an office. You want to get re-elected as much as you can.”
For current and new members coming in, the idea of undoing any work by the previous panel comes to mind as the board will lean more liberal. However, Calfano said it would take more time and effort to make that happen.
“There’s a lot of other issues that come before the board they have to deal with,” he said. “And so taking up meeting time, taking up a variety of other resources to re-litigate what an outgoing set of board members had done. They really have to be motivated to do that.”
Ultimately, Calfano doesn’t believe new board members will look to spend their first days undoing anything, but it could be something to watch as time goes on.
