In 1953, Ohioans voted to remove the Ohio Department of Education from the Governor, because it had become too political, and made the State Board of Education of Ohio a fourth branch of government. 

In 2022, thousands of Ohioans cast votes to elect new State School Board members who had campaigned on dedicating the board to educational policy pursuits, rather than current culture war issues.

Soon after the 2022 election, a bill was introduced by the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee, supported by Gov. DeWine, to take over the Ohio Department of Education and the State Board of Education, thereby nullifying several thousand votes.

The state takeover bill did not pass in the Ohio Legislature, though it was unconstitutionally included in the FY 2024-2025 state budget.

In a last-minute Education Takeover Rider to the biennial budget bill, the General Assembly stripped the State School Board, the Ohio Department of Education, and the State Superintendent of Education of their core powers.

Most of those core powers are slated to be transferred to a new Department of Education and Workforce under the control of political appointees of Gov. Mike DeWine.

Ohio is well-served by its current system, which includes elected representatives in direct oversight of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Ohio Department of Education, ensuring that the will of the public is well represented.

We support the lawsuit filed against Gov. Mike DeWine’s education takeover and ask the court to void the unconstitutional State of Ohio Education Takeover from the FY 2024-2025 state budget.