Ohio Substitute House Bill (“HB”) 8, which was passed by the Legislature in its final lame duck session on December 18, 2024, and signed by Governor DeWine on January 8, 2025, will become effective 90 days from the Governor’s signature in early April. HB 8 addresses released time for religious instruction and creates a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” both of which carry a variety of Board policy and procedural implications for public schools.
Released Time for Religious Instruction (“RTRI”)
HB 8 revises existing RTRI language set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section (“RC”) 3313.6022 addressing standards related to board of education RTRI policies. The HB 8 language requires all boards of education to adopt a policy authorizing a student to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction, providing that six (6) factors are met. This is a departure from previously enacted language that provided for the option, but did not require adoption of such policy language. The requirements for attendance, which have not changed, include the following: (1) the student’s parent or guardian gives written consent; (2) the sponsoring entity maintains attendance records and makes them available to the school district the student attends; (3) transportation to and from the place of instruction, including transportation for students with disabilities, is the complete responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent, guardian, or student; (4) the sponsoring entity makes provisions for and assumes liability for the student; (5) no public funds are expended and no public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction; and (6) the student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork. Additionally, existing statutory language requires that any student attending such religious instruction not be considered absent from school and provides that no student may be released from a core curriculum subject course to attend a religious instruction course.
The HB 8 revisions to RC 3313.6022 also include a requirement that a school district board of education collaborate with a sponsoring entity of a released time course in religious instruction to identify a time to offer the course during the school day. HB 8 also establishes RC 3313.6030, permitting such policies to include a requirement for criminal records checks of any instructor or volunteer of a private sponsoring entity that provides a released time course in religious instruction to the board’s students under that policy. If a board of education elects to require such criminal records checks, the board must determine the manner in which criminal records checks of instructors and volunteers of the private entity are conducted.
As a result, boards of education will need to either adopt or revise RTRI policies and procedures to address these standards prior to the bill’s effective date, including to designate core curriculum subject courses and address any criminal records checks the board of education deems required. Boards also will need to consider logistical and practical matters related to permitting students to leave and return from RTRI courses during the school day and plan for how to best collaborate with any sponsoring entities.
“Parents’ Bill of Rights”
HB 8 also establishes the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” set forth in new statute, RC 3313.473, requiring adoption of a variety of board of education policies and procedures and emphasizing that parents have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of their children. In addition to city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school districts, other provisions addressed in HB 8 require that community schools and STEM schools also comply with these new requirements.
Definitions – HB 8 defines a number of terms for purposes of the provisions set forth in RC 3313.473, which, among others, include: “biological sex;” “sexuality content;” “student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being;” and “ageappropriate” and “developmentally appropriate” content. It will be important to ensure that administrators and staff understand these definitions in both developing policy language for Board adoption, and in implementing policy language once it’s in place.
“Sexuality content” is defined as “any oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology provided in a classroom setting,” but does not include (1) instruction or presentations in sexually transmitted infection education, child sexual abuse prevention, and sexual violence prevention education required by state law; (2) instruction or presentations in sexually transmitted infection education emphasizing abstinence provided under state law; or (3) incidental references to sexual concepts or gender ideology occurring outside of formal instruction or presentations on such topics, including references made during class participation and in schoolwork.
“Student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being” is defined as including, “at a minimum, (1) a student’s academic performance; (2) any significant sickness or physical injury, or any physical injury, or any psychological trauma suffered by a student; (3) any harassment, intimidation, or bullying as defined by RC 3313.666 by or against a student in violation of school district policy; (4) any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student’s biological sex; (5) exhibition of suicidal ideation or persistent symptoms of depression, or severe anxiety, or other mental health issues.”
Board of Education Policy – HB 8 requires that, no later than July 1, 2025, boards of education develop and adopt a policy to promote parental involvement in the public school system. Policies adopted under these provisions are required to be made publicly available and posted prominently on districts’ publicly accessible websites.
It is important to ensure that the board-adopted policy includes all requisite provisions, and that the district has a plan to implement the language and communicate the new requirements to all key stakeholders. The policy must require a school district to do all of the following:
- Ensure any sexuality content is age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for the age of the student receiving the instruction on behalf of the district, regardless of the student’s age or grade level. The policy also must:
- Provide parents the opportunity to review any instructional material that includes sexuality content before the instruction is provided on behalf of the district.
- Allow for a student to be excused from any such instruction upon the parent’s request and instead be permitted to participate in an alternative assignment.
- Promptly notify the parent of any substantial changes in the student’s services, including counseling services, or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student. The policy also must:
- Specify the manner in which parents will receive this notification.
- Specify that notice to parents shall reinforce the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children, and that the school district shall not inhibit parental access to the student’s education and health records maintained by the school.
- Prohibit district personnel from directly or indirectly encouraging a student to withhold information concerning the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or change in related services or monitoring from a parent.
- The policy also must prohibit a district employee from discouraging or prohibiting parental notification of and involvement in decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.
- Adopt a procedure for obtaining parent authorization prior to providing any type of healthcare service to the student, including physical, mental, and behavioral healthcare services, under which the parent has the ability to choose whether or not to authorize the district to provide any such healthcare services to the student. Parental consent to healthcare services does not waive parental right to access the student’s educational or health records or to be notified of changes to the student’s services or monitoring. This procedure also must provide for:
- Required annual notice to parents at the beginning of the school year of each healthcare service offered at or facilitated in cooperation with the student’s school and the parent’s option to withhold consent or decline any specified service.
- Required notice to the parent of whether the service is required to be provided by the school district under state law, or if other options for a student to access the service exist, prior to providing the healthcare service to the student. However, this notice requirement may be satisfied by an annual notice to parents at the beginning of the school year.
- Note: These requirements do not apply to emergency situations, first aid, other unanticipated minor healthcare services, or healthcare services provided under a student’s IEP or 504 Plan.
- Permit a parent to file a written concern with a school principal or assistant principal regarding any topic addressed in RC 3313.473, and establish in policy, a process for the principal or assistant principal to resolve such concerns within thirty (30) days after receipt.
- Notify the parents of their right to file a written concern.
- Allow parents to appeal the principal/assistant principal’s decision to the Superintendent, requiring the Superintendent/designee to conduct a hearing on the principal/assistant principal’s decision, resulting in the Superintendent deciding whether to affirm the decision based on findings of fact of the hearing.
- If the Superintendent does not affirm the principal/assistant principal’s decision, the Superintendent determines a new resolution to the parent’s concern.
- Allow parents to appeal the Superintendent’s decision to the Board, which shall review the Superintendent’s decision and, if the Board determines necessary, hold a hearing on the Superintendent’s decision. Based on that hearing, the Board either must affirm the Superintendent’s decision or determine a new resolution to the parent’s concern.
- Note: This process shall not prevent a parent from contacting a member of the board of education regarding parent concerns with the operation of a school under supervision of that Board.
Miscellaneous Provisions – HB 8 also prohibits school districts or third parties acting on behalf of school districts from providing instruction that includes sexuality content to students in kindergarten through third grade. As a result, districts will need to evaluate curriculum to ensure that no such instruction is provided to K-3 students.
HB 8 further emphasizes that the language is not meant to limit parent rights under state law in any way, and includes a list of items for which the language is not intended to require disclosure or prevent or limit compliance. More specifically, HB 8 provides that the language does not:
- Require disclosure or activity in violation of HIPAA, protected health information under RC Chapter 3798, certain privileged communications and outpatient services for minors, FERPA, and certain state Constitutional and statutory rights of victims of crime.
- Require disclosure or activity in violation of any court order.
- Require disclosure or activity in violation of a specific request for nondisclosure made pursuant to a criminal investigation or grand jury subpoena in which the student is the victim and the parent is the alleged perpetrator.
- Prohibit or prevent mandatory reporting under RC 2151.421.
- Prohibit or limit career or academic mentoring and counseling between teachers and students in the regular course of the school day.
While it is likely that we will see litigation related to the bill, districts will need to begin preparing now to ensure compliance once HB 8 becomes effective. Consulting with board counsel is recommended to ensure that all policies and practices comply with district legal obligations, any required notices are properly prepared and issued, and all administrators and staff members are properly trained to comply with and implement these new requirements.
For Further Information: Please feel free to reach out to any of the attorneys in Weston Hurd’s Education Law Group with any questions regarding these standards, related contract review, and/or required notices.
