Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
                                                   Office of Research                            Legislative Budget
         www.lsc.ohio.gov                            and Drafting                                      Office
                             S.B. 259                                   Bill Analysis
                  135th   General Assembly
                                                                        Click here for S.B. 259’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Gavarone
Effective date:
Jessica Sutton, LSC Fellow
                                                             SUMMARY
                     Permits a student subjected to certain qualifying offenses to participate in
                          interscholastic athletics at a different school.
                     Prohibits a district or school, interscholastic conference, or organization that regulates
                          interscholastic conferences or events from imposing extra fees, rules, penalties, or
                          restrictions on students who participate in interscholastic athletics at a different school
                          under the bill.
                                                    DETAILED ANALYSIS
Participation in interscholastic athletics at a different school
        Under the bill, a school district superintendent or chief administrative officer of a school
may permit a home-educated student or a student enrolled in a different school district,
community school, STEM school, chartered nonpublic school, or nonchartered nonpublic school
to participate in interscholastic athletics at one of the superintendent or chief administrative
officer’s schools if the student was subject to any of the following by a school official,
employee, volunteer, or another student:
                    1. Harassment, intimidation, or bullying;1
                    2. An offense of violence;2
                    3. A violation of state importuning law;3
1                 R.C. 3313.666, not in the bill.
2                 R.C. 2901.01, not in the bill.
3                 R.C. 2907.07, not in the bill.
                                                                                                                May 20, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting                 LSC                           Legislative Budget Office
      4. An attempt to commit an offense of violence or to violate state importuning law;
      5. Conduct by a school official, employee, or volunteer that violates that Licensure Code of
         Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators developed by the State Board of Education. See
         the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators (PDF), which is available
         on the State Board of Education website: sboe.ohio.gov.4
       To be a qualifying offense under the bill, the individual who was alleged to commit an
offense of violence, violation of the importuning law, or an attempt to do either, must have also
been charged with, indicted for, convicted of, or pled guilty to committing the offense or, if the
offender is another student, has been alleged to be or is adjudicated a delinquent child for
committing the offense.
        A student who is not home educated must be of the appropriate age and grade level, as
determined by the superintendent of the district or the chief administrative officer of the
qualifying school, to participate in interscholastic athletics at a different school under the bill.
The student must also fulfill the same nonacademic and financial requirements as any other
participant.5 A home-educated student must fulfill the requirements for participation in
interscholastic athletics prescribed in continuing law.6
Prohibitions for entities that oversee interscholastic athletics
       Districts and schools are prohibited from imposing additional rules or fees on a student
who qualifies to participate in interscholastic athletics under the bill than the rules or fees
applied to other students who are participating in the same activity.7
       The bill also prohibits each school district, interscholastic conference, or organization
that regulates interscholastic conferences or events (such as the Ohio High School Athletics
Association) from doing either of the following:
      1. Requiring a student who is eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics under the
         bill to meet eligibility requirements that conflict with those requirements;
      2. Penalizing or restricting the eligibility to participate in interscholastic athletics of a
         student who, during a school year, ceases to participate in interscholastic athletics at
         one district or school and then begins to participate in interscholastic athletics at a
         different district or school under the bill.8
4   R.C. 3313.5313(B) and (C).
5   R.C. 3313.5313(D).
6   R.C. 3313.5313(E).
7   R.C. 3313.5313(F).
8   R.C. 3313.5313(H).
P a g e |2                                                                                    S.B. 259
                                                                                        As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting              LSC                           Legislative Budget Office
       The bill explicitly prohibits a public or private school from taking any action contrary
from the bill’s requirements.9
                                       HISTORY
                             Action                                      Date
Introduced                                              05-07-24
ANSB0259IN-135/sb
9   R.C. 3313.5313(G).
P a g e |3                                                                                 S.B. 259
                                                                                     As Introduced