OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 582 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 582’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Robinson and Piccolantonio
Effective date:
Rachel Larsen, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
 Increases the weights assigned to community and chartered nonpublic school bus riders
for the purposes of calculating a school district’s transportation funding.
 Requires the Department of Education and Workforce to reestablish a program to
distribute bus purchasing grants to school districts in FY 2025.
 Requires a school district to establish tiers of windows of time that work best for the
district in transporting eligible students to and from a chartered nonpublic school.
 Establishes a new procedure under which the Department of Education and Workforce
must monitor school district compliance with the state’s student transportation laws
and determine penalty fees for a consistent or prolonged period of noncompliance.
 Appropriates $18 million in FY 2025 for the purposes of student transportation and
$50 million in FY 2025 for the purposes of school bus purchasing grants.
 Entitles the bill the “School Busing Improvement Act.”
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Weights for community and nonpublic school riders
The bill increases the weights assigned to community and chartered nonpublic school
bus riders for the purposes of calculating a school district’s transportation funding in FY 2025
from (1) 1.5 to 2.0 for a community school student and (2) 2.0 to 3.0 for a chartered nonpublic
school student.1
1 R.C. 3317.0212
May 31, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
School bus purchasing grants
The bill requires the Department of Education and Workforce to reestablish a program
to distribute bus purchasing grants of not less than $45,000 to city, local, and exempted village
school districts in FY 2025. Previously, that program had operated in FY 2022 and FY 2025.2
School district transportation times
The bill addresses the transportation of chartered nonpublic school students by city,
local, and exempted village school districts. Specifically, it requires each district that receives
start and end times from a chartered nonpublic school under continuing law to establish tiers of
windows of time that work best for the district in transporting students who are enrolled in that
school and eligible for transportation services. The bill requires the district to notify the school
whether its start and end times fall within one of the tiers. If a school’s start and end times do
not fall within one of those tiers, the district must provide the opportunity for the school to
change its start and end times. If a school does not changes its start and end times, the district
is not required to transport the students to and from school.3
Transportation penalty fees
The bill repeals the current law procedure under which the Department of Education
and Workforce monitors each school district’s compliance with the state’s school
transportation laws and, instead, establishes a new procedure for the Department to follow.
Under the new procedure, if the Department determines a consistent or prolonged period of
noncompliance, the Department must deduct from the district’s payment for student
transportation the daily amount of that payment for the number of students that did not
receive the required transportation (including students who arrived to school late) for each day
the district is not in compliance. A district is exempt from paying a penalty fee if the
Department determines that extenuating circumstances caused the failure to comply. The bill
requires the Department to establish a process under which districts may submit information
explaining the extenuating circumstances and on how the Department may determine that
those circumstances caused the failure.4
The bill provides that these provisions do not affect the authority of a school district to
provide payment in lieu of transportation.
Appropriation
The bill appropriates $18 million in FY 2025 for the purposes of student transportation
and $50 million in FY 2025 for the purposes of school bus purchasing grants.5
2 R.C. 3317.071.
3 R.C. 3327.016; conforming in R.C. 3327.01.
4 R.C. 3327.021
5 Sections 4, 5, and 6.
P a g e |2 H.B. 582
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 05-15-24
ANHB0582IN-135/ks
P a g e |3 H.B. 582
As Introduced