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(136th General Assembly)
(Substitute
House Bill Number 57)
AN
ACT
To amend section 3313.6022 and
to enact sections 3313.7119, 3313.7120, 3314.148, 3326.62, and
3328.40 of the Revised Code regarding school policies on the
administration of overdose reversal drugs and limits on student
attendance in released time courses in religious instruction.
Be
it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
Section
1.
That
section
3313.6022 be amended and
sections
3313.7119
,
3313.7120
,
3314.148, 3326.62, and 3328.40 of the Revised Code be enacted to read
as follows:
Sec.
3313.6022.
(A)
As used in this section, "released time" means a period of
time during which a student is excused from school to attend a course
in religious instruction conducted by a private entity off school
district property.
(B)
A school district board of education shall adopt a policy that
authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released
time course in religious instruction for at least one period per
week, provided that each of the following applies:
(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.
(6)
The student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork.
While
in attendance in a released time course in religious instruction, a
student shall not be considered absent from school. No student may be
released from a core curriculum subject course to attend a religious
instruction course.
(C)
A school district board of education shall 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.
(D)
A policy adopted under division (B) of this section shall not
prohibit students from bringing external educational and program
materials into school.
(E)
A
Unless
otherwise specified in a school district's
policy
adopted under division (B) of this section
,
a student
shall not
exceed
be
excused from school to attend a released time course in religious
instruction for longer than
either
of the following:
(1)
For students in an elementary or middle school, two periods in total
per week;
(2)
For students in high school, the amount of time that is equivalent to
attending two units of high school credit per week.
(F)
A policy adopted under division (B) of this section may authorize
high school students to earn up to two units of high school credit
for the completion of a released time course in religious
instruction. In determining whether to award credit for completion of
such a course, the board shall evaluate the course based on purely
secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to
evaluate similar nonpublic high school courses for purposes of
determining whether to award credit for such courses to a student
transferring from a nonpublic high school to a public high school.
However, there shall be no criteria requiring that released time
courses be completed only at a nonpublic school. The decision to
award credit for a released time course of religious instruction
shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious
content or denominational affiliation.
For
purposes of this division, secular criteria may include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(1)
The number of hours of classroom instruction time;
(2)
A review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and
materials used;
(3)
The methods of assessment used in the course;
(4)
The qualifications of the course instructor, which shall be similar
to the qualifications of other teachers within the district.
Notwithstanding
division (C)(8) of section 3313.603 of the Revised Code, high school
credit awarded to a student for a released time course in religious
instruction may substitute for the same amount of credit in subjects
listed in that division.
(G)
A school district, member of a school district board of education, or
school district employee is not liable in damages in a civil action
for injury allegedly arising during a student's transportation to or
from a place of instruction when private transportation is used under
a released time policy adopted under this section. This division does
not eliminate, limit, or reduce any other immunity or defense that a
school district, member of a school district board of education, or
school district employee may be entitled to under Chapter 2744. or
any other provision of the Revised Code or under the common law of
this state.
Sec.
3313.7119.
(A)
As used in this section, "overdose reversal drug" has the
same meaning as in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)
A city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district
that elects under section 3715.50 of the Revised Code to obtain and
maintain a supply of an overdose reversal drug for use in an
emergency situation shall require the district's board of education
to adopt and implement a policy regarding the supply's maintenance
and drug's use at each school operated by the district. A policy
adopted under this section shall include all of the following:
(1)
A requirement that each school conform to the requirements of
division (C)(1) of section 3715.50 of the Revised Code;
(2)
The amount of the drug's supply to be maintained at each school;
(3)
A requirement that each school's supply be stored in a secure
location that is easily accessible to school employees or
contractors;
(4)
A description of any training regarding the supply's maintenance and
drug's use that school employees or contractors may be required to
complete.
(C)
A school district board of education may accept donations of money
from any person or entity to purchase overdose reversal drugs. A
board shall use the donations only for that purpose and shall track
the expenditure of donated funds.
(D)
As soon as practicable after using an overdose reversal drug in an
emergency situation, the superintendent of a district described in
this section shall report its use to the district board of education
and the parent or guardian of the student to whom the drug was
administered. The superintendent of a district described in this
section shall annually report the district's use of overdose reversal
drugs in emergency situations to the department of education and
workforce.
(E)
If the superintendent of a district described in this section
determines that a persistent pattern of overdoses at the district's
schools has emerged, the superintendent shall notify the parent or
guardian of each student enrolled in the district.
(F)
Not later than August 1, 2026, the department of education and
workforce, in consultation with the department of health, shall
develop a model policy regarding the maintenance and use of a supply
of overdose reversal drugs. A school district board of education may
adopt the department's model policy to fulfill the requirements of
this section.
Sec.
3313.7120.
(A)
A chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school that elects under
section 3715.50 of the Revised Code to obtain and maintain a supply
of an overdose reversal drug for use in an emergency situation shall
comply with all provisions of section 3313.7119 of the Revised Code
as if it were a school district.
(B)
A chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school may accept donations of
money from any person or entity to purchase overdose reversal drugs.
A school shall use the donations only for that purpose and shall
track the expenditure of donated funds.
Sec.
3314.148.
(A)
A community school established under this chapter that elects under
section 3715.50 of the Revised Code to obtain and maintain a supply
of an overdose reversal drug for use in an emergency situation shall
comply with all provisions of section 3313.7119 of the Revised Code
as if it were a school district.
(B)
A community school may accept donations of money from any person or
entity to purchase overdose reversal drugs. A school shall use the
donations only for that purpose and shall track the expenditure of
donated funds.
Sec.
3326.62.
(A)
A STEM school established under this chapter that elects under
section 3715.50 of the Revised Code to obtain and maintain a supply
of an overdose reversal drug for use in an emergency situation shall
comply with all provisions of section 3313.7119 of the Revised Code
as if it were a school district.
(B)
A STEM school may accept donations of money from any person or entity
to purchase overdose reversal drugs. A school shall use the donations
only for that purpose and shall track the expenditure of donated
funds.
Sec.
3328.40.
(A)
A college-preparatory boarding school established under this chapter
that elects under section 3715.50 of the Revised Code to obtain and
maintain a supply of an overdose reversal drug for use in an
emergency situation shall comply with all provisions of section
3313.7119 of the Revised Code as if it were a school district.
(B)
A college-preparatory boarding school may accept donations of money
from any person or entity to purchase overdose reversal drugs. A
school shall use the donations only for that purpose and shall track
the expenditure of donated funds.
Section
2.
That
existing section 3313.6022 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section
3.
No
court shall award monetary damages for a claim brought under or
otherwise arising out of section 3313.6022 of the Revised Code for
alleged violations occurring from September 30, 2025, to the
effective date of this section. This provision shall not be construed
as creating a private right of action.
Speaker
___________________ of the House of Representatives.
President
___________________ of the Senate.
Passed
________________________, 20____
Approved
________________________, 20____
Governor.
The section numbering of law
of a general and permanent nature is complete and in conformity with
the Revised Code.
Director, Legislative
Service Commission.
Filed
in the office of the Secretary of State at Columbus, Ohio, on the
____ day of ___________, A. D. 20____.
Secretary of State.
File
No. _________ Effective Date ___________________