A Victory for Fair School Funding 20+ Years in the Making

By Colleen Craig, Edited by Maki Somosot - 07/01/2021

Ohio could be a place where all of us have the resources we need to thrive regardless of our skin color, zip code, or ability.

That’s why we organized around the People’s Budget.

Last night, Governor Mike DeWine signed the 2021-2022 state budget into law. While it does not go far enough towards our vision of an equitable and prosperous Ohio, there are hard-won bright spots in the bill to celebrate.

With your help, we succeeded in passing an equitable school funding formula for the next two years that fully and fairly funds our public schools.

Thank you to the educators, administrators, labor leaders, parents, students, and advocates who have fought tirelessly for over the last twenty five years to fix Ohio’s unconstitutional school funding model. Until now, our inequitable public education system in Ohio has undermined the dreams and potential of generations of Ohio students.

As we celebrate all the hard work and tireless organizing that went into this monumental policy win, we also know that our fight to make the Fair School Funding Plan permanent continues. This legislation is only guaranteed for the next two years. We will always be all in for Ohio’s kids.

Other bright spots include the preservation of Ohio’s child care quality rating system known as Step Up To Quality and an expansion of Medicaid eligibility for new moms from 60 days to a full year. We are happy to see this budget increase child care eligibility and affordability for working parents with incomes at or below 142% of the federal poverty level - an improvement for approximately 6,000 kids across Ohio whose families are currently ineligible for support.

We still have a lot of work left to do in order to achieve policies that reflect the needs of the people.

This new budget still favors the wealthiest of Ohioans through considerable tax cuts, even as working Ohioans pay more than their fair share to provide for their families. It hurts voters by banning public officials from partnering with important community organizations and grassroots spaces to promote voter education and registration. And it allows medical providers to deny healthcare services to any patient, regardless of sex or gender identity, based on an arbitrary legal basis.

What’s next?

We have an opportunity this year to make sure that future elected officials better represent the people of Ohio by protecting our democracy and putting an end to gerrymandering. Join the coalition to fight for fair maps and equal voice at www.equaldistricts.com