Ohio
Ohio bill seeks to punish educators 'pandering obscenity'
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A push at the Ohio Statehouse could limit the types of material both teachers and librarians present to students in schools.
A new proposal would make it a felony if educators and librarians pander “obscene” material. State Rep. Adam Mathews, R-District 56, wants Ohio to place limits on the type of material that teachers and librarians can make available to younger students.
“This is really for our K-12 educational environments, so that parents, teachers and students have that type of relationship where you know that your kid’s getting a great education, where they go to school,” Mathews said.
House bill 556 would make it a felony for teachers or librarians to pander obscenity. A first offense could be punished with up to one year in prison, and those convicted could also face a fine. Mathews said the bill’s intent is to protect children and help parents build trusting relationships with their schools. While the bill does not specifically define obscenity, Mathews said it would align with the definition found in Ohio’s Revised Code.
The code lists several characteristics that make something obscene. It includes things that depict sexual activity, when the only purpose of the content is sexual in nature. Mathews said librarians and teachers would not violate the law if they were using the material for certain reasons.
“We have a very measured approach of making sure that our health teachers, biology teachers, physicians or sociologists are allowed to teach as they’re needed to as well as putting clear exceptions for bona fide reasons,” Mathews said.
“I think it’s a swipe at the First Amendment,” said Scott DiMauro, the President of the Ohio Education Association. “It will open up educators to new levels of potential criminal liability and do so in a way that I think also could be seen as unconstitutional.”
Columbus City Schools Librarian Courtney Johnson said sometimes she provides materials to students who identify as LGBTQIA. She believes the term “obscenity” is too broad. She said as a librarian she cares deeply about the students and wants to help them learn. She also wants to help them become very open-minded. She mentioned that, as a librarian, they already use the Miller Test to ensure no material they give students is considered obscene.
“We have students who need to see themselves in those books,” Johnson said. “So, I worry that teachers and librarians would really start self-censoring in an effort to avoid a felony because it’s clearly undefined.”
“It’s a bill that’s looking for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Melissa Cropper, the president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “And, it’s really frustrating to us that the legislature (needs) someone to introduce a bill about pandering obscenities to children, which again, is a problem that doesn’t exist, when there are so many other problems that do need to be addressed in education.”
Mathews is the only sponsor of the proposal at this point. It is still unclear whether it could get enough to support to pass through the Ohio House and Senate. At this time, it still needs to head through committee and hear proponent and opponent testimony.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine commented on the proposal, and he believes these types of decisions should rest with parents.
“The burden of proof is on someone to show us why you need legislation in this area,” DeWine said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOIO) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio Senate Bill 295 into law Friday.
Senate Bill 295 will increase the competency restoration time from one-year to five-years in cases of aggravated murder, murder, or where the possible sentence is life in prison.
SB 295 was sponsored by State Senator Nathan H. Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and State Senator Thomas F. Patton (R-Strongsville), with strong support from the parents of murdered Cleveland Police Officer Jamieson Ritter and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley
They spoke before the Ohio House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Officer Ritter was fatally shot on July 4, 2024, in the 1500 block of E. 80th St.
His accused killer, Delawnte Hardy, 26, is currently at Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare (COBH) to see if he can be restored to competency to stand trial.
However, as of now, Hardy has still been deemed incompetent, and the deadline to review his competency was Friday.
Hardy is also accused of killing his own grandmother, Beatrice Porter, on June 28, 2024, at her Garfield Heights home.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cleveland police officer fatally shot in the city’s Hough neighborhood, suspect charged
Officer Ritter was honored at a memorial service in Cleveland on July 8, 2024 and laid to rest in his home state of New York on July 13, 2024.
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CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A judge’s ruling is set to reshape the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio after finding that two board members violated their fiduciary duty to the fund.
The decision announced on Thursday stems from an investigation by the Ohio attorney general two years ago. The ruling centers on board members Rudy Fichtenbaum and Wade Steen, who were apparently trying to restore cost-of-living increases but, in doing so, pursued a plan the fund’s staff had already rejected.
A judge’s ruling is set to reshape the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio after finding that two board members violated their fiduciary duty to the fund. (WKRC, Provided)
The judge found the two were acting as agents of QED, a startup that proposed managing $65 billion—more than two-thirds of the pension fund. The effort did not persuade fellow board members, but once it came to light, state lawmakers moved to reduce the number of educators on the board.
“The fund has since then grown. The state found issue with two of the board members and took it to court. The court made its decision. Through all of this, the system continued to perform well, and the board continued to perform the functions of a board,” said Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper.
State Rep. Adam Bird, a former superintendent in New Richmond and one of the lawmakers involved in altering the board, said the ruling supports the need for the change.
“I am confident that the judicial system will ultimately rule in our favor. I appreciate that they’ve got a job to do and they’ve got to go through their due process—and I’m not going to argue with that—but I do think that ultimately, the state legislature’s bill that passed back in June will ultimately prevail,” Bird said.
Cropper said she disagrees with using the ruling as an example to justify changing the board’s makeup.
“I think that is wrong to use this as an example, because if anything, this proves when board members need to be removed, there’s a mechanism for removing them, whether they’re appointed or elected, and this composition of the board has been this way since its inception,” Cropper said.
The change to the board’s setup is frozen pending more litigation, as teachers unions back a lawsuit challenging it.
As for the two board members, Chairman Fichtenbaum will be removed, and Steen is barred from ever rejoining the board.
STRS says it manages more than $100 billion for more than 500,000 educators. Almost 7,000 Hamilton County retirees are receiving benefits.
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