Week in Review 8-24-26

Week in Review > Week in Review 8-24-26

Posted by Buckeye Association of School Administrators on August 23rd, 2026

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Attorney General Andy Wilson announced that his office is accepting Teen Ambassador Board applications for the 2026-27 academic year. The board gives public, private, charter and online high school juniors and seniors interested in law and government firsthand experience with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and other elective offices. Teen ambassadors will meet with the attorney general and be advised by one of his AGs during their one-year term. They also will have the opportunity to attend events across Ohio, complete training on important matters and attend presentations on various topics. More information on the 2026 Teen Ambassador Board, including application and recommendation forms, can be found HERE.
FY26-27 BUDGET
Besides providing hundreds of millions of dollars for nursing home payments and reducing property taxes, the final version of budget corrections bill HB479 (Schmidt) includes a number of provisions addressing items such as the post-traumatic stress and debt service reduction funds. In addition to providing a $350 million cash transfer to the new Property Tax Relief Fund, the bill modified the homestead exemption calculation by determining the exemption amount before applying the inflation cap credit created by HB186 (Hoops-D. Thomas). The Legislative Service Commission’s (LSC) fiscal note detailed how that will increase tax savings for the eligible homeowners, with an expected total of $44 million.
CHILDREN/FAMILIES
The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) announced a partnership Monday with Wonderschool to launch a new family child care recruitment and mentorship program designed to expand access to child care across the state. Through this partnership, Wonderschool will identify communities with limited access to child care and host in-person and virtual recruitment events to attract prospective providers, among other activities.
DATA CENTERS
Technology manufacturer NVIDIA announced Monday it will invest $105 billion toward the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County — part of an arrangement in which NVIDIA will supply equipment; SB Energy will build, own and operate a data center; and artificial intelligence (AI) development company OpenAI will lease the data center for at least 20 years. The U.S. Department of Energy previously announced SB Energy would build a 10 gigawatt (GW) natural gas generation plant for the new data center development. OpenAI said Friday it had entered an agreement to secure approximately 8 GW at the campus and the project will pay its specific infrastructure costs, use water responsibly and create local opportunities. OpenAI added the project is expected to create 2,500 long-term operating jobs and 35,000 construction jobs during the six years of buildout. The company is also investing $40 million in a community grant fund for local priorities, matching an earlier SB Energy contribution of $40 million, and OpenAI will spend $84 million on Codex credits through ChatGPT so all Ohio college students have access to it in the next academic year.
DISASTERS
Gov. Mike DeWine Thursday said he has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to begin conducting damage assessments in Ohio as soon as possible due to the repetitive and ongoing storm impacts. According to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Ohio EMA), FEMA and SBA typically conduct damage assessments after Ohio EMA has completed its own state assessments. Because ongoing storms have continuously caused increasing damage across Ohio, DeWine said he is requesting that joint preliminary assessment teams from FEMA and SBA begin assessments now. Later Thursday, U.S. Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Pickerington) announced that they, too, had sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler “requesting they begin conducting damage assessments in Ohio as soon as possible due to the repetitive and ongoing storm impacts.”
Nearly 400 residents of Crooksville in Perry County were displaced from their homes following the massive string of storms that passed through Ohio and the subsequent flooding caused, and many will never be able to return, DeWine told reporters on Thursday, Aug. 13, when he spoke from the Emergency Operations Center at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency in Columbus. Then heavy rains Wednesday, Aug. 19 exacerbated the flooding, closing I-70 between Columbus and Newark, reflooding areas that had been receding and washing out roads.
EDUCATION
The Center for Education Reform (CER) moved Ohio nine spots forward to ninth best state overall in its annual ranking of state-level charter school laws. CER cited “stronger fidelity to the intent and written word of laws already on the books” as motivating its decision. Oho received an overall grade of B- or 82 percent, achieving 44 out of 67 possible points in CER’s scoring rubric.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced $8.8 million to support 17 projects in 14 counties through the Safe Routes to School program. The program helps communities to build and improve infrastructure like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and traffic-calming features. Approved projects include right-of-way acquisition, design and construction work from FY27 through FY30, as well as activity like school travel plans, public education and safety campaigns in FY28. According to ODOT, the program has provided nearly $100 million to improve student safety and active transportation.
ELECTIONS 2026
The Erie County Board of Elections could not reach agreement on certifying Erie County Treasurer Caleb Stidham as the new GOP candidate for House District 89, sending the matter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose for resolution. Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) withdrew from his re-election campaign shortly before the deadline for replacement candidates to be named, as he is under consideration for a federal appointment. A committee of Republicans from the district decided Monday to select Stidham, who is also county party chair, to replace Swearingen. But at the Erie County board meeting Friday, a motion to certify Stidham failed on a 2-2, party-line vote.
Citing a national mood that appears to favor Democrats going into the November elections, Cook Political Report has shifted its predictions for three of Ohio’s congressional races to be less in favor of the Republican incumbent. Cook reported it shifted the races for Ohio’s 15th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-Columbus), as well as Ohio’s 10th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Dayton), from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.” Cook also shifted its prediction for Ohio’s 7th District, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Max Miller, from “Likely Republican” to “Toss Up.”
A memo sent this week by the campaign arm of the U.S. Senate Republican caucus warns U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) is vulnerable because of opposition to data centers among Ohio voters. The memo from the National Republican Senate Committee was first reported on Wednesday by Axios, which said that the private memo was sent to top artificial intelligence (AI) companies. It states that polling shows a dead heat between Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, with Husted pulling ahead when voters “hear Brown’s positions and his record,” but it added that the “new ingredient (and the new problem) is data centers.” “Ohio is one of the leaders in building these AI factories. Brown has made his opposition to them the centerpiece of his campaign against Husted,” the memo states. “Brown is using it because it works. More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck. If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one.”
Corruption at the Statehouse is a major factor in driving up the costs of everyday living that so many Ohioans are struggling with, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton said at a campaign stop in Columbus on Wednesday, and she will take action via executive order on day one of her administration to start to put an end to the cost of corruption. The three executive orders that Acton said she would issue on the first day of her administration include the following:
– Create an Anti-Corruption Task Force.
– Close the “revolving door” and clean up appointments.
– Expand disclosure and transparency.
Republican attorney general nominee Keith Faber Wednesday released the first policy proposal of his campaign: a plan to create a “health insurance denial resolution program” that the campaign said would help patients resolve wrongly denied health insurance claims and get the benefits they paid for.
Citing a need for consistent rulings from the bench and a stable legal environment, Ohio’s major business groups including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, NFIB Ohio, Ohio Business Roundtable, Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio Manufacturers’ Association held a joint press conference Tuesday to announce their endorsements of Justice Dan Hawkins and Colleen O’Donnell in this year’s Supreme Court races. Hawkins is running for re-election and faces Democrat and First Appeals Court Judge Marilyn Zayas, while O’Donnell is seeking to unseat Justice Jennifer Brunner, the last statewide Democratic elected official.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE
House Speaker Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) announced on Wednesday the upcoming first meeting of a study group created by the General Assembly to focus on the placement process for adjudicated delinquent youth in Ohio. The Study Committee to Evaluate the Placement of Delinquent Children in Residential Facilities was created in 135-HB315 (T. Hall) to evaluate children who are alleged to be or have been adjudicated delinquent or are in custody of a public children services agency or private child placing agency in the following ways:
– Evaluate the placement of such children in residential facilities.
– Evaluate the existing system, resources, and services used to support such children.
– Identify gaps in the availability of appropriate residential facilities, resources, and services to serve such children.
– Make recommendations for changes to meet the needs of such children.
HB315 calls for the study group to issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor and General Assembly. The group’s first meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 in Statehouse Hearing Room 121.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released data Thursday showing 5,874 cases of cyclosporiasis so far since Jan. 1, up from 5,452 in the previous update. August numbers rose from 40 to 74. The count for July continued to rise from 4,042 to 4,332 as past cases were identified, along with other increases of 1,351 to 1,447 for June, and 19 to 21 for Jan. 1 through May 31. Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite after consuming food or water that contains it. Diarrhea is one of the usual symptoms.
HUMAN SERVICES
The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) announced that Ohio recently received one of 10 awards given for the Predictive Analytics in Child Welfare Demonstration Grant from the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Ohio — as well as seven other states, the District of Columbia and the Muscogee Creek Nation — will receive $600,000 to spend through September 2029 to develop, implement and evaluate a statewide predictive analytics initiative to equip the state’s children services professionals with data-driven insights that enhance the escalation of cases for higher-level supervision, guide service planning and support effective interventions, according to DCY. ACF uses technology tools like predictive analytics to support the A Home for Every Child initiative with the goal to improve the ratio of foster homes to children in need of care by helping keep families together when it is safe to do so.
A new bill, HB984, introduced by Reps. Justin Pizzulli (R-Franklin Furnace) and Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland) would establish a statewide reimbursement framework for foster care placement, the co-sponsors said Wednesday during a press conference unveiling the legislation. The new framework would create caps on how much foster care providers can charge local counties for care. Under the bill, DCY would be responsible for establishing reimbursement rates through collaboration with county officials and foster care providers.
PENSIONS
The State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board of Trustees re-elected its chair and vice chair Tuesday and heard Executive Director Steve Toole issue a general call to tone down rhetoric and avoid misinformation. Board Chair Michael Harkness was re-elected to his post, as was Vice Chair Pat Davidson. Ohio lawmakers included in the most recent biennial budget an overhaul of the STRS board structure that would, among other changes, prohibit system beneficiaries from serving as chair or vice chair, but it is tied up in court. Both Harkness, a teacher from Akron, and Davidson, a teacher from Berea, would be barred if that provision of HB96 (Stewart) takes effect.
STATE GOVERNMENT
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) met Thursday, hearing a report from OFCC Executive Director Joy Bledsoe on activity during July including preparations for the Ohio State Fair. Bledsoe said the agency was “very busy” in July, approving 39 contracts that represent over $68 million in support of state and local construction projects. That brings the OFCC total to 285 active projects around the state and more than $5 billion in economic activity. The OFCC was also briefed on how there were four ribbon cuttings in July in conjunction with the Ohio State Fair, including the Children’s Carousel, Agriculture Center, renovated Dairy Building and Showcase Building.