The Ohio Senate passed a landmark education funding reform package Tuesday in a 24-8 bipartisan vote, sending legislation to the House that would overhaul the state’s school funding formula for the first time in over two decades. The bill, known as Senate Bill 419, builds upon the framework of the Fair School Funding Plan and significantly increases per-pupil spending for low-wealth and rural school districts.
The legislation represents the most consequential education funding action in Ohio since the Ohio Supreme Court’s DeRolph decisions in the 1990s, which repeatedly found the state’s property-tax-based school funding system to be unconstitutional. While Ohio has made incremental progress since those rulings, many education advocates have argued the system remains deeply inequitable, with wide disparities in per-pupil spending between affluent suburban districts and poor rural or urban ones.
Senate President Matt Huffman, a Republican, called the bill “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix a flawed system.” The bill passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats, though the margins of agreement differed on specific provisions. Senator Nickie Antonio, a Democrat from Lakewood, praised the bill’s provisions to increase state aid to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District but said more needed to be done for urban districts.
The bill increases the state share of education funding by approximately $1.8 billion annually by fiscal year 2028, phased in over three years to allow state budget planners to accommodate the increase. Property-poor districts stand to see the largest per-pupil increases; analysis by the Education Policy Institute of Ohio shows that 68 of the state’s 88 counties would see net increases in state school aid under the formula.
Key provisions include a new foundation payment guarantee, expanded weighted funding for economically disadvantaged students, an increase in funding for special education services, and new investments in early childhood education including expanded pre-K access for four-year-olds from lower-income households. The bill also establishes a school facilities funding pool targeting the most deteriorated school buildings in the state.
The Ohio House is expected to take up the legislation after the holiday recess in January. House Speaker Jason Stephens has signaled support for the general direction of the bill but indicated House members may seek amendments on provisions related to charter school funding and private school scholarship programs. Observers expect the final bill to require a conference committee before reaching the Governor’s desk.
Governor DeWine praised the Senate’s passage and urged the House to act quickly. “Every child in Ohio deserves a great education, and this bill takes a major step toward making that a reality,” DeWine said.
