Signed by Governor Mike DeWine

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that increases school suspension for threats made and authorizes public schools to suspend students for roughly an entire school year for writing threatening manifestos, social media posts or hit lists and other acts of imminent and severe endangerment in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Authorizes school district superintendents to create a policy to expel and suspend a student that poses an imminent and severe endangerment to the safety of other students or school staff for 180 school days (one school year) and possibly longer (Sec. 1).

• Defines “imminent and severe endangerment” in this bill as the following, including (Sec. 1):

• Bringing a firearm or a knife capable of causing serious bodily injury to school;

• Making a bomb threat to a school building;

• Causing serious physical harm to someone at school; or 

• Making an “articulated or verbalized threat, including 

• A hit list, 

• Threatening manifesto, or 

• Social media posts lead a reasonable person to conclude that the pupil poses a serious threat.

• Establishes conditions for an expelled or suspended student to meet before being reinstated including an assessment by a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed school psychologist to evaluate if the student poses a danger (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the expelled or suspended student may be reinstated if the superintendent determines that the pupil has shown sufficient rehabilitation (Sec. 1).

• Requires superintendents to come up with a list of alternative educational options for expelled or suspended students (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that increases school suspension for threats made and authorizes public schools to suspend students for roughly an entire school year for writing threatening manifestos, social media posts or hit lists and other acts of imminent and severe endangerment in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Authorizes school district superintendents to create a policy to expel and suspend a student that poses an imminent and severe endangerment to the safety of other students or school staff for 180 school days (one school year) and possibly longer (Sec. 1).

• Defines “imminent and severe endangerment” in this bill as the following, including (Sec. 1):

• Bringing a firearm or a knife capable of causing serious bodily injury to school;

• Making a bomb threat to a school building;

• Causing serious physical harm to someone at school; or 

• Making an “articulated or verbalized threat, including 

• A hit list, 

• Threatening manifesto, or 

• Social media posts lead a reasonable person to conclude that the pupil poses a serious threat.

• Establishes conditions for an expelled or suspended student to meet before being reinstated including an assessment by a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed school psychologist to evaluate if the student poses a danger (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the expelled or suspended student may be reinstated if the superintendent determines that the pupil has shown sufficient rehabilitation (Sec. 1).

• Requires superintendents to come up with a list of alternative educational options for expelled or suspended students (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases school suspension for threats made and authorizes public schools to suspend students for roughly an entire school year for writing threatening manifestos, social media posts or hit lists and other acts of imminent and severe endangerment in Ohio.

Highlights:

• Authorizes school district superintendents to create a policy to expel and suspend a student that poses an imminent and severe endangerment to the safety of other students or school staff for 180 school days (one school year) and possibly longer (Sec. 1).

• Defines “imminent and severe endangerment” in this bill as the following, including (Sec. 1):

• Bringing a firearm or a knife capable of causing serious bodily injury to school;

• Making a bomb threat to a school building;

• Causing serious physical harm to someone at school; or 

• Making an “articulated or verbalized threat, including 

• A hit list, 

• Threatening manifesto, or 

• Social media posts lead a reasonable person to conclude that the pupil poses a serious threat.

• Establishes conditions for an expelled or suspended student to meet before being reinstated including an assessment by a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed school psychologist to evaluate if the student poses a danger (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the expelled or suspended student may be reinstated if the superintendent determines that the pupil has shown sufficient rehabilitation (Sec. 1).

• Requires superintendents to come up with a list of alternative educational options for expelled or suspended students (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text