Am. Sub. H.B. 96, the FY 2026-2027 biennial state operating budget, as passed by the Ohio Senate, includes a number of important policy and funding provisions related to K-12 Education and Ohio's ESCs. ESC Specific provisions include the following:
- ESC funding grows at $1.8 million per year, phasing in years 5 and 6 of the current ESC funding model. The bill earmarks $49.2 million in FY 2026 and $51.0 million in FY 2027 for ESCs from GRF ALI 200550, Foundation Funding - All Students (see EDUCD56).
- ESC gifted units were flat funded
- School Improvement funds through ESCs were flat funded.
- ESCs were added to the list of entities with the right of first refusal in the disposition of school district facilities.
- Authorizes school district boards of education and governing authorities of educational service centers to purchase multifunction school activity buses in the same manner as other school buses.
- Requires the DEW Director to establish a workgroup on student transportation to monitor and review the student transportation system and develop recommendations for changes to better meet the transportation needs of Ohio students during the 2025-2026 school year and includes ESCs in the list of organizations to be represented.
- Under special education transportation, increases the minimum state share percentage for traditional district payments from 41.67% in FY 2025 to 43.75% in FY 2026 and 45.84% in FY 2027, and increases the percentages used to calculate the payments to county boards of developmental disabilities and ESCs to the same as those used for traditional districts.
- Provides up to $1,612,500 in each fiscal year for DEW, in consultation with ODVS, to support the Ohio Military Veterans Educator Program and includes ESCs in the list of eligible entities. Also reimburses ESCs and other public schools that pay financial bonuses to eligible military individuals who complete at least one year of employment with the school.
- Includes temporary law that permits school districts, community schools, STEM schools, JVSDs, ESCs, and county DD boards that receive state aid to transfer portions of their allocations to a flexible funding pool created by a county family and children first council to support the provision of services to families and children (This has been in previous temporary law).
- Requires school districts that serve preschool special education students and either receive Early Childhood Education Grant Program funds or provide publicly funded child care, ESCs, county DD boards, and institutions serving preschool children with disabilities to adhere to the Step Up to Quality program.
- Includes temporary law in section 265.250 that requires GRF ALI 200566, Literacy Improvement, to support literacy activities to align state, local, and federal efforts in order to bolster all students' reading success, AND permits the distribution of funds to ESCs to establish and support regional literacy professional development teams.
To access the latest information and detailed update with links to the bill, appropriations, comparison documents and more, go to: https://www.oesca.org/viewdocument/esc-state-budget-update?CommunityKey=e25c3e7b-d192-458d-bbfc-018fe042b4c4&tab=librarydocuments