Chapter Resources

Back to School – Information about Ohio HB 8

Overview of HB 8 “Parents’ Bill of Rights” – Key Provisions of Ohio HB 8

• Parental Rights: Affirms parents’ fundamental right to make decisions regarding their children’s education, care, and upbringing.
• Notification of Student Well-being: Schools must promptly notify parents of any substantial change in a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.
  • This includes academic changes, serious illness or trauma, bullying, and any request by a student to identify as a gender different from their biological sex.
  • Schools are prohibited from encouraging students to withhold such information from their parents.
• Curriculum and “Sexuality Content”:
  • Schools must provide parents with advance notice of “sexuality content” (including gender ideology) in curriculum.
  • Parents must be given the opportunity to review these materials before they are presented to students.
  • Students may be excused from instruction containing this content and provided an alternative assignment.
  • For grades K-3, the law prohibits any instruction including “sexuality content”.
• Religious Released Time: Schools must adopt policies allowing students to be excused from school for religious instruction programs during the school day.
  • The RTRI portion of the bill simply changed the law from “schools may have an RTRI policy” to “schools shall have an RTRI policy” – forcing all schools to allow students to leave the school during school time for outside religious instruction
  • Items that now require reports to parents include, but are not necessarily limited to, substantial changes in services or monitoring related to a student’s mental, emotional health, or physical health or well-being:

• • • Student’s academic performance
    • Significant sickness, physical injury, or any psychological trauma
    • Harassment, intimidation, or bullying
    • Request to identify as a gender that does not align with sex assigned at birth
    • Exhibition of suicidal ideation or persistent symptoms of depression, severe anxiety, or other mental health issues

Policies are implemented at the district level

• Warren County School Districts – Check district policies:
  • Carlisle Local Schools
  • Clinton-Massie Local Schools
  • Franklin City Schools
  • Kings Local Schools
  • Lebanon City Schools
  • Little Miami Schools
  • Loveland City Schools
  • Mason City Schools
  • Springboro Community City Schools
  • Wayne Local Schools
  • Warren County Career Center
  • Warren County Educational Service Center 

Resources:

• Don’t Discriminate for HB 8: A toolkit for school communities on Ohio’s House Bill 8
• A Parent’s Quick Guide for In-School Transitions HRC Foundation’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council
• Actions LGBTQ Parents/Guardians Can Take to Support Their Children in Elementary School HRC Welcoming Schools