On Monday, Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 99 and provided an update on new and ongoing school safety initiatives in Ohio.

"Our goal is to continue to help our public and private schools get the tools they need to protect our children," said Governor DeWine. "Working together, we have come a long way to improve school safety in Ohio over the last decade, and we must continue this progress. We have an obligation to do everything we can every single day to try and protect our kids."

House Bill 99, sponsored by Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township), does the following:

Allows the previous practice of permitting school boards to choose to arm specific staff members and mandates reasonable training requirements for those individuals. It is important to emphasize that the bill does not mandate the arming of school staff members but leaves the decision entirely to local school boards, which have the best understanding of the needs of their individual districts.

Appropriates $6 million over the remainder of the current budget cycle to expand the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) and create a new OSSC Safety & Crisis Division. 

Separately from House Bill 99, Governor DeWine has also instructed that the OSSC expand its number of school safety liaison positions from five to 16. The 16 OSSC liaisons will also be based within the ODE school safety support team regions and will work with schools to implement a comprehensive school safety framework by assisting them to secure school safety grant funding, conduct physical vulnerability assessments, and evaluate emotional safety and cyber safety. In total, 28 new employees (17 safety & crisis staff/11 liaison staff) will be added to the OSSC in the coming months.

Governor DeWine has also worked with the Ohio General Assembly to secure $100 million in funding to help K-12 public, private, and parochial schools pay for physical safety and security upgrades. The funding, which is part of the new capital budget, will be awarded to schools as part of Governor DeWine’s existing K-12 School Safety Grant Program. The funding will pay for physical safety upgrades in and around school buildings such as visitor badging systems, school radio systems, exterior lights, security training, door locking systems, and other physical safety needs.

To help schools meet the requirements of House Bill 123 of the 133^rd Ohio General Assembly, Governor DeWine has also directed the OSSC and Ohio Department of Education to offer free, evidence-based threat assessment training for Ohio schools. This specialized training, which focuses on identifying behavioral issues and assessing threats of violence, will first be provided to many of Ohio’s Educational Service Centers whose staff will then teach these guidelines to educators, support staff, school resource officers, and other school leaders across the state. House Bill 123 requires that all public schools serving grades 6-12 have a threat assessment team in place by March 24, 2023.

The above actions support Governor DeWine’s ongoing work to protect school students and staff through violent crime reduction strategies and enhanced mental health services, including: 

Strengthening Ohio’s Mental Health Workforce 

Encouraging Student Wellness

Enhancing School Security

Reducing Violent Crime

Governor DeWine joined Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz and Ohio State Parks staff at Indian Lake State Park Monday afternoon to discuss ODNR's plans to address invasive aquatic vegetation that has impacted boating on Indian Lake.

“Excessive vegetation can create frustrating conditions for boaters and other visitors, which is why ODNR is attacking this growth from several angles so that everyone can enjoy their time on the water,” said Governor DeWine. “We are taking the issues at Indian Lake very seriously, and I appreciate ODNR’s commitment to mitigating this vegetation problem."

Through a partnership with the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), First Lady Fran DeWine opened a new Storybook Trail in Deer Creek State Park on Monday. After an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, children and families walked with the First Lady on the new trail to mark the celebration.

“Experiencing a Storybook Trail gives children and their families the opportunity to take an adventure inside a great book while experiencing an outside adventure at one of our great State parks!” said First Lady DeWine. “I hope this new trail gives Ohio families – and visitors – new memories that will last a lifetime.”

On Tuesday, Governor DeWine announced several historic investments contained in House Bill 687, the capital budget bill.

“This budget is about creating jobs, and growing the economy for Ohioans,” said Governor DeWine. “I greatly appreciate the members of the General Assembly for their partnership on this budget, which makes important investments in many state and local infrastructure projects that will benefit Ohioans for years to come.”

“The Capital Budget invests in the infrastructure that will advance the Intel project and fund educational infrastructure that will help build the workforce we need to compete and win a brighter economic future for Ohio,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted. “Our state’s best days are ahead of us, and we are grateful to the legislature for their collaboration to make Ohio the go-to state in the Midwest.”

Capital budget highlights include:

Pay for improvements in mental health care.

Infrastructure projects to prepare for the construction of the Intel facilities.

Bringing greater security to our schools.

Supporting construction and renovation at our schools, colleges, and universities.

Improving our beautiful state parks.

Protecting our livestock industry.

Enhancing security in our prisons.

Providing more independent living options for Ohioans with developmental disabilities.

Building new facilities for firefighter training.

Ohio is working to change the way society views mental illness and substance use disorders. Governor DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative, the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness, and the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance have created “Reporting About Substance Use and Mental Health: A Resource for Media Professionals” as a tool to help journalists, producers and other media professionals reduce the use of potentially stigmatizing language or imagery in news and media coverage.

With high temperatures in the forecast for areas across the state, Ohio Governor DeWine announced on Wednesday that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is offering residents options to stay cool at Ohio's state parks.

Indoor and outdoor pools at several Ohio state park lodges and campgrounds will waive daily pool fees Wednesday, June 15 and Thursday, June 16.

And, as always, Ohio's state parks are open to the public free of charge.

"I encourage all Ohioans to take precautions throughout the week to stay safe," said Governor DeWine. "As our Ohio Emergency Management Agency continues to work with its county partners to help community members stay cool and hydrated, ODNR’s offering of free admission to our state’s pools is another option that Ohio families can take advantage of to cool down.”

For lodge locations, call 1-800-AT-A-PARK before you go for pool hours of operation and to ensure that the pools haven’t reached capacity. For additional lodge contact information, visit greatohiolodges.com.

On Wednesday, Governor DeWine traveled to Oxford and Alliance where he provided remarks to the Buckeye Boys State and Buckeye Girls State.

These programs allow Ohio’s near voting age young men and women the opportunity to explore and learn city, county, and state level government. 

Also on Wednesday, Governor DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and BroadbandOhio announced four teams from 11 Ohio counties will participate in the first cohort of a new planning and capacity-building program to help leverage historic broadband infrastructure funding for community-driven broadband expansion.

“In the coming weeks and months, communities across Ohio will receive a historic amount of funding for broadband expansion, and we want to ensure that communities know how to deploy these funds efficiently and effectively,” said Governor DeWine. “This will help local governments throughout Ohio receive expert support as they prepare to leverage new state and federal funding for broadband expansion."

The BroadbandOhio Community Accelerator program is a collaborative effort between BroadbandOhio, Heartland Forward, the Benton Institute, and The Ohio State University Office of Extension. The pilot program was initiated and is funded by Heartland Forward through its Connecting the Heartland initiative.

The participating teams are Team Defiance County, Team Shelby County, Team Tuscarawas County, and Team Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC). These teams are made up of 50 representatives from 11 counties across Ohio.

Community planning support offered through initiatives like the Accelerator will help more villages, cities, and counties - regardless of size or staffing - prepare for the funding opportunities from both the state and federal levels by creating local plans on how to expand broadband access.

“We’re committed to ensuring that all Ohioans have access to high-speed internet, and the BroadbandOhio Community Accelerator program will play an important part in those efforts,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “These communities have the opportunity to receive expert instruction to help them launch shovel-ready projects that can take advantage of available funding, and we’re thankful to Ohio State University Extension, Heartland Forward, and the Benton Institute for joining in this initiative.”

Governor DeWine announced a partnership on Wednesday with the Governor’s Children’s Initiative, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), and the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund to bring free parent education materials to Ohio families. Providing this program aligns with the Governor’s Children Services Transformation Advisory Council’s recommendation to “invest in services, training, and supports for parents.”

“Triple P’s positive approach will help build parenting skills, while providing needed resources and to help parents promote their children’s resiliency and build stronger families,” said Governor DeWine. “With the implementation of this program, I am pleased to see more recommendations of the Children’s Services Transformation Advisory Council achieved.”

“Ohio chose the Triple P Positive Parenting Program to support Ohio families because it was university-developed and is backed by over 35 years of ongoing research,” said Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Executive Director Lindsay Williams. “The skills caregivers learn can prevent problems in the family, school, and community before they arise and create family environments that encourage children to realize their potential.”

Additionally, on Wednesday, First Lady DeWine celebrated Ohio Medicaid’s new specialized managed care program -- OhioRISE – with OhioRISE partners that will care for kids with complex behavioral health and multi-system needs.

OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) begins officially on July 1^st. The program aims to shift care and keep more children and families together by creating new access to in-home and community-based services for kids with the most complex behavioral health challenges.

First Lady DeWine helped stuff backpacks with school supplies and information on enrollment into the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, which provides one free book  monthly to Ohio children until their 5th birthday. OhioRISE care management partners will distribute the backpacks to the first participants in the OhioRISE program.

On Thursday, Lt. Governor Husted traveled to Orwell for a roundtable discussion with farmers from Lake, Ashtabula, and Trumbull Counties about the issues impacting their industry.

On Friday, Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor  Husted announced state support for 112 brownfield remediation projects that will help clean up contaminated properties in Ohio to make way for future economic development. 

As part of the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, the Ohio Department of Development is awarding $192 million for projects impacting 41 Ohio counties. 

“These properties are vital spaces in our communities, ones that are not only being wasted in their current capacity, but oftentimes are a danger to their local communities,” said Governor DeWine. “On June 17th, we’re reclaiming these spaces for the future of our residents, businesses, and communities.”

On June 17th’s $192 million in grant awards includes approximately $187.8 million for 79 clean-up projects and $4.5 million for 33 assessment projects. These grants are in addition to the $60 million in Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program grants awarded in April. An additional $98 million in funds will be awarded in the coming months.

“This is revitalization at its finest,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “These investments in cleaning up brownfields take blighted properties and turn them into parks, housing, or economic development sites that improve the quality of life for everyone in the local community.”

Also on Friday, Governor DeWine sent a letter to school superintendents to provide information on the recent changes to Ohio law and to raise awareness about school safety services and resources offered by the state. 

The letter addresses the following: 

- Student Wellness and Success funding for mental health programming and training

- Ohio School Safety Center resources and expansion

- $100 million in grants for school safety and security upgrades

- New behavioral threat assessment training for educators

- Optional arming of school staff and training requirements

"House Bill 99, which I signed this week, addresses the option of arming school staff.  Arming school personnel is a serious decision that is left up entirely to your school.  It is optional.  It is one of many tools that you can choose based on your unique school situation.  Other tools, such as a school safety officer, may serve your school better," wrote Governor DeWine in the letter. "I signed this bill because we know some schools want to do this and know that each school situation is different.  I did not want to deny schools this option and wanted to make sure that if a school chooses this option that all training hours are directly relevant to situations that could occur in schools. However, I have made it clear that, in my opinion, the much preferred option is to have a school resource officer in each school building."

In addition to House Bill 687, the capital budget bill, the Governor signed 18 other bills into law and Executive Order 2022-10D this week.