Ohio voters have big choices to make on November 3. In addition to choosing a President, this fall, Ohioans will elect two members of the state Supreme Court, 99 state representatives and 16 state senators, as well as countless local officeholders. As you begin to do your homework, we created this guide to what’s on the ballot across the state to help inform your research into candidates and issues you are likely to see as you head to the polls on November 3.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Paid family and medical leave is guaranteed time off work without losing your job or paycheck for families who are welcoming a new child, providing care for a loved one with a long-term medical situation, or to get care and time to recover for a personal medical situation.
The US is the only industrialized nation that has no federal paid leave policy. That means 1 in 4 women go back to work less than 2 weeks after giving birth. Here in Ohio, a staggering 62 percent of working people cannot even qualify for unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take care of their families. Moreover, the cost and responsibility of supporting families fall disproportionately on those who can least afford it: women, people of color, and low-wage working people.
Do you have a story about a time when you needed paid leave? Or a story about how having paid leave would make a difference in your life? Share your experience on the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network’s website.
It is past time our public policy matched what today’s working families really need. Join us to win quality paid family and medical leave for everyone.
Do you have a story about a time when paid leave helped you? Or a story about how paid leave would change your life? Share your story on the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network’s website.
Equitable Democracy
In 2020, our nation will undergo a complete count of its population and next year this count will determine political representation for the next decade. The complete and accurate count in the 2020 Census ensures these districts are accurate and reflect the population that lives within the boundary lines. Innovation Ohio wants to ensure that everyone has access to our democracy and that our democracy is responsive to the concerns of its citizens.
Education Policy Center
Innovation Ohio Education Fund produces research and analysis from leading experts on the subject about the state of education funding in Ohio. In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio ruled in a 4-3 decision that our state’s school funding formula “fails to provide for a thorough and efficient system of common schools,” as required by the Ohio Constitution, and directed the state to find a remedy. Three decades later, nothing has changed.
Because of this inaction, Innovation Ohio Education Fund strives to make education a centerpiece of our conversation about equity and justice for working and middle-class Ohioans.
Education Projects
Know Your Charter
KnowYourCharter.com is a tool designed to help the citizens of Ohio better understand how publicly-funded charter schools are faring and how they compare to traditional public schools using your school district or charter school name. Know Your Charter is a collaboration between Innovation Ohio Education Fund and the Ohio Education Association.
10th Period Blog
Stephen Dyer is the author of 10th Period, a blog that generates Ohio-centric commentary dedicated to facilitating a thoughtful discussion about making education great for all. His blog has been reprinted or referenced by the National Education Policy Center, Diane Ravitch, Real Clear Education, The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Areas of Focus
Championing School Funding Reform
Our Education Policy team has worked for two decades with members of both parties to fundamentally change the way we fund schools to actually calculate and pay for what a world-class education costs. Our Education Policy Fellow Stephen Dyer authored the last comprehensive school funding change in the state while serving in 2009 as the Chairman of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. Since then, he has become one of the state and nation’s top education funding experts and has been quoted or referenced more than any other Education Policy and Funding analyst in local, statewide and national media outlets.
Exposing ECOT
The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow at one time purported to be the largest single online school in the country. However, our Education Policy team helped uncover massive fraud by the school, which had been long protected by its large campaign contributions to powerful Ohio politicians. The school closed in 2018 after pressure from IOEF and others forced the Ohio Department of Education to check to see if they actually were educating the kids they claimed. In fact, they couldn’t account for more than $60 million of the $100 million in taxpayer dollars that were diverted to them from local public school districts
Higher Education Advocacy Coalition
Our Education Policy team is working with multiple higher education advocacy groups to ensure post-secondary education options, not just four-year colleges, are more accessible and affordable for more students so they can complete their programs on time and successfully with minimal debt if any.
Cleveland Municipal School District Transformation Plan
Our Education Policy team worked with the Cleveland Teachers Union and the district to do a fair and unbiased assessment of the success the Cleveland Transformation Plan was having in the city, as well as areas where it was finding less success. The report that IOEF produced has been cited by the district and teacher’s union as a balanced examination that was fair and accurate.
Ohio Education Funding Data Project
Our Education Policy team has compiled reams of Ohio education funding data for two decades, keeping lawmakers, governors and other policymakers informed about the bottom-line impacts of the state’s policy changes on local districts, families, and students.
Ohio Charter School Reform Coalition
Our Education Policy team brought together advocates from both charter and traditional public school perspectives to mutually develop ways to improve Ohio’s standing as the “Wild, Wild West of Charter Schools”. The result was the most comprehensive, bipartisan Charter School reform in the state’s history.