Opposition Testimony — Cynthia Peeples, Honesty for Ohio Education, on Senate Bill 1 (April 24, 2023)

Summary

Cynthia Peeples, Founding Director of Honesty for Ohio Education, gave opposition testimony on Senate Bill 1 to the Economic and Workforce Development Committee, dated April 24, 2023. Honesty for Ohio Education is described as a nonpartisan, statewide coalition representing more than 50 organizational partners. The testimony states that SB 1 shifts control of public education to the governor, strips duties from elected State Board of Education members, and prioritizes workforce needs. It also opposes measures in the bill that it says would prevent rules around Ohio's homeschooling system.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                                Opposition Testimony for Senate Bill 1
                           Economic and Workforce Development Committee
                                            April 24, 2023
                                 Cynthia Peeples, Founding Director
                                     Honesty for Ohio Education

Chair Swearingen, Vice Chair Santucci, Ranking Member Upchurch, and Members of the House Economic
and Workforce Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide opposition testimony
against Senate Bill 1. My name is Cynthia Peeples, and I am the founding director of Honesty for Ohio
Education.

Honesty for Ohio Education is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition representing more than 50
organizational partners advocating for every student’s right to receive an honest, high-quality education
regardless of race, identity, income, or zip code. We believe students benefit most when caring families,
trained educators, dedicated school boards, and earnest policymakers work together for the healthy
development and quality education of all Ohio children.

While our coalition strongly supports the integration of a Whole Child approach to learning with a
student-centered workforce development plan, we oppose Senate Bill 1 for its misshapen priorities and
partisanship nature. This sweeping state takeover of public education prioritizes business and political
needs over student needs while failing to address longstanding, systemic issues plaguing Ohio education.
The bill is also an anti-democratic measure silencing the voices of families, voters, and other Ohioans
concerned about public education. SB 1 also threatens public safety by clearing pathways for existing
neo-Nazi extremists to prosper in Ohio’s loosely regulated homeschooling system. Ohio needs
collaborative solutions for our young people, families, and economy, not partisan power grabs and
business deals that distract from real education issues.

In shifting control of public education to the governor and prioritizing a workforce pipeline, this plan
does nothing to address real issues directly impacting student outcomes, such as decades of
unconstitutional school funding, under-resourced schools, teacher shortages, and unfit working
conditions. This plan also ignores unacceptable learning conditions rooted in systemic food and housing



                                     Honesty for Ohio Education
           HonestyforOhioEducation.org • info@honestyforohioeducation.org • @HonestyforOhioEd
insecurities, inequitable access to healthcare, a widening digital divide, and extremist culture war issues
peddled in this Statehouse. Ohio elected leaders supporting this bill also prioritize bills that weaponize
race and identity to attack our most marginalized, vulnerable students and deny their right to exist. How
can legislators and the business community support a workforce development plan that condones the
dehumanization of the students they so desperately seek to fill their workforce pipeline? These extremist
values stand in stark contrast to the values lauded by Ohio’s business community and their Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion officers.

More broadly, Senate Bill 1 is a direct attack on democracy by stripping our democratically-elected State
Board of Education members of their key roles and duties. This move eliminates the ability of families
and voters to use our duly elected State Board representatives as a direct voice at the state level. Per law,
our 11 elected State Board of Education members are there to represent the unique needs and priorities
of the families living in 11 State Board districts across the state. Not only does this bill silence those
families, it also shifts authority to the governor injecting partisan politics, party agendas, and extremist
legislation into what should be a safe, nonpartisan arena.

Finally, given the deeply concerning discovery of a neo-Nazi homeschooling network operating in Ohio,
we strongly oppose measures in Senate Bill 1 that would prevent needed rules around Ohio’s loosely
regulated homeschooling system. While we understand and wholly support the vital, important role that
homeschooling serves for thousands of students and families across Ohio, we feel legislators must build
strong, safety guardrails around the system to prevent the dissemination of life-threatening, antisemitic,
racist, homophobic, and genocidal values. The rise of neo-Nazi hate groups and sympathizers taking root
in Ohio communities is a clear and present danger to our education system, public safety, and domestic
security that demands your immediate attention.

As a coalition, we view the primary role of education as helping students develop an authentic sense of
self and comprehensive life skills that create lifelong learners who are engaged and productive members
of society. For Ohio to become that destination state that Governor DeWine envisioned in his State of
the State address, legislators must work with educators to create student-first, Whole Child policies that
give every young person an active stake in Ohio's future.

We urge you to vote no on Senate Bill 1 and redirect your efforts and resources to solving the real issues
impacting our students, public education, and Ohio’s economic viability. Our students deserve leaders
who focus on moving them from surviving to thriving, regardless of their chosen career path.

Thank you.




                                      Honesty for Ohio Education
             HonestyforOhioEducation.org • info@honestyforohioeducation.org • @HonestyforOhioEd


File and source

File

2023-04-25_econ-workforce-dev_testimony_sb1opponenttestimony-4-25-cynthiapeeples.pdf

Size

128,670 bytes

SHA-256

d339e98e9d5b2e9c368d177cb474766131c32b0bab38caab61012eab0d1665c2

Our copy

2023-04-25_econ-workforce-dev_testimony_sb1opponenttestimony-4-25-cynthiapeeples.pdf

Original

No public link identified.