This week, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 8 (“HB 8”), also known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which, among other things, requires public school districts to adopt a policy that promotes parental involvement in the public school system by providing parental notification on student health and well-being and instructional materials that contain sexuality content as well as reaffirms a parent’s right to make decisions regarding their child’s education. HB 8 also includes provisions related to release time for religious instruction.
The bill will take effect within 90 days of the Governor’s signature – on or about April 8, 2025.
Parents’ Bill of Rights
The first section of HB 8 begins with the General Assembly maintaining that “a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child.”
With this premise in mind, by July 1 school districts are required to adopt a policy to promote parental involvement in the public school system. This policy goes beyond current law that affords parents the right to receive notice, review and opt their student out of instruction on sexually transmitted infection education that exceeds certain prescribed criteria. Currently, parents have the right to request and receive material associated with this instruction and excuse their student from class.
Moving forward, HB 8 enhances parents’ rights by requiring school districts do the following, per policy (that shall be publicly available and posted on its website, if the district has one):
Sexuality Content
The Bill defines "Sexuality content" as any oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology provided in a classroom setting. It does not, however, include instruction or presentation in sexually transmitted infection education, child sexual abuse prevention, and sexual violence prevention education or instruction or presentation emphasizing abstinence. It also does not include incidental references to sexual concepts or gender ideology occurring outside of formal instruction or presentations on such topics, including references made during class participation and in schoolwork.
The policy must ensure that any sexuality content is age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for the age of the student receiving the instruction, regardless of the age or grade level of the student. "Age-appropriate" and "developmentally appropriate" content refers to activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group. [A school district or third party is prohibited from providing instruction that includes sexuality content to students in grades K-3.]
Additionally, prior to providing instruction that includes sexuality content or permitting a third party to provide such instruction on behalf of the district, the district must provide parents the opportunity to review any instructional material that includes sexuality content. Upon request of the student's parent, a student shall be excused from instruction that includes sexuality content and be permitted to participate in an alternative assignment.
Parental Notification Prior to Providing Healthcare Services
Per policy, school districts must adopt a procedure to obtain authorization from parents prior to providing any type of health care service to the student, including physical, mental, and behavioral health care services. A parent may choose whether to authorize a district to provide such services. The procedure shall require the school district to do both of the following:
At the beginning of the school year, notify parents of each health care service offered at, or facilitated in cooperation with, their student's school and their option to withhold consent or decline any specified service. Nothing herein waives the parent's right to access the parent's student's educational or health records or to be notified about a change in the student's services or monitoring.
Prior to providing a health care service to a student, notify a parent whether the service is required to be provided by the school district under state law and if other options for a student to access the service exist. (This requirement may be satisfied by an annual notice to parents at the beginning of the school year.)
The above notification requirements prior to providing services do not apply to emergency situations, first aid, other unanticipated minor health care services, or health care services provided pursuant to a student's IEP or a school district's obligation under section 504 of the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973.”
Parent Notification of Substantial Changes to Student Services or Monitoring
The policy must specify the manner in which the school district will promptly notify a student's parent of any substantial change in the student's services, including counseling services, or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student. The notification shall also reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children, and that the school district shall not inhibit parental access to the student's education and health records maintained by the school.
The Bill defines a "student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being", at a minimum, any of the following:
A student's academic performance;
Any significant sickness or physical injury, or any psychological trauma suffered by a student;
Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, as defined in section 3313.666 of the Revised Code, by or against a student in violation of school district policy;
Any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student's biological sex;
Exhibition of suicidal ideation or persistent symptoms of depression, or severe anxiety, or other mental health issues.
The policy must also prohibit school district personnel from directly or indirectly encouraging a student to withhold from a parent information concerning the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring, and prohibit school district personnel from discouraging or prohibiting parental notification of and involvement in decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.
Written Concerns Process
School districts must permit a parent to file with a principal or assistant principal a written concern regarding a topic addressed in the Parents Bill of Rights and notify parents of such right. The policy shall establish a process for a principal or assistant principal to resolve such concerns within thirty (30) days after their receipt.
A parent may appeal a principal's or assistant principal's decision to the superintendent and the superintendent (or a designee) shall conduct a hearing on the decision to either affirm the decision or not. If the superintendent does not affirm the decision, the superintendent shall determine a resolution to the parent's concern. A parent may appeal the superintendent's decision to the board of education of the school district. The board shall review the superintendent's decision and, if the board determines it necessary, hold a hearing on the decision and, based on that hearing, either affirm the superintendent's decision or determine a new resolution to the parent's concern.
Note, the General Assembly clarified that nothing prevents a parent from contacting a board member regarding the parent's concerns outside of this provision.
Notification Exceptions
Disclosure is not required if it violates any of the following:
The HIPAA privacy rule and state law governing the use and disclosure of protected health information by specified covered entities;
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”);
Privileges with an attorney, physician, psychologist and other mental health professions established by law;
Laws enacted to protect the rights and privacy of victim information and to minimize contact between a victim and defendant during a criminal prosecution or delinquency proceeding;
Violation of any court order, including any of the following:
A condition of bond;
A protection order or consent agreement issued pursuant to section 2151.34, 2903.213, 2903.214, 2919.26, or 3113.31 of the Revised Code;
A condition of a community control sanction, post-release control sanction, or parole.
A specific request for nondisclosure made pursuant to a criminal investigation or grand jury subpoena in which the student is the victim and a parent is the alleged perpetrator.
Nothing in the Bill prohibits or prevents mandatory child abuse or neglect reporting. The Bill also makes clear that it does not limit career and academic mentoring and counseling between teachers and students in the regular course of the school day.
Release Time for Religious Instruction
Currently, school districts are permitted to adopt a policy providing for instructional release time for students to attend a course in religious instruction conducted by a private entity off school district property (this is separate from the requirement to provide up to 3 days of absence from school for religious expression that took effect in October 2024). Unchanged law requires that authorization for release must be permitted provided that each of the following applies, and student cannot be considered absent from school:
The student's parent or guardian gives written consent.
The sponsoring entity maintains attendance records and makes them available to the school district the student attends.
Transportation to and from the place of instruction, including transportation for students with disabilities, is the complete responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent, guardian, or student.
The sponsoring entity makes provisions for and assumes liability for the student.
No public funds are expended and no public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction.
The student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork.
Now, according to HB 8, school districts are required to adopt this policy in accordance with the above provision. Additionally, the Bill requires public schools to collaborate with a sponsoring entity of a release time course in religious instruction to identify a time to offer the course during the school day. Nevertheless, students are still not permitted to be released from core curriculum subject courses to attend a religious course.
Also, the Bill includes a new provision that allows a school district to include in policy a requirement for a criminal records check of any instructors or volunteers of a private sponsoring entity providing a release time course in religious instruction to its students.
School districts should be on the lookout for updates from their policy provider(s) regarding these changes. While school districts are already complying with many of the notification requirements listed herein it is important to recalibrate with staff on current practices in order to formalize notification and authorization processes, and to discuss any adjustments that need to be made in order to maintain compliance as well as review new protocols/procedures that will take effect next school year (keeping in mind that release time for religious instruction changes take effect this spring).