OHIO, USA — The Ohio Board of Education could soon no longer exist in its current form, and it could affect what your kids are taught in school.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a new GOP-backed program to replace the current board in his budget for next year, pulling power from the board members over to a member of his cabinet.
It was supposed to go into effect Tuesday, but a judge has put up a temporary hold on the change until at least Thursday.
DeWine said delay or not, it's going to happen and some Toledo educators are raising alarms about giving the keys to the state's curriculum over to the governor's cabinet.
Ohio's educators are all looking down the barrel of what could be one of the biggest changes in the state's education history: a re-shaping of the education system, University of Toledo educational studies chair Edward Janak said.
DeWine has said that the current board of education has been distracted by social issues and culture wars, so a change was made going into the 2024 budget.
The change would result in the transfer of educational power from the 17 elected board members, board president and vice president of the board of education to a member of the governor's cabinet, who will then appoint their own board.
It would end the Ohio Board of Education as we know it, and install the newly-named Ohio Department of Education and Workforce instead.
"They wanted to put their own cronies in place, and I'm being very blunt with that, so they are completely overruling the law, they are completely overruling the will of the voters of the state of Ohio, and they've created a board of their own friends," Janak said.
This transition of power has Janak and the president of the Toledo Federation of Teachers union, Kevin Dalton, very concerned.
Dalton says it gives Ohioans less of a say in their education.
"People vote for the governor for the governing of Ohio policies, people vote for the state board of education for their education policies. And by marginalizing and or transitioning authority from the state board of education, you're ultimately marginalizing some of the members and region's votes for who's in the office," Dalton said.
Seven members of the Ohio Board of Education have sued the state to try to stop the change, leading to the temporary injunction extended by Franklin County Court Magistrate Jennifer Hunt.
With the injunction expiring Thursday, Dalton said teachers are feeling uneasy.
"It's not knowing what's next and wondering what's coming down the pipe, all while dealing with the job at hand and that's dealing with those students," Dalton said.
The plaintiffs and the state have until Oct. 4 at noon to submit arguments as to why the temporary restraining order should end, be modified or continue for another 14 days.