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HB 884

Regards cost calculation of and GA intent for school financing

136th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Sean Brennan and 7 co-sponsors

The bill overhauls Ohio public school funding by modernizing the base cost calculation across districts, schools, and special programs to determine a new, component-based state fun

Referred to committee
#education #financeandappropriations #primaryandsecondaryeducation
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Bill Summary · HB 884

Overview

HB 884 ( bills 136th General Assembly, Ohio ) proposes a comprehensive overhaul of the base cost calculation and distribution within Ohio’s public school financing system. The measure expresses the General Assembly’s intent to secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools and includes targeted definitions, calculation methodologies, and appropriations for the 2026–2027 fiscal years, with provisions that would extend or adapt those mechanisms in subsequent years.

Main purpose and intent

  • Modernize how districts’ aggregate base costs are calculated and funded.
  • Align base cost components across traditional districts, joint vocational districts, and community/STEM schools.
  • Establish specific cost calculations for teacher, student support, leadership, operations, and ancillary costs.
  • Provide funding adjustments and phase-ins intended to stabilize or recalibrate state core foundation funding, including for special populations (disadvantaged, English learners, gifted, etc.) and various student supports.
  • Create dedicated calculations for athletic co-curricular activities and, for eligible districts/schools, additional categories such as athletic funding, career-technical funding, and special education-related funding.

Key provisions and changes

  • Sections 3317.011, 3317.012, 3317.018, 3317.0110, 3317.022, and 3317.41 (with related amendments to HB 96 sections) establish:
    • Definitions for various salary and cost measures (e.g., average salaries by job category, average teacher cost, etc.) to be used in base-cost calculations.
    • A multi-part district cost formula:
    • Teacher base cost (including classroom teacher costs and special/CTE components).
    • Student support base cost (counselors, librarians, wellness staff, academic activities, building safety, etc.).
    • Leadership and accountability base cost (superintendent, treasurer, other administrators, fiscal support, and related costs).
    • Building leadership and operations base cost (building leadership, operations, and related costs).
    • For eligible districts, athletic co-curricular activities base cost.
    • Separate calculations for joint vocational (CVSD) and community/STEM schools, and for educational choice, pilot projects, autism scholarships, and Jon Peterson scholarships.
    • Statewide average base cost per pupil calculations for 2024–2027, and a pathway to extend these calculations thereafter.
    • A structured method to compute an aggregate base cost per district, tallying teacher, student support, and leadership/operations components.
  • State funding distribution (Section 3317.022):
    • For 2026–2027: state core foundation funding components, generalized phase-ins, and targeted assistance, with specific treatment for disadvantaged pupil impact aid and English learner funds.
    • For 2028 and beyond: continuation of components subject to General Assembly authorization.
    • Distinguishes funding for traditional districts, community/STEM schools, educational choice, pilot programs, autism scholarships, and Jon Peterson scholarships.
  • Provisions for community and STEM schools and for joint vocational districts mirror the structure used for traditional districts but with adjustments reflecting their unique student populations and cost components.
  • Adds a requirement that districts/sectors maintain certain spending levels on special education and related services, with specified formulas to ensure minimum investment in those areas.

Who is affected

  • City, local, and exempted village school districts.
  • Joint vocational (CVSD) districts.
  • Community and STEM schools.
  • Educational choice, pilot project, autism scholarship, and Jon Peterson scholarship units.
  • Students eligible for disadvantaged pupil impact aid, English learner services, gifted services, career-technical education, and special education funding.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Applies for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, with data sources anchored to fiscal year 2022 (and 2025 for certain 2026–2027 calculations), and specifies a statewide average base cost per pupil for those years.
  • Section 3317.018 outlines baseline state averages for 2024–2027, with 2027 adopting a new computation approach and continuing thereafter if authorized.
  • Section 3317.022 details distribution mechanics for 2026–2027 and a framework for 2028 and beyond, contingent on General Assembly action.

If you’d like, I can provide a simplified example calculation using a hypothetical district to illustrate how the components interact.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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