Ohio Politics Explained: Opposition to expanding Title IX, abortion hearing date set

Anna Staver, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
1
The Ohio State Board of Education is debating a resolution to push back against the Biden Administration's new requirements under Title IX that seek to protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination.
The Ohio State Board of Education is debating a resolution to push back against the Biden Administration's new requirements under Title IX that seek to protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination.

Ohio's State Board of Education didn't vote and the Ohio Supreme Court added a last-minute candidate to the November ballot.

We break down what it all means on this week's episode of Ohio Politics Explained.

It's a podcast from the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau where we catch you up on the state's political news in 15 minutes or less. This week, host Anna Staver was joined by reporter Jessie Balmert.

1) Expanding Title IX

The Biden Administration is trying to expand Title IX protections to prevent school districts that receive federal funds from what the administration sees as discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.

The 50-year-old federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving money from the federal government. Violations can result in the loss of federal funds.

Conservatives see these changes to grant access for transgender students to sports teams and bathrooms as a rewrite of "basic biology" that would render the "intent of the original law meaningless." And that's why Ohio State Board of Education Member Brendan Shea introduced a resolution opposing the new rules.

If passed, Shea's resolution would ask state lawmakers to backfill districts that lost federal funding for not complying with Title IX requirements.

2) Abortion extension

A Hamilton County judge plans to extend his freeze on Ohio's abortion law into October, making abortion legal in the Buckeye State until about 20 weeks gestation.

The judge temporarily banned the "heartbeat law," which prohibits almost all abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, because he thinks an amendment to Ohio's state constitution could provide protections for the procedure.

Attorneys for both sides of the issue are scheduled to present arguments Oct. 7 on whether this block of the heartbeat law should be extended while the case works its way through the court system.

3) Issue 1 and Issue 2

Ohioans are going to get to vote on two statewide issues in November known as Issue 1 and Issue 2.

The first asks voters whether public safety should be a consideration when calculating bail for people accused of a crime. And the second asks whether people who aren't U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in local elections if their city or township allows it.

4) Last-minute addition

Ohio has a new independent candidate on the ballot for Secretary of State.

Her name is Terpsehore Maras (Tore to her podcast audience), and the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-2 Tuesday that she had enough valid voter signatures to qualify. With ballots already being printed for overseas voters, Ohio is going to have to scramble to fulfill this order.

Listen to "Ohio Politics Explained" on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and TuneIn Radio. The episode is also available by clicking the link in this article.

The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Explained: Title IX expansion opposed, abortion hearing set