New State laws signed by Governor DeWine this summer will affect policies at Valley View and adjust how residents interact with law enforcement.
Success Sequence in Schools
Senate Bill 276, which was originally about school psychologists, was amended multiple times and was enacted to include an education requirement on the “success sequence.”
The new law defines the success sequence as a “three-pronged framework for youth and young adults based on research from diverse institutions that individuals who complete at least a high school education, obtain full-time work, and marry before having children are overwhelmingly less likely to live in poverty in adulthood.”
Our representative for District 40 in the House, Rodney Creech (R) supported this, as did our District 5 State Senator Steve Huffman (R).
The law requires the Department of Education and Workforce to review and maintain a list of curriculum and resources for grades 6 to 12 about the success sequence. “Any curriculum or resources on this list shall describe the positive personal and societal outcomes associated with the success sequence,” the law says.
The law requires that each school district board of education provide instruction that is aligned with the success sequence. The requirement starts in the 2027-28 school year.
Student Athlete Mobility (SAM) Act
Senate Bill 276 also includes a requirement related to high school extracurriculars.
Our representative for District 40 in the House, Rodney Creech (R) supported this, as well as our District 5 State Senator Steve Huffman (R).
The law states, “Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each school district board of education and school governing body that operates a high school that offers an extracurricular activity and is a member school of an organization that regulates interscholastic athletics shall adopt a policy that permits a student who is enrolled in a neighboring school that does not offer that extracurricular activity to petition to participate in that activity at the board of education's or school governing body's high school.”
According to the law, each policy shall include all of the following:
The form and manner in which a neighboring school student may petition to participate in an extracurricular activity
A requirement that both the superintendent of the school district in which the student is enrolled and the neighboring school's superintendent or chief administrative officer approves the student's participation in the extracurricular activity.
The superintendent of the school district in which the student is enrolled must also certify that the student has not participated in the extracurricular activity at that school district during that school year.
Prohibit Interfering with Motor Vehicle-Related Arrests
Ohio House Bill 492 requires anyone who gets pulled over for a moving violation of any kind, to disclose their name, address and date of birth to an officer on request. Both drivers and passengers must provide their information. Refusing to give this basic information is a fourth-degree misdemeanor
People in the vehicle do not have to answer other questions beyond this basic information.
There is no record of Representative Creech voting for (or against) this legislation. State Senator Steve Huffman voted for it.
Keep Them Safe Act
Senate Bill 273 is a bipartisan piece of legislation that passed unanimously in the Ohio House and Senate, with votes from both Creech and Huffman.
The Keep Them Safe Act allows firearm owners, or someone they trust, to voluntarily store a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or a law enforcement agency.
Whitney/Strong, an organization founded after Whitney Austin survived a workplace shooting in Cincinnati, said that “59% of gun deaths in Ohio are attributed to suicide and firearm suicide impacts small to large-sized counties; this solution is necessary to save lives now.”
Gun owners can temporarily place their firearms with Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) or local police departments without a court order or permanent surrender.
The law ensures the protection of personal information and confidentiality, allowing owners to reclaim their property later without losing ownership or Second Amendment rights.
November Election
Creech is running for re-election in November against Tim Hornbacker (D) and Libertarian Josh Umbaugh. Huffman, who is term-limited, will be replaced this November. Candidates for Senate District 5 are Phil Plummer (R) and Jeffrey Harris (D).
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