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Ohio bill would require a state-approved historical document in every classroom
The Ohio Senate Education Committee is considering a bill that would mandate the display of at least one state-approved historical document in every classroom in the state.
• List of acceptable documents: The Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, the mottoes of the United States and of Ohio, the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution or the Articles of Confederation and, controversially, the Ten Commandments.
• What they are saying: “The reason for this bill is to expose our students to the documents which have, in America, served as the backbone of our legal and moral tradition, as a people,” said bill sponsor Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott.
• What opponents are saying: The inclusion of the Ten Commandments made the bill a “plainly obvious attempt to impose explicit religious beliefs and practices on young, captive audiences in our public schools,” said ACLU of Ohio Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels.
• Monuments: Outside of the display requirement, the bill would also grant schools the authority to erect a monument inscribed with “one or more of the documents on any school ground or premises.”
• Who pays for it? Both the in-class displays and the monuments could be paid for under S.B. 34 by community organizations willing to donate funds. Those same organizations could donate the displays or monuments themselves.
USDA program cut impacts local food banks, local farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended a program that partners local food banks with local farmers across southwest Ohio.
• Local Food Purchase Assistance program: It was designed to allow local farmers to sell their food through local food banks.
• No more funding: The USDA this month notified states that it did not plan to carry out a second round of funding for the program for fiscal year 2025, but funds for existing contracts nationwide aren’t frozen. This move followed the Trump administration approving steep budget cuts at the USDA.
• What farmers are saying: “We invested, planned and grew for this program,” said Michael Goldstick, of Guided By Mushrooms in New Lebanon. “We appreciate the runway to work toward alternatives, a Plan B, but we’re disappointed that small farmers, hungry families and food banks will be impacted by this. And this is nationwide.”
• By the numbers:
— 170: Number of LFPA food aggregators who work with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
— 12: Number of food banks in Ohio.
— 4.6 million: The number of pounds of food produced last year through LFPA.
What to know today
• One big takeaway: Members of Ohio’s congressional delegation are urging the Trump administration to move NASA’s headquarters to the Buckeye State.
• Inside Ohio Politics: An Ohio Senate committee passed a resolution this week urging President Donald Trump to support Ohio’s effort to install a work requirement on certain Medicaid expansion recipients.
• Big move of the day: GE Aerospace unveiled 2025 investment plans Wednesday, saying the company will invest nearly $26 million at several sites across the Dayton area.
• Thing to do: 9 things to do in Dayton this weekend (that aren’t St. Patrick’s Day events)
• Vintage Dayton: Why ‘The Roundhouse’ isn’t round and other facts about the cherished Dayton building.
• Photo of the day: We went inside the new Dick’s House of Sport at Fairfield Commons. The grand opening was Friday. Read why people are so excited about the new store.
