The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee on the policies in Ohio Substitute House Bill 96—Ohio’s biennial budget. In the testimony, The Buckeye Institute, noted that “[s]ignificant growth in Medicaid and education spending—the two largest budget items—could prove especially dangerous to the state’s long-term fiscal health and make it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain pro-growth tax policies like those adopted in the last budget.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Education Committee on the K-12 budget in Ohio House Bill 96—Ohio’s biennial budget. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, noted that “putting students first means funding students rather than systems” and praised this budget for doing just that. 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Medicaid Committee in support of Ohio’s proposed Medicaid waiver, which enhances the program’s integrity and promotes economic stability, financial independence, and improved health outcomes. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, reminded lawmakers that Congress designed Medicaid to offer healthcare to “those unlikely to be employed, such as expectant mothers, the elderly, disabled adults, and children.”

For The James Martin Center for Academic Renewal, The Buckeye Institute looks at Ohio’s recent success with higher education reform and what more can be done. “Ohio students deserve educational institutions—especially those of higher learning—committed to their long-term success… More work remains to be done, but, in the fight for the future of higher education, Ohio seems poised to finally put its students first.”

The Buckeye Institute submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Energy Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 15, which, if adopted, would help ensure a healthy supply of affordable, reliable energy to meet growing demand. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, noted that the policies in the bill adhere to the “sound energy policies recommended [] by The Buckeye Institute and Americans for Prosperity.”

In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute offers an approach to higher education reforms, writing, “As the traditional higher education model shifts away from catering primarily to recent high-school graduates living full-time on campus, it must find ways to reduce administrative expenses while keeping pace with changing demographics, student and employer preferences, and new learning opportunities. Lawmakers and education policymakers must facilitate rather than hinder each of those objectives.”

In The Columbus Dispatch, The Buckeye Institute points out missing information from a recent article, writing, “The April 13 Dispatch article, ‘Ohio schools, parents concerned as lawmakers debate voucher and public school funding,’ states that ‘Republican lawmakers’ are ‘proposing cuts to public schools.’ That assertion is incorrect.”

Higher education reform requires embracing responsible innovation to improve student success. Ohio’s workforce shortages in nursing, engineering, and trade labor demand a higher education system that adapts to declining enrollment and rising alternatives. Aligning state subsidies with post-graduate outcomes, reducing administrative costs, and regulating OPM partnerships wisely are commonsense reforms that can help Ohio, and its students overcome some of the challenges they now face. 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio House Finance Committee on the policies in Ohio Substitute House Bill 96—Ohio’s biennial budget. In the testimony, The Buckeye Institute noted that the House version of the state budget “offers a mixed bag of belt-tightening, policy improvements, and missed opportunities...” House Bill 96, unfortunately, “fails to address tax expenditures or close tax loopholes…and adds a series of new earmarks.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Education Committee on policies in Ohio Senate Bill 127, which, if adopted, would help turn around chronically underperforming public schools. “Ohio has tolerated mediocre performance in its lowest-scoring public schools for far too long,” and Senate Bill 127 uses “data-driven benchmark for standardizing school closures and taking measurable actions to turn around failing schools.”