The Ohio Department of Education’s Ohio Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Plan was recently approved by the federal government.

It replaces the No Child Left Behind State Plan that has been in place for over a decade.

See our Ohio ESSA Plan @

http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Every-Student-Succeeds-Act-ESSA

It appears that Congress’ proposed cuts to Medicaid will undermine the availability of resources as outlined in our plan…resources we all know our most vulnerable students need to thrive and grow into their full potential. See EdWeek Blog below.

Republicans in Congress may have kicked the can down the road—for now—on ditching the Affordable Care Act.

But advocates for school superintendents, who mobilized against a potential reduction to Medicaid funding last year, are still warning of serious consequences for schools if lawmakers decide to make changes to the program.

Schools receive about $4 billion a year from Medicaid, a health-care program for the poor. That makes Medicaid the third-largest source of federal K-12 funding, behind special education grants and Title I grants for disadvantaged kids.

The money is used for a slew of purposes, among them: vision and hearing screenings, medical equipment, and salaries for staffers who work with Medicaid-eligible students, such as speech therapists. It’s also used to connect students with community health services.

GOP lawmakers have pitched distributing Medicaid funds on what’s called a “per capita” basis, based on how many people a state has from particular groups, including children and the elderly. Fans of this approach argue that it would spur states to think more innovatively about how they structure their Medicaid programs. But detractors, including a lot of education advocates, worry it would mean big cuts to the program over time.

That proposal was part of health care bill that bill that failed to make it over the finish line last year. But isn’t going away just because a Republican health care bill faltered. In fact, it was part of President Donald Trump’s recent budget proposal for fiscal 2019.

So what could that mean for schools? AASA, the School Superintendents Association, surveyed its members last December, asking what would happen if Medicaid were cut. It found that 57 percent of school districts have concerns about meeting special education mandates, 36 percent of districts would have to reduce mental health services, and more than a quarter would have to cut general education funding and positions.

For more info:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/02/trump_medicaid_cuts_AASA_survey_2017.html

http://aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_Advocacy/Resources/CuttingMedicaid2018Addendum.pdf

To contact your Congressional Legislator:

Senator Sherrod Brown (D- OH)

202-224-2315 

FAX 202-228-6321

http://www.brown.senate.gov/contact

Senator Rob Portman (R- OH)

202-224-3353

FAX 202-224-9075

https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/conta …

Representative Steve Chabot (R – 01)

202-225-2216

FAX 202-225-3012

http://chabot.house.gov/contact/

Representative Brad Wenstrup (R -02)

202-225-3164  

FAX 202-225-1992 http://wenstrup.house.gov/con