Login | February 14, 2026
Bill aims to reduce costs of state's College Credit Plus program
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 10, 2024
Committee members in the Ohio House of Representatives were scheduled to hear testimony in support of a bipartisan bill that would revise some operations of the College Credit Plus program for middle- and high-school students.
The changes proposed in House Bill 219 will improve the program for eligible students who earn college credits while completing their secondary education at their own school, according to the sponsors of the bill, Reps. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Sean Brennan, D-Parma.
Brennan, a retired American government teacher, previously told members of the Higher Education Committee that he was ineligible to teach program coursework because his master’s degree was in secondary school administration rather than any given course subject matter.
Enactment of HB 219 would eliminate the program’s current requirement by directing the state chancellor of higher education to devise an alternative credentialing process that would certify instructors with relevant teaching experience as instructor without requiring any additional graduate-level coursework, Bird said.
“Going back to school to gain another master’s degree was not fair to my family,” Brennan said. “Many of my veteran colleagues, who also had many years of experience teaching their various subjects, including advanced placement, or AP courses, were in a similar predicament, as are many teachers throughout the state of Ohio.”
He said the net effect is fewer students are able to take advantage of the coursework at their own schools.
“First, students who live in rural areas of Ohio where there is not a college or university close by, all too often do not have the option of taking college-level courses,” Brennan said. “Further, even students who do live close to a college or university, like students from my House district, often do not have a means to get to or from the college campus or they may not wish to leave their high school campus for many reasons, including wishing to be with their friends and trusted adults, socio-emotional issues, conflicts with sports or clubs schedules, access to meals and/or social services, among many other issues.”
Another provision of HB 219 focuses on reducing the cost of instruction for the program.
“Each participating college shall endeavor to use open-source materials for courses,” Bird said. “If participating colleges choose to use purchase-only textbooks when there are open-source materials available, the college shall pay for the student’s textbook.”
Brennan shared his experience as an educator, noting that he had eliminated years ago expensive textbooks in the courses he taught.
He figured using primary sources available on the internet saved taxpayers thousands of dollars.
“Not to mention learning like a historian and political scientist, by reading, analyzing and discussing a letter by George Washington is much more exciting compared to ‘open your textbook to page 191, read to page 195, and answer the questions about George Washington at the end of the section,’” Brennan said. “The cost of CCP textbooks is an unfunded mandate on our public schools. In fact, school treasurers have shared that the way CCP is structured makes for quite a challenge when it comes to setting budgets due to the constantly moving target.”
Current law requires that the local school district pays the entire cost of books, materials, supplies and tuition, testimony provided.
Bird said that under HB 219, if a participating college elects to use a purchase-only textbook when no open-source materials exist, the college and the student’s secondary school will split the cost of the textbook.
The bill also would require that participating colleges and universities provide CCP participants with an orientation meeting specified guidelines ahead of instruction.
Finally, HB 219, would require participating institutions to notify a student’s school in the event the student withdraws from a course.
Two House members co-sponsor the measure, which awaits further consideration by the committee.
Copyright © 2024 The Daily Reporter - All Rights Reserved