BILL SUMMARY

· Requires, with some exceptions, the use of the English language in the official actions and proceedings of state agencies and political subdivisions.
· Requires public institutions of higher education to refund tuition to a student if the student cannot reasonably understand the spoken language used by his or her instructor.
CONTENT AND OPERATION

English language requirements

(sec. 5.15)
The bill requires that the English language be used for all of the following:

(1) Public records; "Public record" means any record that is kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units, except medical records, records pertaining to adoption, probation, and parole proceedings, records pertaining to actions, and appeals of actions, in which an unmarried minor seeks an abortion without parental notice, records pertaining to releases of information to adult adopted persons, trial preparation records, confidential law enforcement investigatory records, Ohio Civil Rights Commission records containing preliminary investigations information, DNA records of the State DNA Laboratory, and records the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law.

(2) Meetings of public bodies; "Public body" means any board, commission, committee, or similar decision-making body of a state agency, institution, or authority, and a legislative authority or board, commission, committee, agency, authority, or similar decision-making body of any county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision or local public institution. "Meeting" means any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members. and

(3) Official actions of state agencies or political subdivisions, including documents, records, meetings, policies, or other actions taken under color of law. "State agency" means any organized body, office, or agency, including the General Assembly and the courts, established by the laws of this state for the exercise of any function of state government. "Political subdivision" means a municipal corporation, township, county, school district, or any other body corporate and politic responsible for governmental activities only in a geographic area smaller than that of this state.

Exceptions

The bill permits a state agency or political subdivision or its officers or employees to act in a language other than English for any of the following purposes:

(1) To provide information orally or in writing to individuals in the course of delivering services to the general public;

(2) To comply with federal law;

(3) To protect or promote the public health, safety, or welfare;

(4) To protect the rights of parties and witnesses in a civil or criminal action in a court or in an administrative proceeding;

(5) To provide instruction in foreign language courses;

(6) To provide instruction designed to aid students with limited English language proficiency so they can make a timely transition to the use of English in public schools;

(7) To promote international commerce, trade, or tourism;

(8) To utilize in documents terms of art or phrases from languages other than English.

The bill stipulates that its English language requirements should not be construed to apply to any entity other than a state agency or political subdivision, to infringe on the right of any individual to choose his or her primary language, or to do anything other than codify a language policy for state agencies and political subdivisions.

English proficiency of higher education teacher personnel

(sec. 3345.281)
Under current law, each state university, college of medicine, technical college, state community college, community college, and university branch must establish a program to assess the oral English language proficiency of all teaching assistants who provide classroom instruction to students. Under current law, "teaching assistant" is defined as a student enrolled full-time or part-time in a graduate degree program at an educational institution for which the student has received an appointment to provide classroom-related services. Moreover, these institutions must ensure that teaching assistants who are not orally proficient in English attain such proficiency prior to providing classroom instruction to students.

The bill requires a state university, college of medicine, technical college, state community college, community college, or university branch also to refund tuition and other fees paid by a student to attend a class or course if: (1) the student cannot reasonably understand the spoken language of the professor, teaching assistant, or other teaching personnel, (2) the student requests the refund within 14 days of the first regularly scheduled meeting of the class or the first actual meeting, whichever is later, and (3) the student would otherwise be entitled to a refund if the student dropped the class or course for other reasons.