Now is the time to consider becoming involved in the legislative network of OSPA, the Ohio School Psychologist Action Network - OSPAN. The 124th General Assembly convened in January with the one of the largest number of freshmen legislators ever, with 45 new House members. They will be tackling perhaps the most important issue in recent history; the Supreme Court ordered overhaul of Ohio's school funding system. OSPA's goal is to match an OSPA member up with each of the 132 members of the Ohio General Assembly. We currently have 70 OSPA members signed up, so we are still far short of our goal. OSPA staff will communicate legislative information through the OSPA web site (www.ospaonline.org), and on occasion ask that the OSPAN members write a brief letter, or call the legislator's office with a brief message about a particular legislative issue. Either a sample letter or sample message will accompany all OSPAN alerts. It really takes very little time and a few articulate letters really can help educate legislators about important issues.

The most important upcoming issues will be the state education budget and the related school funding bills, all of which will be considered and adopted by the end of June. Additionally, the legislature will be considering the recommendations of the Governor's Commission for Student Success. Most of these recommendations address new diagnostic assessments, new achievement tests, and new academic standards, all of which will have a direct impact on school psychologists and the students they serve.

If you would like to be a part of OSPAN simply e-mail ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), or call the OSPA office (614-939-5980) and indicate your name, your home address, and the school district where you work. If you know the name of your state legislators list them, if you are not sure, OSPA can identify them for you. Our first priority is to match all of the members of the following committees: House and Senate Education Committees, House and Senate Finance Committees, and the House Primary and Secondary Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee (refer to the OSPA Legislative Update for their names). Matching up the Chairs of the respective committees is of particular importance. Thank you in advance for your participation. You will be sent a packet of information from OSPA including a helpful Legislative Manual.

 

Letters of Introduction:

Use the following links to download letters of introduction to send to your Ohio state representatives and senators:

Ohio House of Representatives Letter of Introduction

Ohio Senate Letter of Introduction