The final stretch of Ohio’s Lame Duck session is wrapping up, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity. This week, we’re diving into the chaos with Rachel Coyle to unpack the highs, lows, and everything in between. We’ll highlight key bills to watch, share updates from recent hearings, and explore ways you can continue advocating for Ohio’s future. Visit Honesty’s legislation tracker for updates, and check out Ohioans Against Extremists’ resources for ways to make your voice heard in these final moments! Support this podcast and Honesty’s advocacy work by donating today—every contribution helps us keep up the fight for inclusive, honest education in Ohio.

Tis the season for lots of Chaos at the Ohio Statehouse! This week Rachel Coyle joins us to discuss what happened this past week during Ohio’s Lame Duck Session. As we go into the (hopefully) final week of Lame Duck with a lot of moving pieces, there are many opportunities to Ohioans to take action and advocate on some high-priority bills. You can follow all priority legislation by visiting lameduck.wtf. For education-specific bills, visit Honesty's Legislation Tracker.

Support this podcast and Honesty's advocacy efforts by donating today!

Welcome back! We took last week off for the holiday, where the legislature was mostly on break with just two committee hearings taking place. We have officially wrapped up week four of lame duck and it was a busy one. This week, Rachel Coyle is back with us to discuss what took place this week during many committee hearings and sessions. You can follow all priority legislation by visiting lameduck.wtf. For education-specific bills, visit Honesty's Legislation Tracker.

Support this podcast and Honesty's advocacy efforts by donating today!

Lame Duck week two is a wrap! This week, our very own Rachel Coyle will join us to discuss what all has happened. Our conversation focuses on Senate Bill 293, some good education-related bills that are moving in the statehouse, and hot gossip about the House Speaker race.

Track lame duck bills – lameduck.wtf

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The first week of lame duck was very busy and extremely unfortunate. This week we had Natalie Hastings, an organizer with Honesty for Ohio Education, and Morgan Zickes, Public Policy Manager with Equality Ohio, join us to talk about what happened at the Ohio Statehouse. Our conversation focuses on a bill that wants to bring religious education to the public school day and an anti-trans bathroom bill targeting K-12 schools and higher education.

Want to track legislation during lame duck? Visit Honesty’s Legislation Tracker.

Equality Ohio Website: https://equalityohio.org/

Honesty for Ohio Education Website: https://www.honestyforohioeducation.org/

Just a few days after the 2024 Presidential election, lame duck session has begun here in Ohio. On this inaugural episode, Voices for Change Host Matina Bliss and Communications Intern Leilani Negrete sit down with lame duck experts Jamie Miracle and Rachel Coyle to discuss the ins and outs of Lame Duck session in Ohio, bills residents should be watching out for this year, and ways Ohioans can get involved and make an impact in the process.

Episode Guests:

Jamie Miracle (she/her), Deputy Director of Abortion Forward

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Jaime Miracle started with the organization as a field organizer in June 2004, moved to policy director in 2010, and became Deputy Director in 2015. Prior to working with Abortion Forward, she conducted research into vision development at The OSU College of Optometry and breast cancer prevention at The Ohio State University Medical Center. Jaime has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy with a focus on Women’s Health Research and Activism from the Western College Program at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Rachel Coyle (she/her) Policy Lead for Honesty for Ohio Education

Rachel Coyle serves as Policy Director at Honesty For Ohio Education. She is also the founder of "State Action Initiative" and Co-Founder of "How Things Work at the Statehouse." Rachel has served as communications director for a governor's race and state Senate race, worked as press secretary for a state party, and held legislative and campaign roles with the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus.

Rachel has extensive nonprofit experience as well. She managed grassroots mobilization at ACLU of Ohio and served as communications director for Innovation Ohio. Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and political science from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in political communication from American University.

Visit our website, www.honestyforohioeducation.org

Follow us on socials @honesty4ohioed

Welcome to Honesty for Ohio Education's podcast, Voices for Change, a space where we dig into the issues shaping education across the state. With a passion for transparency and a commitment to public understanding, we created this podcast to provide an accessible platform where you can learn about the latest policies, initiatives, and challenges in Ohio’s educational landscape.

Visit our website: www.honestyforohioeducation.org

Intro music by Philip G Anderson