OHIO TALIBAN UPDATE: Fifteen members of the Ohio House of Representatives have found time in their demanding schedules to introduce House Bill 184, "A bill to amend section 3314.03 and to enact section 3313.801 of the Revised Code to require school districts and community schools that receive donated copies of the mottoes of the United States of America or the State of Ohio to display the mottoes in school buildings."

Here's the proposed new state law:

Sec. 3313.801. If a reasonably sized copy of the official motto of the United States of America "In God We Trust" or the official motto of Ohio "With God, All Things Are Possible" is donated to any school district, or if money is donated to the district specifically for the purpose of purchasing such material, the board of education of the school district shall accept the donation and display the motto in an appropriate manner in a classroom, auditorium, or cafeteria of a school building in the district.

As introduced, the bill does not cover donations of reasonably sized copies of the Great Seal of the United States (adopted 168 years before the U.S. Motto) or pictures of the Ohio state bird (the cardinal), tree (buckeye), or flower (carnation), all of which predate the General Assembly's adoption of the state motto in 1959. Nor does the bill require schools to accept and display framed copies of the Bill of Rights. But perhaps we'll see some additions in committee.

(Want to stay up to date on the many interesting things our legislature is doing? Here you go.)
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