Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has signed House Bills 19 and 290, as well as Senate Bills 89 and 124. The new laws target teen dating violence, Junior ROTC, property transfers, and more.

State Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood sponsored HB 19, which requires each school district board of education to adopt a policy to prevent and address incidents of dating violence at school, provide staff training on dating violence prevention and include dating prevention education for grades 7-12 within the health education curriculum. In addition, the bill contains provisions that require the State Board of Education to develop a model dating violence prevention policy for curricula.

Known as "The Tina Croucher Act," the bill is named after Tina Croucher, who was shot and killed by an abusive high school boyfriend in 1992. Her parents, Jim and Elsa Croucher, became strong advocates for teen-dating violence awareness.

State Reps. Danny Bubp and Ray Pryor sponsored HB 290, which adds Junior ROTC as an elective within the Ohio Core curriculum and permits school districts to excuse students participating in Junior ROTC for at least two school years from high school physical education courses.

The bill also permits the state superintendent and chancellor to create a statewide longitudinal student data system for conducting longitudinal research and evaluation of P-16 education programs, which will significantly strengthen Ohio's application for federal Race to the Top grants.

"The education reforms passed earlier this year uniquely positioned Ohio to be highly competitive for Race to the Top federal grants, which will help provide a world-class education to Ohio students so they can succeed in a global economy," Strickland said. "The creation of a longitudinal data system will further strengthen Ohio's application to bring greater investments into Ohio's education system."

HB 290 also contains a provision that directs the Department of Education to reevaluate each community school that was ordered to close at the end of the 2009-2010 school year for poor academic performance to determine whether the school still meets the closure criteria. Additionally, the bill extends the deadline for certain School Facilities Commission projects, and removes certain requirements for the Harmon Commission, which designates classrooms as creative learning environments.

State Sen. Sue Morano sponsored SB 89, which authorizes an out-of-state or federally employed advanced practice nurse with the authority to prescribe drugs to obtain that authority in Ohio without completing an externship if the nurse has met other requirements. In addition, the bill includes a provision that requires the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to establish a mechanism within the Ohio Skills Bank to facilitate communication, cooperation, and partnerships to meet regional and statewide nursing education needs.

State Sens. Keith Faber and Joe Schiavoni sponsored SB 124, which changes how property may be transferred upon the death of an individual. The bill also contains provisions that make general changes to the Mortgage Loan Law and the Mortgage Brokers Law and lessens the formatting requirements for instruments or documents recorded with a county recorder.