The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio Requires Schools to Install Exterior Secure Master Key Boxes by 2027
Last action · May 20, 2026: Referred to EducationSponsors: Thomas Patton and 12 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
Ohio public and s must purchase and install at least one exterior secure master key box for each school building by June 30, 2027, to facilitate emergency response. The legislation also updates state agency appropriations, including funds for forensic science research, domestic violence programs, and law enforcement training.
School districts and s must invest resources in acquiring and installing compliant secure key boxes and coordinating with local law enforcement to stock them with building access tools. Records revealing the precise physical location of these master key boxes are explicitly excluded from public records laws.
- The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature responsible for enacting statutory code revisions and state operating budget appropriations. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
school districts and chartered nonpublic schools
Schools must purchase, install, and maintain exterior secure master key boxes containing building access items and maps by June 30, 2027.
local law enforcement agencies and emergency responders
Responders are granted exterior emergency access to master keys, access cards, and building maps housed in the new secure boxes.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must schools install the exterior secure master key boxes?
What items must be placed inside the secure master key box?
Are schools eligible for financial assistance to buy these key boxes?
Are the exact locations of the master key boxes public record?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
6 actions- May 20, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred to Education
- May 19, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
- May 13, 2026SenateFloorPassed
- Apr 14, 2026SenateCommitteeReported - Substitute (Education)
- Oct 15, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Education
- Oct 8, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
Version history & redline
3 versions on fileVoting Record
Adopted
Total
31
- Yes
- 29
- No
- 2
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (30)
Show 1 earlier roll call
Favorable Passage
Total
8
- Yes
- 7
- No
- 1
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 8 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Emergency Access Infrastructure
The bill shifts school security compliance from a discretionary local guideline to a mandatory statutory requirement with a specific implementation deadline backed by grant funding.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools