Join Honesty for Ohio Education and the Columbus Education Justice Coalition for a Big Table Conversation about our public schools: what's happening locally, what's at stake, and how we can take collective action to build strong Ohio schools.

Food and refreshments will be provided. Masks are required for this event and will be provided.

FYI: This listening session is for young people only!

The Belonging for Every Student Listening Campaign is a statewide effort to better understand how recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws are shaping the experiences of students, educators, and families across Ohio.

Over the past few years, laws like House Bill 8 have required all 611 school districts in Ohio to adopt new policies. While these policies are public record, what remains unclear is how they are being put into practice and how they are impacting real people in school communities.

This autumn, we are listening. We want to know: How are districts implementing these policies? Are schools going beyond what the law requires? How are LGBTQ+ students and families being affected? What changes are educators experiencing in their classrooms, materials, and ability to support students?

By gathering stories, insights, and data from across the state, this campaign will help build a clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground. These findings will directly inform advocacy strategies for the 2026–2027 school year, ensuring that efforts to support safe, inclusive, and equitable schools are rooted in the lived experiences of Ohio communities.

Please share with young Ohioans who have something to say about the experiences of LQBTQ+ students in our schools in the 2026-2027 school year.

For the 2026-27 School Year, we will host monthly community meetings that are open to the public. Join us on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7PM via Zoom.

Each meeting will include an informational topic or training and the opportunity to meet and plan with pro-public education families, educators, and neighbors on your side of town. Learn to build your own campaigns to fight for your rights and needs at your school, in your neighborhood, in our city, community and across the state.

The CEJC Board Watch in collaboration with Parents United for Public Schools is purposed for parents, educators, and neighbors to hold the Columbus Board of Education accountable for levy promises and to engage with board activities by staying abreast of board agendas and actions.

Each month our members attend CCS Board of Education meetings together (in person or virtually) and we meet on the final Monday of the month to discuss hot topics, organize, and move into action.

The Columbus Board of Education is making critical decisions about school closures, transportation cuts, and staff reductions — decisions that will deeply affect our students, families, and neighborhoods for years to come.

But our community has not been meaningfully included in these decisions. Once again, families and educators are being left out of conversations, actual two-way dialogue, that shape the future of our schools.

It’s time to demand a fair, transparent, and community-centered process for addressing the district’s budget shortfall — one that values students, not savings.

The Columbus Education Justice Coalition (CEJC) has submitted a proposed Budget Shortfall Policy to the Board of Education that ensures:
✅ Transparent analysis of all costs and savings before any school closure or program cut.
✅ Consideration of full impacts on students, families, and neighborhoods.
✅ A representative decision-making committee including parents, educators, students, and community members.
✅ Real, accessible community engagement — including language access for New American families.
✅ A plan to minimize harm from any closures or cuts, grounded in research and best practices. Now we need YOU to take action.