Blogs

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has announced…

The United States Department of Education (USDOE) has announced a new school funding pilot program and an interactive resource for data on English Learners (ELs).

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On Jan. 16, via press release, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced the approval of Ohio’s state plan submitted as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Ohio was one of 11 states receiving DOE plan approval, including Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Ohio’s plan was unanimously approved by the State Board on July 11, 2017, and subsequently submitted to DOE on Sept. 15, 2017. The press release highlighted some unique features of Ohio’s plan, including its focus on serving…

Two state agencies have recently prepared new resources for school districts: The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) updated its truancy and attendance guidance, and the Ohio History Connection (OHC) added resources for properly managing local government records.

Truancy and discipline resources

House Bill (HB) 410, passed last year by the Ohio General Assembly, altered state attendance and truancy laws.…

ODE proposes amendments to rules on licenses for substitutes and alternative resident educators

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) recently filed a set of rule amendments related to temporary licenses. In part, the changes proposed by ODE are based on legislative amendments and on feedback from school districts.  Among the key rule amendments are:

Just yesterday, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) posted additional draft sections of Ohio’s federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) template. Ohio released its original draft plan in Feb. 2017 after soliciting stakeholder feedback. In March, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released a revised ESSA plan template, and as a result, Ohio is releasing a revised plan application that meets DOE’s revised template requirements.

Ohio’s final ESSA plan will be submitted to DOE in Sept. 2017. In the meantime, ODE has been posting components as they are revised and soliciting…

June 1 is the deadline for providing written notice to a teacher that the board does not intend to renew his or her contract.  But did you realize that May 1 is another critical deadline if a board is considering non-renewal for a teacher on a limited or extended limited contract?

Districts considering non-renewal of any teacher must follow all of the statutorily required steps by the applicable deadlines.  If the district fails to meet the requirements in the law, the teacher will be deemed…

Governor Kasich’s biennial budget for FY 2018-19 was introduced on Wednesday as House Bill 49.  The full text—all 3512 pages of it—is available here. 

There has already been a lot of discussion about the provisions in the bill that are of interest to school districts and educational service centers.  But for those who would like to see the specific proposed language on some key topics, here are the line numbers in the current bill: 

Yesterday, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released its draft overview of Ohio’s State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

ODE developed the draft overview after a year of meetings and outreach to Ohio’s educators, parents and community members about the state’s educational system.  According to Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria, the plan’s major policy points include:

• Establishing stability in the…

The Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) released an updated version of Ohio’s System of General Supervision on Oct. 13. Federal law requires states to develop systems of general supervision to monitor school district implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. OEC establishes this document, which is comprised of nine…