Ohio House Bill 583, which went into effect on Sept. 23, provides resources for tutoring students that are available to all districts in Ohio. These provisions are targeted at remediating learning losses that students experienced due to school building closures related to COVID-19. The programs are implemented by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) using federal funding.
Tutoring program managed by ESC of Central Ohio
Newly enacted Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3301.28 requires the state superintendent to set up a new statewide tutoring program that will be administered by the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Central Ohio. The program will utilize a corps of retired and substitute teachers to provide tutoring services in the academic areas of English language arts (ELA), math, science and social studies. Teachers will be eligible to participate as tutors, regardless of whether they have an active teaching license, as long as they have not had their license suspended or revoked. The law also empowered the state superintendent to set up alternative standards by which individuals would be eligible to serve as tutors. Prospective tutors will be required to pass a criminal background check. In the coming weeks, ODE is required to set up a training curriculum for prospective tutors.
Participation in the tutoring services program is voluntary. Districts who choose to participate will need to notify the ESC of Central Ohio of their intention to participate. Districts can choose to have the tutoring done before, during or after school, as well as on school breaks, holidays or weekends. Districts may also choose whether services will be provided on an online platform or in-person. Districts will have the ultimate authority but will need to coordinate with the ESC of Central Ohio in making these logistical determinations. The law states that regional ESCs may take a role in the training and placement of prospective tutors within participating schools.
Districts will be financially responsible for participation in the program, including the space, materials and equipment used in the program. Districts will also be responsible for transferring funds to the ESC of Central Ohio for assisting with paying the tutors.
ODE-maintained list of tutoring programs
The new law also directs ODE to compile a list of high-quality tutoring programs for optional use by schools. The list will include tutoring programs to assist students in core subjects of ELA, math, science and social studies. ODE will create minimum criteria for programs to be included in the list and the list may designate certain programs that are targeted at certain grade levels and/or student populations. The initial list was posted earlier this afternoon and will be updated regularly.
If you have questions about any of these resources, you are welcome to contact the legal division at (855)-OSBA-LAW.