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Technology
• Cell phones: Each public school is now required to adopt a policy governing cell phone use during school hours. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce created a model policy, which school districts are free to adopt.
• What they are saying: “Our members know that unrestricted use of cell phones in the classroom leads to distraction, bullying and in a lot of ways can really undermine our mission as educators.” — Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.
• Protecting student data: Schools that contract with technology providers are now required to retain sole rights to the educational records of their students, targeting privacy concerns.
Teacher licensure changes
• Homegrown teachers: More schools are now eligible to participate in the state’s Grow Your Own Teacher scholarship program. The program identifies qualified students in high-need schools and provides them with funds to obtain an education degree, along with assurances that the student could come back to their hometown to teach.
• School counselors: It is now easier for schools to evaluate and renew licenses for school counselors if they are considered “high performing” for at least four out of the previous five years.
• Teacher evaluations: This coming school year, school districts may also adopt their own way to evaluate teachers and school counselors rather than being forced to use the State Board of Education’s rules. A goal of this is for local schools to not focus so much on student test scores and use evaluations more as tools for growth, not punishment.
Revoking licenses
• Report to the state: School districts will now have to file a report with the state if a licensed employee retires during a disciplinary investigation for misconduct or when a licensed employee is removed from the list of substitute teachers because the employee committed an act unbecoming to the teaching profession.
• Prostitution: The State Board of Education will revoke the license of a school employee convicted of prostitution unless the individual was coerced into committing the offense.
Religious accommodations
• Religious expression days: Starting Oct. 20, all public schools will be required to grant students at least three excused absences for “religious expression days” each year.
• Why they say it was necessary: “Ohio’s recent political climate has raised concerns that Ohio’s K-12 public school teachers, staff and students may face negative consequences for expressing certain political perspectives or failing to conform to specific ideological viewpoints.” — Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, the primary sponsor of the bill.
School funding
• Technical error corrected: After a technical error was discovered in the school funding formula, some schools were overpaid by several thousand dollars. A new amendment corrects the calculation error.