Board discusses Senate Bill 216

The Painesville School Board is tracking Senate Bill 216, the Ohio Public Schools Deregulation Act.

At the most recent meeting, Board Member Debra Remington discussed how the bill will impact the district.

This is going to take a long time to get through because there are so many changes that will have to be made, said Remington.

“The bill tries to offer school districts some relief from some of the state mandated requirements, specifically changes in the Ohio Teachers Evaluation System, the licensure for teachers and aids, the teacher evaluation process, testing and assessments, consolidated reporting requirements, The College Credit Plus Program and preschool operating standards,” she said.

The Ohio Education Association said it opposes S.B. 216 because most provisions in the bill would eliminate requirements that support educators and protect students, according to its website. However, the bill makes other proposals regarding testing and evaluations that OEA does support.

“The bill has many provisions recommended by school district superintendents in Northwest Ohio,” the OEA confirms. “The primary intent of the bill is to create more flexibility in Ohio law for school superintendents regarding teacher licensure and classroom assignments, qualifications for educational aide permits, substitutes and continuing contracts (tenure) for non-teaching employees.”

If approved, the state board is required to adopt the revised framework by May 1 and school districts are required to update its teacher evaluation policies by July 1, according to the bill summary.

Districts will make several changes to the specifications for the state framework.

There are some fiscal advantages and disadvantages to the bill.

The fiscal analysis states that the bill makes many changes to a variety of laws governing primary and secondary education, including state achievement assessments the College Credit Plus Program, excessively absent students, teacher evaluations and educator licensure and employment. A number of provisions in the bill may reduce costs or administrative duties for the state and public districts and schools while a few others may increase them.

While the Senate Education Committee continues to examine the bill sponsored by Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, Remington said she will continue to discuss it at board meetings.

The next Painesville school board meeting will be at 7 p.m. March 12 in the James Dillard Board Room at Harvey High School.