OHIO — The Ohio State Board of Education is defending itself with the help of a resolution.
What You Need To Know
- The Board of Education believes it should retain complete rulemaking authority
- It also believes it should retain the voice of Ohioans and transparency
- Legal staff has been directed to advocate for the board when it comes to the possibility of restructuring ODE and the shifting of state board responsibilities
It is in response to the passage of Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 12, which are still in committee. The bills aim to restructure the Department of Education and shift state board responsibilities to others who would serve within the governor’s cabinet.
The 19-member board passed an emergency resolution on Tuesday calling for the transparency of the board to be preserved.
“I think the most important thing included in the resolution was the desire that the board would keep its rule making authority. That’s really the crux, the meat of what the board does month in and month out. Obviously, another important function we would retain under the proposed resolution which is licensure cases,” said District 5 member Brendan Shea.
In addition, the resolution makes it clear it that it’s important to:
- Retain the voice of Ohioans concerning K-12 education
- Have public meetings with public input
- Involve the board leadership in policy-making processes to avoid delays between the enactment and implementation of legislation
- Have better communication with the board and legislators two
- Make the superintendent a part of the board of the governor’s office of workforce transformation if the legislation were to pass
- Have the Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction and Department of Education staff authorized to advocate on behalf of the Board’s work and its constitutional role in educational oversight in Ohio
Shea isn’t sure if the resolution will make a difference, but did say it was important for the board to weigh in on the matter.
