Ohio Department of Education

The Ohio State Board of Education, which has eleven elected members and eight appointed members, oversees primary and secondary education in the State of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Education.

The state is divided into eleven districts by combining three contiguous Ohio State Senate districts, each of which elects one representative. The governor of Ohio appoints the remaining eight members. All serve four year terms. The elected members' terms are staggered so that half of the board is elected in each even-numbered year. Vacancies in the elected membership are filled by appointment by the governor. The chairman of the Ohio House of Representatives Education Committee and his or her counterpart in the Ohio State Senate are ex officio members. The board employs a Superintendent of Public Instruction, who runs the Ohio Department of Education.

In 2002, the board, which is largely unknown in the state, was frequently in the news over how the state's model science curriculum should treat the issues of evolution, intelligent design, and creationism. The majority of the board's membership being popularly elected has been greatly criticized by some education advocates over the years, who cite a lack of widespread public interest in, or knowledge of, the sometimes highly technical nature of the educational issues often addressed by the board, and cite as evidence of the public apathy the large number of voters, as demonstrated by voting results, who vote in other races but skip over the race for the board in their district entirely.

The board has no control over the state's public colleges and universities, which are overseen by their individual boards of trustees and the Ohio Board of Regents.

Closing Achievement Gaps in the State of Ohio

Of the 10,000 Ohio students not meeting academic standards, a disproportionate number of them are from low income neighborhoods, African American students, Hispanic students, ESL students, and students with disabilities. Failing to meet academic standards means these children leave school unprepared for the work force or further education.

These achievement gaps between these students listed above and those who are meeting standards are not ability gaps. Some schools in Ohio have much higher rates of the students above passing standards—this shows that all students can be taught to the academic standards. It is Ohio's mission to close these gaps with the following recommendations.

Strategies

1. Focus on high achievement for all students
2. Prepare and support educators
3. Adapt structures to the needs of students

Anti-bullying policy OK'd after removing references to sexual orientation

On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, the Ohio State Board of Education adopted a anti-bullying policy, however they decided to remove reference to "taunts based on ethnicity, gender, religion (and) sexual orientation."

One of the reasons it was removed was because board members said it was repetitive and unnecessary, however it was also discussed that it should be removed because the reference to sexual orientation could make some school officials uneasy.

External links

• Official site of the board, with maps of districts and biographies of members

See also

• Government of Ohio