As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 369

2025-2026

To amend sections 3301.079 and 3301.0715 of the Revised Code to change diagnostic assessments for grades kindergarten through two to end-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessments and for the third grade to beginning-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 3301.079 and 3301.0715 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3301.079. (A)(1) The department of education and workforce periodically shall adopt statewide academic standards with emphasis on coherence, focus, and essential knowledge and that are more challenging and demanding when compared to international standards for each of grades kindergarten through twelve in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

(a) The department shall ensure that the standards do all of the following:

(i) Include the essential academic content and skills that students are expected to know and be able to do at each grade level that will allow each student to be prepared for postsecondary instruction and the workplace for success in the twenty-first century;

(ii) Include the development of skill sets that promote information, media, and technological literacy;

(iii) Include interdisciplinary, project-based, real-world learning opportunities;

(iv) Instill life-long learning by providing essential knowledge and skills based in the liberal arts tradition, as well as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and career-technical education;

(v) Be clearly written, transparent, and understandable by parents, educators, and the general public.

(b) The department shall incorporate into the social studies standards for grades four to twelve academic content regarding the original texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution of the United States and its amendments, with emphasis on the Bill of Rights, and the Ohio Constitution, and their original context. The department shall revise the model curricula and achievement assessments adopted under divisions (B) and (C) of this section as necessary to reflect the additional American history and American government content. The department shall make available a list of suggested grade-appropriate supplemental readings that place the documents prescribed by this division in their historical context, which teachers may use as a resource to assist students in reading the documents within that context.

(c) When the department adopts or revises academic content standards in social studies, American history, American government, or science under division (A)(1) of this section, it shall develop such standards independently and not as part of a multistate consortium.

(2)(a) After completing the standards required by division (A)(1) of this section, the department shall adopt standards and model curricula for instruction in technology, financial literacy and entrepreneurship, fine arts, and foreign language for grades kindergarten through twelve. The standards shall meet the same requirements prescribed in division (A)(1)(a) of this section.

(b) The department shall incorporate into the standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and entrepreneurship for grades nine through twelve academic content regarding free market capitalism. The academic content shall include all of the following concepts related to free market capitalism:

(i) Raw materials, labor, and capital, the three classical factors of economic production, are privately owned.

(ii) Individuals control their own ability to work, earn wages, and obtain skills to earn and increase wages.

(iii) Private ownership of capital may include a sole proprietorship, a family business, a publicly traded corporation, a group of private investors, or a bank.

(iv) Markets aggregate the exchange of goods and services throughout the world. Market prices are the only way to convey so much constantly changing information about the supply of goods and services, and the demand for them, for consumers and producers to make informed economic decisions for themselves.

(v) Wealth is created by providing goods and services that people value at a profit, and both sellers and buyers seek to profit in some way in a free market transaction. Thus, profit earned through transactions can be consumed, saved, reinvested in the business, or dispersed to shareholders.

(vi) Wealth creation involves asset value appreciation and depreciation, voluntary exchange of equity ownership, and open and closed markets.

(vii) The free market is driven by, and tends to produce, entrepreneurship and innovation.

(viii) The free market can include side effects and market failures where at least part of the cost of the transaction, including producing, transporting, selling, or buying, is born by others outside of the transaction.

(ix) The political features of the free market, including legally protected property rights, legally enforceable contracts, patent protections, and the mitigation of side effects and market failures;

(x) Societies that embrace the free market often embrace political and personal freedom as well.

(3) The department shall adopt the most recent standards developed by the national association for sport and physical education for physical education in grades kindergarten through twelve or shall adopt its own standards for physical education in those grades and revise and update them periodically.

The department shall employ a full-time physical education coordinator to provide guidance and technical assistance to districts, community schools, and STEM schools in implementing the physical education standards adopted under this division. The director of education and workforce shall determine that the person employed as coordinator is qualified for the position, as demonstrated by possessing an adequate combination of education, license, and experience.

(4) The department shall update the standards and model curriculum for instruction in computer science in grades kindergarten through twelve, which shall include standards for introductory and advanced computer science courses in grades nine through twelve. When developing the standards and curriculum, the department shall consider recommendations from computer science education stakeholder groups, including teachers and representatives from higher education, industry, computer science organizations in Ohio, and national computer science organizations.

Any district or school may utilize the computer science standards or model curriculum or any part thereof adopted pursuant to division (A)(4) of this section. However, no district or school shall be required to utilize all or any part of the standards or curriculum.

(5) When academic standards have been completed for any subject area required by this section, the department shall inform all school districts, all community schools established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, all STEM schools established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, and all nonpublic schools required to administer the assessments prescribed by sections 3301.0710 and 3301.0712 of the Revised Code of the content of those standards. Additionally, upon completion of any academic standards under this section, the department shall post those standards on the department's web site.

(B)(1) The department shall adopt a model curriculum for instruction in each subject area for which updated academic standards are required by division (A)(1) of this section and for each of grades kindergarten through twelve that is sufficient to meet the needs of students in every community. The model curriculum shall be aligned with the standards, to ensure that the academic content and skills specified for each grade level are taught to students, and shall demonstrate vertical articulation and emphasize coherence, focus, and rigor. When any model curriculum has been completed, the department shall inform all school districts, community schools, and STEM schools of the content of that model curriculum.

(2) The department, in consultation with the governor's office of workforce transformation, shall adopt model curricula for grades kindergarten through twelve that embed career connection learning strategies into regular classroom instruction.

(3) All school districts, community schools, and STEM schools may utilize the state standards and the model curriculum established by the department, together with other relevant resources, examples, or models to ensure that students have the opportunity to attain the academic standards. Upon request, the department shall provide technical assistance to any district, community school, or STEM school in implementing the model curriculum.

Nothing in this section requires any school district to utilize all or any part of a model curriculum developed under this section.

(C) The department shall develop achievement assessments aligned with the academic standards and model curriculum for each of the subject areas and grade levels required by divisions (A)(1) and (B)(1) of section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code.

When any achievement assessment has been completed, the department shall inform all school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and nonpublic schools required to administer the assessment of its completion, and the department shall make the achievement assessment available to the districts and schools.

(D)(1) ~~The~~ Not later than July 1, 2026, the department shall adopt ~~a diagnostic~~ an end-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessment aligned with the academic standards ~~and model curriculum~~ for grades one and two in reading, writing, and mathematics and for grade three a beginning-of-year or fall-administered nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessment in reading ~~and~~, writing, and mathematics. The diagnostic assessment shall be designed to measure student comprehension of academic content and mastery of related skills for the relevant subject area and grade level, and the beginning- and end-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessments in reading shall be aligned with the science of reading. ~~Any diagnostic assessment shall not include components to identify gifted students.~~ ~~Blank copies of diagnostic assessments shall be public records.~~

(2) ~~When each~~ After the department adopts the beginning- or end-of-year diagnostic assessment ~~has been completed~~, the department shall ~~inform all school districts of its completion and~~ make ~~the diagnostic assessment~~ it available to the districts at no cost to the district.

~~(3)~~(3)(a) School districts shall administer the beginning- or end-of-year diagnostic assessment adopted under division (D)(1) of this section pursuant to section 3301.0715 of the Revised Code beginning in the fall or spring of the first school year following the ~~development~~ approval of the assessment.

~~However, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, both of the following shall apply:~~

(a) In the case of the diagnostic assessments for grades one or two in writing or mathematics or for grade three in writing, a school district shall not be required to administer any such assessment, but may do so at the discretion of the district board;

(b) In the case of any diagnostic assessment that is not for the grade levels and subject areas specified in division (D)(3)(a) of this section, each school district shall administer the assessment in the manner prescribed by section 3301.0715 of the Revised Code. (b) School districts may elect to administer an assessment from the list of those approved by the department in the fall of each school year for grades kindergarten through two.

(4) When selecting a provider of the diagnostic assessment prescribed by division (D)(1) of this section, the department shall require that each request for proposal include the following:

(a) A norm-referenced diagnostic tool;

(b) Beginning- and end-of-year administrations;

(d) Evidence of the procedure used to ensure objectivity in grading assessments;

(e) Assurances that the provider will produce a comparative description between a subsequently adopted assessment and the assessment which immediately preceded it.

(E) The department shall not adopt a diagnostic or achievement assessment for any grade level or subject area other than those specified in this section.

(F) Whenever the department consults with persons for the purpose of drafting or reviewing any standards, diagnostic assessments, achievement assessments, or model curriculum required under this section, the department shall first consult with parents of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade and with active Ohio classroom teachers, other school personnel, and administrators with expertise in the appropriate subject area. Whenever practicable, the department shall consult with teachers recognized as outstanding in their fields.

If the department contracts with more than one outside entity for the development of the achievement assessments required by this section, the department shall ensure the interchangeability of those assessments.

~~(G)~~(F) Whenever the department adopts standards or model curricula under this section, the department also shall provide information on the use of blended, online, or digital learning in the delivery of the standards or curricula to students in accordance with division (A)(5) of this section.

(H) The fairness sensitivity review committee of the department shall not allow any question on any achievement or diagnostic assessment developed under this section or any proficiency test prescribed by former section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code, as it existed prior to September 11, 2001, to include, be written to promote, or inquire as to individual moral or social values or beliefs. The decision of the committee shall be final. This section does not create a private cause of action.

~~(I)~~(G) Not later than sixty days prior to the adoption of updated academic standards under division (A)(1) of this section or updated model curricula under division (B)(1) of this section, the director of education and workforce shall present the academic standards or model curricula, as applicable, in person at a public hearing of the respective committees of the house of representatives and senate that consider education legislation.

~~(J)~~(H) As used in this section:

(1) "Blended learning" means the delivery of instruction in a combination of time primarily in a supervised physical location away from home and online delivery whereby the student has some element of control over time, place, path, or pace of learning and includes noncomputer-based learning opportunities.

(2) "Online learning" means students work primarily from their residences on assignments delivered via an internet- or other computer-based instructional method.

(3) "Coherence" means a reflection of the structure of the discipline being taught.

(4) "Digital learning" means learning facilitated by technology that gives students some element of control over time, place, path, or pace of learning.

(5) "Focus" means limiting the number of items included in a curriculum to allow for deeper exploration of the subject matter.

(6) "Vertical articulation" means key academic concepts and skills associated with mastery in particular content areas should be articulated and reinforced in a developmentally appropriate manner at each grade level so that over time students acquire a depth of knowledge and understanding in the core academic disciplines.

(7) "Norm-referenced assessment" means a standardized test or evaluative instrument for which the score interpretation, expressed as a percentile rank, is based on a comparison of the student's performance to the performance of a specified reference group, such as the student's age cohort or grade cohort used in the development of the assessment.

(8) "Percentage" means the mathematic ratio expression of the specific number of questions correct compared to the total number of questions multiplied by one hundred.

(9) "Percentile" means the point on the norms distribution for an age cohort or grade cohort, below which a certain percentage of the raw scores fall.

Sec. 3301.0715. (A) Except as required under division (B)(1) of section 3313.608 or as specified in division (D)(3) of section 3301.079 of the Revised Code, the board of education of each city, local, and exempted village school district shall administer each applicable diagnostic assessment developed and provided to the district in accordance with section 3301.079 of the Revised Code to the following:

(1) Any student who transfers into the district or to a different school within the district if each applicable ~~diagnostic~~ assessment was not administered by the district or school the student previously attended in the current school year, within thirty days after the date of transfer. If the district or school into which the student transfers cannot determine whether the student has taken any applicable ~~diagnostic~~ assessment in the current school year, the district or school may administer the ~~diagnostic~~ assessment to the student. However, if a student transfers into the district prior to the administration of the ~~diagnostic~~ assessments to all students under division (B) of this section, the district may administer the ~~diagnostic~~ assessments to that student on the date or dates determined under that division.

(2) Each kindergarten student, not earlier than the first day of July of the school year and not later than the twentieth day of instruction of that school year.

For the purpose of division (A)(2) of this section, the district shall administer the kindergarten readiness assessment provided by the department of children and youth. In no case shall the results of the readiness assessment be used to prohibit a student from enrolling in kindergarten.

(3) Each student enrolled in first, second, or third grade.

Division (A) of this section does not apply to students with significant cognitive disabilities, as defined by the department.

(B) Each district board shall administer ~~each~~ a beginning-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessment in the fall and an end-of-year nationally norm-referenced diagnostic assessment in the spring when the board deems appropriate for the appropriate grade level in accordance with section 3301.079 of the Revised Code, provided the administration complies with section 3313.608 of the Revised Code. ~~However, the board shall administer any diagnostic assessment at least once annually to all students in the appropriate grade level.~~ A district board may administer any additional diagnostic ~~assessment~~ assessments in the fall ~~and spring~~ of a school year to measure the amount of academic growth attributable to the instruction received by students during that school year.

(C) A district may use different diagnostic assessments from those adopted under division (D) of section 3301.079 of the Revised Code in order to satisfy the requirements of division (A)(3) of this section if the district meets either of the following conditions for the immediately preceding school year:

(1) The district received a grade of "A" or "B" for the performance index score under division (C)(1)(b) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code or for the value-added progress dimension under division (C)(1)(e) of that section.

(2) The district received a performance rating of four stars or higher for achievement under division (D)(3)(b) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code or for progress under division (D)(3)(c) of that section.

(D) Each district board shall utilize ~~and score~~ any diagnostic assessment administered under division (A) of this section in accordance with rules established by the department of education and workforce or the department of children and youth. After the administration of any diagnostic assessment, each district shall provide a student's completed diagnostic assessment, the results of such assessment, and any other accompanying documents used during the administration of the assessment to the parent of that student, and shall include all such documents and information in any plan developed for the student under division (C) of section 3313.608 of the Revised Code. Each district shall submit, in the manner prescribed by each department, the results of the diagnostic assessments administered under this section, regardless of the type of assessment used under section 3313.608 of the Revised Code as follows:

(1) The results of the kindergarten readiness assessment to the department of children and youth;

(2) The results of all diagnostic assessments to the department of education and workforce.

The department of education and workforce and the department of children and youth may issue reports with respect to the data collected. Either department may report school and district level kindergarten diagnostic assessment data and use diagnostic assessment data to calculate the measures prescribed by divisions (B)(1)(g), (C)(1)(g), and (D)(1)(h) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code and the data reported under division (D)(2)(e) of that section.

(E) Each district board shall provide intervention services to students whose diagnostic assessments show that they are failing to make satisfactory progress toward attaining the academic standards for their grade level.

(F) Any chartered nonpublic school may elect to administer the kindergarten readiness assessment to all kindergarten students enrolled in the school. If the school so elects, the chief administrator of the school shall notify the director of children and youth not later than the thirty-first day of March prior to any school year in which the school will administer the assessment. The department of children and youth shall furnish the assessment to the school at no cost to the school. In administering the assessment, the school shall do all of the following:

(1) Enter into a written agreement with the department of children and youth specifying that the school will share each participating student's assessment data with the department of education and workforce and the department of children and youth and, that for the purpose of reporting the data to the department of education and workforce and department of children and youth, each participating student will be assigned a data verification code as described in division (D)(2) of section 3301.0714 of the Revised Code;

(2) Require the assessment to be administered by a teacher certified under section 3301.071 of the Revised Code who either has completed training on administering the kindergarten readiness assessment provided by the department of children and youth or has been trained by another person who has completed such training;

(3) Administer the assessment in the same manner as school districts are required to do under this section and the rules established under division (D) of this section.

(G) A school district in which less than eighty per cent of its students score at the proficient level or higher on the third-grade English language arts assessment prescribed under section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code shall establish a reading improvement plan supported by reading specialists. Prior to implementation, the plan shall be approved by the school district board of education.

Section 2. That existing sections 3301.079 and 3301.0715 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.