As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 874

2025-2026

Representatives Brennan, Baker

To amend sections 3314.012, 3314.016, 3314.021, and 3314.031 and to enact section 3314.0111 of the Revised Code to enact the Charter School Sponsor and Operator Rating Act regarding report cards for community school sponsors and operators.

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

Section 1. That sections 3314.012, 3314.016, 3314.021, and 3314.031 be amended and section 3314.0111 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3314.012. (A) Except as provided in section 3314.017 of the Revised Code, the department of education and workforce shall issue an annual report card for each community school, regardless of how long the school has been in operation. The report card shall report the academic and financial performance of the school . The report card shall include all information applicable to school buildings under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code. The ratings a community school receives under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for its first two full school years shall not be considered toward automatic closure of the school under section 3314.35 of the Revised Code or any other matter that is based on report card ratings.

(B) Upon receipt of a copy of a contract between a sponsor and a community school entered into under this chapter, the department shall notify the community school of the specific model report card that will be used for that school.

(C) Report cards shall be distributed to the parents of all students in the community school, to the members of the board of education of the school district in which the community school is located, and to any person who requests one from the department.

(D) The department shall include on a report card issued to a community school under this section or section 3314.017 of the Revised Code both of the following:

(1) A link to the web site of the community school's sponsor and its sponsor report card issued under section 3314.0111 of the Revised Code;

(2)(a) The name of the operator of the community school, if the community school has one, and whether that operator is a nonprofit or for-profit entity;

(b) A link to the web site of the community school's operator and its operator report card issued under section 3314.031 of the Revised Code.

The information required under division (D) of this section shall be included on the home page of the community school report card, presented with other basic information on the community school.

Sec. 3314.016. This section applies to any entity that sponsors a community school, regardless of whether section 3314.021 or 3314.027 of the Revised Code exempts the entity from the requirement to be approved for sponsorship under divisions (A)(2) and (B)(1) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code. The office of Ohio school sponsorship established under section 3314.029 of the Revised Code shall be rated under division (B) of this section, but divisions (A) and (C) of this section do not apply to the office.

(A) An entity that sponsors a community school shall be permitted to enter into contracts under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code to sponsor additional community schools only if the entity meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The entity is in compliance with all provisions of this chapter requiring sponsors of community schools to report data or information to the department of education and workforce.

(2) The entity is not rated as "ineffective" under division (B)(5) of this section.

(3) Except as set forth in sections 3314.021 and 3314.027 of the Revised Code, the entity has received approval from and entered into an agreement with the department pursuant to section 3314.015 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) The department shall develop and implement an evaluation system that annually rates and assigns an overall rating to each entity that sponsors a community school. The department, not later than the first day of February of each year, shall post on the department's web site the framework for the evaluation system, including technical documentation that the department intends to use to rate sponsors for the next school year. The department shall solicit public comment on the evaluation system for thirty consecutive days. Not later than the first day of April of each year, the department shall compile and post on the department's web site all public comments that were received during the public comment period. The evaluation system shall be posted on the department's web site by the fifteenth day of July of each school year. Any changes to the evaluation system after that date shall take effect the following year. The evaluation system shall be based on the following components:

(a) Academic performance of students enrolled in community schools sponsored by the same entity. The academic performance component shall be derived from the performance measures prescribed for the state report cards under section 3302.03 or 3314.017 of the Revised Code, and shall be based on the performance of the schools for the school year for which the evaluation is conducted. In addition to the academic performance for a specific school year, the academic performance component shall also include year-to-year changes in the overall sponsor portfolio. For a community school for which no graded performance measures are applicable or available, the department shall use nonreport card performance measures specified in the contract between the community school and the sponsor under division (A)(4) of section 3314.03 of the Revised Code.

(b) Adherence by a sponsor to the quality practices prescribed by the department under division (B)(3) of this section.

(c) Compliance with all applicable laws and administrative rules by an entity that sponsors a community school.

Under the evaluation system prescribed under division (B)(1) of this section, the department shall not assign an overall rating of "ineffective" or lower to an entity that sponsors a community school solely because that entity received no points on one of the components prescribed under that division.

(2) In calculating an academic performance component, the department shall exclude all community schools that have been in operation for not more than two full school years, all community schools whose contracts were not renewed or terminated by the sponsor pursuant to section 3314.07 of the Revised Code before the evaluation, and all community schools described in division (B)(2) of section 3314.35 of the Revised Code. However, the academic performance of the community schools described in division (B)(2) of section 3314.35 of the Revised Code shall be reported, but shall not be used as a factor when determining a sponsoring entity's rating under this section.

(3) The department, in consultation with entities that sponsor community schools, shall prescribe quality practices for community school sponsors and develop an instrument to measure adherence to those quality practices. The quality practices shall be based on standards developed by the national association of charter school authorizers or any other nationally organized community school organization.

(4) The director of education and workforce shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prescribing standards for measuring compliance with applicable laws and rules under division (B)(1)(c) of this section.

(5) The department annually shall rate all entities that sponsor community schools as either "exemplary," "effective," "ineffective," or "poor," based on the components prescribed by division (B) of this section, where each component is weighted equally. A separate rating shall be given by the department for each component of the evaluation system.

The department shall publish the ratings between the first day of October and the fifteenth day of November.

Prior to the publication of the final ratings, the department shall designate and provide notice of a period of at least ten business days during which each sponsor may review the information used by the department to determine the sponsor's rating on the components prescribed by division (B)(1)divisions (B)(1)(b) and (c) of this section. If the sponsor believes there is an error in the department's evaluation, the sponsor may request adjustments to the rating of anyeither of those components based on documentation previously submitted as part of an evaluation. The sponsor shall provide to the department any necessary evidence or information to support the requested adjustments. The department shall review the evidence and information, determine whether an adjustment is valid, and promptly notify the sponsor of its determination and reasons. If any adjustments to the data could result in a change to the rating on the applicable component or to the overall rating, the department shall recalculate the ratings prior to publication.

The department shall provide training on an annual basis regarding the evaluation system prescribed under this section. The training shall, at a minimum, describe methodology, timelines, and data required for the evaluation system. The first training session shall occur not later than March 2, 2016. Beginning in 2018, the training shall be made available to each entity that sponsors a community school by the fifteenth day of July of each year and shall include guidance on any changes made to the evaluation system.

(6)(a) Entities with an overall rating of "exemplary" may take advantage of the following incentives:

(i) Renewal of the written agreement with the department, not to exceed ten years, provided that the entity consents to continued evaluation of adherence to quality practices as described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section;

(ii) The ability to extend the term of the contract between the sponsoring entity and the community school beyond the term described in the written agreement with the department;

(iii) An exemption from the preliminary agreement and contract adoption and execution deadline requirements prescribed in division (D) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code;

(iv) An exemption from the automatic contract expiration requirement, should a new community school fail to open by the thirtieth day of September of the calendar year in which the community school contract is executed;

(v) No limit on the number of community schools the entity may sponsor;

(vi) No territorial restrictions on sponsorship.

An entity may continue to sponsor any community schools with which it entered into agreements under division (B)(6)(a)(v) or (vi) of this section while rated "exemplary," notwithstanding the fact that the entity later receives a lower overall rating.

(b) Entities with an overall rating of "exemplary" shall not be evaluated by the department for five full school years following the school year for which the entity received the "exemplary" rating. Entities with an overall rating of "effective" shall not be evaluated by the department for three full school years following the school year for which the entity received the "effective" rating.

(c)(i)(b)(i) Entities that receive an overall rating of "ineffective" shall be prohibited from sponsoring any new or additional community schools during the time in which the sponsor is rated as "ineffective" and shall be subject to a quality improvement plan based on correcting the deficiencies that led to the "ineffective" rating, with timelines and benchmarks that have been established by the department.

(ii) Entities that receive an overall rating of "ineffective" on their three most recent ratings shall have all sponsorship authority revoked. Within thirty days after receiving its third rating of "ineffective," the entity may appeal the revocation of its sponsorship authority to the director, who shall appoint an independent hearing officer to conduct a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The hearing shall be conducted within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal. Within forty-five days after the hearing is completed, the director shall determine whether the revocation is appropriate based on the hearing conducted by the independent hearing officer, and if determined appropriate, the revocation shall be confirmed.

(d)(c) Entities that receive an overall rating of "poor" shall have all sponsorship authority revoked. Within thirty days after receiving a rating of "poor," the entity may appeal the revocation of its sponsorship authority to the director, who shall appoint an independent hearing officer to conduct a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The hearing shall be conducted within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal. Within forty-five days after the hearing is completed, the director shall determine whether the revocation is appropriate based on the hearing conducted by the independent hearing officer, and if determined appropriate, the revocation shall be confirmed.

(7) For the 2014-2015 school year and each school year thereafter, student academic performance prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of this section shall include student academic performance data from dropout prevention and recovery community schools.

(8) The department shall publish annually academic performance data for each sponsor in accordance with division (B)(1)(a) of this section, regardless of whether the sponsor is being evaluated under this section for that school year.

(C) If the governing authority of a community school enters into a contract with a sponsor prior to the date on which the sponsor is prohibited from sponsoring additional schools under division (A) of this section and the school has not opened for operation as of that date, that contract shall be void and the school shall not open until the governing authority secures a new sponsor by entering into a contract with the new sponsor under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code. However, the department's office of Ohio school sponsorship, established under section 3314.029 of the Revised Code, may assume the sponsorship of the school until the earlier of the expiration of two school years or until a new sponsor is secured by the school's governing authority. A community school sponsored by the department under this division shall not be included when calculating the maximum number of directly authorized community schools permitted under division (A)(3) of section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.

(D) When an entity's authority to sponsor schools is revoked pursuant to division (B)(6)(c)(B)(6)(b) or (d)(c) of this section, the office of Ohio school sponsorship shall assume sponsorship of any schools with which the original sponsor has contracted for the remainder of that school year. The office may continue sponsoring those schools until the earlier of:

(1) The expiration of two school years from the time that sponsorship is revoked;

(2) When a new sponsor is secured by the governing authority pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code.

Any community school sponsored under this division shall not be counted for purposes of directly authorized community schools under division (A)(3) of section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.

(E) The department shall recalculate the rating for the 2017-2018 school year for each sponsor of a community school that receives recalculated ratings pursuant to division (I) of section 3314.017 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3314.0111. (A) Annually, not later than the fifteenth day of November or the preceding Friday when that day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the department of education and workforce shall issue a report card reflecting the performance of community school sponsors in the prior school year. The report card shall present information about each sponsor, and be posted on the department's web site, in a manner similar to a state report card issued under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code. The report card for a sponsor shall include detailed information about the sponsor and the sponsor's evaluation under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code, including its overall rating under that section.

(B) The department shall present a sponsor's overall rating on an evaluation under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code on the report card, as follows:

(1) For an overall rating of "exemplary" and any of ten through twelve total points on the evaluation, the department shall assign the sponsor a performance rating of four stars and include a descriptor of "exemplary."

(2) For an overall rating of "effective" and any of seven through nine total points on the evaluation, the department shall assign the sponsor a performance rating of three stars and include a descriptor of "effective."

(3) For an overall rating of "ineffective" and any of three through six total points on the evaluation, the department shall assign the sponsor a performance rating of two stars and include a descriptor of "ineffective."

(4) For an overall rating of "poor" and either one or two total points on the evaluation, the department shall assign the sponsor a performance rating of one star and include a descriptor of "poor."

(5) For an overall rating of "poor" and zero total points on the evaluation, the department shall assign the sponsor a performance rating of zero stars and include a descriptor of "failed."

(C) The department shall establish a method to assign performance ratings for each sponsor evaluation component prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(a) to (c) of section 3314.016 of the Revised Code. The department's method shall assign one of the following performance ratings and descriptors to a component based on the component's points used in the evaluation:

(1) A performance rating of four stars and a descriptor of "exceeds standards";

(2) A performance rating of three stars and a descriptor of "meets standards";

(3) A performance rating of two stars and a descriptor of "progressing towards standards";

(4) A performance rating of one star and a descriptor of "below standards";

(5) A performance rating of zero stars and a descriptor of "significantly below standards."

(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with, or override, a sponsor's evaluation under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code. A sponsor's evaluation under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code shall be used to determine any sanctions or incentives that are based on such evaluations.

Sec. 3314.021. (A) This section applies to any entity that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that satisfies the conditions specified in divisions (C)(1)(f)(ii) and (iii) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code but does not satisfy the condition specified in division (C)(1)(f)(i) of that section.

(B) Notwithstanding division (C)(1)(f)(i) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code, and subject to division (D)(2) of this section, an entity described in division (A) of this section may do both of the following without obtaining the department of education and workforce's initial approval of its sponsorship under divisions (A)(2) and (B)(1) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code:

(1) Succeed the board of trustees of a state university located in the pilot project area or that board's designee as the sponsor of a community school established under this chapter;

(2) Continue to sponsor that school in conformance with the terms of the contract between the board of trustees or its designee and the governing authority of the community school and renew that contract as provided in division (D) of section 3314.03 of the Revised Code.

(C) The entity that succeeds the board of trustees or the board's designee as sponsor of a community school under division (B) of this section also may enter into contracts to sponsor other community schools regardless of the proposed school's location, without obtaining the department's initial approval of its sponsorship of those schools under divisions (A)(2) and (B)(1) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code as long as the contracts conform with and the entity complies with all other requirements of this chapter.

(D)(1) Regardless of the entity's authority to sponsor community schools without the initial approval of the department, the entity is under the continuing oversight of the department in accordance with rules adopted under section 3314.015 of the Revised Code.

(2) If an entity described in division (A) of this section receives a rating below "effective" under division (B) of section 3314.016 of the Revised Code for two or more consecutive years, that entity shall receive approval from the department to sponsor community schools and enter into a written agreement with the department in accordance with division (B)(1) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code prior to entering into any further preliminary agreements under division (C)(2) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code or renewing any existing contract to sponsor a community school.

(E)(1) As used in division (E) of this section:

(a) "Board of trustees" means a board of trustees of a state university located in the pilot project area.

(b) "Rating" means a sponsor rating under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in division (B)(6)(b) of section 3314.016 of the Revised Code, for the purposes of that division, the department shall consider an entity that succeeded a board of trustees as the sponsor of a community school in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section to have received the same rating for the 2016-2017 school year as the board of trustees, provided all of the following apply:

(a) The department assigned the board of trustees a rating of either "effective" or "exemplary" for the 2016-2017 school year.

(b) The department did not assign the entity its own rating for the 2016-2017 school year.

(c) The department assigned the entity its own rating for the 2017-2018 school year.

Sec. 3314.031. (A) Beginning March 31, 2016, the department shall do the following:

(1) Maintain and annually publish an accurate record of the names and identifying information of all entities that have entered into a contract with the governing authority of a community school to manage or operate that school;

(2) Receive from the governing authority of each community school a copy of the contract between a governing authority and its operator. A copy of each contract shall be made available on the department's web site.

(B) Not later than November 15, 2016Annually, and not later than the fifteenth day of November for each year thereafteror the preceding Friday when that day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the department shall develop and publish an annual performance issue a report for card reflecting the performance of all operators of community schools in the state based on their performance for the previous school year. The report card shall present information about each operator, and be posted on the department's web site, in a manner similar to a state report card issued under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code. The department shall establish an overall operator rating system in a manner similar to the sponsor evaluation system under section 3314.016 of the Revised Code that includes both overall ratings and individual category ratings. The report card for each operator shall be made available in an easily accessible format on the department's web site.

(C) The department shall include the performance report obtained card issued pursuant to division (B) of this section in the department's annual report required by division (A)(4) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code.

(D) For purposes of this section, "operator" has the same meaning as in division (A)(8) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 3314.012, 3314.016, 3314.021, and 3314.031 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. This act shall be known as the Charter School Sponsor and Operator Rating Act.