Note: Today, the Ohio House Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 455 which, among other things, aims to eliminate outdated and irrelevant sections of state education law. Fordham’s vice president for Ohio policy presented proponent testimony on several aspects of the wide-ranging bill. These are his written remarks.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of House Bill 455.
Supporting Smarter Regulation to Refocus on Teaching and Learning
First and foremost, I want to commend Representatives Manning and Bird for their leadership in introducing House Bill 455. This thoughtful legislation takes important steps toward streamlining state education requirements so that educators can devote more of their energy to what truly matters—teaching and learning. This has long been a Fordham priority. We published a report more than a decade ago called “Getting Out of the Way: Education Flexibility to Boost Innovation and Improvement in Ohio”.
Over time, Ohio’s education code has become cluttered with outdated, duplicative, and overly prescriptive mandates that consume valuable time and resources. By revising or eliminating dozens of unnecessary provisions—from obsolete reporting requirements to redundant mandates—House Bill 455 helps reduce regulatory clutter and allows schools to focus more squarely on student outcomes.
This approach strikes a healthy balance: maintaining accountability and transparency while giving educators the flexibility they need. In doing so, the sponsors are helping restore common sense to how Ohio’s schools are governed.
Responsiveness to Stakeholder Feedback
We also appreciate the sponsors’ responsiveness to stakeholder feedback during the development of this bill. Their willingness to listen and make thoughtful adjustments is a model of good policymaking.
In particular, we thank Representatives Manning and Bird for removing the proposed changes related to community schools and the end-of-course exams in American history and U.S. government. The original community school provisions, while well-intentioned, could have inadvertently lowered accountability standards—something that would have undermined Ohio’s commitment to ensuring quality options for all families. By promptly addressing those concerns, the sponsors demonstrated a clear commitment to maintaining strong accountability even while rightly pursuing regulatory relief.
Similarly, the decision to retain the American history and government end-of-course exams reflects a careful balance between simplification and maintaining essential measures of civic understanding. These subjects remain foundational to preparing informed and engaged citizens, and we appreciate that they will continue to be an area of focus in Ohio high schools.
Improving Measures of College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness (CCWMR)
We also support the bill’s thoughtful updates to the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness (CCWMR) component of the state report card. These adjustments refine how Ohio measures postsecondary preparedness—an area of ongoing importance to both families and policymakers.
By adding another objective method to demonstrate academic preparedness, the bill takes an important step toward identifying true indicators of readiness. These refinements will help ensure that Ohio’s report card more accurately reflects whether students are genuinely prepared for success beyond high school—whether in higher education, the workforce, or military service.
At the end of the day, our shared goal should be to find and reward true measures of readiness and preparedness—those that capture whether our students are leaving high school equipped for the opportunities and challenges ahead. House Bill 455 moves Ohio closer to that goal.
Suggested Improvement: Protecting the Integrity of the Early Literacy Measure
While we strongly support the overall direction of House Bill 455, we do have one concern regarding a change found in the substitute version of the bill—specifically, the revised definition of the early literacy component of the state report card.
Under the substitute language, the measure of students promoted to fourth grade now includes all students who move on, regardless of whether they demonstrated reading proficiency on the third-grade English language arts assessment. The previous version appropriately linked the rating to reading on grade level—either by scoring proficient on the state test or demonstrating competency on an approved alternative assessment.
By removing that linkage and awarding full credit simply for promotion, the measure risks rewarding (and even incentivizing) social promotion rather than true reading achievement. This could undermine the purpose of Ohio’s early literacy initiatives and diminish the report card’s value and accuracy.
To preserve the integrity of Ohio’s early literacy measure, we encourage restoring language that ties this indicator to demonstrated reading proficiency. Doing so ensures schools are recognized for preparing students to read proficiently by fourth grade—not merely for advancing them through the system.
Ohio has made tremendous strides in improving early reading instruction and implementing the science of reading. Maintaining strong and meaningful measures of reading proficiency is essential to building on that progress.
Conclusion
In closing, House Bill 455 represents thoughtful reform that simplifies the education code, reduces unnecessary burdens, and preserves essential standards of quality and accountability. We deeply appreciate the sponsors’ leadership and responsiveness and offer this small recommendation to further strengthen an already strong bill. Going forward, we hope this legislation is merely a first step toward even deeper reductions in red tape and bureaucracy.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.
