Commentary
Governance
Testimony presented before the Ohio House Finance Committee on Substitute House Bill 96
NOTES: Today, the Ohio House Finance Committee heard testimony on House Bill 96
Topics
Commentary
Governance
Fordham Institute written testimony on House Bill 96
NOTES: Today, the Ohio House Finance Committee heard testimony on House Bill 96
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 4/2/25—Rigorous implementation indeed
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Personalized Learning
Impact of a direct admissions program on bringing more and more diverse students into college
Direct admissions (DA) programs—where colleges proactively (and preemptively) admit high school students to their institutions without the need to apply—are
Commentary
Personalized Learning
School safety concerns and considerations of homeschool families
As a recent edition of the Journal of School Choice makes abundantly
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Interested party testimony on Senate Bill 127
NOTES: Today, the Ohio Senate Education Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 127, which would make changes to the way in which low-performing public schools are identified and how the state intervenes when scho
Commentary
Career & Technical Education
Ohio lawmakers should build on Governor DeWine’s proposed reboot of the industry-recognized credential framework
Ohio’s current efforts to help high schoolers earn credentials before graduation are working, but there are flaws in the system that must be fixed. Gov. DeWine’s latest budget proposals are a start, but here’s how to make them even better.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Nixing inflated fourth grade promotion rates will strengthen accountability for early literacy
It’s no secret that improving early literacy has been Governor DeWine’s hallmark education passion.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/31/25—100 Day Dream School
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 3.28.25
Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full. Dollars and (common) sense
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/28/25—I don’t write ‘em, I just compile ‘em
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
School Finance
Senate proposal makes a sensible modification to the “20 mill tax floor”
With property values soaring throughout Ohio—and property taxes climbing upward—state lawmakers have been giving more time and attention to local tax policy.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/26/25—A tiny bit miraculous
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Governance
Governor DeWine doubles down on cellphone bans in schools
Last spring, Governor DeWine used his state of the state address
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/24/25—Seeing the data and responding to the data are two different things
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 3.21.25
There was so much news over our break that we needed two editions to cover it all!
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/21/25—Data and words…but mostly data
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly special edition – 3.20.25
Welcome to a special Thursday edition of Ohio Charter News Weekly. We’re back after three weeks’ break, with this edition covering Ohio-specific news published between 3/3/25 and 3/20/25. We’ll be back again tomorrow with a national catch-up.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/19/25—Show your work, people
News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
Commentary
Governance
Comparing the mental health impacts of schools' restrictive and permissive cellphone policies
School systems across the country (and world) have been implementing limitations or outright bans on student smartphone use during the school day in an effort to improve the educational experience for young people. Improvements have been predicted along many dimensions: attention span, academic achievement, mental wellbeing, disciplinary referrals, and even absenteeism.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Four ways Ohio lawmakers could strengthen Governor DeWine’s literacy and numeracy push
Student math and reading achievement continue to lag in schools across Ohio. Governor DeWine is proposing numerous initiatives to address this issue via the state budget. Yet lawmakers can and should go further in the following ways.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 3/17/25—Multiple topics
Bom dia, y'all! Gadfly Bites is back from vacation and our first catch up edition covers important clips from March 3 through March 14.
Commentary
School Finance, Governance
The cost of “updating inputs,” plus other notes on the state budget
Debate on the biennial state budget is in full swing, as Governor DeWine has unveiled his proposals and House lawmakers are now holding committee hearings. Through the amendment process, the chamber is expected to put forward its plan in April and send the legislation over to the Senate.
Commentary
Evidence-Based Learning, School Finance, Governance
Governor DeWine is right: Ohio must stop funding “empty desks”
School funding guarantees have been a much-discussed element of Governor DeWine’s proposed
Report
Curriculum & Instruction
Ohio’s path to early literacy: Science of Reading progress and challenges
Our latest report provides insight into how Ohio teachers view the shift to the Science of Reading. Conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the survey finds promising signs that most teachers are supportive of these changes, while also uncovering areas that need continuing attention from state and local leaders.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction, Governance
Here’s how to make Governor DeWine’s proposed career planning requirement work better for students
Last year, during his state of the state address, Governor DeWine called on the legislature to “make a very simple fix in statute to insert career planning into existing graduation plan requirements.” The
Commentary
School Finance
Written proponent testimony on House Bill 96—3/4/25
Note: On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Ohio House Education Committee heard public testimony on the education provisions in House Bill 96—the next biennial state budget.
Report
Governance
Ohio Education By the Numbers—2025 Edition
The brand new and fully updated eighth edition of our Ohio education guidebook is out now. It offers policymakers, journalists, and civic and business leaders easy-to-use statistics—sans commentary—about Ohio’s K-12 schools and the students they serve.
Commentary
Governance
DeWine’s state budget overhauls Ohio’s absence intervention framework
Years after the resumption of “business as usual” schooling, chronic student absenteeism stubbornly remains higher than it was before the pandemic. The governor’s budget offers a new approach to tackle this persistent problem.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Governor DeWine keeps the momentum going for Ohio charter schools
During his terms in office, Governor Mike DeWine has been a strong supporter of public charter schools.
