With property values soaring throughout Ohio—and property taxes climbing upward—state lawmakers have been giving more time and attention to local tax policy.
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.
School funding guarantees have been a much-discussed element of Governor DeWine’s proposed
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.
Like leaders in other states, Ohio policymakers have been working to address chronic teacher shortages.
Today, Governor Mike DeWine released his biennial budget proposal, outlining his commitment to Ohio’s students through continued investment in key education areas including statewide literacy improvements, high-quality charter schools, and
Ohio’s push to improve charter school funding has made real progress in recent years. But there are still thousands of charter students who need—and deserve—more support.
First-year teachers—especially those who begin on the lower end of the performance scale—tend to improve over time if they remain on the job, according to rigorous research studies.
The uproar over private school scholarship programs, which support the education of more than 150,000 Ohio students, continues to drone on.
Tackling Ohio’s teacher vacancy data problem should be a priority for lawmakers in the upcoming year.
The Cupp-Patterson school funding plan was heralded as a “fair” and “constitutional” replacement for Ohio’s previous formula. After four years of implementation, it’s clear there is still plenty of room for improvement.
In just a few short months, Ohio lawmakers will be knee-deep in the state budget for FY 2026 and 2027. A large portion of the budget is K–12 education, and Ohio’s school funding model is sure to be a topic of discussion.
Legislation in the Ohio General Assembly proposes a new method for collecting and analyzing data on teacher vacancies that could provide leaders with information they need to tackle shortages. Here’s a look at what works and what could be better.
About a month ago, I published an analysis of the starting salaries of teachers working in school districts across the Cleveland and Columbus metro areas. Strong entry-level pay is crucial as schools work to attract talented folks into the profession.
Teachers are the most important in-school factor driving student achievement, and how schools compensate them matters immensely. Entry-level teacher pay is particularly important, as it affects recruitment efforts.
The Learning Policy Institute recently released The State of the Teacher Workforce, a state-by-state examination of factors impacting teacher supply and demand and student access to qualified educators.
In a recent piece, I examined how recommendations from the Let Teachers Teach workgroup in Louisiana could be applied in Ohio to help improve teacher retention. One recommendation stood out as something worthy of a closer look: addressing chronic absenteeism.
Earlier this year, the Louisiana Department of Education launched a Let Teachers Teach workgroup. More than two dozen educators were tasked with identifying “common classroom disruptions and unnecessary bureaucracies” and then brainstorming solutions.
This is the fifth in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
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Teacher pipelines and shortages have been a hot topic in Ohio the last several years. One of the biggest talking points has been that fewer students seem interested in the profession.
This is fourth in a series in which I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
Last year, state officials published some troubling data related to Ohio’s teacher workforce.
Changes to the way districts are funded when they accept open enrolled students from outside their borders threatens to shrink a popular and important public school choice program. This longstanding option must remain widely available and robust.
Registered apprenticeship programs offer workers paid, on-the-job learning experience under the supervision of an experienced mentor, job-related classroom training, and the chance to earn a portable industry-recognized credential.
The soap opera at the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), the entity that manages Ohio’s teacher pensions, has made non-stop headlines of late.
The use of technology in education—in place before the pandemic but increased in magnitude and ubiquity since 2020—is drawing increasing scrutiny from many sides.
This is second in a series where I examine issues in K–12 education that Ohio leaders should tackle in the next biennial state budget.
Last spring, state officials published data indicating that fewer young people are entering the teaching profession, teacher attrition rates have risen, and troubling shortages exist in specific grades and subject areas.
Ohio regularly creates and funds major education policies in a two-year biennial budget, so it’s never too early to start thinking about the 2025 cycle. This is the first of several posts where I’ll discuss issues that should be on lawmakers’ radars as they gear up.
