⢠Cell phones: Each public school is now required to adopt a policy governing cell phone use during school hours. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce created a model policy, which school districts are free to adopt. ⢠What they are saying: âOur members know that unrestricted use of cell phones in the classroom leads to distraction, bullying and in a lot of ways can really undermine our mission as educators.â â Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association. ⢠Protecting student data: Schools that contract with technology providers are now required to retain sole rights to the educational records of their students, targeting privacy concerns.
Teacher licensure changes ⢠Homegrown teachers: More schools are now eligible to participate in the stateâs Grow Your Own Teacher scholarship program. The program identifies qualified students in high-need schools and provides them with funds to obtain an education degree, along with assurances that the student could come back to their hometown to teach. ⢠School counselors: It is now easier for schools to evaluate and renew licenses for school counselors if they are considered âhigh performingâ for at least four out of the previous five years. ⢠Teacher evaluations: This coming school year, school districts may also adopt their own way to evaluate teachers and school counselors rather than being forced to use the State Board of Educationâs rules. A goal of this is for local schools to not focus so much on student test scores and use evaluations more as tools for growth, not punishment.
⢠Report to the state: School districts will now have to file a report with the state if a licensed employee retires during a disciplinary investigation for misconduct or when a licensed employee is removed from the list of substitute teachers because the employee committed an act unbecoming to the teaching profession. ⢠Prostitution: The State Board of Education will revoke the license of a school employee convicted of prostitution unless the individual was coerced into committing the offense.
⢠Religious expression days: Starting Oct. 20, all public schools will be required to grant students at least three excused absences for âreligious expression daysâ each year. ⢠Why they say it was necessary: âOhioâs recent political climate has raised concerns that Ohioâs K-12 public school teachers, staff and students may face negative consequences for expressing certain political perspectives or failing to conform to specific ideological viewpoints.â â Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, the primary sponsor of the bill.
⢠Technical error corrected: After a technical error was discovered in the school funding formula, some schools were overpaid by several thousand dollars. A new amendment corrects the calculation error. | 
