Section 3314.034 | Conditions which would prohibit contract with new sponsor.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) Subject to division (B) of this section, and except as described in division (E) of this section, any community school to which either of the following conditions apply shall be prohibited from entering into a contract with a new sponsor:

(1) The community school has received, on the most recent report card issued for that school under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code, either of the following:

(a) A grade of "D" or "F" for the performance index score, under division (C)(1)(b) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code, and an overall grade of "D" or "F" for the value-added progress dimension or another measure of student academic progress if adopted by the department of education and workforce, under division (C)(1)(e) of that section;

(b) A performance rating of less than three stars for achievement under division (D)(3)(b) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code and a performance rating of less than three stars for progress under division (D)(3)(c) of that section.

(2) The community school is one in which a majority of the students are enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program, and it has received a rating of "does not meet standards" for the annual student growth measure and combined graduation rates on the most recent report card issued for the school under section 3314.017 of the Revised Code.

(B) A community school to which division (A) of this section applies may enter into a contract with a new sponsor if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The proposed sponsor received a rating of "effective" or higher pursuant to division (B)(6) of section 3314.016 of the Revised Code on its most recent evaluation conducted according to that section, or the proposed sponsor is the office of Ohio school sponsorship established in section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.

(2) The community school submits a request to enter into a new contract with a sponsor.

(3) The community school has not submitted a prior request that was granted.

(4) The department grants the school's request pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(C)(1) A school shall submit a request to change sponsors under this section not later than on the fifteenth day of February of the year in which the school wishes to do so. If a community school to which division (A)(1) of this section applies submits a request to the department to enter into a contract with a new sponsor and a majority of the school's students are children with disabilities receiving special education and related services under Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, the department shall at least consider the school's performance as measured against the average performance of all other community schools that primarily serve children with disabilities.

(2) The department shall grant or deny the request not later than thirty days after the department receives it. If the department denies the request, the community school may submit an appeal to the director of education and workforce who shall hold a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The community school shall file its notice of appeal to the director not later than ten days after receiving the decision from the department. The director shall conduct the hearing not later than thirty days after receiving the school's notice of appeal and act upon the determination of the hearing officer not later than the twenty-fifth day of June of the year in which the school wishes to change sponsors.

(D) Factors to be considered during a hearing held pursuant to division (C) of this section include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) The school's impact on the students and the community or communities it serves;

(2) The quality and quantity of academic and administrative support the school receives from its current sponsor to help the school to improve;

(3) The sponsor's annual evaluations of the community school under division (D)(2) of section 3314.03 of the Revised Code for the previous three years;

(4) The academic performance of the school, taking into account the demographic information of the students enrolled in the school;

(5) The academic performance of alternative schools that serve comparable populations of students as those served by the community school;

(6) The fiscal stability of the school;

(7) The results of any audits of the school by the auditor of state;

(8) The length of time the school has been under the oversight of its current sponsor;

(9) The number of times the school has changed sponsors prior to the current request;

(10) Parent and student satisfaction rates as demonstrated by surveys, if available.

(E) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, if a community school in which a majority of the enrolled students are children with disabilities receiving special education and related services in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code meets both of the following criteria, the school may enter into a contract with a new sponsor, provided that the new sponsor satisfies the criteria in division (B)(1) of this section:

(1) The school received, on its most recent report card issued under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code, a performance rating of at least three stars for progress under division (D)(3)(c) of that section.

(2) As calculated for the most recent school year under section 3302.035 of the Revised Code, the school's performance index score for students with disabilities was higher than the performance index score for students with disabilities of the school district in which the school is located.

Last updated August 21, 2023 at 1:48 PM

Available Versions of this Section

• February 1, 2016 – House Bill 2 - 131st General Assembly
• September 30, 2021 – Amended by House Bill 82 - 134th General Assembly
• October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly