COLUMBUS – An Ohio House committee is debating a bill that would dramatically change the oversight of education in the state, consolidating much of the power over the state’s school in a massive agency that would oversee education from kindergarten through college and coordinate efforts to better prepare the state’s students to enter the workforce.
If passed, H.B. 512 would fuse the Departments of Education and Higher Education and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development into one agency headed by an appointee of the governor.
There are concerns that the move would take away the authority of the publicly elected leaders of the Department of Education, who work directly with local school districts.
“By creating what some would call a mega agency, they feel that some of those direct services would be lost, whether it’s dealing with complex issues related to our school-funding formula or other areas that local school districts rely on resources from the Ohio Department of Education” says Jay Smith, deputy director of legislative services for the Ohio School Board Association.
The Association is one of the critics of the measure, along with the Ohio Board of Education, the Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teacher’ unions.
Supporters, including several career and technology centers, see the change as a way of improving cooperation and communication between the agencies, and aligning K-12 and secondary education with workforce development.
Smith says it’s troubling that the legislation was drafted without the consultation of these organizations, and others who represent teachers and public school districts.
“There was no collaboration; there was no stakeholder feedback from the field going into this proposal. So I think that’s somewhat alarming,” he said.
There are also concerns that a cabinet-level agency would make it more difficult for educators, parents and students to have input on educational policies. But supporters counter that it would ensure governors are held accountable for Ohio’s education laws.
Testimony was heard by the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee on March 14.
No vote has been scheduled.