schools
DOJ memo on threats to local school boards lambasted by Republicans at U.S. House hearing
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Thursday last week continued to press accusations that a “woke agenda” is deteriorating parents’ rights in their local school districts. The first hearing this Congress of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government convened to examine whether a 2021 Department of Justice memo played a […]
Educators, counselors in Ohio say schools need more mental health resources
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. It’s time for students in Ohio to start heading back to […]
After Uvalde massacre, Ohio GOP hurtles toward arming state’s teachers
The Ohio Senate advanced fast-tracked legislation Tuesday that would allow local boards of education to permit teachers to carry guns in classrooms. Passage would eviscerate current law in Ohio that allows teachers to arm themselves only after completing more than 700 hours of police training and receiving approval from their local school board. Under House […]
He teaches critical race theory. He has problems with GOP efforts to ban it
There’s a certain “slander” at the heart of dueling bills aimed to limit how teachers talk to students about race, sexuality, history, and politics, according to Timothy Messer-Kruse. If you read the legislation, he said, their language presupposes educators are engaged in practices like indoctrinating, guilt-tripping, and forcing their personal politics onto students. As a […]
As classes return, 62.5% of eligible 12-18 year-olds unvaccinated
Nearly two in three age-eligible teenagers remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 as summer ends and the disease looms over its third consecutive school year. Spokespersons for the state departments of health and education said they did not know what percentage of students enrolled in public schools are vaccinated. However, looking at the total population (which would […]
Ohio cities revive mask mandates as new state law stops health departments
First the Mount Vernon City School District opted against requiring masks for students. Then Gambier, a small village of 2,400, mandated masks indoors in town — where one of the district’s elementary schools happens to exist. Finally, the sheriff said neither he nor his deputies would enforce the law. It’s August 2021 and the mask […]
DeWine signs bill to temporarily ban school COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Wednesday that could block schools from mandating vaccination against COVID-19 for the fall. In the dying moments of the final legislative session before a summer recess, lawmakers tacked the vaccine provision as an amendment onto an unrelated bill regarding educational opportunities for military children. The amendment: It passed on […]
Columbus schools’ fight for taxes on affordable housing spurs state legislation
Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed legislation that would exempt providers of affordable housing for people with substance abuse or mental health disorders from property taxes. Senate Bill 57 comes in response to two rulings from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals. The board recently sided with Columbus City Schools, which argued […]
CDC says it’s OK for students to sit 3 feet apart in classrooms
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials have revised their guidance to schools on how far apart students should be spaced in a classroom, now saying desks can be placed 3 feet apart instead of 6 feet to limit the spread of COVID-19. The updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes as schools across the […]
During pandemic, Ohio school district saw mental health hospitalizations surge
Eighty-four students at Hilliard City Schools have been hospitalized for mental health issues during the pandemic, officials say, an estimated fourfold increase over the average year. The district, home to about 16,000 students, has also seen 660 students contract COVID-19, seven of whom were hospitalized with the new disease, according to state and local records. […]
State data shows 25,600 homeless students in Ohio. That number has been increasing annually.
On any given weekday, about 25,600 homeless students — 1.5% of all enrollees — walked into Ohio’s K-12 schools, according to state data from the 2018-2019 school year. Thirteen years ago, it was 7,560, or 0.5% of enrolled students. The data comes from the Ohio Department of Education, which is required under the 1987 McKinney-Vento […]
Teachers union funds books for Ohio schools, urges State to do the same
What would you do with your piece of a $50,000 grant to help bring back Ohio’s school libraries? Teachers in a Parma school hope to educate middle schoolers about dyslexia, to better understand the challenge some fellow students face. Teachers in Franklin County want to provide bilingual books and expose students to a more diverse […]