Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Ohio Department of Education

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Formed
  
1834

Website
  
education.ohio.gov

Jurisdiction
  
Ohio

Department executives
  
Dr. Lonny J. Rivera, Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction Debe Terhar, President of the State Board of Education

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for primary and secondary public education in the state. The Ohio State Board of Education is the governing body of the department and is responsible for overseeing the department. The board employs the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who runs the department. The department is headquartered in Columbus.

Contents

The department is responsible for implementing standardized tests required by state and federal law, including the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT), Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), and the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA, formerly OTELA). The State Board of Education does not have jurisdiction over higher education; Ohio's public colleges and universities are governed as part of the University System of Ohio by the Ohio Board of Regents and by the boards of trustees of each institution.

State Board of Education

The Board of Education consists of 19 members. All serve four-year terms.

Eleven of these are elected from 11 single-member districts, which are formed by combining three contiguous Ohio Senate districts. The elected members' terms are staggered so that half of the board is elected in each even-numbered year. The governor appoints eight members. All serve four year terms. The elected members' terms are staggered so that half of the board is elected in each even-numbered year. Vacancies in the elected membership are filled by appointment by the governor. The chairman of the Ohio House of Representatives Education Committee and his or her counterpart in the Ohio State Senate are ex officio members.

In 2012, board members from districts 1, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11 were elected to new terms, and a member was elected to fill an unexpired term in district 7. In 2015 the elected members were:

  • District 1 - Ann E. Jacobs, Lima is an attorney in private practice. She previously worked for the EEOC and the Ohio Attorney General's office, and served as president of the Shawnee Local School Board.
  • District 2 - Kathleen A. McGervey, Avon is a professional engineer and surveyor. She has experience tutoring students in English and math, and is a graduate of Cleveland State University.
  • District 3 - A.J. Wagner, Dayton
  • District 4 - Pat Bruns, Cincinnati
  • District 5 - Roslyn Painter-Goffi, Strongsville
  • District 6 - Michael L. Collins, Westerville is a marketing executive and consultant for several large civic organizations. He served as president of the Westerville Board of Education, and is a former director of the Center for Community and Educational Planning at The Ohio State University, and the Center for Community Education at the Ohio Department of Education.
  • District 7 - Sarah Fowler, Rock Creek is a homeschool graduate and former small business owner. She works in her parents' business doing graphic design and marketing. She was elected in 2012 to fill an unexpired term.
  • District 8 - Vacant
  • District 9 - Stephanie Dodd, Hebron is a political and fundraising consultant. She previously worked in a Fortune 500 company in government relations, PAC fundraising and finance.
  • District 10 - Ronald W. Rudduck, Wilmington served more than 10 years as superintendent of Clinton-Massie Local School District in southwest Ohio, and previously as a teacher and principal. He is currently an adjunct professor at Xavier University and Antioch University Midwest, teaching school finance, business affairs and facilities.
  • District 11 - Mary Rose Oakar, Cleveland is a former member of Congress, the Ohio House, and Cleveland City Council. She previously taught at the high school and college level.

    • Eight at-large seats are appointed by the governor of Ohio, all of whom have been appointed by Governor John Kasich. As of December 2015, they were:

  • Thomas W. Gunlock, (President), Centerville, is director of construction and property management at RG Properties in Dayton. He previously taught high school and also coached football at Morehead State University. He has also served on the board of a Head Start agency.
  • Tess Elshoff, (Vice President), New Knoxville, is a stay-at-home mother of five. Until 2011, she served on the New Knoxville School Board.
  • Melanie P. Bolender, Mount Vernon
  • Joseph L. Farmer, Baltimore, works for Delta Air Lines in Columbus. From 1992 until 2011, he served on the Liberty Union-Thurston School Board. He was appointed by Gov. Kasich in 2011.
  • Cathye Flory, Logan
  • C. Todd Jones, New Albany, is a Columbus lobbyist and president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio. He previously served in various positions in the George W. Bush administration. He was appointed by Gov. John Kasich in January 2011 to fill an unexpired term, and reappointed to a full term in January 2013.
  • Dr. Frank Pettigrew, Ashland
  • Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings, Westerville

    • The chairs of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate education committees are ex officio non-voting members of the board. The board is responsible for choosing a Superintendent of Public Instruction, who manages the day-to-day affairs of the Department of Education.

    Anti-bullying policy

    On July 10, 2007, the State Board of Education adopted an anti-bullying policy, but only after removing reference to "taunts based on ethnicity, gender, religion (and) sexual orientation."

    References

    Ohio Department of Education Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA