CMSD Charter Office Newsletter

We hope you enjoyed a nice spring break and are ready for the home stretch of the school year.

I want to thank all of you for working so hard this year. I hope you and your scholars finish strong and are able to rest a little this summer.

One important reminder we’d like to share for the rest of the school year is that all board members and select school staff must complete public records and open meetings training by June 30.

Please visit the pages below for more information on available training:

Ohio Auditor Trainings (virtual and on demand):

https://ohioauditor.gov/trainings/publicrecords.html

This will be our last issue before next school year.

Best wishes for the rest of the school year, and please do not hesitate to reach out to us! We are here to help.

A variety of bills of interest to K-12 education stakeholders have been considered by the Ohio House and Senate so far this year.

Highlights include:

S.B. 19, passed unanimously by the Senate in November, was sent to the House for its consideration. The legislation, which was introduced by Senate Education Committee Chair Senator Andy Brenner (R-Delaware), would require schools to provide evidence-based academic intervention services, free of cost, to students who demonstrate a limited level of skill in state assessments in math or English language arts or diagnostic assessments in math. Schools would be required to develop math improvement and monitoring plans for students who qualify for math intervention services.

House Education Committee Chair Representative Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Ashtabula) shares Senator Brenner’s concerns regarding low proficiency rates: with about one-fifth of Ohio’s students scoring limited proficiency in English language arts in the 2022-2023 school year and about one-third failing to score above that level in math.

“The language in Senate Bill 19 has been written so as to intentionally encompass a broad but meaningful scope of supports,” Senator Brenner said in his testimony before the committee. “These services might include tutoring supports, additional instructional time, an extended school calendar, or any other academically centered support service that the school or district determines will improve the student’s academic performance.”

Representative Fowler Arthur said in an interview with Gongwer News Service that S.B. 19 will be “something we’re focused on pretty heavily over the next couple months” and that changes are likely to occur in the House.

H.B. 524, bipartisan legislation under consideration in the House Technology and Innovation Committee, would prohibit the development or deployment in Ohio of any artificial intelligence (AI) model or application that encourages any user to engage in any form of self-harm or in harming others.

It authorizes the Ohio Attorney General to investigate alleged violations and courts to impose a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for each violation, which would be used to support the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Fund.

According to Representative Christine Cockley (D-Columbus) – a co-sponsor of the bill – at least four Ohio children have used AI to write suicide notes, and a recent study revealed that more than 70 percent of teens have used AI at least once.

“By encouraging developers to use a mental health framework when building and training AI, we can ensure our digital spaces continue to be places of learning, curiosity and connection, not environments where vulnerable individuals encounter harmful guidance,” she said. “Protecting children in online spaces strengthens our communities offline.

H.B. 25, recently passed by the full House, would require the Department of Education and Workforce, in collaboration with other specified state agencies, to encourage the sharing of best practices to support students placed in foster care. It would also require each public school to designate a local foster care education liaison to support foster students and to designate a building staff member as the foster family navigator.

Significant changes were made to the bill as originally introduced including elimination of the Foster-to-College Scholarship Program.

“As House Bill 25 evolved, we made intentional changes,” said Representative Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus), a co-sponsor of the legislation. “We moved away from a single program and focused on building something stronger and more lasting. The Fostering School Success Act creates clear points of support inside every school system so foster youth are not left to navigate instability on their own.”

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

H.B. 690, recently assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, would authorize school crossing guards, while performing official duties, to direct, stop or otherwise control traffic to ensure the safety of a pedestrian using a crosswalk. It would create two new offenses related to interactions with school crossing guards: prohibiting a person from knowingly failing to obey a lawful order by a school crossing guard, and from harassing, threatening, intimidating or interfering with a school crossing guard.

“In my own community of Kettering, the crossing guards there have done a concerted effort to document 574 near misses last year and hundreds of others, thousands of other incidents involving red lights, speeding, failure to yield,” said Representative Andrea White (R-Kettering), a co-sponsor of the legislation. “It’s a common factor every day.”

“This bill clarifies authority, establishes accountability and reinforces the basic expectation that when a child is in a crosswalk and a crossing guard says ‘stop,’ drivers must stop,” co-sponsor Representative Tom Young (R-Washington Township) said. “It strengths safety without expanding government, without creating new bureaucracies and without criminalizing ordinary behavior. It simply makes clear that protecting children in our school zones is not optional.”

Other bills being debated in the two legislative chambers include:

H.B. 594, to require school districts to offer, and students to complete, at least one high school computer science course;

H.B. 156, to teach the Success Sequence Program which encourages students to complete at least a high school education, obtain full-time work and marry before having children to reduce the risk of poverty in adulthood;

H.B. 625, to enact the Student Mobility Act regarding student petitions to participate in team sports at neighboring public schools;

H.B. 125, to require schools to grant excused absences to students for participation in scheduled 4-H and FFA activities or programs;

S.B. 310, to require public schools to include fetal development instruction in any courses addressing human growth, development or sexuality; and,

H.B. 455, to revised or eliminate a series of programs, requirements and provisions related to the Department of Education and Workforce, revise report card performance measures, and eliminate obsolete state report card and assessment provisions.

Spring State Test Data Preparation – CRS

4/16/2026

The primary focus of this session is to prepare and empower building leaders to guide teacher reflective discussions upon the release of spring test data.

Location: ESCNEO [6393 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence OH 44131]

Program Time: 9:00 AM and ending at 11:30 AM

Program Cost: None

Registration Deadline: 4/13/2026

To Register: Click here to register online

Mission Possible: Middle School Grades 4-9

4/20/2026

Ready to join us for a fun and impactful day of learning? This professional development session is designed specifically for Middle School educators who are passionate about making a difference during these pivotal years. Together, we’ll explore:

Why We Love this Unique Age Group

Brain Research and Executive Functioning in Adolescents

Strategies for Actively Engaging Middle School Minds

Strategies to Build Belonging and Create Effective Teaming

Routines and Structures that Help Students Thrive

Walk away with practical strategies you can use tomorrow to deepen your impact and strengthen your Middle School community. See you there!

Location: ESCNEO [6393 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence OH 44131]

Program Time: 9:00 AM and ending at 3:00 PM

Program Cost: None

Registration Deadline: 4/17/2026

To Register: Click here to register online

Childhood Anxiety

5/20/2026

"Occasional anxiety is an expected part of life. You might feel anxious when faced with a problem

at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. But anxiety issues involve

more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go

away and can get worse over time. The symptoms can interfere with daily activities such as job

performance, schoolwork and relationships."

National Institute of Mental Health

This workshop is designed for those interested in learning more about childhood anxiety. Participants will discuss the theory behind anxiety and strategies to help children develop coping skills, to grow emotionally, feel capable, and happy.

This session will address the following topics:

Types and Causes of Anxiety

Strategies to Deal with Anxiety

Location: ESCNEO [6393 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence OH 44131]

Program Time: 9:00 AM and ending at 3:00 PM

Program Cost: $50

Registration Deadline: 5/19/2026

To Register: Click here to register online

Spring State Test Data Analysis - CRS

5/27/2026

This session will support building leaders in effectively utilizing the CRS for a deeper analysis of Spring OST data.

Location: ESCNEO [6393 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence OH 44131]

Program Time: 9:00 AM and ending at 11:30 AM

Program Cost: None

Registration Deadline: 5/25/2026

To Register: Click here to register online

Teacher Clarity Bootcamp

6/16/2026

A Process for Creating Organized Instruction

Are you ready to take your teaching skills to the next level? Join us to learn the Teacher Clarity process for designing standards-based instruction. James "Ike" Holzapfel, and Jamie Smith present a day of learning focused on creating learning intentions and success criteria for organized, effective instruction! This session will have practical strategies to use right away to improve your lesson design and delivery!

Location: ESCNEO [6393 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence OH 44131]

Program Time: 9:00 AM and ending at 11:30 AM

Program Cost: $40, includes book - The Teacher Clarity Playbook

Registration Deadline: 6/2/2026

To Register: Click here to register online

The 2024-2025 Annual Report on Community Schools has been published by the Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) as required by state law. It addresses the performance of Ohio’s community schools in five key areas: effectiveness of academic programs; school operations; performance of sponsors; legal compliance; and, financial condition. Access it online at:

https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Community-Schools/Annual-Reports-on-Ohio-Community-Schools/2024-2025-Community-Schools-Annual-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

Recently introduced legislation (H.B. 671) would allow DEW to withhold foundation funding from school districts suing over expansion of Ohio’s voucher program. Vouchers Hurt Ohio – a coalition of more than 330 districts – has expressed outrage over the bill and vowed to vigorously fight its passage. Although the bill won’t be deliberated in the Senate unless passed by the House, the Senate president told reporters that there “has been some frustration” among majority caucus members that districts are using funds received from the state to sue the state.

The Ohio Supreme Court has been asked to consider whether school boards can disregard credibility determinations made by referees during the teacher termination process. A teacher terminated over allegations that she allowed students to vape in class filed an appeal arguing that the 11th District Court of Appeals should not have rejected a hearing officer’s recommendation that she be reinstated given that two students retracted their statements and a third student’s testimony was deemed not credible by the referee.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paul Craft announced his resignation, effective no later than July 31, earlier this year. Fifty-two candidates have applied for the position, including two who were finalists in 2023 when Craft was selected. The State Board of Education will interview six candidates. The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced that Craft, an Ohio Army National Guard veteran, will be the next director of the federal school system serving more than 61,000 children of military service members and civilian employees of the agency.

A Franklin County Common Pleas judge recently ruled that two members of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) – Wade Steen and former chair Rudy Fichtenbaum – violated their fiduciary duties and are banned from serving on the board in the future. The case stems from allegations by the Ohio Attorney General that they improperly sought to turn over $65 billion in STRS assets to a third-party investment firm.

The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled against a frequent public records requester who sought statutory damages, court costs and attorney fees over a deleted video of a school board meeting. The court majority cited evidence provided by the district’s IT director who said that an uploaded video, which did not include audio due to a technical error, was accidentally deleted when removed from YouTube.

In December, the Ohio Ethics Commission issued a directive imposing financial disclosure requirements on community school board members. The directive was put on hold after the Senate president and House speaker objected and suggested that the General Assembly could take action to block the requirement through legislation. Members of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review also raised concerns that the commission’s action may have violated due process. Commission Chair Merom Brachman assured JCARR members that the pause will remain in place.