Ohio State Board of Education

The Ohio State Board of Education is the governing body of the Ohio Department of Education, the state education agency of Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Education is responsible for primary and secondary public education in the state. The Board of Education is responsible for overseeing the department and consists of 19 members. Eleven of these are elected from single-member districts, which are formed by combining three contiguous Ohio Senate districts. Eight are appointed by the governor of Ohio. 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 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.

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.

The Department of Education is responsible for implementing standardized tests required by state and federal law, including the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT), Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), and Ohio Test of English Language Acquisition (OTELA).

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." [Candisky, Catherine. " [http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/07/11/NEWSTATEPOLICY.ART_ART_07-11-07_B1_QP78JVB.html Anti-bullying policy OK'd] ." "Columbus Dispatch;; 11 July 2007.]

External links

* [http://www.ode.state.oh.us/ Official website]

References