School districts are voluntary members of a consortium - there is no mandate to participate.
At its inception in 1979, the OECN consisted of 7 Data Acquisition Sites which provided computerized services to a total of 57 school districts. An ultimate goal of the OECN program is to provide electronic connectivity for all public school buildings with each other and with the Ohio Dept. of Education - each year more school buildings achieve that electronic linkage. Each OECN computer consortium is locally governed by representatives of its member school districts - usually a board of directors or governing board comprised of participating school superintendents. Each OECN Data Acquisition Site is connected to the state network which is administered by the Ohio Dept. of Administrative Services. Utilizing gateways to established regional and worldwide networks, capabilities exist for administrators, teachers and students in participating OECN districts to communicate with their counterparts across the state, nation, and the world.