2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 33 | Education-Libraries › Chapter 3314 | Community Schools › Section 3314.016 | Community School Sponsor Evaluations; Sponsoring Additional Schools.

Effective:
October 3, 2023
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
This section applies to any entity that sponsors a community school, regardless of whether section 3314.021 or 3314.027 of the Revised Code exempts the entity from the requirement to be approved for sponsorship under divisions (A)(2) and (B)(1) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code. The office of Ohio school sponsorship established under section 3314.029 of the Revised Code shall be rated under division (B) of this section, but divisions (A) and (C) of this section do not apply to the office.
(A) An entity that sponsors a community school shall be permitted to enter into contracts under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code to sponsor additional community schools only if the entity meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The entity is in compliance with all provisions of this chapter requiring sponsors of community schools to report data or information to the department of education and workforce.
(2) The entity is not rated as "ineffective" under division (B)(6) of this section.
(3) Except as set forth in sections 3314.021 and 3314.027 of the Revised Code, the entity has received approval from and entered into an agreement with the department pursuant to section 3314.015 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) The department shall develop and implement an evaluation system that annually rates and assigns an overall rating to each entity that sponsors a community school. The department, not later than the first day of February of each year, shall post on the department's web site the framework for the evaluation system, including technical documentation that the department intends to use to rate sponsors for the next school year. The department shall solicit public comment on the evaluation system for thirty consecutive days. Not later than the first day of April of each year, the department shall compile and post on the department's web site all public comments that were received during the public comment period. The evaluation system shall be posted on the department's web site by the fifteenth day of July of each school year. Any changes to the evaluation system after that date shall take effect the following year. The evaluation system shall be based on the following components:
(a) Academic performance of students enrolled in community schools sponsored by the same entity. The academic performance component shall be derived from the performance measures prescribed for the state report cards under section 3302.03 or 3314.017 of the Revised Code, and shall be based on the performance of the schools for the school year for which the evaluation is conducted. In addition to the academic performance for a specific school year, the academic performance component shall also include year-to-year changes in the overall sponsor portfolio. For a community school for which no graded performance measures are applicable or available, the department shall use nonreport card performance measures specified in the contract between the community school and the sponsor under division (A)(4) of section 3314.03 of the Revised Code.
(b) Adherence by a sponsor to the quality practices prescribed by the department under division (B)(3) of this section. For a sponsor that was rated "effective" or "exemplary" on its most recent rating, the department may evaluate that sponsor's adherence to quality practices once over a period of three years. If the department elects to evaluate a sponsor once over a period of three years, the most recent rating for a sponsor's adherence to quality practices shall be used when determining an annual overall rating conducted under this section.
(c) Compliance with all applicable laws and administrative rules by an entity that sponsors a community school.
Under the evaluation system prescribed under division (B)(1) of this section, the department shall not assign an overall rating of "ineffective" or lower to an entity that sponsors a community school solely because that entity received no points on one of the components prescribed under that division.
(2) In calculating an academic performance component, the department shall exclude all community schools that have been in operation for not more than two full school years and all community schools described in division (A)(4)(b) of section 3314.35 of the Revised Code. However, the academic performance of the community schools described in division (A)(4)(b) of section 3314.35 of the Revised Code shall be reported, but shall not be used as a factor when determining a sponsoring entity's rating under this section.
(3) The department, in consultation with entities that sponsor community schools, shall prescribe quality practices for community school sponsors and develop an instrument to measure adherence to those quality practices. The quality practices shall be based on standards developed by the national association of charter school authorizers or any other nationally organized community school organization.
(4)(a) The department may permit peer review of a sponsor's adherence to the quality practices prescribed under division (B)(3) of this section. Peer reviewers shall be limited to individuals employed by sponsors rated "effective" or "exemplary" on the most recent ratings conducted under this section.
(b) The department shall require individuals participating in peer review under division (B)(4)(a) of this section to complete training approved or established by the department.
(c) The department may enter into an agreement with another entity to provide training to individuals conducting peer review of sponsors. Prior to entering into an agreement with an entity, the department shall review and approve of the entity's training program.
(5) The director of education and workforce shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prescribing standards for measuring compliance with applicable laws and rules under division (B)(1)(c) of this section.
(6) The department annually shall rate all entities that sponsor community schools as either "exemplary," "effective," "ineffective," or "poor," based on the components prescribed by division (B) of this section, where each component is weighted equally. A separate rating shall be given by the department for each component of the evaluation system.
The department shall publish the ratings between the first day of October and the fifteenth day of November.
Prior to the publication of the final ratings, the department shall designate and provide notice of a period of at least ten business days during which each sponsor may review the information used by the department to determine the sponsor's rating on the components prescribed by division (B)(1) of this section. If the sponsor believes there is an error in the department's evaluation, the sponsor may request adjustments to the rating of any of those components based on documentation previously submitted as part of an evaluation. The sponsor shall provide to the department any necessary evidence or information to support the requested adjustments. The department shall review the evidence and information, determine whether an adjustment is valid, and promptly notify the sponsor of its determination and reasons. If any adjustments to the data could result in a change to the rating on the applicable component or to the overall rating, the department shall recalculate the ratings prior to publication.
The department shall provide training on an annual basis regarding the evaluation system prescribed under this section. The training shall, at a minimum, describe methodology, timelines, and data required for the evaluation system. The first training session shall occur not later than March 2, 2016. Beginning in 2018, the training shall be made available to each entity that sponsors a community school by the fifteenth day of July of each year and shall include guidance on any changes made to the evaluation system.
(7)(a) Entities with an overall rating of "exemplary" for the two most recent years in which the entity was evaluated may take advantage of the following incentives:
(i) Renewal of the written agreement with the department, not to exceed ten years, provided that the entity consents to continued evaluation of adherence to quality practices as described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section;
(ii) The ability to extend the term of the contract between the sponsoring entity and the community school beyond the term described in the written agreement with the department;
(iii) An exemption from the preliminary agreement and contract adoption and execution deadline requirements prescribed in division (D) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code;
(iv) An exemption from the automatic contract expiration requirement, should a new community school fail to open by the thirtieth day of September of the calendar year in which the community school contract is executed;
(v) No limit on the number of community schools the entity may sponsor;
(vi) No territorial restrictions on sponsorship.
An entity may continue to sponsor any community schools with which it entered into agreements under division (B)(7)(a)(v) or (vi) of this section while rated "exemplary," notwithstanding the fact that the entity later receives a lower overall rating.
(b) Entities with an overall rating of "exemplary" or "effective" for the three most recent years in which the entity was evaluated shall be evaluated by the department once every three years.
(c)(i) Entities that receive an overall rating of "ineffective" shall be prohibited from sponsoring any new or additional community schools during the time in which the sponsor is rated as "ineffective" and shall be subject to a quality improvement plan based on correcting the deficiencies that led to the "ineffective" rating, with timelines and benchmarks that have been established by the department.
(ii) Entities that receive an overall rating of "ineffective" on their three most recent ratings shall have all sponsorship authority revoked. Within thirty days after receiving its third rating of "ineffective," the entity may appeal the revocation of its sponsorship authority to the director, who shall appoint an independent hearing officer to conduct a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The hearing shall be conducted within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal. Within forty-five days after the hearing is completed, the director shall determine whether the revocation is appropriate based on the hearing conducted by the independent hearing officer, and if determined appropriate, the revocation shall be confirmed.
(d) Entities that receive an overall rating of "poor" shall have all sponsorship authority revoked. Within thirty days after receiving a rating of "poor," the entity may appeal the revocation of its sponsorship authority to the director, who shall appoint an independent hearing officer to conduct a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The hearing shall be conducted within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal. Within forty-five days after the hearing is completed, the director shall determine whether the revocation is appropriate based on the hearing conducted by the independent hearing officer, and if determined appropriate, the revocation shall be confirmed.
(8) For the 2014-2015 school year and each school year thereafter, student academic performance prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of this section shall include student academic performance data from community schools that primarily serve students enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program.
(C) If the governing authority of a community school enters into a contract with a sponsor prior to the date on which the sponsor is prohibited from sponsoring additional schools under division (A) of this section and the school has not opened for operation as of that date, that contract shall be void and the school shall not open until the governing authority secures a new sponsor by entering into a contract with the new sponsor under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code. However, the department's office of Ohio school sponsorship, established under section 3314.029 of the Revised Code, may assume the sponsorship of the school until the earlier of the expiration of two school years or until a new sponsor is secured by the school's governing authority. A community school sponsored by the department under this division shall not be included when calculating the maximum number of directly authorized community schools permitted under division (A)(3) of section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.
(D) When an entity's authority to sponsor schools is revoked pursuant to division (B)(7)(c) or (d) of this section, the office of Ohio school sponsorship shall assume sponsorship of any schools with which the original sponsor has contracted for the remainder of that school year. The office may continue sponsoring those schools until the earlier of:
(1) The expiration of two school years from the time that sponsorship is revoked;
(2) When a new sponsor is secured by the governing authority pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 3314.02 of the Revised Code.
Any community school sponsored under this division shall not be counted for purposes of directly authorized community schools under division (A)(3) of section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.
(E) The department shall recalculate the rating for the 2017-2018 school year for each sponsor of a community school that receives recalculated ratings pursuant to division (I) of section 3314.017 of the Revised Code.
Last updated August 10, 2023 at 10:01 AM