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(136th General Assembly)
(Amended
House Bill Number 114)
AN ACT
To amend section 3321.01 of the
Revised Code regarding age requirements for kindergarten admission
and to correct a scoring error on the 2024-2025 science end-of-course
exam.
Be
it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
Section
1.
That
section
3321.01
of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
3321.01.
(A)(1)
As used in this chapter, "parent," "guardian," or
"other person having charge or care of a child" means
either parent unless the parents are separated or divorced or their
marriage has been dissolved or annulled, in which case "parent"
means the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of
the child. If the child is in the legal or permanent custody of a
person or government agency, "parent" means that person or
government agency. When a child is a resident of a home, as defined
in section 3313.64 of the Revised Code, and the child's parent is not
a resident of this state, "parent," "guardian,"
or "other person having charge or care of a child" means
the head of the home.
A
child between six and eighteen years of age is "of compulsory
school age" for the purpose of sections 3321.01 to 3321.13 of
the Revised Code. A child under six years of age who has been
enrolled in kindergarten also shall be considered "of compulsory
school age" for the purpose of sections 3321.01 to 3321.13 of
the Revised Code unless at any time the child's parent or guardian,
at the parent's or guardian's discretion and in consultation with the
child's teacher and principal, formally withdraws the child from
kindergarten. The compulsory school age of a child shall not commence
until the beginning of the term of such schools, or other time in the
school year fixed by the rules of the board of the district in which
the child resides.
(2)
Each
school district board of education shall admit to kindergarten any
student who is five or, for a student who has not completed first
grade, six years of age by the first day of instruction of the school
year of admittance.
In
a district in which all children are admitted to
kindergarten
and
the
first grade in August or September, a child shall be admitted if the
child is
five
or
six
years of age
,
respectively,
by the thirtieth day of September of the year of admittance, or by
the first day of a term or semester other than one beginning in
August or September in school districts granting admittance at the
beginning of such term or semester.
A
A
child
who does not meet the age requirements of this section for admittance
to kindergarten or first grade, but who will be five or six years
old,
respective
respectively
,
prior to the first day of January of the school year in which
admission is requested, shall be evaluated for early admittance in
accordance with district policy upon referral by the child's parent
or guardian, an educator employed by the district, a preschool
educator who knows the child, or a pediatrician or psychologist who
knows the child. Following an evaluation in accordance with a
referral under this section, the district board shall decide whether
to admit the child. If a child for whom admission to kindergarten or
first grade is requested will not be five or six years of age,
respectively, prior to the first day of January of the school year in
which admission is requested, the child shall be admitted only in
accordance with the district's acceleration policy adopted under
section 3324.10 of the Revised Code.
(3)
Notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this section, beginning with the
school year that starts in 2001 and continuing thereafter the board
of education of any district may adopt a resolution establishing the
first day of August in lieu of the thirtieth day of September as the
required date by which students must have attained the age specified
in that division
for
admittance to first grade
.
(4)
After a student has been admitted to kindergarten in a school
district or chartered nonpublic school, no board of education of a
school district to which the student transfers shall deny that
student admission based on the student's age.
(B)
As used in division (C) of this section, "successfully completed
kindergarten" means that the child has completed the
kindergarten requirements at one of the following:
(1)
A public or chartered nonpublic school;
(2)
A kindergarten class that is both of the following:
(a)
Offered by a child care provider licensed under Chapter 5104. of the
Revised Code;
(b)
If offered after July 1, 1991, is directly taught by a teacher who
holds one of the following:
(i)
A valid educator license issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised
Code;
(ii)
A Montessori preprimary credential or age-appropriate diploma granted
by the American Montessori society or the association Montessori
internationale;
(iii)
Certification determined under division (F) of this section to be
equivalent to that described in division (B)(2)(b)(ii) of this
section;
(iv)
Certification for teachers in nontax-supported schools pursuant to
section 3301.071 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1)
Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, no school
district shall admit to the first grade any child who has not
successfully completed kindergarten.
(2)
Notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this section, any student who has
successfully completed kindergarten in accordance with section (B) of
this section shall be admitted to first grade.
(D)
The scheduling of times for kindergarten classes and length of the
school day for kindergarten shall be determined by the board of
education of a city, exempted village, or local school district.
(E)
Any kindergarten class offered by a child care provider or school
described by division (B)(1) or (B)(2)(a) of this section shall be
developmentally appropriate.
(F)
Upon written request of a child care provider described by division
(B)(2)(a) of this section, the department of education and workforce
shall determine whether certification held by a teacher employed by
the provider meets the requirement of division (B)(2)(b)(iii) of this
section and, if so, shall furnish the provider a statement to that
effect.
(G)
As used in this division, "all-day kindergarten" has the
same meaning as in section 3321.05 of the Revised Code.
(1)
A school district that is offering all-day kindergarten for the first
time or that charged fees or tuition for all-day kindergarten in the
2012-2013 school year may charge fees or tuition for a student
enrolled in all-day kindergarten in any school year following the
2012-2013 school year. The department shall adjust the district's
average daily membership certification under section 3317.03 of the
Revised Code by one-half of the full-time equivalency for each
student charged fees or tuition for all-day kindergarten under this
division. If a district charges fees or tuition for all-day
kindergarten under this division, the district shall develop a
sliding fee scale based on family incomes.
(2)
The department shall conduct an annual survey of each school district
described in division (G)(1) of this section to determine the
following:
(a)
Whether the district charges fees or tuition for students enrolled in
all-day kindergarten;
(b)
The amount of the fees or tuition charged;
(c)
How many of the students for whom tuition is charged are eligible for
free lunches under the "National School Lunch Act," 60
Stat. 230 (1946), 42 U.S.C. 1751, as amended, and the "Child
Nutrition Act of 1966," 80 Stat. 885, 42 U.S.C. 1771, as
amended, and how many of the students for whom tuition is charged are
eligible for reduced price lunches under those acts;
(d)
How many students are enrolled in traditional half-day kindergarten
rather than all-day kindergarten.
Each
district shall report to the department, in the manner prescribed by
the department, the information described in divisions (G)(2)(a) to
(d) of this section.
The
department shall issue an annual report on the results of the survey
and shall post the report on its web site. The department shall issue
the first report not later than April 30, 2008, and shall issue a
report not later than the thirtieth day of April each year
thereafter.
Section
2.
That
existing
section
3321.01
of the Revised Code
is
hereby
repealed.
Section
3.
As
used in this section, "school" means a community school
established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, a STEM school
established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, or a chartered
nonpublic school that grants a high school diploma based on meeting
the requirements of section 3313.618 of the Revised Code.
The
Department of Education and Workforce shall review the scores of
students who took the science end-of-course examination prescribed
under division (B)(2) of section 3301.0712 of the Revised Code during
the 2024-2025 school year to determine those students who were
affected by an error in the scoring of a single, one-point question
on that examination. For any student who would have achieved a higher
score on the examination had the question been scored correctly, the
Department shall increase the student's score accordingly. If the
increase in the student's score qualifies the student for a science
seal or an honors diploma seal under section 3313.6114 of the Revised
Code, the school district or school in which the student was enrolled
during the 2024-2025 school year shall award the applicable seal. The
Department shall not decrease any student's score on the science
end-of-course examination due to the scoring error.
Speaker
___________________ of the House of Representatives.
President
___________________ of the Senate.
Passed
________________________, 20____
Approved
________________________, 20____
Governor.
The section numbering of law
of a general and permanent nature is complete and in conformity with
the Revised Code.
Director, Legislative
Service Commission.
Filed
in the office of the Secretary of State at Columbus, Ohio, on the
____ day of ___________, A. D. 20____.
Secretary of State.
File
No. _________ Effective Date ___________________