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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 145
2025-2026
Representative Bird
Cosponsors: Representatives Williams,
Johnson, Daniels, McClain, Hiner, John, Creech
A
BILL
To
amend sections 3301.0732 and 3313.48 of the Revised Code
regarding
the minimum number of hours in a school year.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3301.0732 and 3313.48 of the Revised Code be amended to read
as follows:
Sec.
3301.0732.
The
minimum education standards prescribed by the director of education
and workforce for nonchartered nonpublic schools under section
3301.07 of the Revised Code shall comply with and shall be limited to
this section.
(A)
A nonchartered nonpublic school that is not seeking a charter from
the department of education and workforce because of truly held
religious beliefs shall annually certify in a report to the parents
of its pupils that the school meets minimum education standards for
nonchartered nonpublic schools as described in this section. A copy
of the report shall be filed with the department of education and
workforce on or before the thirtieth day of September of each year.
(B)
A nonchartered nonpublic school shall be open for instruction with
pupils in attendance for not less than four hundred
fifty-five
eighty-two
hours in the case of pupils in kindergarten unless such pupils are
provided all-day kindergarten, in which case the pupils shall be in
attendance for nine hundred
ten
sixty-three
hours; nine hundred
ten
sixty-three
hours in the case of pupils in grades one through six; and one
thousand
one
fifty-four
hours in the case of pupils in grades seven through twelve in each
school year.
(C)
The parents of a child enrolled in a nonchartered nonpublic school
shall be responsible for reporting their child's enrollment or
withdrawal from that school to the treasurer of the board of
education of the city, exempted village, or local school district in
which the pupil resides. Pupil attendance is reported for the
purposes of facilitating the administration of laws relating to
compulsory education and the employment of minors. An individual in
charge of the nonchartered nonpublic school may, as a matter of
convenience, provide the report to the treasurer on behalf of the
parents.
The
attendance report shall include the name, age, and place of residence
of each pupil below eighteen years of age. The report shall be made
within the first two weeks of the beginning of each school year. In
the case of pupil withdrawal or entrance during the school year,
notice shall be given to the treasurer of the appropriate board of
education within the first week of the next school month.
(D)
Teachers and administrators at nonchartered nonpublic schools shall
hold at least a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent, from a
recognized college or university.
(E)
The curriculum of each nonchartered nonpublic school shall include
the study of the following subjects:
(1)
Language arts;
(2)
Geography, the history of the United States and Ohio, and national,
state, and local government;
(3)
Mathematics;
(4)
Science;
(5)
Health;
(6)
Physical education;
(7)
The fine arts, including music;
(8)
First aid, safety, and fire prevention;
(9)
Other subjects as prescribed by the nonchartered nonpublic school.
(F)
Each nonchartered nonpublic school shall follow regular procedures
for promotion from grade to grade for pupils who have met the
school's educational requirements.
(G)
Each nonchartered nonpublic school shall comply with all applicable
health, fire, and safety laws.
(H)
Pupils attending a nonchartered nonpublic school shall not be
entitled to pupil transportation or auxiliary services. A
nonchartered nonpublic school is not entitled to reimbursement for
administrative costs.
Sec.
3313.48.
(A)
The board of education of each city, exempted village, local, and
joint vocational school district shall provide for the free education
of the youth of school age within the district under its
jurisdiction, at such places as will be most convenient for the
attendance of the largest number thereof. Each school so provided and
each chartered nonpublic school shall be open for instruction with
pupils in attendance, including scheduled classes, supervised
activities, and approved education options but excluding lunch and
breakfast periods and extracurricular activities, for not less than
four hundred
fifty-five
eighty-two
hours in the case of pupils in kindergarten unless such pupils are
provided all-day kindergarten, as defined in section 3321.05 of the
Revised Code, in which case the pupils shall be in attendance for
nine hundred
ten
sixty-three
hours; nine hundred
ten
sixty-three
hours in the case of pupils in grades one through six; and one
thousand
one
fifty-four
hours in the case of pupils in grades seven through twelve in each
school year, which may include all of the following:
(1)
Up to the equivalent of two school days per year during which pupils
would otherwise be in attendance but are not required to attend for
the purpose of individualized parent-teacher conferences and
reporting periods;
(2)
Up to the equivalent of two school days per year during which pupils
would otherwise be in attendance but are not required to attend for
professional meetings of teachers;
(3)
Morning and afternoon recess periods of not more than fifteen minutes
duration per period for pupils in grades kindergarten through six.
(B)
Not later than thirty days prior to adopting a school calendar, the
board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school
district shall hold a public hearing on the school calendar,
addressing topics that include, but are not limited to, the total
number of hours in a school year, length of school day, and beginning
and end dates of instruction. The public hearing required under this
division need not be a separate, individual hearing and may be part
of another public hearing or board meeting.
(C)
No school operated by a city, exempted village, local, or joint
vocational school district shall reduce the number of hours in each
school year that the school is scheduled to be open for instruction
from the number of hours per year the school was open for instruction
during the previous school year unless the reduction is approved by a
resolution adopted by the district board of education. Any reduction
so approved shall not result in fewer hours of instruction per school
year than the applicable number of hours required under division (A)
of this section.
(D)
Prior to making any change in the hours or days in which a high
school under its jurisdiction is open for instruction, the board of
education of each city, exempted village, and local school district
shall consider the compatibility of the proposed change with the
scheduling needs of any joint vocational school district in which any
of the high school's students are also enrolled. The board shall
consider the impact of the proposed change on student access to the
instructional programs offered by the joint vocational school
district, incentives for students to participate in career-technical
education, transportation, and the timing of graduation. The board
shall provide the joint vocational school district board with advance
notice of the proposed change and the two boards shall enter into a
written agreement prescribing reasonable accommodations to meet the
scheduling needs of the joint vocational school district prior to
implementation of the change.
(E)
Subject to section 3327.016 of the Revised Code, prior to making any
change in the hours or days in which a school under its jurisdiction
is open for instruction, the board of education of each city,
exempted village, and local school district shall consider the
compatibility of the proposed change with the scheduling needs of any
community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code
to which the district is required to transport students under
sections 3314.09 and 3327.01 of the Revised Code. The board shall
consider the impact of the proposed change on student access to the
instructional programs offered by the community school,
transportation, and the timing of graduation. The board shall provide
the sponsor, governing authority, and operator of the community
school with advance notice of the proposed change, and the board and
the governing authority, or operator if such authority is delegated
to the operator, shall enter into a written agreement prescribing
reasonable accommodations to meet the scheduling needs of the
community school prior to implementation of the change.
(F)
Subject to section 3327.016 of the Revised Code, prior to making any
change in the hours or days in which the schools under its
jurisdiction are open for instruction, the board of education of each
city, exempted village, and local school district shall consult with
the chartered nonpublic schools to which the district is required to
transport students under section 3327.01 of the Revised Code and
shall consider the effect of the proposed change on the schedule for
transportation of those students to their nonpublic schools. The
governing authority of a chartered nonpublic school shall consult
with each school district board of education that transports students
to the chartered nonpublic school under section 3327.01 of the
Revised Code prior to making any change in the hours or days in which
the nonpublic school is open for instruction.
(G)
The department of education and workforce shall not adopt or enforce
any rule or standard that imposes on chartered nonpublic schools the
procedural requirements imposed on school districts by divisions (B),
(C), (D), and (E) of this section.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 3301.0732 and 3313.48 of the Revised Code are
hereby repealed.