As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 336
2023-2024
Senator Lang
A BILL
To amend sections 3301.163, 3310.01, 3310.02, 1
3310.03, 3310.032, 3310.06, 3310.07, 3310.10, 2
3310.11, 3310.13, 3310.14, 3310.15, 3310.16, 3
3310.17, 3317.022, 3317.03, and 3365.07 of the 4
Revised Code to expand the Ed Choice Scholarship 5
Program to include nonchartered nonpublic 6
schools. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3301.163, 3310.01, 3310.02, 8
3310.03, 3310.032, 3310.06, 3310.07, 3310.10, 3310.11, 3310.13, 9
3310.14, 3310.15, 3310.16, 3310.17, 3317.022, 3317.03, and 10
3365.07 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 11
Sec. 3301.163. (A) Any third-grade student who attends a 12
chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school with a scholarship 13
awarded under either the educational choice scholarship pilot 14
program, prescribed in sections 3310.01 to 3310.17, or the pilot 15
project scholarship program prescribed in sections 3313.974 to 16
3313.979 of the Revised Code, shall be subject to the third- 17
grade reading guarantee retention provisions under division (A) 18
(2) of section 3313.608 of the Revised Code, including the 19
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As Introduced
exemptions prescribed by that division. For purposes of 20
determining if a child with a disability is exempt from 21
retention under this section, an individual services plan 22
created for the child that has been reviewed by either the 23
student's school district of residence or the school district in 24
which the chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school is located 25
and that specifies that the student is not subject to retention 26
shall be considered in the same manner as an individualized 27
education program or plan under section 504 of the 28
"Rehabilitation Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 355, 29 U.S.C. 794, as 29
amended, as prescribed by division (A)(2) of section 3313.608 of 30
the Revised Code. 31
As used in this section, "child with a disability" and 32
"school district of residence" have the same meanings as in 33
section 3323.01 of the Revised Code. 34
(B)(1) Each chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school 35
that enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 36
three and that accepts students under the educational choice 37
scholarship pilot program or the pilot project scholarship 38
program shall adopt policies and procedures for the annual 39
assessment of the reading skills of those students. Each school 40
may use the diagnostic assessment to measure reading ability for 41
the appropriate grade level prescribed in division (D) of 42
section 3301.079 of the Revised Code. If the school uses such 43
assessments, the department of education and workforce shall 44
furnish them to the chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school. 45
(2) For each student identified as having reading skills 46
below grade level, the school shall do both of the following: 47
(a) Provide to the student's parent or guardian, in 48
writing, all of the following: 49
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As Introduced
(i) Notification that the student has been identified as 50
having a substantial deficiency in reading; 51
(ii) Notification that if the student attains a score in 52
the range designated under division (A)(3) of section 3301.0710 53
of the Revised Code on the assessment prescribed under that 54
section to measure skill in English language arts expected at 55
the end of third grade, the student shall be retained unless the 56
student is exempt under division (A)(1) of section 3313.608 of 57
the Revised Code. 58
(b) Provide intensive reading instruction services, as 59
determined appropriate by the school, to each student identified 60
under this section. 61
(C) Each chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school 62
subject to this section annually shall report to the department 63
the number of students identified as reading at grade level and 64
the number of students identified as reading below grade level. 65
(D) Each chartered or nonchartered nonpublic school shall 66
provide reading intervention services required under division 67
(B)(2) of this section for students who did not achieve a 68
proficient level of skill but were promoted to the fourth grade, 69
that do all of the following: 70
(1) Continue to be offered for as long as a student does 71
not achieve a proficient level of skill in reading for the 72
student's current grade level; 73
(2) Provides high-dosage tutoring opportunities through a 74
state-approved vendor on the list of high-quality tutoring 75
vendors under section 3301.136 of the Revised Code or a locally 76
approved opportunity that aligns with high-dosage tutoring best 77
practices, including additional instruction time of at least 78
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As Introduced
three days per week, or at least fifty hours over thirty-six 79
weeks; 80
(3) Align with the science of reading as defined under 81
section 3313.6028 of the Revised Code. 82
Sec. 3310.01. As used in sections 3310.01 to 3310.17 of 83
the Revised Code: 84
(A) "Chartered nonpublic school" means a nonpublic school 85
that holds a valid charter issued by the director of education 86
and workforce under section 3301.16 of the Revised Code and 87
meets the standards established for such schools in rules 88
adopted by the director. 89
(B) An "eligible student" is a student who satisfies the 90
conditions specified in section 3310.03 or 3310.032 of the 91
Revised Code. 92
(C) "Parent" has the same meaning as in section 3313.98 of 93
the Revised Code. 94
(D) "Resident district" means the school district in which 95
a student is entitled to attend school under section 3313.64 or 96
3313.65 of the Revised Code. 97
(E) "School year" has the same meaning as in section 98
3313.62 of the Revised Code. 99
(F) "Nonchartered nonpublic school" means a nonpublic 100
school that does not hold a charter issued under section 101
3301.016 of the Revised Code, but meets the minimum education 102
standards prescribed under section 3301.0732 of the Revised 103
Code, and maintains a physical location in this state that does 104
not primarily serve as a residence and at which each student has 105
regular and direct contact with teachers. 106
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As Introduced
Sec. 3310.02. The educational choice scholarship pilot 107
program is hereby established. Under the program, the department 108
of education and workforce annually shall pay scholarships to 109
attend chartered or nonchartered nonpublic schools in accordance 110
with section 3317.022 of the Revised Code. 111
Sec. 3310.03. For the 2021-2022 school year and each 112
school year thereafter, subject to division (G) of this section, 113
a student is an "eligible student" for purposes of the 114
educational choice scholarship pilot program if the student's 115
resident district is not a school district in which the pilot 116
project scholarship program is operating under sections 3313.974 117
to 3313.979 of the Revised Code, the student satisfies one of 118
the conditions in division (A), (B), or (C) of this section, and 119
the student maintains eligibility to receive a scholarship under 120
division (D) of this section. 121
However, any student who received a scholarship for the 122
2020-2021 school year under this section, as it existed prior to 123
March 2, 2021, shall continue to receive that scholarship until 124
the student completes grade twelve, as long as the student 125
maintains eligibility to receive a scholarship under division 126
(D) of this section. 127
(A)(1) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the 128
student is enrolled in a school building operated by the 129
student's resident district and to which both of the following 130
apply: 131
(a) The building was ranked in the lowest twenty per cent 132
of all buildings operated by city, local, and exempted village 133
school districts according to performance index score as 134
determined by the department of education and workforce, as 135
follows: 136
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As Introduced
(i) For a scholarship sought for the 2021-2022 or 2022- 137
2023 school year, the building was ranked in the lowest twenty 138
per cent of buildings for each of the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 139
school years. 140
(ii) For a scholarship sought for the 2023-2024 school 141
year, the building was ranked in the lowest twenty per cent of 142
buildings for each of the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 school years. 143
(iii) For a scholarship sought for the 2024-2025 school 144
year, the building was ranked in the lowest twenty per cent of 145
buildings for each of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. 146
(iv) For a scholarship sought for the 2025-2026 school 147
year or any school year thereafter, the building was ranked in 148
the lowest twenty per cent of buildings for at least two of the 149
three most recent consecutive rankings issued prior to the first 150
day of July of the school year for which a scholarship is 151
sought. 152
(b) The building is operated by a school district in 153
which, for the three consecutive school years prior to the 154
school year for which a scholarship is sought, an average of 155
twenty per cent or more of the students entitled to attend 156
school in the district, under section 3313.64 or 3313.65 of the 157
Revised Code, were qualified to be included in the formula to 158
distribute funds under Title I of the "Elementary and Secondary 159
Education Act of 1965," 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. 160
When ranking school buildings under division (A)(1) of 161
this section, the department shall not include buildings 162
operated by a school district in which the pilot project 163
scholarship program is operating in accordance with sections 164
3313.974 to 3313.979 of the Revised Code. 165
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As Introduced
(2) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student 166
will be enrolling in any of grades kindergarten through twelve 167
in this state for the first time in the school year for which a 168
scholarship is sought, will be at least five years of age, as 169
defined in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code, by the first day 170
of January of the school year for which a scholarship is sought, 171
and otherwise would be assigned under section 3319.01 of the 172
Revised Code in the school year for which a scholarship is 173
sought, to a school building described in division (A)(1) of 174
this section. 175
(3) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student 176
is enrolled in a community school established under Chapter 177
3314. of the Revised Code but otherwise would be assigned under 178
section 3319.01 of the Revised Code to a building described in 179
division (A)(1) of this section. 180
(4) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student 181
is enrolled in a school building operated by the student's 182
resident district or in a community school established under 183
Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code and otherwise would be 184
assigned under section 3319.01 of the Revised Code to a school 185
building described in division (A)(1) of this section in the 186
school year for which the scholarship is sought. 187
(5) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student 188
was enrolled in a public or nonpublic school or was homeschooled 189
in the prior school year and completed any of grades eight 190
through eleven in that school year and otherwise would be 191
assigned under section 3319.01 of the Revised Code to a school 192
building described in division (A)(1) of this section in the 193
school year for which the scholarship is sought. 194
(B) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student 195
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As Introduced
is enrolled in a nonpublic school at the time the school is 196
granted a charter by the director of education and workforce 197
under section 3301.16 of the Revised Code and the student meets 198
the standards of division (B) of section 3310.031 of the Revised 199
Code. 200
(C) A student is eligible for a scholarship if the 201
student's resident district is subject to section 3302.10 of the 202
Revised Code and the student either: 203
(1) Is enrolled in a school building operated by the 204
resident district or in a community school established under 205
Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code; 206
(2) Will be both enrolling in any of grades kindergarten 207
through twelve in this state for the first time and at least 208
five years of age by the first day of January of the school year 209
for which a scholarship is sought. 210
(D) A student who receives a scholarship under the 211
educational choice scholarship pilot program remains an eligible 212
student and may continue to receive scholarships in subsequent 213
school years until the student completes grade twelve, so long 214
as all of the following apply: 215
(1) The student's resident district remains the same, or 216
the student transfers to a new resident district and otherwise 217
would be assigned in the new resident district to a school 218
building described in division (A)(1) or (C) of this section. 219
(2) The student takes each assessment prescribed for the 220
student's grade level under section 3301.0710, 3301.0712, or 221
3313.619 of the Revised Code while enrolled in a chartered 222
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