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Advocates and educators oppose changes to school‑closure rules in substitute for SB 295
Summary
Witnesses including the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio Education Association told the Senate Education Committee that substitute SB 295 would use bottom‑percent thresholds to force closures or restructuring, strip local control and weaken supports for underperforming schools, urging alternatives such as community learning centers and fuller implementation of fair school funding.
A substitute to Senate Bill 295 that changes how failing schools are identified and which alternatives they may use drew sustained opposition from teachers' unions and education groups during the committee's third hearing.
Melissa Cropper, representing the Ohio Federation of Teachers, said SB 295 "will mandate the closure or restructuring of schools every year" and criticized a compressed public vetting timeline. Scott DeMauro of…
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