To amend sections 3310.15 and 3310.16 and to enact section 3301.165 of the Revised Code regarding chartered nonpublic schools EdChoice scholarship reporting.
Summary
HB715 would expand public reporting and data transparency for Ohio’s EdChoice scholarship programs and chartered nonpublic schools. It creates a new section of the Revised Code requiring the Department of Education and Workforce to build a public comparison tool showing scholarship-student performance in chartered nonpublic schools against similar students in the local district, community schools, STEM schools, and other chartered nonpublic schools. The bill also requires annual public posting of scholarship participation counts by family income bands, along with school-level enrollment and funding data for each chartered nonpublic school.
The bill further revises existing EdChoice reporting provisions to require more detailed student performance breakdowns by grade, race and ethnicity, gender, program tenure, and economic disadvantage, and it directs the department to develop and publish student growth measures for scholarship students in grades 4 through 8. It also changes the timing for annual distribution of performance data to parents from February to September, and requires the department to share data with parents while limiting disclosure of statistically unreliable or personally identifiable information. In addition, the bill updates the scholarship application process, including faster eligibility determinations, conditional approvals, and interagency data sharing to verify eligibility and residency.
Impact
HB715 would amend sections 3310.15 and 3310.16 and enact new section 3301.165 of the Revised Code, increasing the Department of Education and Workforce’s reporting obligations for EdChoice and related scholarship programs. It would require new public web-based data systems, more granular demographic and income reporting, school-by-school disclosure of enrollment and state support, and a new student-growth reporting framework. The bill also would formalize data-sharing agreements with the departments of taxation and job and family services for eligibility verification and would prohibit school districts from accessing scholarship applications.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the measure appears to be framed as a transparency and accountability bill rather than a policy expansion or restriction of scholarship eligibility. Its sponsors likely intend to provide parents and the public with more information about scholarship outcomes and school finances. Because there are no committee transcripts or votes available, there is no documented public sentiment in the provided materials, but the structure of the bill suggests a generally pro-accountability, pro-disclosure posture.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are privacy, data use, and the implications of comparing scholarship students with other student groups. The bill requires detailed public reporting by income, demographics, school type, and prior enrollment history, which could raise concerns about student privacy even with the bill’s limits on small groups and identifiable data. It also mandates a comparison system that benchmarks chartered nonpublic school scholarship students against similar students in public and other private-school settings, which may be viewed by supporters as useful accountability and by critics as potentially misleading or burdensome. Another possible issue is the expanded administrative workload for the state agencies involved in collecting, matching, and publishing the data.
To amend sections 3517.12, 3517.13, and 3517.155 of the Revised Code to modify the Campaign Finance Law regarding foreign nationals and statewide initiatives and referenda and to declare an emergency.
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