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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio Senate Bill 127 Establishes Closure and Restructuring Requirements for Poor-Performing Public Schools
Last action · March 5, 2025: Referred to EducationSponsor: Andrew Brenner
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate Bill 127 revises closure and restructuring requirements for chronically underperforming public schools, community schools, and STEM schools in Ohio based on multi-year state report card metrics beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. The legislation outlines mandatory interventions such as school closure, hiring an approved operator, replacing staff, or working with an external service provider, with an effective date of July 1, 2025.
Local school boards and charter school governing authorities must comply with specific restructuring or closure mandates if their schools remain in the bottom five percent of performance statewide for three consecutive years, directly altering operations for staff, students, and school administration.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public School Districts
School districts operating qualifying low-performing buildings must execute mandatory restructuring, staffing changes, or closures.
Community School Governing Authorities
Governing authorities of charter and community schools are subject to revised closure standards and operational requirements.
STEM School Governing Bodies
STEM schools meeting low-performance criteria are subject to mandatory closure or restructuring alternatives.
School Teachers and Staff
Staff employment status may be impacted by mandatory school closures, restructuring, or staff replacement provisions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which schools are subject to the new closure and restructuring rules under Senate Bill 127?
What options do school boards have if a school qualifies for restructuring under the bill?
When do these new school closure provisions take effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 5, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Education
- Feb 26, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Standardized School Accountability Reset
The legislation explicitly bars the department from considering report card data prior to the 2024-2025 school year when enforcing closure provisions, creating a clear operational baseline.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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