• Under ORC 3302.151, how does a school district qualify as “exempt”?
• What types of districts are eligible for “exempt district” status?
• Which office at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce determines “exempt district” status?
• How long can a district be “exempt”?
• When does the three-year exempt status begin?
• What if a school district continues to meet R.C. 3302.151’s requirements each year?
• Can a qualifying district lose its exemption status before the three-year period ends?
• Are teachers holding resident educator or alternative resident educator licenses in an “exempt district” required to participate in the Ohio Resident Educator Program’s mentoring requirements?
• When an “exempt district” hires non-licensed teachers, must these teachers obtain teaching credentials?
• When an “exempt district” hires non-licensed teachers, are these teachers required to participate in the Ohio Resident Educator Program or the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System?
• In “exempt districts,” teachers must teach in their content areas, but they may teach outside the grade band identified on their credential. How should districts code these teachers in the Educational Management Information System so that they will not appear unqualified or out-of- field in this reporting system?

To be considered “exempt,” a district must meet all the following criteria on the most recent Ohio School Report Card:

1. Received at least 85 percent of the total possible points for the Performance Index score
2. Have a four-year cohort graduation rate of 93 percent or higher
3. Have a five-year cohort graduation rate of 95 percent or higher

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Only city, local and exempted village districts are eligible for “exempt district” status. Therefore, community schools, education service centers, career-technical centers and joint vocational schools are not eligible for exempt district status.

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The Department’s Office of Accountability determines exempt district status based on the criteria as outlined above in 1A. When identified, local superintendents will be notified of exempt status and will then receive guidance materials and support.

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A school district that qualifies is “exempt” for three school years. Thus, if district “A” qualifies as exempt in 2022/2023 school year based on the 2021/2022 report card, the district is exempt through the 2024/2025 school year.

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The three (3) year exemption period starts the school year in which the qualifying report card is issued.

Thus, the 2022-2023 school year is the first year that the three-year period could begin if the school district’s 2021-2022 report card met the requirements of R.C. 3302.151(D).

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In this scenario, the three-school year period would reset each school year that the school district meets the requirements on that given year’s report card. In other words, the qualifying district can continue to push out the three-year period if it continually meets the requirements set forth in R.C. 3302.151(D). Therefore, it is theoretically possible that once a district qualifies as exempt, it could remain within an exempt status for three more school years should it continue to meet the statutory requirements each school year thereafter.

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No. Once a school district qualifies for exempt status, it retains that status for three school years, regardless of what scores the district receives on its report cards in the remaining school years while it is under exempt status. In other words, once a district is given exempt status, it cannot be taken away for three school years, even if the subsequent report cards issued in school year two and three would not otherwise meet the exempt requirements in R.C. 3302.151(D).

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An “exempt district” does not have to administer the Ohio Resident Educator mentoring requirements with newly licensed teachers who hold either resident educator or alternative resident educator licenses, as long as the district uses a local approach to train and support new teachers. The local board of education of an “exempt district” will adopt a district policy explaining the district’s approach to train and support these new teachers.

The district’s Resident Educator Program coordinator must continue annually to:

1. Register these teachers in the Department’s CORE RE online system
2. If eligible for RESA, in CORE indicate that these teachers will be taking RESA
3. Indicate the completion criteria for these teachers at the end of the school year

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No. The individuals are to register annually with the Ohio State Board of Education; these teachers are subject to a criminal records check.

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No. Districts are not required to have non-licensed, registered teachers participate in the Ohio Resident Educator Program or to evaluate them under the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System. However, the district must provide mentoring and professional development support for these non-licensed teachers.

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The Department will make adjustments within the Educational Management Information System to account for this possible deviation in grade bands; however, this system still will verify that teachers are providing instruction in the content areas identified on their credentials.

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