Laura Hancock
@laurahancock.bsky.social
Columbus-based reporter, The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com. https://www.cleveland.com/staff/lahancock/posts.html
ACLU says this is a content-based violation of the First Amendment. It will sue if OSU doesn't rescind.
OSU banned chalk messages; ACLU says it has proof it was aimed at pro-Palestinian students
Ohio State officials enforced the policy against pro-Palestinian speech but called a Lee Corso tribute "meaningful" despite acknowledging it violated the same ban, the ACLU says.
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Currently there are no women in statues on the Ohio Statehouse grounds. This monument would change that.
Ohio’s first statues of women at Statehouse hit an unexpected snag just weeks before unveiling
Reinforcement work on the South Plaza of the Ohio Capitol Square may push back the mid-September unveiling of the Ohio Women’s Monument.
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Schools these days are competing against each other for students. What's more, Kent was named by guv candidate Ramaswamy as possibly being ripe for consolidation.
Kent State to launch two initiatives geared toward boosting enrollment
Kent State's bold recruitment strategies come as Ohio universities face mounting enrollment challenges from declining birthrates and stricter visa policies under the Trump administration.
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Cleveland State University transferred WCSB to Ideadstream Public Media to broadcast jazz. Students who were involved in the former student station have created something new.
The defiant comeback of Cleveland State’s student radio station after the university pulled the plug
Former WCSB members have launched XCSB Alternative Media with streaming apps and a new studio. Meanwhile, a lawsuit against CSU continues in Cuyahoga County court.
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ICYMI: I received public comments submitted to Ohio Department of Ed and Workforce on the proposed waiver to be submitted to the US Dept Ed on the waiver for the nation's main K-12 law.
Educators say Ohio school waiver to close or convert buildings to charters bypasses public input
Critics of a controversial plan that would allow the state to close struggling schools or hand them to charter operators after three years of low performance said the move was an end-run around the Ge...
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Senate Bill 19 requires schools to offer advanced math, provide homeschoolers access to career-tech education, among other things.
Gov. Mike DeWine signs Ohio education bill with new math, remediation rules
Gov. Mike DeWine signed a wide-ranging education bill that creates new math instruction requirements, and mandates student remediation when performance is low on the state report card.
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Sponsor of anti-"woke" higher ed law (now a year old) says naysayers were wrong. Also Jerry Cirino introduced a new bill. www.cleveland.com/education/20...
Author of Ohio anti-’woke’ higher ed law celebrates college enrollments, lays out what’s next
The lead sponsor of a year-old higher education overhaul law intended to stomp out liberal “wokeness” in Ohio colleges and universities said the law's success can be seen in a rise in college enrollme...
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Cleveland has an org that works on pre-K/school readiness with the city school district. It put out a report showing that 50% of kids now attending high-quality (as determined by state) preschool programs. But funding challenges loom. www.cleveland.com/education/20...
Cleveland quality preschool enrollment hits 50%, but some kids still are left behind
While enrollment of 3- and 4-year-old children in Cleveland in quality preschool programs reached 50% in 2025, providers warn inflation, state budget changes and federal uncertainty are pushing them t...
cleveland.com
ICYMI: Legislature sends to DeWine bill requiring schools teach 'success sequence' and changes to laws regarding massage therapist licensing, school psychologist licensing, extracurricular activities and sports: www.cleveland.com/education/20...
Bill requiring schools to tell kids how to avoid poverty awaits DeWine decision
SB 276 would mandate public and charter schools teach that education, work and marriage is the path out of poverty.
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Through May 15, Ohio has sent $1.027B to private schools. Since 2023, when the state allowed universal income eligibility for one of the programs, Ohio has spent over $3.1B on vouchers.
Ohio has again dished out more than $1B in vouchers to private schools for the year
The state has already spent more than $1 billion on taxpayer-funded vouchers to support private schools in the 2025-2026 school year, and the total is expected to rise.
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Bill also contains provision allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work till 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays during school year, which is currently prohibited.
Ohio legislature votes to expand state school board after cutting it
A 600-page education bill calls for expanding the state school board, addresses military deployment absences for local school board members and allows teens to work later on Fridays and Saturdays duri...
cleveland.com
The idea behind this bill is to attract more talent into the childcare field. This is expected to open up more slots in childcare facilities.
Ohio lawmakers advance bill to give childcare workers publicly funded daycare
State lawmakers say a bill to help daycare workers find care for their own kids could open the field to more workers. Each new worker would create five new childcare slots, allowing more parents to jo...
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Honesty for Ohio's Voucher Accountability Project launched today:
Coalition launches push to show how $1B spent on Ohio private school vouchers hits public schools
Honesty for Ohio Education's Voucher Accountability Project launched with a website about the effects on vouchers for 609 school districts. It plans more public education.
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This bill was introduced in January but hasn't had a hearing yet in House Education.
Legislation seeks cap on unlimited income eligibility for Ohio school vouchers
House Bill 643 would limit EdChoice-Expansion scholarships after the state removed all income restrictions in 2023, making millionaires eligible for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.
cleveland.com
In Ohio, public schools have to transport private and charter school students.
22,000 Ohio students are being told they’re too impractical to bus to school as group probes solutions
About 21,000 private school students lack guaranteed busing as districts cited driver shortages, bell times, conflicts with other routes that could make them impractical to drive. impracticality, rais...
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The waiver contains a section where they state they could close or privatize low-performing public schools.
Ohio education proposal that could hand your child's school to a for-profit company
A draft proposal Ohio is preparing for a waiver to opt out of certain requirements under the nation’s main K-12 law also describes how the state could close or privatized low-performing public school ...
cleveland.com
So they want to take Title I funds and give them to non-Title I schools that nevertheless struggle with poverty. This is one of many proposals in the waiver.
Ohio seeks federal waiver to spread Title I funds to more schools
Critics warn the state's proposal could dilute money meant for the state's poorest students and English language learners.
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Among information that would be required -- income breakdowns of families getting vouchers, require private schools give same standardized tests as public schools
New Ohio bill ‘Take the Dough, We Gotta Know Act’ seeks more school voucher data
The bill would create an online comparison system for parents to evaluate private school performance against local public schools, among other provisions.
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The ban is on electrical distribution utilities. Think FirstEnergy.
Ohio House passes bill banning utilities from owning EV charging stations
Gas stations and truck stops scored a victory Wednesday when the House voted to ban electric utilities from competing in the EV charging market, despite bipartisan concerns.
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New research for the Center for American Progress...
More than half of Ohio's children under 6 live in childcare deserts — and the state's rate is nearly 10 points worse than the national average
More than 55% of children under 6 lack adequate access to licensed care, well above the national average. Experts say the lack of childcare costs Ohio an estimated $5 billion a year in lost wages, eco...
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The schools are called classical academies. Many follow a curriculum out of Hillsdale College
Ohio spent $164M on science of reading mandate; now, some charter schools may become exempt
Eight charter schools known as classical academies which serve almost 1,900 kids across the state may get an exemption from Ohio's requirement that they teach the science of reading.
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The case over the constitutionality of the EdChoice voucher programs was in an Ohio appellate court Tuesday.
Judges skeptical of Ohio school choice arguments in vouchers lawsuit
Two appellate judges in Franklin County questioned whether the Ohio's education vouchers provide genuine since private schools make admission decisions.
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Over 300 public school districts are suing Ohio over EdChoice vouchers. State, families of private school students argue trial court made series of errors.
4-year battle on propriety of school vouchers for 150,000 students set for appeals court hearing
A three-judge panel in a state appeals court in Columbus will hear arguments over whether two state private school voucher programs are constitutional.
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So the Center for Christian Virtue's scholarship-granting org will allow participants from other states.
Ohio group launches federal private school scholarship program that reduces IRS tax bill
The Center for Christian Virtue becomes the first Ohio organization to announce a federal scholarship granting program under the Education Freedom Tax Credit, which takes effect in 2027 across 30 part...
cleveland.com
These are longtime Ohio political observers on the right and left
Campaigns to ban property taxes, data centers unlikely to get on 2026 ballot, experts say
Two longtime Ohio political observers, one on the left and one on the right, doubt that campaigns to abolish property taxes and ban large data centers will get enough signatures to get on the ballot i...
cleveland.com
$5/gallon gas, record-high home values leading to high property taxes in some districts, are among reasons two-thirds of schools' tax asks went down.
Ohio school income, property tax proposals largely rejected by voters in primary
Ohio school boards must decide whether to return to the ballot, make deep cuts or a combination of the two, in the wake of widespread voter rejection of school taxes on Tuesday.
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Voters chose politicians with experience over newcomers for this race.
Russo, Sprague win primaries for Ohio secretary of state, advancing to the general
Voters chose established politicians for secretary of state contests over political newcomers.
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Interestingly, you're seeing fewer overall tax asks from Ohio school districts this primary election. But more of them are for income taxes.
Ohio school districts are shifting away from property taxes in next week’s election
Record-high home values have pushed property taxes to high levels in over half the state, forcing school boards to try income taxes instead, some for the very first time.
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