Ohio Department of Education
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 20, 2023 |
| Preceding department |
|
| Jurisdiction | Ohio |
| Headquarters | 25 South Front Street Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Department executive |
|
| Website | education |
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government[1] responsible for primary and secondary public education in the state. It is a cabinet level state agency and the director is appointed by the governor. The Ohio State Board of Education used to be the governing body of the department but House Bill 33 (signed by Governor Mike DeWine in July 2023) transferred most of the duties of the State Board of Education to the newly created Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. The department is headquartered in Columbus. The department and the State Board of Education are two separate agencies.
The department is responsible for implementing standardized tests required by state and federal law, including the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT), Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), and the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA, formerly OTELA). The department does not have jurisdiction over higher education; Ohio's public colleges and universities are governed as part of the University System of Ohio by the Ohio Board of Regents and by the boards of trustees of each institution.
State Board of Education
The Board of Education currently consists of 19 members. All serve four-year terms.
Eleven of these are elected from 11 single-member districts, which are formed by combining three contiguous Ohio Senate districts. The governor appoints eight "at large" members. All serve four year terms. The elected members' terms are staggered so that half of the board is elected in each even-numbered year. Vacancies in the elected membership are filled by appointment by the governor. The chairman of the Ohio House of Representatives Education Committee and his or her counterpart in the Ohio State Senate are ex officio members.
The chairs of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate education committees are ex officio non-voting members of the board. The board is responsible for choosing a Superintendent of Public Instruction, who manages the day-to-day affairs of the agency.
In 2025, Ohio's biennial budget (HB96) changed the structure of the State Board of Education. The eleven districts will be eliminated and only five appointed members will remain to represent rural, suburban, urban, charter, and private schools. As elected and appointed members either resign or serve out their terms, the membership will be reduced until there are only five appointed members.
The Board currently has the following members:[2]
| District | Name | Office |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristie Reighard | |
| 2 | Teresa Fedor | Vice President |
| 3 | Charlotte McGuire | |
| 4 | Kathleen Hoffmann | |
| 5 | Mary Binegar | |
| 6 | Cathye Flory | |
| 7 | Rhonda Johnson | |
| 8 | Karen Lloyd | |
| 9 | John Hagan | |
| 10 | Tom Jackson | |
| 11 | Delores Ford | |
| At-Large | Sara Carruthers | |
| At-Large | Walter Davis | |
| At-Large | Lori Kershner | |
| At-Large | Mark Lamoncha | |
| At-Large | James Mermis | |
| At-Large | Gloria Rodgers | |
| At-Large | VACANT | |
| At-Large | Paul LaRue | President |
See also
References
- ^ Ohio Rev. Code § 3301.13
- ^ "Board Members". State Board of Education. Retrieved January 16, 2026.