Laura Hancock

Cleveland State launches panel to seek student activity with WCSB amid Ideastream transfer backlash A new panel established by Cleveland State University will design student experiences for radio station WCSB 89.3 in the wake of public criticism of CSU's agreement with Ideastream over the station.

There's a new panel that will look for opportunities for CSU students to participate in WCSB, now controlled by Ideastream Public Media. This comes after weeks of criticism over the station transfer.

Religious chaplains in Ohio schools? New bill sparks debate GOP representatives say chaplains would help with mental health challenges, while some Democrats question mandatory decision timelines for school boards.

Ohio House Bill 531 would require the chaplains be volunteers.

Ohio Head Start programs face November closure from federal shutdown Several Head Start programs in Ohio involving thousands of children risk losing services if the federal government shutdown continues through Nov. 1. Closures could create sudden day care challenges f...

Several of these programs run on a Nov. 1 grant cycle. So the shutdown is hurting the private sector, too, as many parents will have to call off work.

What is the ‘Success Sequence’? Ohio bill would make it required learning A Senate bill is advancing through the legislature that would mandate teaching students a formula aimed at poverty prevention.

This three-pronged theory is supposed to keep people out of poverty.

PBS dominates educational TV for first graders as recent cuts threaten content: OSU study A new analysis at Ohio State University found that PBS delivers three times more educational content than Nickelodeon, raising concerns about the impact of Congress’s $1.1 billion funding reduction.

Among first graders who watch educational TV/videos PBS dominates, according to OSU study. This comes as Congress cut public media.
www.cleveland.com/open/2025/10...

Ohio bill would allow teaching Christianity’s positive impact on American history New legislation in the Ohio House would allow educators to teach about the positive impact of Christianity on American history -- something proponents say teachers now hold back on out of fear of bein...

New Ohio House bill known as Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act would allow teachers teach the "positive" contributions of Christianity on American history.

Ohio schools plagued with chronic absenteeism with 1 in 4 students missing too much class Ohio law states schools must create personalized attendance plans for absent students, moving away from form letters that "have not helped move the needle" on student attendance. For 2024-2025, more t...

1 in 4 Ohio kids are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school.) The state wants the rate to be about half this. What to know about the populations most absent and a law change the state made to address this.

Looking forward to an Ohio trifecta: Hudson Library on Tuesday, 10/7 at 6:30 p.m.; Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati 10/8 at 7 p.m. with @laurahancock.bsky.social and then onto OSU Law School on 10/9.

Legislature passes schools bill allowing for use of overdose meds and more religious-released time What started as a unanimous effort to allow schools to carry life-saving medicine has become controversial after Senate Republicans added provisions for religious release time.

Ohio legislature passes schools bill that allows buildings to carry drug overdose meds - as well as an amendment to extend release time for religious instruction:

CSU eliminates 22 programs including nursing doctorate, MBA options Cleveland State University is permanently discontinuing 22 academic programs, suspending 14 programs for now, and reopening admissions to another four following a comprehensive review that began in 20...

This isn't related to SB1, the school says, but part of program reviews that began in 2023.

Ohio to receive $105M to expand charter schools, Education Secretary Linda McMahon says Education Secretary Linda McMahon used a visit to Columbus on Wednesday to emphasize state control over education. Ohio is to get $105 million in federal funding over five years to bolster charter sch...

Linda McMahon stops in Columbus, announces Ohio is getting nearly $105M to expand charter schools in the state.

152,000 Ohio children without health insurance as feds reject coverage plan The Trump administration has rejected Ohio's request to allow it to provide continuous CHIP coverage through age 4. The decision means parents of 152,000 Ohio children will worry about potentially hig...

The state was trying to get continuous Medicaid coverage for kids from birth to four. Then the Trump administration said to not apply for this waiver: www.cleveland.com/open/2025/09...

Medicaid unwinding leaves 30,000 more Ohio children without health insurance Ohio's uninsured rate for children jumped from 4.5% to 5.6% between 2022 and 2024 as post-pandemic eligibility reviews disenrolled over 600,000 Ohioans. The number of uninsured children in Ohio increa...

Now 5.6% of Ohio kids are uninsured, mostly due to being kicked off Medicaid/CHIP. The rate is expected to increase since Congress cut $1T from Medicaid over next decade.

How East Cleveland schools achieved 3-star rating after years of low tests, state takeover East Cleveland is among a handful of districts in Northeast Ohio that saw gains on the district report cards.

East Cleveland schools, which for decades had low test scores and a state takeover (it's also one of the poorest in the state, based on income tax returns), increased to 3 stars on state rpt cards. Find out how it and other improving districts did it:

With Ohio population projected to drop, DeWine urges college recruitment Gov. DeWine calls on university trustees to attract both in-state and out-of-state students as a projected demographic crisis looms.

With Ohio's population projected to drop, Gov. DeWine urges college recruitment:

Report cards: Ohio student math scores recovering from COVID-19, reading dips New state report cards reveal math proficiency climbing to 55.3% from pandemic low of 48%.

Ohio report cards: Students math and English proficiency is still below pre-pandemic levels. In math, it is slowly crawling back:

See 2025 Ohio school report card grades for every district in the state Searchable database provides school report card details for every district in Ohio

A colleague created a searchable table online where you can look up all the state's school districts.

Cleveland schools drop to 2.5 stars in 2025 state report card A new college and career readiness measure contributed to the district's decline from last year's historic 3-star rating that met state standards.

Cleveland drops to 2.5 stars from last year's 3 stars, meaning it did not make state standards. Columbus and Cincinnati public schools also did not meet state standards.

Ohio’s science of reading initiative faces first test in upcoming report cards CMSD aims for second consecutive year of meeting state standards, as the state releases annual school performance ratings on Monday.

Today, OH releases school and district report cards. I'm looking for 2 things: 1) Whether Cleveland was able to maintain a "meets state standards" ranking 2) how did Ohio students do in reading, now that we have this big push for the science of reading. www.cleveland.com/education/20...

For a list of what OU and UToledo are cutting:

Over the weekend I wrote a story about how the state is requiring low-enrollment undergrad degrees to get cut. Faculty union says this undermines the concept of shared governance. SB 1 sponsor says it's necessary as enrollment has declined. www.cleveland.com/education/20...

Tri-C to chop 30 associate degree programs, the latest to cite new state law Cuyahoga Community College intends to eliminate 30 associate degree programs, including 15 apprenticeship programs, citing the impact of a new Ohio law that requires programs average five graduates pe...

We are seeing several public colleges and universities announce degree programs they're axing. Cuyahoga Community College is the latest.

To a group of residents who feed the feral cats, the proposal to ban feeding is claw-ful😾

Some states already pay student teachers up to $20,000 -- Ohio might be next A bipartisan bill pending in the Ohio General Assembly would allow Ohio school districts to compensate student teachers -- something that several other states already are doing.

Ohio's neighbors Michigan, Pennsylvania and Kentucky are among the states that offer student teachers stipends.

Teacher shortage: Ohio bill would allow districts, charters to pay student teachers The bipartisan legislation aims to address educator vacancies by removing financial barriers that keep potential teachers from entering the profession.

Student teachers aren't paid in Ohio. The bill's sponsor hopes to change that.

Ohio teacher pay: Ramaswamy proposes merit-based system to replace seniority Republican candidate criticizes current minimum salary for new teachers, while advocating for pay to be tied to performance.

So he didn't say he was going to bust unions, but in order to do some of this stuff, collective bargaining contracts will have to change.

Ohio lawmaker seeks to bar school discrimination against protective hair styles The bill, introduced for the fourth time, would protect students with protective hairstyles like braids, locs, and twists from discrimination in public and charter schools.

Discriminating against kids for braids, locs and twists would be prohibited under HB 418:

Ohio schools, nonprofits to receive $170M in federal funding, now unfrozen The money will be distributed among school districts, charter schools, education service centers, community organizations and universities.

Unfrozen money for Ohio schools, nonprofits. Finally have the correct amounts, you can search here.

$45M in grants to boost reading programs in 33 Ohio schools, districts Six Northeast Ohio districts will use their share of $45.9 million to hire literacy coaches, train teachers and create family programs to boost reading proficiency.

Almost 3 dozen Ohio school districts, charter schools get grants to further implement science of reading approach to literacy.

Ohio governor’s office: CSU students will lose RTA passes due to ‘ridiculous reading’ of law Students will now face $95 monthly transit costs after Cleveland State discontinued the U-Pass program citing a provision in Ohio's 2025 budget.

Ohio governor’s office: Cleveland State University students will lose RTA passes due to ‘ridiculous reading’ of law: