(A) The board of education of each city and exempted village | 12 |
school
district, the governing board of each educational
service | 13 |
center, and the board of each cooperative education school | 14 |
district established pursuant to section 3311.521 of the Revised | 15 |
Code shall prescribe a curriculum for all schools under their | 16 |
control. Except as provided in division
(E)(D) of this section,
in | 17 |
any such curriculum there shall be included the study of the | 18 |
following subjects: | 19 |
(2) Geography,
the history of the United States and of
Ohio, | 22 |
and national, state, and local government in the United
States, | 23 |
including a balanced presentation of the relevant
contributions to | 24 |
society of men and women of African, Mexican,
Puerto Rican, and | 25 |
American Indian descent as well as other ethnic
and racial groups | 26 |
in Ohio and the United States; | 27 |
(D)
Except as provided in division (E) of this section,
basic | 62 |
instruction in geography, United States history, the
government of | 63 |
the United States, the government of the state of
Ohio, local | 64 |
government in Ohio, the Declaration of Independence,
the United | 65 |
States Constitution, and the Constitution of the state
of Ohio | 66 |
shall be required before pupils may participate in
courses | 67 |
involving the study of social problems, economics,
foreign | 68 |
affairs, United Nations, world government, socialism and | 69 |
communism. | 70 |
(E) For each cooperative education school district | 71 |
established pursuant to section 3311.521 of the Revised Code and | 72 |
each city, exempted village, and local school district that has | 73 |
territory within such a cooperative district, the curriculum | 74 |
adopted pursuant to divisions (A) to
(D)(C) of this section shall | 75 |
only include the study of the subjects that apply to the grades | 76 |
operated by each such school district. The curriculums for such | 77 |
schools, when combined, shall provide to each student of these | 78 |
districts all of the subjects required under divisions (A) to | 79 |
(D)(C)
of this section. | 80 |
Each school shall integrate the study of economics and | 167 |
financial literacy, as expressed in the social studies academic | 168 |
content standards adopted by the state board of education under | 169 |
section 3301.079 of the Revised Code, into one or more existing | 170 |
social studies credits required under division (C)(6)(7) of this | 171 |
section, or into the content of another class, so that every high | 172 |
school student receives instruction in those concepts. In | 173 |
developing the curriculum required by this paragraph, schools | 174 |
shall use available public-private partnerships and resources and | 175 |
materials that exist in business, industry, and through the | 176 |
centers for economics education at institutions of higher | 177 |
education in the state. | 178 |
(7)(8) Five
units consisting of one or any combination of | 179 |
foreign language, fine arts, business, career-technical education, | 180 |
family and consumer sciences, technology, agricultural education, | 181 |
or English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies | 182 |
courses not otherwise required under division (C) of this section. | 183 |
Ohioans must be prepared to apply increased knowledge and | 184 |
skills in the workplace and to adapt their knowledge and skills | 185 |
quickly to meet the rapidly changing conditions of the | 186 |
twenty-first century. National studies indicate that all high | 187 |
school graduates need the same academic foundation, regardless of | 188 |
the opportunities they pursue after graduation. The goal of Ohio's | 189 |
system of elementary and secondary education is to prepare all | 190 |
students for and seamlessly connect all students to success in | 191 |
life beyond high school graduation, regardless of whether the next | 192 |
step is entering the workforce, beginning an apprenticeship, | 193 |
engaging in post-secondary training, serving in the military, or | 194 |
pursuing a college degree. | 195 |
The Ohio core curriculum
is the standard expectation for all | 196 |
students entering ninth grade for the first time at a public or | 197 |
chartered nonpublic high school on or after July 1, 2010. A | 198 |
student may satisfy this expectation through a variety of methods, | 199 |
including, but not limited to, integrated, applied, | 200 |
career-technical, and traditional coursework. | 201 |
Stronger coordination between high schools and institutions | 209 |
of higher education is necessary to prepare students for more | 210 |
challenging academic endeavors and to lessen the need for academic | 211 |
remediation in college, thereby reducing the costs of higher | 212 |
education for Ohio's students, families, and the state. The state | 213 |
board of education, the Ohio board of regents, and the partnership | 214 |
for continued learning shall develop policies to ensure that only | 215 |
in rare instances will students who complete the Ohio core | 216 |
curriculum require academic remediation after high school. | 217 |
School districts, community schools, and chartered nonpublic | 218 |
schools shall integrate technology into learning experiences | 219 |
whenever practicable across the curriculum in order to maximize | 220 |
efficiency, enhance learning, and prepare students for success in | 221 |
the technology-driven twenty-first century. Districts and schools | 222 |
may use distance and web-based course delivery as a method of | 223 |
providing or augmenting all instruction required under this | 224 |
division, including laboratory experience in science. Districts | 225 |
and schools shall whenever practicable utilize technology access | 226 |
and electronic learning opportunities provided by the eTech Ohio | 227 |
commission, the Ohio learning network, education technology | 228 |
centers, public television stations, and other public and private | 229 |
providers. | 230 |
(D) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, a | 231 |
student who enters ninth grade on or after July 1, 2010, and | 232 |
before July 1, 2014, may qualify for graduation from a public or | 233 |
chartered nonpublic high school even though the student has not | 234 |
completed the Ohio core curriculum prescribed in division (C) of | 235 |
this section if all of the following conditions are satisfied: | 236 |
(1) After the student has attended high school for two years, | 237 |
as determined by the school, the student and the student's parent, | 238 |
guardian, or custodian sign and file with the school a written | 239 |
statement asserting the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's | 240 |
consent to the student's graduating without completing the Ohio | 241 |
core curriculum and acknowledging that one consequence of not | 242 |
completing the Ohio core curriculum is ineligibility to enroll in | 243 |
most state universities in Ohio without further coursework. | 244 |
The partnership for continued learning, in collaboration with | 262 |
the department of education and the Ohio board of regents, shall | 263 |
analyze student performance data to determine if there are | 264 |
mitigating factors that warrant extending the exception permitted | 265 |
by division (D) of this section to high school classes beyond | 266 |
those entering ninth grade before July 1, 2014. The partnership | 267 |
shall submit its findings and any recommendations not later than | 268 |
August 1, 2014, to the speaker and minority leader of the house of | 269 |
representatives, the president and minority leader of the senate, | 270 |
the chairpersons and ranking minority members of the standing | 271 |
committees of the house of representatives and the senate that | 272 |
consider education legislation, the state board of education, and | 273 |
the superintendent of public instruction. | 274 |
(F) A student enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery | 292 |
program, which program has received a waiver from the department | 293 |
of education, may qualify for graduation from high school by | 294 |
successfully completing a competency-based instructional program | 295 |
administered by the dropout prevention and recovery program in | 296 |
lieu of completing the Ohio core curriculum prescribed in division | 297 |
(C) of this section. The department shall grant a waiver to a | 298 |
dropout prevention and recovery program, within sixty days after | 299 |
the program applies for the waiver, if the program meets all of | 300 |
the following conditions: | 301 |
(6) The program requires the student and the student's | 320 |
parent, guardian, or custodian to sign and file, in accordance | 321 |
with procedural requirements stipulated by the program, a written | 322 |
statement asserting the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's | 323 |
consent to the student's graduating without completing the Ohio | 324 |
core curriculum and acknowledging that one consequence of not | 325 |
completing the Ohio core curriculum is ineligibility to enroll in | 326 |
most state universities in Ohio without further coursework. | 327 |
Each high school shall record on the student's high school | 350 |
transcript all high school credit awarded under division (G) of | 351 |
this section. In addition, if the student completed a seventh- or | 352 |
eighth-grade fine arts course described in division (K) of this | 353 |
section and the course qualified for high school credit under that | 354 |
division, the high school shall record that course on the | 355 |
student's high school transcript. | 356 |
(J) The state board of education, in consultation with the | 366 |
Ohio board of regents and the partnership for continued learning, | 367 |
shall adopt a statewide plan implementing methods for students to | 368 |
earn units of high school credit based on a demonstration of | 369 |
subject area competency, instead of or in combination with | 370 |
completing hours of classroom instruction. The state board shall | 371 |
adopt the plan not later than March 31, 2009, and commence phasing | 372 |
in the plan during the 2009-2010 school year. The plan shall | 373 |
include a standard method for recording demonstrated proficiency | 374 |
on high school transcripts. Each school district, community | 375 |
school, and chartered nonpublic school shall comply with the state | 376 |
board's plan adopted under this division and award units of high | 377 |
school credit in accordance with the plan. The state board may | 378 |
adopt existing methods for earning high school credit based on a | 379 |
demonstration of subject area competency as necessary prior to the | 380 |
2009-2010 school year. | 381 |
(K) This division does not apply to students who qualify for | 382 |
graduation from high school under division (D) or (F) of this | 383 |
section, or to students pursuing a career-technical instructional | 384 |
track as determined by the school district board of education or | 385 |
the chartered nonpublic school's governing authority. | 386 |
Nevertheless, the general assembly encourages such students to | 387 |
consider enrolling in a fine arts course as an elective. | 388 |
Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the first | 389 |
time on or after July 1, 2010, each student enrolled in a public | 390 |
or chartered nonpublic high school shall complete two semesters or | 391 |
the equivalent of fine arts to graduate from high school. The | 392 |
coursework may be completed in any of grades seven to twelve. Each | 393 |
student who completes a fine arts course in grade seven or eight | 394 |
may elect to count that course toward the five units of electives | 395 |
required for graduation under division (C)(7)(8) of this section, | 396 |
if
the course satisfied the requirements of division (G) of this | 397 |
section. In that case, the high school shall award the student | 398 |
high school credit for the course and count the course toward the | 399 |
five units required under division (C)(7)(8) of this section. If | 400 |
the
course in grade seven or eight did not satisfy the | 401 |
requirements of
division (G) of this section, the high school | 402 |
shall not award the
student high school credit for the course but | 403 |
shall count the
course toward the two semesters or the equivalent | 404 |
of fine arts
required by this division. | 405 |
(L) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, | 406 |
the board of education of each school district and the governing | 407 |
authority of each chartered nonpublic school may adopt a policy to | 408 |
excuse from the high school physical education requirement each | 409 |
student who, during high school, has participated in | 410 |
interscholastic athletics, marching band, or cheerleading for at | 411 |
least two full seasons. If the board or authority adopts such a | 412 |
policy, the board or authority shall not require the student to | 413 |
complete any physical education course as a condition to graduate. | 414 |
However, the student shall be required to complete one-half unit, | 415 |
consisting of at least sixty hours of instruction, in another | 416 |
course of study. | 417 |
(N) Before students may participate in courses involving the | 440 |
study of social problems, economics, foreign affairs, the United | 441 |
Nations, world history and government, socialism, and communism, | 442 |
they first shall complete basic instruction in geography, United | 443 |
States history, the government of the United States, the | 444 |
government of the state of Ohio, local government in Ohio, the | 445 |
Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and | 446 |
the Constitution of the state of Ohio. | 447 |