To amend sections 3313.533 and 3319.30 of the Revised Code to permit school districts that establish certain alternative schools to contract with nonprofit or for profit entities to operate those schools, to provide that teachers employed by those entities may be licensed in the same manner as employees of nontax-supported schools, and to provide additional standards for alternative schools operated by nonprofit or for profit entities.

Section 1. That sections 3313.533 and 3319.30 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3313.533.  (A) The board of education of a city, exempted village, or local school district may adopt a resolution to establish and maintain an alternative school in accordance with this section. The resolution shall specify, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The purpose of the school, which purpose shall be to serve students who are on suspension, who are having truancy problems, who are experiencing academic failure, who have a history of class disruption, or who are exhibiting other academic or behavioral problems specified in the resolution;

(2) The grades served by the school, which may include any of grades kindergarten through twelve;

(3) A requirement that the school be operated in accordance with this section. The board of education adopting the resolution under division (A) of this section shall be the governing board of the alternative school. The board shall develop and implement a plan for the school in accordance with the resolution establishing the school and in accordance with this section. Each plan shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(a) Specification of the reasons for which students will be accepted for assignment to the school and any criteria for admission that are to be used by the board to approve or disapprove the assignment of students to the school;

(b) Specification of the criteria and procedures that will be used for returning students who have been assigned to the school back to the regular education program of the district;

(c) An evaluation plan for assessing the effectiveness of the school and its educational program and reporting the results of the evaluation to the public.

(B) Notwithstanding any provision of Title XXXIII of the Revised Code to the contrary, the alternative school plan may include any of the following:

(1) A requirement that on each school day students must attend school or participate in other programs specified in the plan or by the chief administrative officer of the school for a period equal to the minimum school day set by the state board of education under section 3313.48 of the Revised Code plus any additional time required in the plan or by the chief administrative officer;

(2) Restrictions on student participation in extracurricular or interscholastic activities;

(3) A requirement that students wear uniforms prescribed by the district board of education.

(C) In accordance with the alternative school plan, the district board of education may employ teachers and nonteaching employees necessary to carry out its duties and fulfill its responsibilities or may contract with a nonprofit or for profit entity to operate the alternative school, including the provision of personnel, supplies, equipment, or facilities.

(D) An alternative school may be established in all or part of a school building.

(E) If a district board of education elects under this section, or is required by section 3313.534 of the Revised Code, to establish an alternative school, the district board may join with the board of education of one or more other districts to form a joint alternative school by forming a cooperative education school district under section 3311.52 or 3311.521 of the Revised Code, or a joint educational program under section 3313.842 of the Revised Code. The authority to employ personnel or to contract with a nonprofit or for profit entity under division (C) of this section applies to any alternative school program established under this division.

(F) Unless federal law specifies otherwise, any nonprofit or for profit entity that contracts to operate an alternative school under this section may employ as teachers in such school individuals who do not hold educator licenses or certificates specified by state law for teachers employed by school districts as long as those individuals employed as teachers by that entity for the alternative school are licensed in the same manner as individuals employed by nontax-supported schools under section 3301.071 of the Revised Code.

(G) Division (G) of this section applies only to any alternative school that is operated by a nonprofit or for profit entity under contract with the school district.

(1) In addition to the specifications authorized under division (B) of this section, any plan adopted under that division for an alternative school to which division (G) of this section also applies shall include the following:

(a) A description of the educational program provided at the alternative school, which shall include:

(i) Provisions for the school to be configured in clusters or small learning communities;

(ii) Provisions for the incorporation of education technology into the curriculum;

(iii) Provisions for accelerated learning programs in reading and mathematics.

(b) A method to determine the reading and mathematics level of each student assigned to the alternative school and a method to continuously monitor each student's progress in those areas. The methods employed under this division shall be aligned with the curriculum adopted by the school district board of education under section 3313.60 of the Revised Code.

(c) A plan for social services to be provided at the alternative school, such as, but not limited to, counseling services, psychological support services, and enrichment programs;

(d) A plan for a student's transition from the alternative school back to a school operated by the school district.

(2) Notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this section, any alternative school to which division (G) of this section applies shall include only grades six through twelve.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in division (A)(3)(a) of this section to the contrary, the characteristics of students who may be assigned to an alternative school to which division (G) of this section applies shall include only one or more of the following:

(a) Classroom behavior that is so disruptive that it seriously interferes with a teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in the classroom, the ability of other students to learn, or the operation of a school or school-related activity;

(b) Habitual truancy;

(c) Disregard for school authority including persistent or repeated violation of the school district code of conduct;

(d) Nonviolent out-of-classroom infractions of the school district code of conduct that result in a disciplinary action;

(e) Misconduct that warrants assignment to a disciplinary education program under the school district's policy adopted under this section;

(f) Suspension or expulsion under the school district's policy adopted under section 3313.661 of the Revised Code;

(g) Retention for academic reasons for two or more years;

(h) Mathematics or reading levels that are two or more grades below the student's current grade level;

(i) Grade point averages in two or more courses during a previous or the current semester that are lower than seventy on a one-hundred point scale;

(j) Based on prior academic performance, no prospect of graduating from high school within four years of the date the student begins the ninth grade;

(k) Failure to attain the designated scores on the test to measure reading or mathematics required under division (B) of section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code or failure to attain a passing score on the reading or mathematics portion of any other standardized test required under school district policy.

(4) In the case of any alternative school to which division (G) of this section applies, the superintendent of the school district shall assign students to such alternative school for not less than one entire school year.

Sec. 3319.30.  Except as provided in section sections 3313.533 and 3319.36 of the Revised Code, no person shall receive any compensation for the performance of duties as teacher in any school supported wholly or in part by the state or by federal funds who has not obtained a license of qualification for the position as provided for under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code and which license shall further certify to the good moral character of the holder thereof. Any teacher so qualified may, at the discretion of the employing board of education, receive compensation for days on which the teacher is excused by such board for the purpose of attending professional meetings, and the board may provide and pay the salary of a substitute teacher for such days.

Section 2. That existing sections 3313.533 and 3319.30 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. It is the intent of the General Assembly to appropriate moneys specifically for the purpose of assisting school districts in contracting with nonprofit or for profit entities to operate alternative schools for the districts as authorized in sections 3313.533 and 3319.30 of the Revised Code as those sections are amended by this act. The additional moneys shall be used to pay costs associated with educating students assigned to such alternative schools to the extent that those costs exceed those associated with educating those students if they were not assigned to the alternative schools. Any moneys appropriated for the purpose described in this section shall be in the form of a stipend that shall not in any way reduce the amount of moneys a school district would otherwise be eligible to receive under state law.