Laura Hancock

The daughter held medical licenses in Ohio before becoming a cancer specialist at Emory, before she was fired from there.

Why is this not showing the photo?
Ok, story's about a new study about teacher morale. In Ohio, it's slightly lower than national average.

Ohio House unanimously passes bill to boost funding for Junior ROTC, NCDD programs

CSU was sued in January over the transfer of WCSB to Ideastream.

I asked the sponsor whether he brought receipts to the press conference. He didn't, just vague accusations.

The legislature offers donors to Scholarship Granting Organizations income tax credits, another layer of state subsidies to private education. Now, a small number of public school districts have figured out how to start SGOS too.
www.cleveland.com/open/2026/02...

On Sunday, a 26-story tower opens at OSU's Wexner Medical Center.

ACT, SAT and now the Classic Learning Test? Ohio contemplating new options for high schoolers Ohio high school juniors would have more standardized test options beyond the ACT and SAT under House Bill 326, which passed 62-28 and now heads to the state Senate.

This new test option comes at a time when colleges are abandoning college admissions tests.

Ohio bill threatens fines for AI chatbots that encourage harm of self or of others Lawmakers from both parties are backing House Bill 524 after heartbreaking stories emerged of AI chatbots encouraging suicide. The legislation threatens fines for violations and would help fund the 98...

We've seen heartbreaking news stories about teens in crisis who have been promoted to die by suicide by chatbots. This bill seeks to stop that.

Ohio lawmakers propose stiffer fines for ignoring, harassing school crossing guards Increased distracted driving has led to more incidents in which crossing guards are being ignored, to the peril of the guard and students. A bill in the Ohio House would greatly stiffen penalties for ...

This comes as at least 2 school crossing guards were hit on the job last year in Ohio.

Financial, enrollment strains to force closure of Lourdes University near Toledo Lourdes University outside Toledo intends to close at the end of the school year, citing financial strains and declining enrollment.

Lourdes is the latest to close. Other schools in and around Ohio have closed recently as families have fewer kids, ed costs are rising faster than inflation.

New Ohio House bill on transgender child welfare takes aim at courts and agencies A Republican-sponsored bill would bar courts and agencies evaluating child welfare cases from considering whether parents affirm transgender children's identities, though child services officials say ...

So the DC-based Heritage Foundation and the Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue were there. They talked a lot about "gender ideology." They don't believe people could be born one way and identify another and they're trying protect parents who feel the same.

Ohio awarded nearly $15M to improve kindergarten readiness Ohio Department of Children and Youth will use a federal grant worth $14.7 million to strengthen the child care-to-kindergarten system, though future program funding remains uncertain.

ICYMI

Ohio career-tech education programs see rising demand, uneven participation While waitlists have decreased after state investments helped 20,000 more students enroll in career-tech education programs, significant geographic disparities remain across Ohio.

There's lower participation in career-tech ed in Ohio's metro areas, designated by the lighter colors on the map.

Little-known tax credit lets Ohioans cut their tax bill while helping private schools Nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organizations have exploded in numbers, growing from 7 in 2021 to 74 today in Ohio. The SGOs offer donors tax benefits for donating to private schools.

This can be layered on top of vouchers.

DeWine warns sales tax could hit 20% if property taxes abolished If a proposed constitutional amendment abolishing property taxes were to pass, Ohioans might see sales taxes skyrocket to help replaced lost tax revenue, Gov. Mike DeWine said cautioned.

He also warns income tax could rise.

Ohio House bill seeks to pay student teachers amid shortage College students who are student teaching could receive pay and health coverage, cost-of-living stipends, licensing exam reimbursements and tuition discounts under a new Ohio House bill.

This bill is hoped to help recruit people during the teacher shortage

Ohio bill would cut funding to school districts suing over vouchers House Bill 671 would withhold state money from districts challenging EdChoice programs, affecting more than 100 districts currently in litigation

On average last year 37% of school district $$$ came from the state.

Ohio House bill would scuttle OHSAA policy, ban NIL in middle and high school sports Newly introduced Ohio HB 661 would prohibit middle and high school students from entering name, image and likeness deals with businesses.

The OHSAA for a long time prohibited NIL, but then lost a round in court in October. In November, it adopted a policy allowing NIL. The legislature is trying to undo that.

As last district remains in academic distress, debate continues on whether Ohio takeovers work Schools in Youngstown, Lorain and East Cleveland all have faced academic distress commissions. But the results suggest there may be no secret recipe for turning around a struggling district.

Youngstown City Schools remain in academic distress/state takeover, after 16 years. It was the first district on and the last district to be off. I examine why it's still on academic distress, how it's clamoring to get off, and what can be done if state takeovers don't work.

Ohio Ethics Commission kills charter school disclosure rule after political pressure The Ohio Ethics Commission voted to indefinitely set aside a rule that would have required officials overseeing $1.6 billion in charter school funding to report income sources and investments.

OH Senate President Rob McColley (Vivek Ramaswamy's running mate) and House Spkr Matt Huffman objected to rule, saying it was unfair compared to trad public school financial disclosures, that commission didn't engage w/ charter community. There have allegations of mishandling $ in some charters

Former CSU professor accused of mishandling data on children for research into race, IQ The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Cleveland State University properly fired Bryan J. Pesta for research misconduct, not for the content of his paper linking European ancestry to intelligence...

The tenured management professor was fired from CSU, a decision he's fighting in court.

Mounting snow days prompt one school district to think twice about calling off Ongoing winter weather has prompted on local school superintendent to say he'll be wary of calling additional snow days, mindful of students potentially missing too much instructional time.

The state requires students to have a minimum number of hours each year. Weather this year could have some districts, charter schools, teetering on the edge of those requirements

Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paul Craft to resign after legislature further cuts board Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paul Craft will leave his post by July 31 after two years leading the State Board of Education through legislative cuts.

The legislature gutted the school board in 2023, after 3 democrats were elected to it. Craft worked under the new structure. But then the legislature further cut the board, and he said it's a good time to leave and bring in someone new.

Ohio to require teachers to retrain in science of reading every 5 years New professional development courses will be developed for literacy instruction known as the science of reading, a phonics-intensive approach the state requires in classrooms for Ohio's 1.6 million pu...

This will be required for teachers of all subjects, administrators, psychologists too, in K-12.

Ohio releases model policy to guide school districts on AI use in classrooms The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has developed a template that school districts can use as they establish policies that address data privacy, academic integrity and AI literacy.

ICYMI - The state has put out another AI guide. This is a model policy that school districts can borrow from. By July 1, all 600 Ohio school districts must have an AI policy. Plus charter schools.

Lawsuit accuses CSU of trying to silence criticism with WCSB station transfer The complaint claims CSU “grew weary of the independent voices at WCSB, their nonconformist attitudes."

On Oct. 3, CSU transferred the WCSB signal to Ideastream, which turned it into a jazz station. Now students who worked at the station, and their supporters, are suing CSU, its president and board of trustees.
www.cleveland.com/open/2026/01...

Conservative Christian group on the ascent, gaining the ear of lawmakers as it gains influence The conservative Center for Christian Virtue had just two employees 10 years ago. Now the public policy organization is ascendant, with new digs on Capitol Square to house its growing staff and projec...

The Center for Christian Virtue has increased fundraising, projects and influence with politicians in Columbus in recent years. Its president speaks at the City Club of Cleveland this week.

Lawsuit alleges corruption in Browns’ stadium $600 million funding deal Lawyers challenging the use of unclaimed funds for the Browns' news stadium allege a "pay-to-play" scheme.

Allegations of pay to play stemming back to a 2024 anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment proposal the Haslams contributed $100K to defeat.

Ohio judge halts $600 million Browns stadium funding: ‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’ Judge Bill Sperlazza issued a 14-day halt on the $600 million funding plan that would use unclaimed funds for the Browns' new domed stadium in Brook Park.

So a judge issued a 14-day pause on the transfer of unclaimed funds to a grant program from which the Browns are to receive $600M. This transfer was supposed to happen Jan. 1.