Educator Essentials November 2024 Newsletter

State Board of Education of Ohio sent this bulletin at 11/13/2024 09:30 AM EST

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Educator Essentials

NEWS YOU CAN USE

November 2024

Welcome to the November edition of Educator Essentials, brought to you by the State Board of Education team. This monthly newsletter will keep you in the know with important updates about Educator Licensure, Professional Conduct, Educator Evaluations, Teacher of the Year, and more.

2025 State Board District Teachers of the Year Honored

The educators, including 2025 Ohio Teacher of the Year Daneé Pinckney, were honored Tuesday in a special presentation during the November State Board of Education meeting. Board members introduced their district’s teacher of the year, and proudly highlighted the accomplishments of each one of the eleven-member cohort.

Licensure Renewal Applications Available

Educators whose licenses expire June 30, 2025, may submit their renewal applications now to avoid longer processing times in the summer.

Senior/Lead Professional License Requirement Updates

Teachers may consider advancing to the next level on their career ladder by obtaining the Senior or Lead Professional educator license. Due to recent legislative changes, the degree requirement for either license is now a bachelor’s degree. Both licenses require nine years of teaching experience under a standard teaching license (five of which must be under a professional or permanent license) and verification of distinguished certification or performance, including a current Master Teacher designation for the Senior Professional license and current national board certification or a current Master Teacher designation and Teacher Leader endorsement for the Lead Professional license.

New Licensure Conversion Option

Due to recent legislation, educators will soon be able to convert their teaching licenses to the new P-8 or 7-12 grade band at renewal. The State Board of Education staff are in the process of creating the Administrative Code rules for licensure conversion. Those rules will be posted for public comment once they are approved by the State Board.

Urgent Rapback Expansion Update:
Late Driver Enrollment Period Until November 15th

Our records show that there are still bus and van drivers active in the Department of Education and Workforce's SFPS system but who have not created an account in CORE to transfer Rapback enrollment to the State Board of Education or the driver has information in SFPS which does not match CORE records. The deadline for drivers to create an account in CORE was October 31, 2024, however we will accept late enrollment until November 15, 2024. After that date, the State Board will begin to unenroll drivers who have not properly transferred to CORE. Visit our Rapback page for more information.

Legislative Changes Include New Professional Conduct Reporting Requirements

Over the summer, House Bill 147 was signed into law, which contains several changes to professional conduct procedures and creates additional misconduct reporting requirements for superintendents. These changes went into effect on October 24, 2024. Superintendents must now report when educators retire under threat of termination or when they are under investigation for misconduct, and when educators are removed for the district's list of eligible substitute teachers due to misconduct. The bill also added an additional absolute bar offense and added certain "registrations" to the definition of "license." Visit our website for more details about the changes.

Male teacher showing a paper to a male student

Temporary Substitute Teacher Licenses Now Renewable

Due to an update in the online CORE licensure application system, educators are no longer required to apply for a new Temporary Substitute teaching license each school year. Applicants now have the option to renew their expired or currently expiring Temporary Substitute teaching licenses through their CORE Dashboards.

School Psychology Licenses No Longer Issued Through State Board

Due to legislated changes, the State Board of Education will no longer issue School Psychology licenses effective January 1, 2025. Additionally, the State Board of Education is not renewing Pupil Services School Psychology licenses that expire June 30, 2025. Educators who hold a Pupil Services School Psychology license that expires in 2025, should contact the Ohio Board of Psychology for information regarding the transition of their licenses.

Ohio Teacher Leadership Summit

The Ohio Teacher Leadership Summit is June 11, 2025, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus. This exciting event brings together schools, districts, and organizations doing innovative work to develop teacher leaders by sharing successes, lessons learned, and strategies for overcoming challenges around teacher leadership implementation. The goal of the summit is to build a statewide network of teacher leaders and administrators to promote and strengthen teacher leadership in Ohio.

Event organizers are accepting proposals to present at the summit. Submit presentation proposals using this form by Nov. 28, 2024. Priority will be given to presentations that align with the Ohio Teacher Leadership Framework and summit goals that include practical, relevant work tools and knowledge.

Contact teacher.leadership@education.ohio.gov with questions.

New Rule for Public Comment

The State Board of Education regularly posts rules for public comment.

Ohio Administrative Code Section 3302-73-26 titled “Action after appeal of conviction” is currently proposed for amendment. The rule is being amended to add processes and streamline existing language.

Comments on this rule can be made until November 28, 2024 at publiccomment@sboe.ohio.gov.

Deadlines and Dates

Please be aware of these approaching deadlines and important dates.

11/15 | Deadline for Resident Educator Program registration in CORE
11/15 | Deadline for Late Driver Rapback Enrollment
11/21 | Resident Educator Program Coordinator Monthly Meet-up
11/28 | Thanksgiving holiday
12/6 | Educator Standards Board meeting
12/9 | State Board of Education meeting

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