Bill would require audits of education programs

A southwest Ohio lawmaker is calling on the state’s chancellor of higher education to audit college programs intended to prepare teachers for classroom, behavior and mental-health management in response to attrition among teachers and decreased interest in the profession.

Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, said the mandate expressed in House Bill 572 should provide the Department of Higher Education, the Department of Education and Workforce and the General Assembly a better understanding of teacher training as it relates to the subject and assist in establishing best practices and recommendations.

“In 2013, the number of newly licensed teachers in the state was 7,634; in 2022, we were down to 5,000 newly licensed teachers,” White said during a recent Higher Education Committee hearing in the Ohio House of Representatives. Within the past year, the Ohio Department of Education has reported that teacher attrition is up in schools statewide.”

She said urban school districts in southwest Ohio have experienced the highest level of attrition in the state, recorded at 14.5 percent in 2021––a 0.6 percent increase from the previous five-year averages.

The rate of attrition for urban school districts in northeast Ohio, however, rose at a quicker pace (2.4 percent) compared to the previous five-year averages, she noted.

“The questions we need to answer definitively and very quickly are simple and no doubt you have your own immediate answers––and that is why are students no longer going into this line of work at the same rate they used to and how can we get them to enter teaching and stay,” White continued.

She cited data from a recent national study that found 44 percent of teachers report often or always feeling burned out.
“One major factor leading to this burnout is the increasing rise in behavioral and mental-health issues our kids are dealing with on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “Many of our teachers are reporting they are simply not equipped to deal with these very challenging needs while maintaining order and learning for the rest of their classroom.”

White said a recent survey of teachers who were asked why so many of their counterparts were quitting found reasons ranging from feeling unsafe at school due to fighting among students to increased responsibilities with insufficient time to complete them.

“Anecdotally, I hear frequently about these new challenges from teachers and administrators in my community, especially in the post-pandemic era,” the lawmaker said. “We need to be giving teachers the tools they need to manage their students and classrooms so that both children and teachers can thrive.”

Under HB 572, the chancellor would be mandated to develop a summary of instructional strategies, practices and content of the audited programs in addition to developing a report analyzing the summary and findings to make recommendations for evidence-informed strategies, practices and content that addresses the identified needs to equips educators in supporting their students.

“This legislation will take a small first step in addressing the teacher shortages we are experiencing in Ohio while helping to create a better environment for the teachers who are the backbone and lifeblood of our education system,” White said. “HB 572 will help us do better supporting our teachers by identifying what works and ensuring our educators graduate ready with the tools they need to be effective and successful in today’s environment of heightened student needs.”

The bill awaits further consideration by the committee.