Ohio lawmaker seeks to mandate tutoring for struggling students

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Some Ohio lawmakers are increasingly concerned about students’ declining test scores in math and English.

According to recent assessments, one-fifth of Ohio students displayed limited proficiency in English, and one-third showed limited proficiency in math.

Ohio Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) called Ohio’s test scores “atrocious.”

“This is going back now to, you know, five years since the pandemic,” Brenner said. “That really put a lot of kids behind, so we really need to get these kids caught up.”

Brenner is currently sponsoring Senate Bill 19, which would require that any public school student who shows a limited proficiency in math or English receive free tutoring. Schools would need to develop an improvement and monitoring plan for every student who needs academic intervention, with opportunities for parents or guardians to be involved in the process.

“We’ve got to get the fundamentals of math back, putting these kids basically on math improvement plans along with reading improvement plans,” Brenner said. “I think those are crucial to turning kids around and making sure that they’re able to do the basics.”

The Ohio Senate passed S.B. 19 in November without any opposing votes but could face more opposition in the House of Representatives. The Ohio Education Association — the largest teachers’ union in the state — took a neutral “interested party” stance on S.B. 19 as it moved through the Senate.

OEA President Jeff Wensing said the union is opposed to the version of the bill currently being considered in the House, arguing that it’s not clear that reading or math improvement and monitoring plans are effective.

“I think there are some things that are really good in this bill, but this is another component of just, like, checking a box with a math improvement and monitoring plan,” Wensing said. “It’s more paperwork. Teachers need the time to teach and not fill out paperwork.”

Wensing also said he’s concerned about using test scores alone to determine if a student needs academic intervention.

“The decision is made basically based on how the student performed on the state assessment,” Wensing said. “We believe that students are more than just a test score.”

Ohio Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma), ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, said he is not necessarily opposed to S.B. 19, but worries about asking too much of schools without providing additional resources.

“I’ve got concerns, of course, about unfunded mandates and putting more on the plates of our teachers, who are doing a lot of this work already, quite frankly,” Brennan said.