As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 144
2025-2026
Senator Ingram
A B I L L
To amend sections 3319.079 and 3319.22 of the
Revised Code regarding educator license grade
bands.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3319.079 and 3319.22 of the
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3319.079. (A) The holder of a valid educator license
with a grade band specification prescribed under division (A)(1)
of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division existed
prior to October 3, 2023, who renews that license may receive
either of the following:
(1) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division
existed prior to October 3, 2023;
(2) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code as that division
exists on the date of its renewal.
(B) The holder of a valid educator license with a grade
band specification prescribed under division (A)(1) of section
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18 S. B. No. 144 Page 2
As Introduced
3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division existed on and
after October 3, 2023, but prior to the effective date of this
amendment October 24, 2024, who renews that license may receive
either of the following:
(1) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division
existed on and after October 3, 2023, but prior to the effective
date of this amendment October 24, 2024;
(2) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code as that division
exists on the date of its renewal.
(C) The holder of a valid educator license with a grade
band specification prescribed under division (A)(1) of section
3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division existed on and
after October 24, 2024, but prior to the effective date of this
amendment, who renews that license may receive either of the
following:
(1) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code, as that division
existed on and after October 24, 2024, but prior to the
effective date of this amendment;
(2) A grade band specification prescribed under division
(A)(1) of section 3319.22 of the Revised Code as that division
exists on the date of its renewal.
(D) Upon renewal of a license under this section, the
holder of a valid educator license shall receive a grade band
specification that includes one or more of the grades the holder
was authorized to teach under the prior license.
Sec. 3319.22. (A)(1) The state board of education shall
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47 S. B. No. 144 Page 3
As Introduced
issue the following educator licenses:
(a) A resident educator license, which shall be valid for
two years and shall be renewable for reasons specified by rules
adopted by the state board pursuant to division (A)(3) of this
section. The state board, on a case-by-case basis, may extend
the license's duration as necessary to enable the license holder
to complete the Ohio teacher residency program established under
section 3319.223 of the Revised Code ;.
(b) A professional educator license, which shall be valid
for five years and shall be renewable;
(c) A senior professional educator license, which shall be
valid for five years and shall be renewable;
(d) A lead professional educator license, which shall be
valid for five years and shall be renewable.
Subject to division (A)(4) of this section, licenses
issued under division (A)(1) of this section on and after the
effective date of this amendment the effective date of this
amendment shall specify whether the educator is licensed to
teach grades pre-kindergarten through eight five, grades four
through nine, or grades seven through twelve. The changes to the
grade band specifications under this section shall not apply to
a person who holds a license under division (A)(1) of this
section prior to the effective date of this amendment the
effective date of this amendment . Further, the changes to the
grade band specifications under this section shall not apply to
any license issued to teach in the area of computer information
science, bilingual education, dance, drama or theater, world
language, health, library or media, music, physical education,
teaching English to speakers of other languages, career-
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76 S. B. No. 144 Page 4
As Introduced
technical education, or visual arts or to any license issued to
an intervention specialist, including a gifted intervention
specialist, or to any other license that does not align to the
grade band specifications.
(2)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this
section, the state board may issue any additional educator
licenses of categories, types, and levels the board elects to
provide.
(b) Not later than December 31, 2024, the state board
shall cease licensing school psychologists. The state board
shall coordinate with the state board of psychology to
transition to licensure under Chapter 4732. of the Revised Code
any school psychologists licensed under rules adopted in
accordance with sections 3301.07 and 3319.22 of the Revised
Code.
(3) Except as provided in division (I) of this section,
the state board shall adopt rules establishing the standards and
requirements for obtaining each educator license issued under
this section. The rules shall also include the reasons for which
a resident educator license may be renewed under division (A)(1)
(a) of this section.
(4) Notwithstanding the requirement that each license
issued under division (A)(1) of this section specify the grade
band in which the educator is licensed to teach, a school
district or community school may employ an educator to teach
outside of the designated grade band by not more than two grade
levels and for not more than two school years at a time. The
school district superintendent or governing authority of the
community school may renew that teacher's eligibility to teach
in accordance with this division on a biennial basis. Any
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106 S. B. No. 144 Page 5
As Introduced
educator to whom division (A)(4) of this section applies shall
be considered a "properly certified or licensed teacher" for the
purposes of section 3319.074 of the Revised Code.
(B) Except as provided in division (I) of this section,
the rules adopted under this section shall require at least the
following standards and qualifications for the educator licenses
described in division (A)(1) of this section:
(1) An applicant for a resident educator license shall
hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited teacher
preparation program or be a participant in the teach for America
program and meet the qualifications required under section
3319.227 of the Revised Code.
(2) An applicant for a professional educator license
shall:
(a) Hold at least a bachelor's degree from an institution
of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting
organization;
(b) Have successfully completed the Ohio teacher residency
program established under section 3319.223 of the Revised Code,
if the applicant's current or most recently issued license is a
resident educator license issued under this section or an
alternative resident educator license issued under section
3319.26 of the Revised Code.
(3) An applicant for a senior professional educator
license shall:
(a) Hold at least a bachelor's degree from an institution
of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting
organization;
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134 S. B. No. 144 Page 6
As Introduced
(b) Have previously held a professional educator license
issued under this section or section 3319.222 or under former
section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;
(c) Meet the criteria for the accomplished or
distinguished level of performance, as described in the
standards for teachers adopted by the state board under section
3319.61 of the Revised Code.
(4) An applicant for a lead professional educator license
shall:
(a) Hold at least a bachelor's degree from an institution
of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting
organization;
(b) Have previously held a professional educator license
or a senior professional educator license issued under this
section or a professional educator license issued under section
3319.222 or former section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;
(c) Meet the criteria for the distinguished level of
performance, as described in the standards for teachers adopted
by the state board under section 3319.61 of the Revised Code;
(d) Either hold a valid certificate issued by the national
board for professional teaching standards or meet the criteria
for a master teacher or other criteria for a lead teacher
adopted by the educator standards board under division (F)(4) or
(5) of section 3319.61 of the Revised Code.
(C) The state board shall align the standards and
qualifications for obtaining a principal license with the
standards for principals adopted by the state board under
section 3319.61 of the Revised Code.
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162 S. B. No. 144 Page 7
As Introduced
(D) If the state board requires any examinations for
educator licensure, the state board shall provide the results of
such examinations received by the state board to the chancellor
of higher education, in the manner and to the extent permitted
by state and federal law.
(E) Any rules the state board of education adopts, amends,
or rescinds for educator licenses under this section or any
other law shall be adopted, amended, or rescinded under Chapter
119. of the Revised Code except as follows:
(1) Notwithstanding division (E) of section 119.03 and
division (A)(1) of section 119.04 of the Revised Code, in the
case of the adoption of any rule or the amendment or rescission
of any rule that necessitates institutions' offering preparation
programs for educators and other school personnel that are
approved by the chancellor of higher education under section
3333.048 of the Revised Code to revise the curriculum of those
programs, the effective date shall not be as prescribed in
division (E) of section 119.03 and division (A)(1) of section
119.04 of the Revised Code. Instead, the effective date of such
rules, or the amendment or rescission of such rules, shall be
the date prescribed by section 3333.048 of the Revised Code.
(2) Notwithstanding the authority to adopt, amend, or
rescind emergency rules in division (G) of section 119.03 of the
Revised Code, this authority shall not apply to the state board
of education with regard to rules for educator licenses.
(F)(1) The rules adopted under this section establishing
standards requiring additional coursework for the renewal of any
educator license shall require a school district and a chartered
nonpublic school to establish local professional development
committees. In a nonpublic school, the chief administrative
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 S. B. No. 144 Page 8
As Introduced
officer shall establish the committees in any manner acceptable
to such officer. The committees established under this division
shall determine whether coursework that a district or chartered
nonpublic school teacher proposes to complete meets the
requirement of the rules. The state board shall provide
technical assistance and support to committees as the committees
incorporate the professional development standards adopted
pursuant to section 3319.61 of the Revised Code into their
review of coursework that is appropriate for license renewal.
The rules shall establish a procedure by which a teacher may
appeal the decision of a local professional development
committee.
(2) In any school district in which there is no exclusive
representative established under Chapter 4117. of the Revised
Code, the professional development committees shall be
established as described in division (F)(2) of this section.
Not later than the effective date of the rules adopted
under this section, the board of education of each school
district shall establish the structure for one or more local
professional development committees to be operated by such
school district. The committee structure so established by a
district board shall remain in effect unless within thirty days
prior to an anniversary of the date upon which the current
committee structure was established, the board provides notice
to all affected district employees that the committee structure
is to be modified. Professional development committees may have
a district-level or building-level scope of operations, and may
be established with regard to particular grade or age levels for
which an educator license is designated.
Each professional development committee shall consist of
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222 S. B. No. 144 Page 9
As Introduced
at least three classroom teachers employed by the district, one
principal employed by the district, and one other employee of
the district appointed by the district superintendent. For
committees with a building-level scope, the teacher and
principal members shall be assigned to that building, and the
teacher members shall be elected by majority vote of the
classroom teachers assigned to that building. For committees
with a district-level scope, the teacher members shall be
elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers of the
district, and the principal member shall be elected by a
majority vote of the principals of the district, unless there
are two or fewer principals employed by the district, in which
case the one or two principals employed shall serve on the
committee. If a committee has a particular grade or age level
scope, the teacher members shall be licensed to teach such grade
or age levels, and shall be elected by majority vote of the
classroom teachers holding such a license and the principal
shall be elected by all principals serving in buildings where
any such teachers serve. The district superintendent shall
appoint a replacement to fill any vacancy that occurs on a
professional development committee, except in the case of
vacancies among the elected classroom teacher members, which
shall be filled by vote of the remaining members of the
committee so selected.
Terms of office on professional development committees
shall be prescribed by the district board establishing the
committees. The conduct of elections for members of professional
development committees shall be prescribed by the district board
establishing the committees. A professional development
committee may include additional members, except that the
majority of members on each such committee shall be classroom
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253 S. B. No. 144 Page 10
As Introduced
teachers employed by the district. Any member appointed to fill
a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for
which a predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member
for the remainder of that term.
The initial meeting of any professional development
committee, upon election and appointment of all committee
members, shall be called by a member designated by the district
superintendent. At this initial meeting, the committee shall
select a chairperson and such other officers the committee deems
necessary, and shall adopt rules for the conduct of its
meetings. Thereafter, the committee shall meet at the call of
the chairperson or upon the filing of a petition with the
district superintendent signed by a majority of the committee
members calling for the committee to meet.
(3) In the case of a school district in which an exclusive
representative has been established pursuant to Chapter 4117. of
the Revised Code, professional development committees shall be
established in accordance with any collective bargaining
agreement in effect in the district that includes provisions for
such committees.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a
different method for the selection of teacher members of the
committees, the exclusive representative of the district's
teachers shall select the teacher members.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a
different structure for the committees, the board of education
of the school district shall establish the structure, including
the number of committees and the number of teacher and
administrative members on each committee; the specific
administrative members to be part of each committee; whether the
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283 S. B. No. 144 Page 11
As Introduced
scope of the committees will be district levels, building
levels, or by type of grade or age levels for which educator
licenses are designated; the lengths of terms for members; the
manner of filling vacancies on the committees; and the frequency
and time and place of meetings. However, in all cases, except as
provided in division (F)(4) of this section, there shall be a
majority of teacher members of any professional development
committee, there shall be at least five total members of any
professional development committee, and the exclusive
representative shall designate replacement members in the case
of vacancies among teacher members, unless the collective
bargaining agreement specifies a different method of selecting
such replacements.
(4) Whenever an administrator's coursework plan is being
discussed or voted upon, the local professional development
committee shall, at the request of one of its administrative
members, cause a majority of the committee to consist of
administrative members by reducing the number of teacher members
voting on the plan.
(5) A professional development committee may grant an
individual seeking to renew a license under this section credit
towards continuing education requirements for completion of a
statutorily required professional development training. Such an
individual shall receive continuing education credit for one
completed professional development course per licensure renewal
period. To qualify for continuing education credit under this
division, a professional development course shall be completed
during the time in which an individual holds a valid license
under this section.
(G)(1) The state board of education, educational service
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313 S. B. No. 144 Page 12
As Introduced
centers, county boards of developmental disabilities, college
and university departments of education, head start programs,
and the Ohio education computer network may establish local
professional development committees to determine whether the
coursework proposed by their employees who are licensed or
certificated under this section or section 3319.222 of the
Revised Code, or under the former version of either section as
it existed prior to October 16, 2009, meet the requirements of
the rules adopted under this section. They may establish local
professional development committees on their own or in
collaboration with a school district or other agency having
authority to establish them.
Local professional development committees established by
county boards of developmental disabilities shall be structured
in a manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school
districts in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section, as shall
the committees established by any other entity specified in
division (G)(1) of this section that provides educational
services by employing or contracting for services of classroom
teachers licensed or certificated under this section or section
3319.222 of the Revised Code, or under the former version of
either section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009. All
other entities specified in division (G)(1) of this section
shall structure their committees in accordance with guidelines
which shall be issued by the state board.
(2) Educational service centers may establish local
professional development committees to serve educators who are
not employed in schools in this state, including pupil services
personnel who are licensed under this section. Local
professional development committees shall be structured in a
manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344 S. B. No. 144 Page 13
As Introduced
districts in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section.
These committees may agree to review the coursework,
continuing education units, or other equivalent activities
related to classroom teaching or the area of licensure that is
proposed by an individual who satisfies both of the following
conditions:
(a) The individual is licensed or certificated under this
section or under the former version of this section as it
existed prior to October 16, 2009.
(b) The individual is not currently employed as an
educator or is not currently employed by an entity that operates
a local professional development committee under this section.
Any committee that agrees to work with such an individual
shall work to determine whether the proposed coursework,
continuing education units, or other equivalent activities meet
the requirements of the rules adopted by the state board under
this section.
(3) Any public agency that is not specified in division
(G)(1) or (2) of this section but provides educational services
and employs or contracts for services of classroom teachers
licensed or certificated under this section or section 3319.222
of the Revised Code, or under the former version of either
section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009, may establish a
local professional development committee, subject to the
approval of the state board. The committee shall be structured
in accordance with guidelines issued by the state board.
(H) The state board, in accordance with Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, shall adopt rules pursuant to division (A)(3)
of this section that do both of the following:
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373 S. B. No. 144 Page 14
As Introduced
(1) Exempt consistently high-performing teachers and
school counselors from the requirement to complete any
additional coursework for the renewal of an educator license
issued under this section or section 3319.26 of the Revised
Code. The rules also shall specify that such teachers and school
counselors are exempt from any requirements prescribed by
professional development committees established under divisions
(F) and (G) of this section.
(2) For purposes of division (H)(1) of this section, the
term "consistently high-performing teacher or school counselor"
means any teacher or school counselor who meets both of the
following:
(a) For at least four of the past five years, the teacher
or school counselor has received the highest level of
performance rating under section 3319.112 or 3319.113 of the
Revised Code, as applicable, or an equivalent performance rating
under section 3311.80 of the Revised Code;
(b) The teacher or school counselor meets at least one, or
any combination, of the following for at least three of the five
years of the current licensure cycle:
(i) Holds a valid senior or lead professional educator
license;
(ii) Holds a locally recognized educational leadership
role that enhances educational practices by providing
professional learning experience at district, regional, state,
or higher educational level;
(iii) Serves in a leadership role for a national or state
professional academic education organization;
(iv) Serves on a state-level committee supporting
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402 S. B. No. 144 Page 15
As Introduced
education;
(v) Receives a state or national educational recognition
or award.
(I) The state board shall issue a resident educator
license, professional educator license, senior professional
educator license, lead professional educator license, or any
other educator license in accordance with Chapter 4796. of the
Revised Code to an applicant if either of the following applies:
(1) The applicant holds a license in another state.
(2) The applicant has satisfactory work experience, a
government certification, or a private certification as
described in that chapter as a resident educator, professional
educator, senior professional educator, lead professional
educator, or any other type of educator in a state that does not
issue one or more of those licenses.
Section 2. That existing sections 3319.079 and 3319.22 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419