CINCINNATI — A new year means major changes for Cincinnati-area schools thanks to new plans by local districts and new laws from legislators.
CPS Restructuring Plan
Ohio's second-largest school district will look very different starting in the fall of 2025. After over a month of back and forth and debate from community members and district leaders, Cincinnati Public Schools' proposed redistricting plan was passed.
The original proposed plan known as "Phase 2" would have moved students at nearly 30 CPS schools to different buildings by next fall, but some of the most controversial parts of this plan, like consolidating Rothenberg Preparatory Academy in Over-The-Rhine and Hays-Porter School in the West End were removed.
Still, hundreds of students will move schools after the historic vote. You can read about Phase 2's passage here.
Senate Bill 295
Republican State Sen. Andrew Brenner introduced Senate Bill 295, which would revise the state’s automatic school closure language.
The bill defines a "poor-performing school" as a school, serving grades 4 and older, that has performed in the bottom 5% among public schools based on their Performance Index Score for three consecutive years. A school would also be considered poor-performing if they are in the bottom 10% based on their Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years.
Based on the 2024 state report card, multiple schools in the area had a 1-star rating.
Law limits transgender students' bathroom use
Kindergarten through college students at Ohio public and private schools will be banned from using bathrooms that do not fit their assigned gender at birth under a measure that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in late November 2024.
DeWine signed the law over the objections of Democrats and other stakeholders who had hoped that his objections to a ban on gender-affirming care for minors last year would carry through and prompt another veto. This law is set to into effect in late February 2025.
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