Ohio charter school students are required to pass tests to graduate, but their teachers are not required to have a state certification.
Only about 55 percent of charter school teachers have the full state certification, said Tammy Ridout, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education's Office of Certification and Licensure.
There are about 250 charter schools in Ohio with 62,000 students, said Stephen Ramsey, Ohio Charter School Association president.
The estimated number of charter school teachers is about 4,100, according to Post research.
The certification really is a way to prove that a teacher is able to deliver the skills that children need to learn
said Lisa Zellner, Ohio Federation of Teachers communications director.
About 75 percent of the privately-operated charter schools are ranked lowest in academic performance despite state funding, Zellner said.
Additionally, private charter school teachers are legally allowed to teach any subject or grade with any teaching credential, said J.C. Benton, Ohio Department of Education spokesman.
Charter schools have more flexibility so they can have teachers with long-term substitute licenses in classrooms Benton said.
The charter school law was written specifically to allow charter schools flexibility in hiring teachers who best fit the needs of the school, Ramsey said.
Charter school teachers are not required to have full state certification or licensure but must demonstrate content knowledge, Benton said.
Just because someone is not fully certified does not mean they are not qualified
Ramsey said.
Traditional school teachers must fulfill three requirements: a bachelor's degree, full state certification or licensure and a demonstration of content knowledge.
Private charters schools are privately run by a business and are usually for profit. There is little central organization running the charter school system, which reduces the amount of oversight on behalf of the state, Zellner said.
When a child enrolls in a charter school, they take the per-pupil state funding with them to their new school. About $425 million of public school funding will be distributed to private charter schools by state lawmakers this year.
There are no public or private charter schools in Athens County, and a charter school has never existed in the area. However, a private school was proposed by a committee composed of City Mayor Ric Abel and local residents.
We investigated the potential
but it's not too feasible in Athens because of state laws. The only place (in Athens) is the Trimble school district by state law
Abel said.
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