The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has made a new transportation compliance monitoring system available on its website. This system will allow for monitoring and enforcement of transportation responsibilities outlined in Ohio Revised Code 3327.01, 3327. 016, and division (B) of 3327.017. This includes a formal complaint process that may be used by parents or community or nonpublic schools to report instances of alleged non-compliance with transportation requirements.
Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3327.021 provides: “The department of education shall monitor each city, local, or exempted village school district's compliance with sections 3327.01 and 3327.016 and division (B) of section 3327.017 of the Revised Code. If the department determines a consistent or prolonged period of noncompliance on the part of the school district to provide transportation as required under those sections, the department deducts from the district's payment for student transportation under Chapter 3317. of the Revised Code the total daily amount of that payment, as computed by the department, for each day the district is not in compliance." Ohio Administrative Code 3301-83-26, which will set out ODE’s definitions and processes, is proceeding through the administrative rule-making process.
ODE’s transportation compliance monitoring process page contains additional information about the process and forms:
Our organizations understand that, since the system became active in late October, ODE has received 25 complaints about eight districts. If ODE’s investigation reveals that the districts were not in compliance with RC 3327.01, 3327.016 or 3327.017(B), these districts are in jeopardy of losing a significant percentage of their transportation funding for the first semester of FY2022. Districts should carefully review the transportation compliance monitoring system and the documents linked above to understand the implications of the compliance monitoring process.
We will continue to keep districts informed of the transportation compliance monitoring system and new Ohio Administrative Code 3301-83-26 that is proceeding through the rule-making process. If you have any questions, please contact Doug Palmer, Transportation Consultant, at (614) 635-0820 or dpalmer@ohioschoolboards.org.