Week in Review 01-28-2022

CORONAVIRUS

Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said Thursday “signs of improvement” are present for Northeast Ohio, which was hit first by the Omicron wave, but other regions continue to struggle. The state’s overall number of active hospitalizations has dropped for 17 consecutive days after a record high. Vanderhoff discussed the struggle many hospitals continue to face and the “instrumental” role of the Ohio National Guard in both clinical and non-clinical support. 

EDUCATION

Kurt Russell, an Oberlin City Schools high school social studies teacher who was named Ohio’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, is one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year competition, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers, which conducts the competition.

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) proposed Tuesday to give schools as much “stability” as possible for the first two years of the new report card system by generally mimicking cut scores of the previous system, given disruptions of the pandemic. The State Board of Education’s Performance and Impact Committee launched a two-day work session Tuesday to review the proposal and draft rules for elements of the new system in HB82, which replaces the A-F grading with a new 5-star rating scheme. Interim Superintendent Stephanie Siddens said the department considered the proposal in the “context” of the pandemic and wanted to create a “fair and valid” measurement system. The goal is to use data from the ’21-’22 and ’22-’23 academic years to set new cut scores starting with the ’23-’24 academic year.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY/STATEHOUSE

Sen. Jay Hottinger (R-Newark), who can’t run for re-election due to term limits, announced Monday that he doesn’t plan to seek elected office this year, ending a 31-year streak of public service. “It has been the honor of my life to serve my community and Ohioans the past 31 years,” he said on social media. “Loving, serving and helping people doesn’t retire. I look forward to seeing in what capacity God has in store for me in my next chapter.” Hottinger began his career in 1991 when he was elected to Newark City Council. He was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1994, and has served in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate since then.

Rep. Rick Carfagna (R-Westerville) announced Tuesday that he will be resigning his House seat to take a position with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Carfagna will likely begin his new role as the business advocacy organization’s senior vice president of government affairs sometime in late February, according to the Ohio Chamber. 

Rep. Allison Russo (D-Columbus) was formally elected as minority leader during Wednesday’s House session. The 85-0 vote to adopt HR177 (Ginter) also officially elected Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton) as assistant minority leader and Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Cincinnati) as minority whip. House Democrats had announced the leadership changes earlier this month.