State Sen. Al Cutrona introduced legislation to dissolve academic distress commissions, such as the one that used to control the Youngstown City School District.

“Handicapping under-performing schools from being able to overcome their difficulties is not in the best interest of Ohio students,” said Cutrona, R-Canfield, whose Senate district includes Youngstown.

He added: “Dissolving academic distress commissions allows Youngstown City Schools and others like them the freedom to make their own decisions to improve their schools. I know that this bill will alleviate the threat of takeover by the commission for schools and return local control.”

Under House Bill 70, approved in June 2015 and called the Youngstown Plan, academically-failing school districts were put under the control of state-appointed academic distress commissions, which appointed a CEO to run the day-to-day operations.

In addition to Youngstown, the bill permitted the takeover of the East Cleveland and Lorain school districts. When 10 other school districts were one state report card away from a state takeover, the state Legislature passed a moratorium in June 2021 on academic distress commissions.

Even with that moratorium, Youngstown, East Cleveland and Lorain had to create three-year academic improvement plans and submit annual reports, approved by the Ohio Department of Education. Lorain was subsequently removed from that requirement in January 2020 by the state Legislature, leaving Youngstown and East Cleveland to continue.

Cutrona said his bill would finally dissolve academic distress commissions and require student support teams for certain low-performing school buildings.

State Reps. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, and Juanita Brent, D-Cleveland, introduced legislation on Jan. 29, 2024, to dissolve all academic distress commissions and repeal the law on establishing any new ones. The bill would have restored all control to the boards of education of school districts under an academic distress commission.

The bill received a single hearing Nov. 20, 2024, by the House Primary and Secondary Education Commission and died at the end of last year.