Ohio Rev. Code § 3319.22
Subject to division (A)(4) of this section, licenses issued under division (A)(1) of this section on and after the effective date of this amendment shall specify whether the educator is licensed to teach grades pre-kindergarten through eight or grades seven through twelve. The changes to the grade band specifications under this section shall not apply to a person who holds a license under division (A)(1) of this section prior to the effective date of this amendment. Further, the changes to the grade band specifications under this section shall not apply to any license issued to teach in the area of computer information science, bilingual education, dance, drama or theater, world language, health, library or media, music, physical education, teaching English to speakers of other languages, career-technical education, or visual arts or to any license issued to an intervention specialist, including a gifted intervention specialist, or to any other license that does not align to the grade band specifications.
Not later than the effective date of the rules adopted under this section, the board of education of each school district shall establish the structure for one or more local professional development committees to be operated by such school district. The committee structure so established by a district board shall remain in effect unless within thirty days prior to an anniversary of the date upon which the current committee structure was established, the board provides notice to all affected district employees that the committee structure is to be modified. Professional development committees may have a district-level or building-level scope of operations, and may be established with regard to particular grade or age levels for which an educator license is designated.
Each professional development committee shall consist of at least three classroom teachers employed by the district, one principal employed by the district, and one other employee of the district appointed by the district superintendent. For committees with a building-level scope, the teacher and principal members shall be assigned to that building, and the teacher members shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers assigned to that building. For committees with a district-level scope, the teacher members shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers of the district, and the principal member shall be elected by a majority vote of the principals of the district, unless there are two or fewer principals employed by the district, in which case the one or two principals employed shall serve on the committee. If a committee has a particular grade or age level scope, the teacher members shall be licensed to teach such grade or age levels, and shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers holding such a license and the principal shall be elected by all principals serving in buildings where any such teachers serve. The district superintendent shall appoint a replacement to fill any vacancy that occurs on a professional development committee, except in the case of vacancies among the elected classroom teacher members, which shall be filled by vote of the remaining members of the committee so selected.
Terms of office on professional development committees shall be prescribed by the district board establishing the committees. The conduct of elections for members of professional development committees shall be prescribed by the district board establishing the committees. A professional development committee may include additional members, except that the majority of members on each such committee shall be classroom teachers employed by the district. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which a predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term.
The initial meeting of any professional development committee, upon election and appointment of all committee members, shall be called by a member designated by the district superintendent. At this initial meeting, the committee shall select a chairperson and such other officers the committee deems necessary, and shall adopt rules for the conduct of its meetings. Thereafter, the committee shall meet at the call of the chairperson or upon the filing of a petition with the district superintendent signed by a majority of the committee members calling for the committee to meet.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a different method for the selection of teacher members of the committees, the exclusive representative of the district's teachers shall select the teacher members.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a different structure for the committees, the board of education of the school district shall establish the structure, including the number of committees and the number of teacher and administrative members on each committee; the specific administrative members to be part of each committee; whether the scope of the committees will be district levels, building levels, or by type of grade or age levels for which educator licenses are designated; the lengths of terms for members; the manner of filling vacancies on the committees; and the frequency and time and place of meetings. However, in all cases, except as provided in division (F)(4) of this section, there shall be a majority of teacher members of any professional development committee, there shall be at least five total members of any professional development committee, and the exclusive representative shall designate replacement members in the case of vacancies among teacher members, unless the collective bargaining agreement specifies a different method of selecting such replacements.
Local professional development committees established by county boards of developmental disabilities shall be structured in a manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school districts in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section, as shall the committees established by any other entity specified in division (G)(1) of this section that provides educational services by employing or contracting for services of classroom teachers licensed or certificated under this section or section 3319.222 of the Revised Code, or under the former version of either section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009. All other entities specified in division (G)(1) of this section shall structure their committees in accordance with guidelines which shall be issued by the state board.
These committees may agree to review the coursework, continuing education units, or other equivalent activities related to classroom teaching or the area of licensure that is proposed by an individual who satisfies both of the following conditions:
Any committee that agrees to work with such an individual shall work to determine whether the proposed coursework, continuing education units, or other equivalent activities meet the requirements of the rules adopted by the state board under this section.
R.C. § 3319.22