To amend section 3314.35 of the Revised Code to exempt from closure certain community schools that enroll students receiving behavioral health services.

Section 1.  That section 3314.35 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3314.35.  (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(3) of this section, this section applies to any community school that meets one of the following criteria after July 1, 2008, but before July 1, 2009:

(a) The school does not offer a grade level higher than three and has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for four consecutive school years.

(b) The school satisfies all of the following conditions:

(i) The school offers any of grade levels four to eight but does not offer a grade level higher than nine.

(ii) The school has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for three consecutive school years.

(iii) For two of those school years, the school showed less than one standard year of academic growth in either reading or mathematics, as determined by the department of education in accordance with rules adopted under division (A) of section 3302.021 of the Revised Code.

(c) The school satisfies all of the following conditions:

(i) The school offers any of grade levels ten to twelve.

(ii) The school has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for three consecutive school years.

(iii) For two of those school years, the school showed less than two standard years of academic growth in either reading or mathematics, as determined by the department in accordance with rules adopted under division (A) of section 3302.021 of the Revised Code.

(2) Except as provided in division (A)(3) of this section, this section applies to any community school that meets one of the following criteria after July 1, 2009:

(a) The school does not offer a grade level higher than three and has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for three of the four most recent school years.

(b) The school satisfies all of the following conditions:

(i) The school offers any of grade levels four to eight but does not offer a grade level higher than nine.

(ii) The school has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for two of the three most recent school years.

(iii) In at least two of the three most recent school years, the school showed less than one standard year of academic growth in either reading or mathematics, as determined by the department in accordance with rules adopted under division (A) of section 3302.021 of the Revised Code.

(c) The school offers any of grade levels ten to twelve and has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for three of the four most recent school years.

(3) This section does not apply to either of the following:

(a) Any community school in which a majority of the students are enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program that is operated by the school and that has been granted a waiver under section 3314.36 of the Revised Code;

(b) Any community school in which a majority of the enrolled students are either:

(i) Are children with disabilities receiving special education and related services in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code;

(ii) Have been diagnosed with a behavioral health problem and are receiving behavioral health services from an agency licensed or certified by the department of mental health, department of job and family services, or department of alcohol and drug addiction services.

(B) Any community school to which this section applies shall permanently close at the conclusion of the school year in which the school first becomes subject to this section. The sponsor and governing authority of the school shall comply with all procedures for closing a community school adopted by the department under division (E) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code. The governing authority of the school shall not enter into a contract with any other sponsor under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code after the school closes.

(C) Not later than July 1, 2008, the department shall determine the feasibility of using the value-added progress dimension, as defined in section 3302.01 of the Revised Code, as a factor in evaluating the academic performance of community schools described in division (A)(1)(c)(i) of this section. Notwithstanding divisions (A)(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) of this section, if the department determines that using the value-added progress dimension to evaluate community schools described in division (A)(1)(c)(i) of this section is not feasible, a community school described in that division shall be required to permanently close under this section only if it has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for four consecutive school years.

(D) In accordance with division (B) of section 3314.012 of the Revised Code, the department shall not consider the performance ratings assigned to a community school for its first two years of operation when determining whether the school meets the criteria prescribed by division (A)(2) of this section. The department shall reevaluate each community school that the department directed to close at the conclusion of the 2009-2010 school year to determine if the school still meets the criteria prescribed by division (A)(2) of this section when the school's performance ratings for its first two years of operation are not considered and, if the school no longer meets those criteria, the department shall not require the school to close at the conclusion of that school year.

Section 2.  That existing section 3314.35 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.