Department of Education and Workforce

The Department of Education and Workforce (DEW/ODEW) is the cabinet agency that runs Ohio K-12 Education Politics in Ohio policy — created by the 2023 state budget (House Bill 33), which stripped most powers from the elected State Board of Education and handed them to a director appointed by the Governor. Critics called it an "Education Takeover Rider" and sued to stop it; the courts let it proceed, consolidating curriculum and policy authority under the executive branch.

What it is

A governor-run education agency that replaced the old Ohio Department of Education. The elected State Board of Education still exists but was left with narrow duties — mainly educator licensure and school-district territory transfers — while the DEW director, confirmed by the Ohio Senate, sets K-12 policy and curriculum.

Composition and powers

• Headed by a director appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate.
• Absorbed nearly all duties of the State Board of Education under HB 33.
• The move was inserted in conference committee on the budget bill and challenged as violating the Ohio Constitution's single-subject rule.

Key facts and dates

• 2023 (HB 33): the biennial budget created DEW and transferred K-12 authority from the elected board to a gubernatorial appointee.
• Collins v. DeWine: parents and the Toledo Public School Board sued in Franklin County Common Pleas Court; State Board members filed a related suit on Sept. 19, 2023.
• Sept. 2023: Judge Karen Held Phipps issued a temporary restraining order blocking the transition; it was extended.
• Oct. 20, 2023: Judge Richard Frye denied a preliminary injunction on the TRO's last day; the order dissolved and the overhaul proceeded, with DeWine naming an interim director. Plaintiffs appealed.
• May 2025: in the next budget, the Ohio Senate advanced a plan to shrink the State Board of Education from 19 members (11 elected, 8 appointed) to 5, all appointed by the Governor.

Relationships

• Created by the Ohio General Assembly through the budget and run by Mike DeWine's appointee — a transfer of power from an elected board to the executive.
• Sits at the center of Ohio's school-policy fights, alongside private-school vouchers and the long-running school-funding debate.

Why it matters in 2026

• DEW puts K-12 curriculum and policy under a governor-appointed director, so the 2026 governor's race decides who controls state education policy.
• The proposed 19→5 State Board shrink would remove nearly all remaining elected oversight of Ohio schools — a further shift from voters to appointees.