Ohio's Educational Service Centers

Operational Study

What led to this study?

The Ohio General Assembly directed the Auditor of State to conduct a review of as a part of Senate Bill 3 of the 131st General Assembly. As a result of this direction, our office completed a comprehensive operational study of all ESCs in the state which contains standards and benchmarks unique to educational service centers which can be used for further study. This report is the result of three years of planning and review by the Ohio Performance Team, with cooperation from the Ohio ESC Association and all its members.

What did we find?

The study released on May 28, 2020 provides insight into the operations of the ESC network and the impact of ESCs in Ohio’s educational system. This operational study contains individual ESC profiles as well as network-wide recommendations and issues for further study that are intended to provide stakeholders, including the ESCs, ODE, the State Board of Education, the Governor, and the Ohio General Assembly with information that may inform future performance audits of ESCs and/or the development of future performance standards for the ESC network.