Dive Brief:

• For the second time, the Ohio legislature might pause on the ratings of charter school oversight agencies, a step meant to regulate the state's embattled charters.
• In March, Ohio's House Education Committee will consider two separate proposals that call for ignoring rating the charter authorization agencies for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.
• Previously, in 2012, the legislature voted to rate charter school sponsors in an attempt to encourage oversight; a rating inflation scandal last year sidetracked that effort while the state scrambled to come up with a new plan.

Dive Insight:

What else can go wrong for Ohio charter accountability? With two options on the table that allow a delay, it's unclear whether the state will provide enough accountability for the federal government to distribute the $71 million charter grant that hangs in the balance.

Meanwhile, this month, one member of the state's Board of Education request for an internal audit of the state's Department of Education over alleged manipulation of charter school evaluations was rejected. That board member has now asked the U.S. Department of Education's charter school programs director to investigate.

Top officials are allegedly involved in charter school performance and evaluations. The state auditor has declined to investigate why the state's education officials omitted student performance data from charter evaluations. The state's director of quality school choice resigned after admitting he scrubbed "F" grades  from books on purpose. Gov. Kasich reportedly failed to deliver documents connected to alleged grade manipulation to state auditors.

State Democrats have pushed for the passage of a reform bill.