(A) No community school to which either of the following applies shall be eligible to merge with one or more other community schools under this section:

(1) The school has met the performance criteria for required closure specified in division (A) of section 3314.35 or division (A) of section 3314.351 of the Revised Code for at least one of the two most recent school years.

(2) The school has been notified of the sponsor's intent to terminate or not renew the school's contract pursuant to section 3314.07 of the Revised Code.

(B) Two or more community schools may merge upon the adoption of a resolution by the governing authority of each school involved in the merger. Any merger shall take effect on the first day of July of the year specified in the resolution.

(C) Not less than sixty days prior to the effective date of a merger under division (B) of this section, each community school involved in the merger shall do both of the following:

(1) Provide a copy of the resolution to the school's sponsor;

(2) Notify the department of education of all of the following:

(a) The impending merger;

(b) The effective date of the merger;

(c) The school that will be designated as the surviving school in accordance with section 1702.41 of the Revised Code;

(d) The entity that will sponsor the surviving school.

(D) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Revised Code, the governing authority of the surviving community school shall enter into a new contract with the school's sponsor under section 3314.03 of the Revised Code.

(E) No sponsor shall do either of the following:

(1) Assign the sponsor's existing contract with a merging community school to the sponsor of the surviving community school;

(2) Assume an existing contract from the sponsor of a community school involved in a merger under division (B) of this section.

Division (E) of this section shall not apply to the office of Ohio school sponsorship established under section 3314.029 of the Revised Code.

(F)

(1) The department shall issue a report card under section 3302.03 or 3314.017 of the Revised Code for the surviving community school.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in division (B) of section 3314.012 of the Revised Code, all report card ratings associated with the surviving school, whether issued before or after the merger, shall be used for purposes of section 3314.35 or 3314.351 of the Revised Code and any other matter that is based on report card ratings or measures.

(G) Nothing in this section shall exempt a community school from closure under section 3314.35 or 3314.351 of the Revised Code.

Added by 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §101.01, eff. 10/17/2019.