Ohio students across the state returned to classrooms this fall on staggered start dates, with most Central Ohio districts beginning between mid- and late August. Alongside the usual back-to-school logistics, the Ohio Department of Education is pushing several new initiatives this year aimed at classroom technology and school facilities.
Among them: the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at Ohio State University is seeking six rural middle schools to join a grant proposal designed to help students and families build AI literacy skills. The push reflects a growing statewide effort to prepare both students and educators for classrooms where artificial intelligence tools are increasingly part of daily instruction — an area many Ohio districts are still developing formal policy around.
Separately, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission opened a public comment period on its 2026 Ohio School Design Manual, the state’s annual guide for designing effective, efficient, and future-ready school facilities. Districts weighing renovation or new-construction projects in the coming years will be working from the updated standards once finalized.
For families, the more immediate back-to-school questions remain practical ones: start dates, supply lists, and transportation. Ohio reverted to its traditional sales-tax holiday format this year, meaning electronics, computers, home goods, and higher-priced items no longer qualify for the tax exemption that had applied in prior years — a shift worth noting for families budgeting for school supplies.