Catherine Candiskyccandisky@dispatch.comView CommentsAs educators determine how far students have fallen behind following the abrupt move to remote learning last March and ongoing COVID-19 disruptions in schools this fall, state lawmakers are looking to ease up on testing requirements.“We’re seeing schools have a very strong desire to focus on delivering strong academic content to kids at this point and they are very leery of time being taken up with tests that have traditionally been used to evaluate teachers, students, school districts,” said Senate Education Chairwoman Peggy Lehner,...…Catherine Candiskyccandisky@dispatch.comView CommentsAs educators determine how far students have fallen behind following the abrupt move to remote learning last March and ongoing COVID-19 disruptions in schools this fall, state lawmakers are looking to ease up on testing requirements.“We’re seeing schools have a very strong desire to focus on delivering strong academic content to kids at this point and they are very leery of time being taken up with tests that have traditionally been used to evaluate teachers, students, school districts,” said Senate Education Chairwoman Peggy Lehner,...WW…

 The number of Ohioans skipping a meal or uncertain if they’ll have enough food for their family has nearly doubled since the coronavirus outbreak hit the state.Food insecurity rates have reached 23%, in Ohio, up from about 14% a few months ago, according to the Census Household Pulse Survey.Meanwhile, more than 350,000 Ohio families received free food from a pantry, school meal program or elsewhere like a neighbor in the past week, according to the survey. The new figure comes as the coronavirus cripples the state economy, driving up unemployment and making it difficult for many to...… The number of Ohioans skipping a meal or uncertain if they’ll have enough food for their family has nearly doubled since the coronavirus outbreak hit the state.Food insecurity rates have reached 23%, in Ohio, up from about 14% a few months ago, according to the Census Household Pulse Survey.Meanwhile, more than 350,000 Ohio families received free food from a pantry, school meal program or elsewhere like a neighbor in the past week, according to the survey. The new figure comes as the coronavirus cripples the state economy, driving up unemployment and making it difficult for many to...WW…

 Belmont Correctional Institution is emerging as the state’s latest prison hot spot for the coronavirus as COVID-19 cases soar and conditions at the minimum-to-medium security facility in eastern Ohio deteriorate.But the public may never know it because the state has stopped the mass testing that showed prisons in Marion and Pickaway counties were the top COVID-19 hot spots in the nation.Since Belmont’s first positive case of an inmate on April 13, 132 inmates and 66 staffers have tested positive, up from 30 inmates and one staff member just two weeks ago. And on Tuesday, Belmont...… Belmont Correctional Institution is emerging as the state’s latest prison hot spot for the coronavirus as COVID-19 cases soar and conditions at the minimum-to-medium security facility in eastern Ohio deteriorate.But the public may never know it because the state has stopped the mass testing that showed prisons in Marion and Pickaway counties were the top COVID-19 hot spots in the nation.Since Belmont’s first positive case of an inmate on April 13, 132 inmates and 66 staffers have tested positive, up from 30 inmates and one staff member just two weeks ago. And on Tuesday, Belmont...WW…