THE DISPATCH'S COLE BEHRENS SHARES 2026'S BIGGEST K-12 STORIES SO FAR

THE DISPATCH'S COLE BEHRENS SHARES 2026'S BIGGEST K-12 STORIES SO FAR

Editor’s Note: Beat notes is a weekly feature from Dispatch journalists who share what’s been happening in their area of coverage and upcoming events. This week we hear from Cole Behrens, who covers K-12 education in central Ohio. He has been at The Dispatch since 2022 and previously covered breaking news and public safety in the evenings.

What's happened so far in 2026?

We're now a third of the way through 2026. And in those four months – there's been some major news in the central Ohio K-12 education world.

But before that, want to share arguably the biggest story in the education space, which would be the controversy surrounding Ohio's publicly-funded day care system.
To keep it short and sweet, in late 2026, unproven online allegations circulated suggesting Somali-run day cares nationwide reported nonexistent children to fraudulently claim public funding. Social media posts from conservative influencers started in Minnesota, home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the U.S. and spread to Ohio, home of the second-largest Somali immigrant population.

The allegations culminated with a trend of viral videos that showed people attempting to film themselves entering Columbus-area day cares, often getting into arguments with adults on site, with some ending in calls to Columbus police. The Dispatch looked into many of the allegations, and found it was possible to prove many of the immediate claims to be false. Many were also debunked by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
However, The Dispatch made public records requests and found that Ohio overpaid publicly funded day cares by $1.1 million in 2025, including 19 centers in Franklin County alone. Much of that has yet to be paid back by those childcare providers.
It's worth noting that $1.1 million is a small fraction of the state's nearly $1.2 billion allocation in 2026 for publicly-funded childcare.

Another major news event was the spate of student walkouts from high schools around central Ohio in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations regionally and nationwide. Students at districts from Jonathan Alder to Upper Arlington to South Western City Schools planned or staged walkouts – sometimes facing disciplinary threats from building or district administration.
Here's what else has happened:

In February, the new The South Western City school board voted not to renew membership in an organization headed by conservatives that advocates fighting "divisive identity politics," implementing English-only education and separate classes for students with learning disabilities.
New Albany-Plain Local Schools will be searching for a new superintendent after their current superintendent, Michael Sawyers, was named in April to the top job at the Education Service Center of Central Ohio, a regional education support provider.

Columbus City Schools changed its graduation requirements in April, reducing the needed credits to align with the state minimum, saying it will give students greater autonomy and choice.

What's next in 2026?

One thing I continue to follow closely is how Columbus City Schools plans to manage its ongoing budget crisis. The district has already taken action to slash administrator jobs and close schools, but how many teacher and staff jobs may need cut won't be clear until later this year. We'll also see if a new formal partnership between the district and Columbus City Council bears fruit.

Olentangy Local Schools readers loved our coverage of the district's now-under-construction 18th elementary school, so you can bet that I'll be continuing to cover developments stemming from the successful 2025 levy to construct a new elementary and high school.

Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report