COLUMBUS — The state Board of Education asked the Legislature on Tuesday to make changes to Ohio's charter school law that would take away some state oversight and increase the number of school sponsors.

        The proposed changes were outlined in an audit released last week that was critical of the Department of Education's handling of the schools. The board unanimously approved a resolution to implement 25 of 109 of Auditor Jim Petro's recommendations. It also asked Rep. Jon Husted to include the changes in House Bill 364, which would overhaul Ohio's charter school law.

        Most of the other recommendations can be implemented without changing the law, said David Varda, director of the department's Center for School Finance and Accountability.

        Mr. Petro also recommended that the department have a role in determining who receives a charter, but direct oversight of those schools would be left to their sponsors. He also recommended that eligible sponsors should include all schools and universities, municipalities and nonprofit organizations.

        The board asked Mr. Husted to change the law to allow it to sponsor the schools on an interim basis, when there is a problem with another sponsor. The board also wants a time period included in the bill to allow the board to help schools it now sponsors to find new sponsors.

        Only seven public institutions sponsor Ohio's 92 charter schools, which have 23,000 students. The Education Department sponsors 75 of them. The state estimates it will pay all the charter schools about $131 million this year.

        Mr. Petro had recommended that the Legislature establish a separate commission to oversee the charter school system if the department could not improve within 60 days. Mr. Husted's bill also would create a similar commission.

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