(A) The director of education and workforce, in addition to the authority otherwise imposed on the director, shall perform the following duties:

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(1) Provide technical and professional assistance and advice to all school districts in reference to all aspects of education, including finance, buildings and equipment, administration, organization of school districts, curriculum and instruction, transportation of pupils, personnel problems, and the interpretation of school laws and state regulations;

(2) Prescribe and require the preparation and filing of such financial and other reports from school districts, officers, and employees as are necessary or proper. The director shall prescribe and require the installation by school districts of such standardized reporting forms and accounting procedures as are essential to the businesslike operations of the public schools of the state.

(3) Conduct such studies and research projects as are necessary or desirable for the improvement of public school education in Ohio. Such studies and projects may include analysis of data contained in the education management information system established under section 3301.0714 of the Revised Code. For any study or project that requires the analysis of individual student data, the department of education and workforce or any entity with which the director or department contracts to conduct the study or project shall maintain the confidentiality of student data at all times. For this purpose, the department or contracting entity shall use the data verification code assigned pursuant to division (D)(2) of section 3301.0714 of the Revised Code for each student whose data is analyzed. Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(1) of section 3301.0714 of the Revised Code, at no time shall the director, the department, the state board of education, or any entity conducting a study or research project on the director’s behalf have access to a student’s name, address, or social security number while analyzing individual student data.

(4) Prepare and submit annually a report of the activities of the department and the status, problems, and needs of education in the state;

(5) Supervise all agencies over which the department exercises administrative control, including schools for education of persons with disabilities;

(6) In accordance with section 3333.048 of the Revised Code, the director, jointly with the chancellor of higher education, shall establish metrics and courses of study for institutions of higher education that prepare educators and other school personnel and shall provide for inspection of those institutions.

(B) The director may annually inspect and analyze the expenditures of each school district and make a determination as to the efficiency of each district’s costs, relative to other school districts in the state, for instructional, administrative, and student support services. The director shall notify each school district as to the nature of, and reasons for, the determination. The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code setting forth the procedures and standards for the performance of the inspection and analysis.