Historic Parallels and Future Risks: Explaining Ohio’s Governance Shift with Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

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Abstract

This paper applies Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and the education governor archetype to analyze Ohio’s 2023 shift from a bipartisan, partly elected State Board of Education to a governor-controlled cabinet agency. Tracing seven decades of incremental policy changes, the analysis shows how education governors advanced new policy images that legitimized power centralization and weakened the authority of the elected board. These shifts culminated in a “punctuating” governance change that reduced voter influence and increased gubernatorial control. The paper concludes by examining the implications of this transformation for democratic representation, access, equity, and fairness—asking who benefits, who loses, and what is at stake for the future of public education governance.

Authors

• Helen Buck-Pavlick, The Ohio State University

• Ann M. Allen, The Ohio State University