It is run by the Ohio Department of Education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students across Ohio.

It was established on October 16, 1829, making it the fifth oldest residential school in the country.

[1] OSD is the only publicly funded residential school for the deaf in Ohio.

The mission of the Ohio School for the Deaf, an educational facility and resource center on deafness, is: Before moving to the school's current location in Clintonville's Beechwold-Sharon Heights area, the school campus was in Downtown Columbus, and was known as the Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.

The school's main building there was demolished in 1981, though another still stands, now used as Cristo Rey Columbus High School.