UPDATE TO THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : As of July 2, 2015

 1) Highlights of Sub. HB64:  Last week the HB64 (Smith) Conference Committee finalized a new version of the biennial budget bill, and the House and Senate concurred with the changes in the bill.  

HB64 allocates $7.605 billion in FY16 and $7.925 billion in FY17 to the Ohio Department of Education through the General Revenue Fund. Total GRF for the Ohio Department of Education is $15.525 for the biennium. This includes $13 billion for Foundation Funding Line Item 200550, and about $2.1 billion in Lottery Profits.

The Legislative Service Commission has prepared a comparison document with the Executive, House, Senate, and Conference Committee versions of HB64.  The following highlights of the bill are prepared from that document at  http://www.lsc.ohio.gov/fiscal/comparedoc131/cc/default.htm. 

Summary of the Provisions for Primary and Secondary Education Included in Sub. HB64 (Smith) Biennial Budget

•Section 3317 and 263.230 Traditional school district funding: Increases the dollar amount used for calculating the opportunity grant (the formula amount) to $5,900 in FY16 and $6,000 in FY17 (from $5,800 for FY15)

-Increases the dollar amounts for special education categories 1-6. 

-Increases the dollar amounts for the K-3 literacy component.

-Maintains the dollar amount for economically disadvantaged funds from FY15 ($272) for both years of the biennium.

-Maintains the dollar amounts for the three categories of limited English proficient students from FY15 for both years of the biennium.

-Maintains the dollar amounts for gifted identification funds ($5.05) and for each gifted unit ($37,370) from FY15 for both years of the biennium.

-Increases the dollar amounts for career- technical education categories 1-5.

-Increases the dollar amount for career-technical education associated services to $236 in FY16 and $246 in FY17 (from $227 for FY15).

–Applies the capacity measure only to the calculation of certain school district tangible personal property tax replacement payments.

-Specifies “average valuation” as a three-year average of total taxable valuation for tax years 2012 through 2014 for all districts.

-Uses a district’s median Ohio adjusted gross income for tax year 2013 and incorporates an average income measure in the computation of a district’s income index, which is equal to 0.5 times (the district’s median Ohio adjusted gross income divided by the median district’s median Ohio adjusted gross income) plus 0.5 times (the district’s three-year average federal adjusted gross income per pupil divided by the statewide average per pupil.

-Makes changes to the current wealth index and calculates the state share index in a manner similar to current law.

-Makes changes for calculating targeted assistance.

-Provides an additional payment of capacity aid funds to school districts based on how much one mill of taxation will raise in revenue. 

-Eliminates the Senate’s technology supplement.

-Provides a graduation bonus equal to a district’s four-year graduation rate times 7.5 percent of the formula amount ($443 in FY16 and $450 in FY17) and multiples the calculation by the state share index. 

-Provides a third grade reading bonus equal to a district’s third grade reading proficiency rate times 7.5 percent of the formula amount times the number of students scoring proficient or higher times the district’s state share index.  

-Guarantees that each school district receives at least the same amount of state aid in FY16 and FY17 as was received in FY15, but exempts career-technical education and career-technical education associated services funds from the guarantee in FY17, and adjusts the transitional aid guarantee base in FY17 by removing such funds for FY16.

-Limits foundation funding to 1.075 times the district’s state aid in the prior year, but exempts capacity aid, the transportation supplement, the graduation bonus, and the third grade reading bonus from the cap in both FY16 and FY17, and career-technical education and career- technical education associated services funds from the cap in FY17, and adjusts the cap base in FY17 by removing career- technical education and career-technical education associated services funds for FY16.

-Guarantees that each school district will receive at least 20 percent of the formula amount for each pupil, subject to a phase-in of 15 percent in FY16 and 25 percent in FY17 (the calculation for this payment is made after a district’s guarantee and limit in aggregate operating funding are determined). (GOVERNOR VETOED THIS PROVISION)

-Clarifies that, in any given fiscal year, prior to school districts submitting the first required student enrollment report for that year at the end of October, enrollment for the districts must be calculated based on the third report submitted by the districts for the previous fiscal year (the report submitted at the end of June).

•Section 3314.08 and 3326.33 Community and STEM school funding: Retains the overall structure of the formula to calculate per pupil deductions from school districts and transfers to community and STEM schools.  Calculates the per pupil deductions for the opportunity grant, special education additional aid, economically disadvantaged funds, limited English proficiency funds, and career- technical education funds using the same dollar amounts as traditional school districts for FY16 and FY17, and calculates the per pupil deduction for K-3 literacy funds using dollar amounts of $305 in FY16 and $320 in FY17 (amounts that are equal to the sum of the dollar amounts used in calculating K-3 literacy funds for traditional districts).

-Provides community schools and STEM schools with performance bonus payments related to four-year graduation rates, and community schools with performance bonus payments for third grade reading proficiency, both of which are paid directly by the state, but changes the calculation. The bonus payments are estimated at $2.8 million in FY16 and $3 million in FY17.

•Section 3317.0212 Pupil Transportation Funding:  Decreases the minimum state share applied to a district’s calculated transportation cost from 60 percent to 50 percent.  

-Provides a transportation supplement for low density school districts. 

-Allocates $489 million in FY16 and $512.4 million in FY17 for transportation, including $17.9 million in FY16 and $32.8 million in FY17 for the transportation supplement.

•Section 263.325 School District TPP Supplement:  Pays supplemental foundation aid to guarantee districts do not receive less funding in each fiscal year than their combined funding from state foundation aid and tangible personal property fixed rate operating reimbursements for FY15. Excludes career-technical education funds from the calculation of the supplement in FY 17 (these funds are moved outside of the guarantee and cap in the main school funding formula in FY17).

-Requires the Director of Budget and Management to transfer $12 million cash each fiscal year from the GRF to the School District TPP Supplement Fund (Fund 5RE0). 

-Appropriates $38 million in FY16 and $66.03 million in FY17 for School District TPP Supplement payments. (THE GOVERNOR VETOED THIS FUNDING ALLOCATION FOR DISTRICTS For FY 17)

 •Section 263.390 Educational Service Centers Funding:  Increases the per pupil payment amount for ESCs to $33 in FY16.  Increases the per-pupil payment amount for non-high-performing ESCs to $33 in FY17, and postpones the date by which the State Board must adopt rules governing the distribution of state funds to ESCs for FY17 to December 31, 2015.  Earmarks $37.95 million for ESCs in FY16.

•Section 263.560 School Transportation Joint Task Force:  Creates the School Transportation Joint Task Force consisting of members appointed equally by the Speaker of the House and by the President of the Senate, and requires it to study the appropriate transportation funding formula and relationship, duties, and responsibilities between school districts, community schools, and nonpublic schools regarding student transportation and submit a report to the General Assembly by February 1, 2016. 

•Section 3310.09 Ed Choice Scholarship Amount:  Increases the maximum scholarship amount for a high school student to $5,900 in FY16 and $6,000 in FY17 and thereafter. Increases the maximum amount of a scholarship that may be awarded to an elementary school student from $4,250 to $4,650.

•Sections 3310.41 and 3310.56 Autism and Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program:  Increases the maximum amount of a scholarship awarded under the Autism Scholarship Program to $27,000 (from $20,000 under current law). Increases the maximum amount of a scholarship awarded under the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program to $27,000 (from $20,000 under current law). Based on the number of students receiving scholarships in FY15, deductions for all school districts could increase by as much as $22.1 million in fiscal year 2016 and $22.2 million in fiscal year 2017. Higher scholarship amounts may also increase participation, thereby increasing deductions from school district aid.

•Section 3313.975 Cleveland Scholarship Limit:  Removes the limitation on the number of Cleveland pilot project scholarships that may be awarded to students who were already enrolled in a nonpublic school when the students applied for the scholarship. (The current limit is 50 percent of all Cleveland Pilot Program scholarships awarded.)

•Section 3313.976 Qualification of private schools for the Cleveland Scholarship Program:  Allows certain private secondary schools, that are not located in Cleveland, to participate in the Cleveland Scholarship Program.  

•Sections 145.012, 3307.01, 3307.011, 3309.01, 3309.011, 3309.013, and 3314.075. STRS and SERS membership and community school operators:  Removes this provision. 

•Section 3313.411 Community School Property: Prohibits community schools and college-preparatory boarding schools that have purchased unused school district real property, under the current provision requiring a district to offer such property to those schools, from selling that property for 5 years, unless the property is sold to another community school or college-preparatory boarding school located in the district. Also requires boards of education to offer unused school facilities first to high performing community schools.

•Section 3314.02 Definition of an e-school: Changes the definition of “internet-or computer-based” community school to assure inclusion of a community school that offers career-technical education even if that instruction provides some classroom-based instruction.

•Section 3314.091 Transportation of Students:  Clarifies that payments made to a community school for transporting students be calculated “on a per rider basis.” Makes other changes. Clarifies that a community school may determine that it is impractical to transport certain pupils.

•Section 3314.50 Community school surety bond:  Eliminates the Senate provision that permitted a written guarantee of payment by a community school of audits conducted by the Auditor of State in lieu of a surety bond or cash payment. 

•Section 263.660 Community school sponsor:   Requires the Department of Education, not later than July 1, 2016, to submit and present to the House and Senate Education Committees a plan that proposes the expansion of the Department’s authority to directly authorize community schools and recommendations for a ratings rubric for community school sponsor evaluations.  (Lawmakers are interested in implementing a plan to evaluate community school sponsors used in California.)

•Sections 5705.21 and 5705.212 Community School Tax Levies:  Expands the authority of school districts to levy property taxes for community schools to include any school district that contains a community school sponsored by an “exemplary” sponsor. (Under current law, only the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Columbus City School District have the authority to propose such a levy.)

-Authorizes school districts other than the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to levy a property tax solely for and on behalf of one or more community schools located in the district that is sponsored by an “exemplary” sponsor. (Current law does not cap the percentage of levy revenue that may be allocated to community schools, but could imply that at least a portion must be levied for the school district’s own expenses.)

-Retains the authority of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to levy a property tax to be shared with certain community schools, but removes the criteria that was enacted specifically to enable the Columbus City School District to levy such a tax.

-Makes other changes in the law.

•Section 263.590 Gifted community school feasibility analysis:  Restores a House provision that requires the ODE in conjunction with an Ohio educational service center association and an Ohio gifted children association, to complete and submit to the chairpersons of the House and Senate education and finance committees, and subcommittees, a feasibility analysis of the establishment of 16 regional community schools for gifted children throughout the state.  

•Section 3319.22 Educator licenses and pupil activity program permits: Requires the State Board by July 1, 2016 to adopt rules exempting consistently high performing teachers from certain requirements for educator license renewal in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.  Exempts consistently high performing teachers from the requirement to complete any additional coursework for the renewal of an educator license.  Defines consistently high performing teacher.

•Section 3319.67 Teacher of the Year Program: Permits the State Board of Education to establish an annual Teacher of the Year recognition program for outstanding teachers.

•Section 3319.113 and 3319.61 Student Career Counseling:  Requires that the Educator Standards Board develop standards for school counselors; requires the State Board of Education to develop and adopt an evaluation for school counselors; requires boards of education to adopt and evaluate school counselors based on standards; requires each school district to include procedures for implementing the evaluation framework beginning in the 2016-17 school year; requires school districts to submit a report to the ODE regarding the implementation of the evaluation policy.  

•Section 3319.114, 263.630 and 263.650 Teacher and Principal Evaluations:  Revises the alternative teacher evaluation and principal evaluation frameworks as follows:

-Decreases the student academic growth measure to account for 35 percent of an evaluation instead of 42.5 percent to 50 percent;

-Requires the teacher performance measure to account for 50 percent of an evaluation, instead of 42.5 percent to 50 percent;

-Specifies that the remaining 15 percent of each evaluation be one or a combination of student surveys, teacher self-evaluations, peer reviews, student portfolios, and any other component determined appropriate by the district or school rather than only one the options listed.

-Permits, instead of requires, each district or school to use instruments approved by ODE for the remaining 15 percent of each evaluation.

-Replaces the House provision with a provision that prohibits districts and schools from using value-added ratings from the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years for evaluations or employment decisions, unless the district or school collectively agrees with its teachers or principals to use them. 

-Repeals the current law provision related to the 2014- 2015 school year. Requires ODE to request a waiver for the federal No Child Left Behind Act to account for this prohibition.

-Requires that evaluations be based solely on performance if a value-added rating applies and no other measure of student academic growth is available.

•Section 3319.223 Ohio Teacher Residency Program:  Allows any teacher to mentor candidates of the Teacher Residency Program during the first two years of the program.

-Modifies the required counseling component of the program by specifying that the district or school must determine if counseling is necessary.

-Specifies that one of the required measures of progression through the program must be the performance-based assessment required by the State Board for resident educators in the third year of the program.

-Specifies that a career-technical education instructor teaching under an alternative resident educator license may not be required to complete the conditions of the first two years of the Ohio Teacher Residency Program, and may apply for a professional educator license after successful completion of the requirements of the last two years of that Program, as it existed prior to the effective date of this provision.

•Section 3319.271 Bright New Leaders for Ohio Schools Program:  Requires the State Board of Education to issue an alternative principal license or an alternative administrator license, as applicable, to an individual who successfully completes the Bright New Leaders for Ohio Schools Program and satisfies rules adopted by the State Board. Appropriates up to $2 million in each fiscal year for the program through an earmark of GRF appropriation item 200550, Foundation Funding.  

-Removes the requirement that the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit corporation that created and implements the Bright New Leaders for Ohio Schools Program include a provision that requires The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business to serve as fiscal agent for the corporation.

•Section 263.20 Early Childhood Education:  Makes a variety of changes in law regarding early childhood education programs.  The bill appropriates $60.3 million in FY16 and $70.3 million in FY17 to GRF appropriation item 200408 for the program, including an earmark of 2 percent for ODE’s administrative costs

•Sections 3301.0711, 3310.03, 3310.14, 3313.612, 3313.619 Exemption from end of course exams for chartered nonpublic school students: Exempts students enrolled in a chartered nonpublic school that is accredited through the Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS) from the state high school graduation assessment requirements and the requirement to take the high school end-of-course exams, unless the student is attending the school under a state scholarship program.

-Eliminates a provision that delays until October 1, 2015, an exemption from high school end of course exams for nonscholarship students attending a chartered nonpublic school that publishes the results of the college and career readiness assessments.

-Creates an additional pathway for high school graduation for students enrolled in a chartered nonpublic school that is not accredited through ISACS if a student attains a designated score on an alternative assessment approved by ODE and selected by the student’s school.

-Requires ODE to designate passing scores on approved assessments.

•Sections 263.283, 263.620, and 610.17 State achievement assessments:  Prohibits GRF appropriations from being used to purchase an assessment developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) for use as the state elementary and secondary achievement assessments.

-Prohibits federal Race to the Top program funds from being used for any purpose related to the state elementary and secondary achievement assessments.

-Requires the Superintendent to verify, within 30 days after the bill’s effective date, that the state elementary and secondary achievement assessments that are administered in the 2015-2016 school year will be administered once each year, not over multiple testing windows, and in the second half of the school year, and the length of those assessments will be reduced as compared to the assessments that were administered in the 2014-2015 school year, “in order to provide more time for classroom instruction and less disruption in student learning.”

-Specifies that the restriction on state assessments being administered in the second half of a school year does not apply to a high school end-of-course exam for a course that was completed during the first semester of the school year.

-Requires, if the 2015-2016 state achievement assessments do not meet the conditions described above, the Superintendent to take the steps necessary to find and contract with one or more entities to develop and provide assessments that meet the prescribed conditions.

-Establishes deadlines for testing results to be returned to school districts. 

•Section 3302.02 State report card measures:  Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules to establish proficiency percentages to meet each report card indicator that is based on a state assessment.  (Under current law, adopting rules to establish such measures for the 2014-2015 school year and each school year thereafter is optional for the State Board.)

•Sections 263.620, 263.640, and 690.10 Safe Harbor Provision: Changes the school year by which overall letter grades on the state report card must be first issued from the 2015-2016 school year, as under current law, to the 2016-201 school year.

-Extends by two years (through the 2016- 2017 school year) the following safe harbor provisions in effect for only the 2014-2015 school year.

-Authorizes ODE, at the discretion of the State Board, to not assign an individual grade to each component that comprises the state report card.

-Prohibits ODE from ranking school districts and schools based on operating expenditures, performance achievements, and other specified items.

-Prohibits the report card ratings from being used to determine Educational Choice Scholarship Program eligibility, community school closure, academic distress commissions, and other prescribed provisions.

-Extends by two years (through the 2015-2016 school year) a provision in effect for only the 2014-2015 school year that prohibits a district or school from utilizing a student’s score on any elementary-level state assessment or high school end-of- course exam as a factor in any decision to retain the student, promote the student to a higher grade level, or grant course credit.

-Requires each school district, community school, and STEM school to report to ODE the number of students who did not take a state achievement assessment that was administered in the 2014-2015 school year and who was not excused from taking the assessment, and to report that number as a whole and as a percentage.

•Section 3302.03 High School Measure:  Permits rather than requires the ODE to develop a high school measure of student academic progress. Prohibits, if the measure is developed, a grade being assigned for it sooner than the 2017-2018 school year, and it ever being included in the overall letter grade.

•Section 3313.534 Zero Tolerance:  Eliminates Senate provisions related to updating zero tolerance policies.

•Sections 263.530-263.540 Statewide plan on subject area competency:  Requires the State Board of Education, not later than December 31, 2015, to update its statewide plan regarding methods for students to earn high school credit based on the demonstration of subject area competency to also include methods for students enrolled in 7th and 8th grade to meet curriculum requirements based on such competency. Requires school districts and community schools, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, to comply with the updated plan, and to permit students enrolled in 7th and 8th grade to meet curriculum requirements accordingly.

•Sections 3313.608, Section 263.550 Administration of the reading diagnostic assessment:  Requires the reading skills assessments administered annually under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee to be completed by September 30, and the kindergarten assessment to be completed by November 1st.

•Section 3313.614 Graduation Pathways:  Designates three pathways to earn a diploma:  score at “remediation-free” levels in English, math, and reading on nationally standardized assessments, attain a cumulative passing score on the end-of-course examinations, or attain a passing score on a nationally recognized job skills assessment and obtain either an industry-recognized credential or a state agency or board-issued license for practice in a specific vocation. (Current law requires such students to pass all areas of the Ohio Graduation Tests in order to graduate from high school.)

-Makes eligible for high school graduation an individual who entered the ninth grade for the first time prior to July 1, 2014, and who has not passed all areas of the Ohio Graduation Tests, if the person meets a combined graduation requirement established by rules adopted by the State Board of Education. Requires the State Board to adopt such rules by December 31, 2015.

•Section 3313.617 GED:  Makes a variety changes in the requirements for earning a GED.

•Section 3313.619 Diplomas for home-schooled and non chartered nonpublic school students:   Specifies that a person who has completed the final year of instruction at home and has successfully fulfilled the high school curriculum applicable to that person may be granted a high school diploma by the person’s parent, guardian, or other person having charge or care of the person.

-Requires, beginning July 1, 2015, that a home schooled student’s diploma include either: a certification signed by the superintendent of the student’s district of residence that the student and student’s parent have fully complied with the requirements of state home instruction law or the official letter of excuse issued by the district superintendent for the student’s final year of home education.

-Requires the district superintendent to sign any diploma presented to the superintendent if the student and parent have complied with the requirements of state home instruction law.

-Specifies that a person who has graduated from a nonchartered nonpublic school in Ohio and who has successfully fulfilled that school’s high school curriculum may be granted a high school diploma by the governing authority of that school.

-Specifies that a diploma granted under these provisions serves as proof of the successful completion of that person’s applicable high school curriculum and is satisfactory to fulfill any legal requirement to show proof of graduation.

-Requires that, for the purposes of an application for employment, a diploma granted under these provisions be considered proof of completion of a high school education, regardless of whether the person to which the diploma was granted took any of the state high school achievement assessments.

•Section 3313.902 Adult Diploma Pilot Program:  Makes changes to the Adult Career Opportunity Pilot Program and renames it the Adult Diploma Pilot Program. Appropriates $3.75 million in FY16 and $5 million FY17.

•Sections 314.38, 3317.01, 3317.036, 3317.23, 3317.231, 3317.24, 3345.86 High school diploma programs for those age 22 and older:  Modifies the program in current law and earmarks $1.25 million in each fiscal year for payments to education entities for serving students in the program.

•Section 3319.323 School District Records:  Prohibits a school district or school from altering, truncating, or redacting any part of a student’s record so that any information on the record is rendered unreadable or unintelligible during the course of transferring that record to an educational institution for a legitimate educational purpose.

•Section 263.350 Straight A Program:  Allocates $15 million in each fiscal year to support the program from the DPF Fund 5RBO Line Item 200644 for grants. This is a reduction from the $181.5 million requested in the Executive Budget.

•Section 610.17 Online administration of assessments Senate:  Amends H.B. 487 of the 130th G.A. to extend for one year (through the 2015-2016 school year), the current prohibition in effect for the 2014-2015 school year only that prohibits school districts and schools from being required to administer the state achievement assessments in an online format, permits a district or school to administer such assessments in any combination of online and paper formats at the discretion of the district board or school governing authority, and requires ODE to furnish, free of charge, all required state assessments for the school year. Specifies that school districts and schools are encouraged to administer the assessments in an online format.

•Section 263.490 Ranking school districts and schools:  Temporarily, for the 2014-2015 school year only, prohibits ODE from ranking school districts, community schools, and STEM schools according to academic performance measures.

-Extends until January 31, 2016, the deadline for ODE to rank districts, community schools, and STEM schools according to expenditures for the 2014-2015 school year.

•Sections 263.510, 263.520 Deadlines related to the report cards:  Extends the deadline for the 2014-2015 state report card from September 15, 2015, to January 15, 2016.

-Extends until January 31, 2016, the deadline for the Department of Education’s reports regarding students with disabilities for the 2014-2015 school year.

•Section 263.40 Alternative education programs:  Earmarks $500,000 each fiscal year for Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates; earmarks $1.25 million in each fiscal year for students ages 22 and above who enroll to earn a high school diploma; and earmarks $350,000 in each fiscal year to create a clearinghouse for the identification and intervention for at-risk students; 

•Section 263.220 Foundation funding: Allocates $3.8 million in each fiscal year to fund gifted education units at ESCs; allocates $37.95 million in FY16 and $41.4 million in FY17 for ESCs;  allocates up to $29.9 million in FY16 and up to $38 million in FY17 for school choice programs; allocates up to $11.9 million in each fiscal year to the Cleveland School District for the school choice program; allocates $500,000 each fiscal year for the College Credit Plus Program for home-instructed students; allocates $150,000 in each fiscal year to support programming at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; allocates $930,000 in FY16 and $2 million in FY17 for the establishment of academic distress commissions.

•Section 263.340 Straight A Fund/College Credit Plus Credential:  Earmarks $5 million in FY16 for the DPF Fund 5RBO line item 200644 Straight A Fund.  Earmarks $5 million in FY16 for competitive grants to universities for teachers to become credentialed for college credit plus courses. Earmarks $2 million in FY16 to the Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association for the development of The Cave Lake Center for Community; Earmarks $250,000 in FY16 to the We Can Code IT organization in Cleveland to support programming.

•Section 263,330 Community School Facilities: Allocates $150 per equivalent pupil in each fiscal year for facilities related costs for brick and mortar community schools, and $25 per pupil for internet- or computer-based community schools.

•Section 263.360 Lottery Profits Education Reserve Fund:  Creates the Lottery Profits Education Reserve Fund (Fund 7018). Permits the OBM Director to transfer cash from Fund 7018 to the Lottery Profits Education Fund (Fund 7017) in both fiscal years. 

-Section 263-330 Lottery Profits Education Fund: Specifies that SLF Fund 7017 appropriation item 200612, Foundation Funding, be used in conjunction with GRF appropriation item 200550, Foundation Funding, to provide formula aid payments to school districts. Requires ODE, with the approval of the Director of Budget and Management, to determine the monthly distribution schedules of items 200550 and 200612.

-Section 512.70 Medicaid Reserve Fund Balance:  Requires the OBM Director to transfer from the Medicaid Reserve Fund $72 million to the School District TPP Supplement Fund (5REO) used by the Department of Education.

•Sections 321.24, 4909.161, 5705.34, 5709.92, 5709.93, 5727.031, 5727.06, 5727.11, 5727.111, 5727.15, and 5727.75, 5727.94 and 5727.09; Section 375.10 Repeal of tax on electric company generation property: Exempts electric company generation, and “other” tangible personal property that is not transmission and distribution (“T&D”) property or energy conversion equipment, from property taxation. (Under current law, the assessment rate for such property is 24 percent.) Preserves the current tax treatment of rural electric companies’ generation property. Holds local governments harmless for the loss in property tax revenue. Reimbursements will be made from the Production Equipment Property Tax Replacement Fund (Fund 7102). May increase electric utility rates for ratepayers.

-Makes adjustments to eliminate the effects of the resulting property value increases and decreases under the school funding formula, and changes how taxing units are compensated.

•Sections 5709.92, 5727.84, 5727.85,  5751.20, and 5751.21 Tangible personal property tax replacement payments - schools:  Beginning in FY16, resumes the phaseout of the state’s payments to school districts that partly reimburse districts for the loss of general business and public utility tangible personal property (TPP) tax revenue based on a district’s combined general business and utility property tax replacement payments in FY15.

-Prescribes different phase-out schedules for different classes of tax levies. 

-Appropriates from the Property Tax Replacement Phase Out - Education (Fund 7047) $361.8 million for FY16 and $251.6 million in FY17 for TPP reimbursement payments for school districts and JVSDs

 

•Section 718.04 Municipal income tax sharing with school districts:  Allows a municipal corporation that shares at least 70 percent of its territory with a school district to enter into an agreement to share municipal income tax revenue with the school district, provided that a portion of the remaining 30 percent of school district territory lay within another municipal corporation with a population of 400,000 or more. (The only municipality in Ohio with a population over 400,000 is Columbus; therefore, this provision is only applicable to those municipal corporations adjacent to Columbus.)

.High Performing School District Exemptions: These exemptions from class size and teacher licensure standards and laws were not included in the final conference committee accepted version of the bill.

SUMMARY OF EDUCATION RELATED PROVISIONS VETOES BY THE GOVERNOR:

 According to the July 1, 2015 Gongwer Report, among the 44 items Gov. John Kasich vetoed in the two-year spending bill were guarantees that districts receive at least 20% of the per pupil formula amount and that schools would be held harmless from the phase out of TPP replacement funds that will be eliminated during the budget cycle.

The former guarantee (nearly $95 million in funding) would have been applied to wealthier school districts that receive a small percentage of per-pupil funding through the formula because they have high property values, income and taxing capacity.

Legislators and school district representatives have long argued that those districts should get at least a minimum per pupil payment that private schools receive which is about $1,200 per student or 20% of maximum per pupil payment under the funding formula. Gov. Kasich said in his veto message that "funding guarantees undermine the formula by limiting its ability to direct funds to districts that need them most."

"By carving out a special payment to some of the richest districts in the state - at a time when other districts are seeing funding withheld due to legally imposed caps on their funding growth - a guaranteed minimum per-pupil payment is not the best use of state resources," he wrote.

The governor also vetoed $78.3 million in payments to districts that were expected to receive less funding as a result of decreased foundation aid and TPP replacement payments combined in Fiscal Years 2016-17.

"The proposed TPP supplement payments, like the TPP reimbursement payments, are predominantly paid to districts with higher local capacity to raise revenue to support their schools. Therefore, this guarantee provision diverts resources that could be targeted to lower capacity school districts and circumvents original intent of the law to limit the reimbursement payment so that they were both declining and temporary," according to the veto explanation.

The veto only applies to the second year of the biennium and maintains the first year of replacement payments "to recognize concerns that districts receiving TPP payment need more time to prepare for this decline in these payments," Gov. Kasich said.

2) PARRC ASSESSEMENTS WILL NO LONGER BE USED:

State Superintendent Richard Ross announced on July 1, 2015 that Ohio will no longer administer the PARRC assessments but instead will contract with the AIR (American Institutes for Research) to develop new assessments in English/language arts and math. AIR currently provides the Ohio science and social studies assessments.

3) House Fails to Take Action on Sub. HB2 - Charter School Reforms

After months of hearings and stakeholder involvement on charter school reform bills in the Ohio House and Senate, the Ohio House took no action this week on Sub. HB2 (Dovilla/Roegner), even after the Ohio Senate approved the bill unanimously on June 25, 2015.  The Senate amended the bill to include SB148 (Lehner/Sawyer), a bipartisan bill that incorporates some of the recommendations to strengthen charter school accountability proposed by stakeholders and State Auditor David Yost.  The House could take action on the bill in September.

See LSC report on HB2 at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-documents?id=GA131-HB-2

Submitted by Ann Brennan/ 7-2-15

Parts excerpted from OAAE Update

 

From: Ann Brennan

FYI: Senate Finance Committee reported out the Senate version of the budget late yesterday, HB 64, full Senate will vote later today, attached is a summary of the major education related changes in the Senate version. Next steps: the House/Senate Conference Committee will convene and determine the final budget bill which must be passed by the end of June. Click here for synopsis. 

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update

Joan Platz

June 1, 2015

1)  Ohio News

•131st Ohio General Assembly:  The Ohio Senate has scheduled a session on Wednesday, but cancelled sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.  The Ohio House and Senate education committees are not meeting this week.

After several hectic weeks of hearings, lawmakers in the House and Senate are taking it easy this week.  The next Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will be held on June 8, 2015, when the Senate’s version of Substitute HB64 will be released.  Hearings on the substitute bill will be held on June 9-12, 2015, with a floor vote expected on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.  

According to news accounts, Senate President Keith Faber announced last week that the Senate’s plan for the biennial budget bill, HB64 (Smith), will include an overall net reduction in state taxes, a new severance tax, and tax cuts for small businesses.  The Senate will also propose an increase in funding for schools based on the current funding formula, and incorporate a plan to eliminate the use of caps and guarantees in the future.

The Senate President also reported that he expects charter school reforms to be approved before the summer recess.  The Senate Finance-Education Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Hite, has been receiving testimony on two bills - HB2 (Dovilla-Roegner) and the more comprehensive SB148 (Lehner/Sawyer).  HB2 will probably be amended to include SB148, because HB2 has already been approved by the House, and the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills can be worked-out in a conference committee.

See “Ohio Senate Republicans eye larger tax cuts in their budget plan” by Jeremy Pelzer, Northeast Ohio Media Group, Cleveland.com at 

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/05/ohio_senate_republicans_eye_la.html

See “Ohio Senate leader disagrees with House on school-funding plan” by Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch, May 29, 2015 at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/05/29/lawmakers-disagree-on-school-funds.html

•HB153 Sent to the Governor:  The Ohio Senate approved HB153 (Dovilla) Primary Elections on May 27, 2015.  The bill would move Ohio’s 2016 presidential primary election to the week of March 15th rather than the first Tuesday after the first Monday, March 8th.  The move would allow the winner of the Republican party primary election to take all Ohio delegates to the Republican presidential convention in Cleveland.  Based on the rules adopted by the Republican National Committee, if the Republican primary is held earlier in March, the delegates would be awarded proportionately to candidates. The bill now moves to the governor to sign into law.

•Ohio Awarded NSC Grant:  The National Skills Coalition (NSC), Andy Van Kleunen CEO, announced on May 29, 2015 that Ohio, California, Mississippi, and Rhode Island will participate in its State Workforce and Education Alignment Project (SWEAP). Each state will receive $180,000 to implement new data tools to better align workforce development and higher education programs with industry, employer, and employee needs. In Ohio the NSC will partner with the Ohio Board of Regents. The National Skills Coalition was founded in 1998 as the Workforce Alliance to ensure that state and federal policies are aligned with the employment needs of industries.  The NSC has more than 3,200 members in 25 states and is funded by JPMorgan Chase, Ford Foundation, and USA Funds.

See http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org

•Cincinnati Organizing Preschool for All:  Education Week reports that the Cincinnati Preschool Promise is developing a proposal to publicly fund a preschool program for young children in the Cincinnati area.  Details about the program have not been finalized, but the program could provide free preschool for four-year-olds, or three and four-year-olds,  in the city or throughout Hamilton County.   The program would be funded by a tax, which voters would have a chance to consider on the November 2016 ballot.  

See “Cincinnati Leaders Launch Preschool-for-All Initiative” by Christina Samuels, Education Week, May 26, 2015 at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2015/05/cincinnati_leaders_launch_preschool-for-all_initiative.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3

•Report on Charter Audits Released:  The Akron Beacon Journal published on May 31, 2015 an analysis of audits conducted by the State Auditor’s office last year, and found that no other sector of government misspends tax dollars more than charter schools.  According to the article, “While there were fewer than 400 charter schools among the 5,800 [audits], they accounted for 70 percent of all the tax dollars found to be misspent, often intentionally and illegally, according to 14 years of audits reviewed by the Beacon Journal”.  Since 2001 state auditors have identified $27.3 million in improper spending by charter schools.  The article goes on to explain how the State Auditor’s Office is rethinking its practice of outsourcing charter school audits to private companies after concerns were raised about the financial stability of some of the privately audited charter schools.

See two articles:

“State auditors try to pinpoint ill-spent funds”by Doug Livingston, Akron Beacon Journal, May 31, 2015 at http://akronbeaconjournal.oh.newsmemory.com/?token=5eaf3cb3b11f783f2838e9be81e4ce80_556b09f3_21aa&selDate=20150531&goTo=A01&artid=art_0.xml

“Charter Schools Misspend Millions in Ohio” by Doug Livingston, Akron Beacon Journal, May 31, 2015 at http://akronbeaconjournal.oh.newsmemory.com/?token=5eaf3cb3b11f783f2838e9be81e4ce80_556b09f3_21aa&selDate=20150531&goTo=A01&artid=art_0.xml

2)  Update on HB64:  The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, received reports last week from several subcommittees reviewing the state’s biennial budget proposal, Sub. HB64 (Smith). Each of the chairs of the subcommittees provided a recap of the testimony presented, which was followed by a response from the ranking Democrats on the subcommittees. 

According to Hannah News Service, the Senate Republican summaries of the budget hearings highlighted concerns about a number of issues, including the shortfall in the budget for developmental disabilities; addiction services for inmates; cuts to the Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security, and Criminal Justice Services; college affordability; food insecurity; additional funds for absentee voting; tax cuts and tax reforms; and more.

The Senate Republican caucus’ recommendations for primary and secondary education are likely to include increasing state aid over current levels; using the current school funding formula to create a consistent and stable school funding formula; and finding a way to phaseout the use of caps and guarantees.  

Senate Democrats reported that the biennial budget should focus on ways to support the middle class by lowering the unemployment rate, securing living wage jobs, and strengthening Ohio’s economy.

Among the overall budget recommendations, Democrats support increasing funds for local governments and libraries; ensuring Medicaid eligibility; investing in small businesses; and restoring the collective bargaining rights of health and child care workers.  The caucus also opposes tax cuts, when so many Ohioans are struggling and need government services. 

Senator Tom Sawyer, Vice Chair of the Senate Finance-Education Subcommittee, presented to the Finance Committee the Democratic caucus’ priorities and vision for K-12 education in Sub. HB64.  He said that after hearing from hundreds of witnesses, there are concerns about the uncertainty and adequacy of the state’s funding system for schools and the decision to phaseout the Tangible Personal Property Tax reimbursements (TPP).

According to his testimony, Senate Democrats agree that the caps, guarantees, and reimbursements for TPP must go, but he goes on to say, “However, the bottom line is this: we believe that the system is still woefully underfunded, and there are still many districts throughout the state that simply do not have the resources necessary to offer the variety of educational opportunities that students need.” 

The Democrats propose the following amendments be included in HB64 regarding primary and secondary education:

-Maintain the structure of the Governor’s formula and his vision to eliminate guarantees and TPP, but infuse substantial additional funding into school districts to meet the goals of DeRolph. 

-Increase by 2 percent sub-group funding for gifted, limited English proficient, and economically disadvantaged populations.

-Fund transportation outside of the guarantee and cap to enable districts to realize the full amount of their transportation funds. 

-Restore the minimum state share applied to a district’s calculated transportation cost to 60%. 

-Revise the Transportation Task Force to include three school district representatives (rural, suburban, urban), and minority chamber appointees.  

-Revise the Transportation Task Force’s topics to be studied to include, but not be limited to, the motor fuel excise tax, the cost and lack of funding for school buses, operational challenges associated with transporting to district, charter, and nonpublic school buildings, and barriers to considering alternative fuels. 

-Add SB148 (Lehner/Sawyer) as an amendment to HB64.   

-Require that, in the event that a district approves the submission of a levy proposing to share funding with a charter, that the levy be separated from the levy of the sponsoring district, and that the charter school bear all levy costs for their levy. 

-Remove the bill’s provisions allowing all school districts to contract out their health services. 

-Clarify the language to allow non-licensed teachers in high performing districts to participate in STRS.  

-Remove the Cleveland voucher expansion in its entirety.  

-Remove language prohibiting GRF funds from being used to purchase PARCC assessments, and restore the Student Assessment line item to Executive levels.   

3)  National News

•Wisconsin Bill Would Eliminate Teacher Training Requirements:  The Minneapolis StarTribune reported on May 28, 2015 that lawmakers in Wisconsin are considering legislation to create an alternative teacher licensing process that eliminates teacher coursework and training requirements, but requires a school or district to prove that a teaching candidate is proficient in the subject(s) to be taught.  According to the article, 

“Under the change, anyone with relevant experience could be licensed to teach non-core academic subjects in grades six through 12. They would not need a bachelor’s degree and they could even be a high school dropout.” 

“Anyone with a bachelor’s degree could be licensed to teach in core subjects of English, math, social studies or science.”

The provision is included in the state’s budget proposal, and is not the only controversial provision in the bill.  The budget bill would also cut $300 million for higher education and $130 million for K-12 education; expand vouchers; and increase funds for charter schools. 

Lawmakers in Ohio are also considering legislation that would lower teacher licensing requirements for high performing school districts. The House approved version of HB64 (Smith) Biennial Budget, expands from 12 to 40 the number of hours that an unlicensed teacher can teach.  The Ohio Senate approved in March 2015 Sub. SB3 (Hite/Faber), which exempts high performing school districts from requiring teachers to be licensed specifically in the grade levels in which they are teaching.  The bill would also allow the superintendent of a high performing school district, with board approval, to employ an individual “who is not licensed as required by sections 3319.22 to 3319.30 of the Revised Code, but who is otherwise qualified based on experience, to teach classes in the district.”

See “Wisconsin may be first state to license teachers who don’t have bachelor’s degree,” by Scott Bauner (Associated Press), Minneapolis StarTribune, May 28, 2015 at http://www.startribune.com/wisconsin-may-be-first-to-license-teachers-without-degree/305380021/

•States Receive NCLB Exemptions:  Alyson Klein reports for Education Week that the U.S. Department of Education has granted exemptions from school rating systems consequences this year to five states that do not have “waivers” from the No Child Left Behind Act.  The exemptions were granted to California, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, and Washington as they implement new tests aligned to new standards.  States will still be required to publish assessment data.

See “Five Non-Waiver States Will Get to Pause School Ratings For a Year” by Alyson Klein, Education Week, May 21, 2015 at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/05/five_non-waiver_states_will_ge.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3.

4)  Latest Condition of Education Released:  The U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, released on May 28, 2015 an annual report to Congress about the nation’s education system entitled The Condition of Education 2015.  

The report includes the status and condition of preK, K-12, higher education, and private schools based on 42 indicators. According to the report,  “These indicators focus on population characteristics, such as educational attainment and economic outcomes, participation in education at all levels, as well as aspects of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, including international comparisons. New to the report this year are three spotlight indicators that describe approaches to learning behaviors for first-time kindergartners, disparities in educational outcomes among male youth of color, and differences in postsecondary degree completion by socioeconomic status.”

The following are some highlights from the report:

-The nation spent $620 billion in federal, state, and local dollars on public schools in 2011-2012, compared to $553 billion in the 2001-2002 school year.

-91 percent of young adults ages 25 to 29 had a high school diploma or its equivalent in 2014, and 34 percent had a bachelor’s or higher degree. 

-20 percent of school-age children (10.9 million) lived in poverty in 2013.  This is an increase of 6 percent in the poverty rate from 2000 when one in seven school-age children lived in poverty. 

-65 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds were enrolled in preschool in 2013, which is about the same as in the previous year.

-In the fall of 2012, nearly 50 million students were enrolled in public schools. 

-Charter school enrollment increased from 300,000 students in 1999-2000 to 2.3 million students in 2012-2013. The proportion of public school students who attend charters increased from 0.7 percent to 4.6 percent.

-42 percent of students attending charter schools are White; 35 percent are Black; and 20 percent are Hispanic.

-Private school enrollment for preK through grade 12 decreased from 6.3 million in 2001–2002 to 5.3 million in 2011-2012.  The percent of all students in private schools decreased from 12 percent in 1995-96 to 10 percent in 2011-12. 

-The total number of private school students attending Catholic schools decreased from 2.7 million in 1995–96 to 2.1 million in 2011–12, and the share of private school students in Catholic schools declined from 45 percent in 1995–96 to 40 percent in 2011–12.

-Postsecondary enrollment was at 20 million students in the fall of 2013, including 17 million undergraduate and 3 million graduate students.

-In school year 2011–12, some 3.1 million public high school students, or 81 percent, graduated on time with a regular diploma. 

-66 percent of 2013 high school completers enrolled in college the following fall: 42 percent went to 4-year institutions and 24 percent went to 2-year institutions. 

-The percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and do not have a high school credential, declined from 11 percent in 2000 to 7 percent in 2013.

-In 2013, over 1 million associate’s degrees, over 1.8 million bachelor’s degrees, and over 750,000 master’s degrees were awarded.

-In 2012 in Ohio, less than 45 percent of staff in public elementary and secondary schools were teachers. This is less than the national average of 50.3 percent.

See “The Condition of Education 2015,” by Grace Kena, Lauren Musu-Gillette, Jennifer Robinson  (National Center for Education Statistics); Xiaolei Wang, Amy Rathbun, Jijun Zhang Sidney Wilkinson-Flicker (American Institutes for Research); and Amy Barmer, Erin Dunlop Velez (RTI International).  U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015144.pdf

See “One in five U.S. schoolchildren are living below federal poverty line”, by Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post, May 29, 2015 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/one-in-five-us-schoolchildren-are-living-below-federal-poverty-line/2015/05/28/2402f164-0556-11e5-bc72-f3e16bf50bb6_story.html

5)  A Different Path to Ensure Successful Schools:  ASCD released on May 20, 2015 its Global Policy Agenda for 2015.  The agenda includes goals and strategies for a comprehensive public education system that moves beyond the priority that all students be college, career, and citizenship ready.  Instead the policy agenda sets as its goal the successful development of the whole child, which includes a well-rounded education in all academic subjects and social-emotional learning supports.

The Global Policy Agenda includes the following recommendations to promote the success of students, educators, schools, and communities:

•Establish a multi-metric accountability system:  A comprehensive accountability model for schools should incorporate multiple measures of performance, include all subjects, nonacademic factors, and promote continuous improvement and support.  Community level data should be reported to highlight the shared responsibility for student success, and governments must be held accountable for the progress and ongoing support for the most needy students. 

•Reduce the reliance on standardized testing: “Many existing testing requirements are woefully inadequate to determine whether students possess the knowledge, skills, and traits needed for school and career success.”  The results of standardized testing provide an incomplete assessment of student achievement and school quality, and should never be used for high-stakes purposes, or to rank students, educators, or schools.

•Promote a whole child education: “A whole child approach can best prepare students to be college, career, and citizenship ready,” and includes comprehensive opportunities in all academic subjects, including the arts; social and emotional learning; mental health and counseling services; meaningful student and parental engagement; early childhood education and affordable postsecondary learning; and appropriate and necessary supports for each child across multiple sectors. 

•Honor and support the education profession: Efforts should be made to recruit, train, and induct teachers into a teaching profession.  All educators should participate in an induction process that provides time to “....reflect and refine their practice, and personalized professional development that recognizes their strengths and allows them to grow.” Time and resources are needed to provide ongoing professional development for teachers and school leaders.

ASCD represents over 125,000 superintendents, principals, teachers; advocates from more than 138 countries; and is dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading, 

See ASCD Global Policy Agenda 2015 at http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/policy/2015-Global-Policy-Agenda.pdf

6)  Bills Introduced:  

•HB231 (Grossman/McClain) Property Valuation Complaints:  To require counties, municipal corporations, townships, and school boards that file complaints against the valuation of property they do not own, to pass a resolution approving the complaint and specifying the compensation paid to any person retained to represent the county, municipal corporation, township, or school board in the matter of the complaint.

•SB173 (Jordan) Special Elections:  To eliminate the ability to conduct special elections in February and August.

FYI ARTS

•A Place for the Arts in the STEM Curriculum: Melissa Beattie-Moss asks where the arts fit into the school curriculum that is more focused on science, technology, engineering, and math in an article for PhysOrg.com.  In an interview with Christine Marmé Thompson, director of the Penn State School of Visual Arts Art Education, she learns that, “The visual arts are a powerful language for communicating concepts and theories in any field, both during the process of being developed and once they are finished ‘products’ to be shared with others.” 

The article goes on to say that an important concept for students to learn in order to be successful in today’s creative economy is understanding that the knowledge and skills that they are learning are interconnected and can be applied to other situations.  The arts help students to better understand this concept, and make connections among the lessons they are learning during the day.  

In addition to all the practical reasons for supporting the arts in school, the author also writes that participating in the arts makes children and adults happy, proud, and confident, and supports the development of creative thinkers.

See “Probing Question: Is art an essential school subject?” by Melissa Beattie-Moss, Phys/Org, May 25, 2015 at 

http://phys.org/news/2015-05-probing-art-essential-school-subject.html

 

Testimony on Sub. SB 3 to the House Education Committee
Presented by: Ann Brennan, Executive Director
Ohio School Psychologists Association
May 19, 2015

Chairman Hayes, Vice Chairman Brenner, Ranking Minority member Fedor and members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of the members of our association, over 900 school psychologists serving Ohio’s students.

I am Ann Brennan and I am the Executive Director of OSPA. School psychologists are highly trained in the multi-layered area of educational assessments, including: selecting which diagnostic assessments are best to use to determine a student’s academic level and progress, assisting school based evaluation teams in interpreting assessment results, and using the data gleaned from assessments to both design interventions and monitor the progress students are making during the intervention period. School psychologists also serve on evaluation teams responsible for evaluating students referred to them with a suspected disability. Additionally school psychologists play an essential role in designing and implementing behavioral interventions, as well as serving on school teams focused on delivering and improving school based mental health services to students.

OSPA has a long-standing position that opposes the use of single indicators based on high stakes test that are then tied to grade promotion or graduation as well as using such test results to evaluate educators or school districts. We believe there is a disconnect between the requirements in NCLB, IDEIA and state testing requirements and an over reliance on high stakes testing in our state accountability system. We are supportive, however, of well-developed uniform state curriculum standards and support the new Ohio learning standards. Although NCLB does require uniform standards and certain grade testing, it does not require that states elevate those tests into a high stakes accountability system that in turn harms students. OSPA would like to explore alternatives that strike a better balance between accountability for school districts while also using appropriate, multiple measures, for assessing student achievement. We are also appreciative of the need to address the conflict between NCLB, IDEIA, and state law and rules with regard to the issue of the extended years students with disabilities have to graduate high school- this issue needs to be addressed in the federal and state accountability systems.

In addition to this overarching position, we have specific concerns related to the following SB 3 provisions:

• Diagnostic assessment testing: We believe that testing limits be developed in a way that is meaningful rather than arbitrary and agree that this area needs thoughtful and deliberative study. OSPA opposes testing limitation mandates on diagnostic assessments or other curriculum based local measures of educational progress. These curriculum driven, short cycle formative assessments give educators the most useful information to determine where students are and how best to get them where they need to be. They also are designed to focus on particular strengths and weaknesses so that specific interventions can be designed to address them. Additionally they are the only type of assessments where progress towards the desired educational outcome can be tracked at regular intervals, with immediate results, throughout the school year and then compared to the benchmark data collected at the beginning of the assessment cycle. This progress monitoring informs educators whether the interventions are working, and if not, directs them to design different ones. We recommend allowing school districts to make this a local decision, and recommend adding language that exempts all students at risk for failure from these restrictions on the use of diagnostic assessments.
  
  
• Exempting high performing districts from teacher licensure and class size requirements: We do not support exempting high performing school districts from educator licensure standards or class size requirements. We do not believe that students will be well served by allowing unlicensed individuals to teach any subject or grade level. Teachers should be licensed in their content areas or grade level areas. We understand the notion that individuals expert in certain fields may want to become teachers and would recommend this be considered through a specific waiver process, rather than this carte blanche approach. OSPA also does not support exempting school districts from the class size requirements. School psychologists believe in reasonable class sizes for optimum student learning, regardless of the mixed bag of imperfect research on this issue, large class sizes seem absolutely counter intuitive. Research on improving mental health outcomes for students indicate where there is a more personal, mentoring relationship between students and teachers school climate and individual mental health is enhanced, the larger the class sizes the less likely this will occur.

Thank you for considering OSPA’s concerns and I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

Ohio School Psychologists Association
4449 Easton Way, 2nd Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43219
614-414-5980