From: Ann Brennan 

FYI: Note that the House approved HB 228.

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Arts on Line Education Update
Joan Platz
November 24, 2014

1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will hold some committee meetings this week, but no sessions. The House and Senate Education committees will not be meeting.

•Ohio House Approves Bill Limiting Testing: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, reported-out on November 17, 2014 two bills: HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) Limits on Testing and HB343 (Stebelton) Education Programs, a controversial “catch all” bill that also repeals the state’s minimum salary schedule for teachers.

The Ohio House approved on November 20, 2014 HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) by a vote of 88 to 4. The bill limits the amount of testing in each subject to 4 hours per year and makes other changes in law. Details about the HB228 are included below.

When it reaches the floor for a vote, HB343 is expected to be amended to require third-grade students, who pass the Ohio Achievement Assessment in reading in the fall, to take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers reading assessment in the spring, rather than the Ohio Achievement Assessment as directed in the bill as amended. This change will save the state $1.2 million.

•Ohio Senate Approves Straight A Fund Bill: The Ohio Senate approved on November 19, 2014 SB241 (Sawyer), which adds two minority members from both the House and Senate to the Straight A Program Governing Board.

•Democrats Choose Leadership for 131st General Assembly: Ohio Senate Democrats informally voted on November 19, 2014 to retain their leadership team for the 131st General Assembly. Senator Joe Schiavoni will remain Senate Minority Leader; Senator Charleta Tavares, assistant minority leader; Senator Edna Brown, minority whip, and Senator Lou Gentile, assistant minority whip.

The House Democratic Caucus informally elected on November 18, 2014 a completely new leadership team for the 131st General Assembly, replacing Representatives Tracy Maxwell Heard, who is term-limited, Debbie Phillips, Mike Ashford, and Dan Ramos.

Representative Fred Strahorn was elected House Minority Leader; Representative Nicholas J. Celebrezze, assistant Democratic leader; Representative Kevin Boyce, Democratic whip; and Representative Nickie Antonio, assistant Democratic whip.

•Governor Kasich Supports the Common Core Standards: Henry J. Gomez reports for The Cleveland Plain Dealer that Governor John Kasich offered his continued support for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) at the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida on November 18, 2014. According to the author, when asked about the CCSS by NBC’s Chuck Todd during a panel discussion with other Republican governors, Governor Kasich replied that as long as local school boards and parents are writing the curriculum, he didn’t see anything wrong with reaching higher standards in math and science.

See “Ohio Gov. John Kasich finds himself the center of attention at forum with potential White House rivals” by Henry J. Gomez, Northeast Ohio Media Group, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 19, 2014, at
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/11/ohio_gov_john_kasich_finds_him.html

2) House Passes Sub. HB228 - Limits on Testing: The Ohio House approved on November 20, 2014 by a vote of 88 to 4 Sub. HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) Limits on Testing. Before the House voted, the bill was amended to allow students at career centers to substitute an “industry-recognized credential” in lieu of a technical skill exam.

The bill was reported-out by the House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, on November 17, 2014.

As introduced the bill proposed a new school funding formula to ensure that all school districts received at least $1000 per pupil in state aid. The bill changed directions on November 5, 2014 when the committee accepted a substitute bill that incorporated HB629 (Gonzales) Primary and Secondary Assessments, which included the provisions to limit testing in schools. One provision related to school funding reform was retained: The bill requires the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) by April 1, 2015, to report to the General Assembly an estimate of the cost to the state of guaranteeing each city, exempted village, and local school district a minimum state operating payment equal to the greater of $1,000, or the per-pupil amount computed for the district for fiscal year 2013.

The substitute bill limits the amount of time allotted for each statewide assessment prescribed in law to four hours per year per subject beginning in 2015-16. This provision is expected to reduce by half the projected amount of testing time for students.

The bill also does the following: delays statewide online testing to the 2016-17 school year; requires the ODE to study the impact of online assessments on student performance; provides flexibility for the administration of the kindergarten readiness assessment, including allowing schools to administer the assessment starting August 1 rather than the first day of school; requires the ODE to determine which components of the resident educator performance-based assessment may be used as part of the teacher evaluation system; and requires the Ohio Department of Education to estimate 1) the cost of implementing a per pupil funding floor and 2) to assess the readiness of schools to administer tests online. The bill would not affect the third grade reading assessment, diagnostic assessments, alternative assessments for students with disabilities, Advanced Placement exams, or International Baccalaureate assessments.

3) National News:

•U.S. House Chair Re-Elected: The House Republican Conference re-elected last week U.S. Representative John Kline (MN) to the chairmanship of the House Education and the Workforce Committee for the 114th Congress. Chairman Kline is expected to continue to press for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind Act) the Higher Education Act, and work to reduce the role of the federal government in state K-12 education.

•Maximizing Resources for Technology: The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, issued a letter last week to provide guidance for states, districts, and partnerships to better use federal grants to support innovative technology based strategies to support personalized learning. The guidance supports President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative, introduced in June 2013, which aims to increase access to high-speed Internet to the classroom, affordable mobile learning devices, and high-quality learning content, and increase support for teachers to implement digital learning.

The letter includes examples of ways grantees may use federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to expand learning through technology, such as through professional development; student materials, resources and supports; educator communication and collaboration; and the purchase of devices.

See http://tech.ed.gov/%20federal-funding-dear-colleague-letter/

Tina Thomas-Manning, Superintendent of the Reynoldsburg City Schools, and Matthew Miller, Superintendent of the Mentor Exempted Village, were among more than 100 school superintendents who were recognized at a White House ceremony on November 19, 2014 for leading their communities in digital learning. The recognition was held at the “ConnectED to the Future” conference.

See http://tech.ed.gov/futureready/attendees/

•Collaborative to Create CCSS Resources: A coalition of 11 state education agencies is developing “open educational resources” (OER) in grades K-11 aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in math and English language arts. The coalition is called the K-12 OER Collaborative, and includes the states of Washington, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, California, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The group is facilitated by the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The purpose of the collaboration is to provide “additional choices for local education agencies”, “significantly reduce expenditures for instructional materials”, and “offer much greater flexibility with higher quality digital educational content.”

The open educational resources will be created through a competitive RFP process and include instructional materials for each course, including strategies, activities, and resources that allow teachers to differentiate instruction, and assessments, including performance tasks, formative assessments, summative assessments, and rubrics. Open educational resources are licensed under different copyright laws, so the materials will be available for coping and redistributing without additional cost, and states and local school districts will be able to adapt the materials to meet their needs. The collaborative intends to update the resources annually.

See http://openeducation2014.sched.org/event/46caa2a1c490b08ca52b2a1518a921cb#.VHH8g74fPBE

4) More Third Grade Students are Proficient in Reading: The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) announced on November 19, 2014 that 95.8 percent of Ohio third graders in the 2013-14 school year met the “proficient” level for reading and were promoted to the 4th grade under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

The Third Grade Reading Guarantee became law in 2013 and requires students to be proficient in reading in order to be promoted to the forth grade. Schools are required to assess students at each grade level in grades K-3, and develop an improvement plan for students not reading at grade level. The improvement plan includes additional instruction provided by a qualified reading teacher.

The ODE also reported that about 91 percent of third grade students met the proficient standard by passing the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA) in reading in the spring 2014; 4 percent passed one of the alternative assessments; and .9 percent passed the OAA in the summer.

About 4.2 percent of students who did not meet the proficient standards for the 2013-14 school were retained in the third grade, but can move to the 4th grade once their reading skills have improved.

The report also notes that about 126,000 students (5.7 percent) are exempt from the Third Grade Reading law, because they have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), are learning English, have significant cognitive disabilities, or have been retained.

See http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Early-Learning/Third-Grade-Reading-Guarantee

5) Smarter Balanced Sets Initial Achievement Levels: The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium announced on November 17, 2014 the initial achievement levels and threshold scale scores for grades 3-8 and high school assessments field-tested by schools last spring. The consortium also provided an analysis of the test results based on the new achievement levels.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which includes 22 states, has developed assessments based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) along with another organization, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Both organizations administered the new assessments to students last spring. Ohio is a member of PARCC.

The consortium announced the initial achievement levels, cut scores, and average scale scores on November 17, 2014, after delaying the announcement at an October 2014 meeting of member states. The achievement levels range from 1-4 and are based on the performance of 4.2 million students on the spring field tests. The threshold scores were determined through an open process that included recommendations from the public; in-person panels that included teachers, parents, representatives from higher education, special education, business, and communities; and advisory committees of testing and technology experts. PARCC announced last month that it will not determine threshold scores until next fall, after another round of assessments have been taken and scored.

The threshold scores set by the Smarter Balanced Consortium are said to be comparable to the scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which define “proficient” at a higher level than just being at “grade level”.

Based on the new achievement levels, the consortium estimated that more than half of the students who took the exams last spring did not meet the proficient level of 3 (on a scale of 1-4) on the tests for English/language arts and mathematics. Forty-one percent of 11th graders were proficient in English/language arts and 33 percent in math; 38 percent of students in elementary schools and 44 percent in middle schools were proficient in English/language arts; and 32 percent of students in elementary schools and 39 percent in middle schools were proficient in math.

In the 11th grade 11 percent of students met level 4 in English language arts and math. Level 4 is the highest level and indicates that the student is ready for entry-level, credit-bearing courses in college.

Although the consortium has 22 members, about 17 states expect to administer the assessments this school year. Member states are expected to adopt the threshold achievement levels after review, but some states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, question the thresholds and other metrics. In a memorandum to the members of the Smarter Balanced Consortium, Rebecca Holcombe, Vermont’s Secretary of Education, opposes using the threshold method to establish the appropriate levels of performance, and recommends that scale scores be used. In addition, Secretary Holcombe also questions the validity of the proposed cut scores for determining “college and career ready”.

See http://www.smarterbalanced.org/news/smarter-balanced-states-approve-achievement-level-recommendations/

See the memorandum at http://education.vermont.gov/documents/VT_SBAC-Governing-States_Performance-Categories_11_2014.pdf

FYI ARTS

1) Election Recap - Arts: Americans for the Arts reports in its November 2014 Monthly Wire that 85 percent of the Congressional Arts Caucus won re-election on November 4, 2014 and about 70 percent of the Senate Cultural Caucus won re-election. Committee chairs in the Senate will all be new due to the election of a Republican majority, and in the House a new chair will replace Representative Jack Kingston, who did not run for re-election, on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Education. Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) is expected to continue to chair the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee that oversees funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

American’s for the Arts’ analysis of the election’s impact on the arts is available at http://www.americansforthearts.org/events/webinars/on-demand-webinars.

2) Youth Arts and Humanities Programs Recognized: First Lady Michelle Obama presented the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards at a White House ceremony on November 10, 2014 to 12 national recipients and one international program. The awards are sponsored by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The annual awards recognize outstanding after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs sponsored by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations; educational institutions (e.g., preschools; elementary, middle, and high schools; universities; and colleges), arts centers, community service organizations, businesses, and eligible government entities. The recipients were selected from a group of finalists, which included the Circle Round the Square, Paper Circle from Nelsonville, OH. An application for the 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards is available at http://www.nahyp.org/how-to-apply/

The following programs were recognized this year:
•¡City Arts! Community AfterSchool Program, Providence ¡City Arts for Youth! Inc., Providence, Rhode Island.
•everybody dance! after-school program, The Gabriella Foundation, Los Angeles.
•Project STEP Inc., Intensive String Training Program for Black and Latino Young People, Boston.
•Job Training in the Arts, Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, Aurora, Colorado.
•Workshop Houston, Middle School Program, Houston.
•New Ballet Ensemble, Memphis, Tennessee.
•New Victory Usher Corps, The New Victory Theatre, New York.
•Publicolor Inc., Continuum of Design-based Programs, New York.
•Teens Make History, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.
•TeenSpace Circle of Mentoring, Santa Ana Public Library, Santa Ana, California.

International Spotlight Award:
•Salaam Baalak Trust, New Delhi and Mumbai, India.

3) Do the Arts Belong in STEM?? Anne Jolly asks in an Education Week article how teachers can combine instruction in the arts, math, science, technology, and engineering without compromising student attainment of higher level skills and knowledge in both STEM and in the arts?

To answer that question the author suggests using problem-based learning and projects involving design, in which students must use creativity and imagination to develop a plan to solve a problem; meet expectations and standards in the arts and STEM standards; and communicate about their project effectively.

The author concludes that, “A STEM program is just one part of a child’s education, focusing on math and science. But our children need a well-rounded, quality education that enables them to make informed decisions that will impact the world and the way they live.”

"We need students who are motivated and competent in bringing forth solutions to tomorrow’s problems. When push comes to shove, it’s not STEM vs. STEAM—it’s about making every student a fully-literate 21st-century citizen.”

See “STEM vs. STEAM: Do the Arts Belong?” by Anne Jolly, Education Week, November 18, 2014 at
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/11/18/ctq-jolly-stem-vs-steam.html

 

There has been a flurry of both state legislative and State Board of Education activity in recent weeks. Several significant education policy issues are pending in the Ohio legislature, as the House and Senate Education Committee’s debate substantive bills in the lame duck session.

The State Board of Education is also considering a draft of the revised Operating Standards, which contain a significant change to the so-called 5 of 8 rule regarding the minimum standard staffing ratios for educational service personnel.

Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission: The Education, Public Institutions, and Local Government Committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC) also met on November 13, 2014. The committee received testimony from Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer about his involvement in the four DeRolph school funding court decisions. He told the panel that the “thorough and efficient” clause in Article VI Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution should not be removed, but could be updated. The section requires the General Assembly to provide sufficient funds to “secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.” Justice Pfeifer told the committee that he would oppose any proposal to remove judicial oversight of the state’s school funding method, because the decisions made by the General Assembly about K-12 education are too important to the citizens of Ohio.

The chair of the committee, Chad Readler, has recommended constitutional changes that would give the General Assembly final authority over school funding decisions.

The following update summarizes these bills and activity, as of November 21, 2014.

1) Bills Pending in the House Education Committee: Expected to be approved in the lame duck session of the Ohio General Assembly

* HB 228 ( Brenner): The bill originally dealt with school funding, but the committee removed all of the provisions in the previous bill and replaced them with the following:
School funding
• Requires the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), by April 1, 2015, to report to the General Assembly an estimate of the cost to the state of guaranteeing each city, exempted village and local school district a minimum state operating payment equal to the greater of $1,000 or the per-pupil amount computed for the district for fiscal year 2013.
Testing
• Limits testing to no more than four hours per year per subject and grade level. Excluded from this requirement are the third-grade reading guarantee assessment, the nationally standardized assessment that measures college and career readiness and end-of-course substitute examinations.
• Allows a district or school to administer the kindergarten readiness assessment all at once or in portions at different times, so long as it is administered in entirety no later than Nov. 1.
• Requires ODE to determine which components of the resident educator performance-based assessment can be used as part of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System.
• Requires ODE to develop a table of assessments that may be used for multiple purposes. The table must include achievement assessments, diagnostic assessments, end-of-course exams, substitute exams, student growth measure assessments and other assessments. This table is to be made available to districts and schools.
• Extends that availability of written state assessments through the 2015-16 school year.
• Requires that ODE study and report to the General Assembly and the governor on the impact of online testing on student performance by June 30, 2015.
• Requires ODE to conduct a comprehensive survey of the capacity and readiness of each school district for online administration of the assessments. The survey is to include information regarding hardware, software, bandwidth, technical support, security requirements, training for teachers on the administration of assessments and training for students on taking the assessments.
• Requires ODE, no later than June 30, 2015, to compile and present the findings of the survey to the governor, chairs and ranking members of the education committees of the House and Senate and the State Board of Education. The report is to include the results of the survey conducted under this section and a detailed implementation plan to address any issues or problems identified in the survey.
. Allows students attending career centers to substitute an industry-recognized credential in lieu of a technical skill exam.
Status: Bill passed the House on 11-20-14
* Sub. HB 343 (Stebleton) - The bill originally dealt with creating a program to allow adults to obtain a diploma. Since this program was enacted as a part of the midbiennium budget review, those provisions were removed from the bill by the committee and replaced with provisions that impact many different areas. Those changes are as follows:
End-of-course examinations
• Adds, as an alternative to the current required physical science end-of-course examination, a biology end-of-course examination.
• Requires ODE to make available to school districts and schools end-of-course examinations in both physical science and biology until the 2016-17 school year.
• Permits the State Board of Education to choose to provide one or both of the end-of-course examinations in physical science and biology beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
Reporting data for students with disabilities
• In addition to data already required to be reported on ODE’s website for each public school, the bill would require the Department to report the following for students with disabilities:
- the six-, seven- and eight-year adjusted cohort graduation rates;
- annual measureable objectives (AMO) regarding closing achievement gaps;
- data regarding disciplinary action taken by the district or school against students with disabilities as compared to those taken against student who do not have disabilities.
• Requires ODE to calculate and report on its website the state averages for all the following for students with disabilities:
- value-added score, performance index score, four to eight year adjusted cohort graduation rates, AMO and disciplinary data;
- value-added scores disaggregated by grade level and subject area;
- performance index score disaggregated for each category of disability.
Teach for America educator licensing
• Requires each participant in the Teach for America program assigned to teach in Ohio to successfully complete that program in order to continue to possess a resident educator license.
• Requires the board of education of a school district to notify the State Board of Education in writing if a participant in the Teach for America program assigned to that school district resigns or is otherwise removed from the program.
Student attendance reporting
• Removes a current school funding formula provision stating that a student’s enrollment is considered to cease when the student has 105 continuous hours of unexcused absences, and instead specifies in the student truancy law that a district superintendent must withdraw a student from school if the student has at least 265 continuous hours of unexcused absences.
• Specifies that a student in grades nine-12 is considered a full-time equivalent student if the student is enrolled in at least five units of instruction per school year.
• Removes a requirement that notification by a district superintendent of a student’s withdrawal, habitual absence, suspension or expulsion be sent to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.
Consequences for student truancy
• Requires, for a student who has at least 60 cumulative hours of unexcused absences, that the school district notify a student’s parent or guardian in writing that the student may be a chronic truant and, if the student accumulates at least 105 hours of unexcused absences, a complaint will be filed jointly against the child and the child’s parent or guardian in the juvenile court of the county in which the student resides.
• Requires, for a student who has at least 105 cumulative hours of unexcused absences, that a district take “appropriate action” regarding the reporting of student truancy within 10 days of the student accumulating 105 hours of unexcused absences.
• Requires ODE to track and record the number of students to whom the unexcused absence conditions described above apply.
• Requires the superintendent of public instruction to consider, on a case-by-case basis, a reduction in state operating payments to a school district that fails to comply with the bill’s provisions regarding student truancy.
On November 13, the House Education Committee accepted by a party line vote, an omnibus amendment which made further substantive changes and additions to the bill, among them the elimination of the state teacher minimum salary and salary schedule.
The following summarizes the omnibus amendment provisions:
•Section 3 Report Card (Section 3302.035): States that the ODE shall issue grades for each performance measure for the 2014-2015 school year not later than January 15, 2016.

•Section 3 Report Card for Students with Disabilities: States that the ODE shall issue the reports on the performance measures for a school district’s or school’s students with disabilities subgroup, using data from the 2014-2015 school year, not later than January 15, 2016, and each school year thereafter, on the first day of October.

•Section 3 Community Connectors: Amends Section 263.320 of Am. Sub. HB59 to allow the fiscal year 2015 appropriation for the Community Connectors grant to be re-appropriated in subsequent fiscal years if there are funds.

•Section 3 Safe Harbor: Requires the State Board of education to make recommendations by November 1, 2015, about whether or not to extend the safe harbor provisions that were implemented in HB487 regarding high-stakes decisions.

•Section 3 Third Grade Reading: Amends Section 9 of HB487 regarding the third-grade reading guarantee. States that the third grade reading Ohio Achievement Assessment will be administered in both the fall and spring of the current school year; that the ODE shall not use the results to determine the performance index; and that the indicator benchmark for third grade will remain at 80 percent, unchanged from the previous school year. (this bolded provision may change in the final House passed version of the bill – as an amendment is expected to be added – check the current OSPA update which is sent on the listserv and placed on the website)

•Section 4 School Rankings: States that the ODE shall not rank school districts, community schools, and STEM schools for the 2014-15 school year according to the performance measures prescribed in Section 3302.21 School Rankings Performance Index, Performance Growth, and Gifted, but the Department shall rank districts and schools according to the measures for current operating expenditures per equivalent students, and expenditures for classroom instruction not later than January 15, 2016.

•Section 4 Effective and Efficient Schools. Permits the State Board of Education to adopt a resolution excusing the Department of Education from determining the top ten per cent of schools for the Governor’s Effective and Efficient Schools Recognition Program under section 3302.22 of the Revised Code for the 2014-2015 school year.

•Section 3301.0711 Administration and Grading of Assessments and 3301.0712 College and Work Ready Assessment System, and Section 3: The bill makes changes in the administration of assessments and testing requirements for high school students taking college courses.

-Changes the administration of assessments to students who entered the ninth grade prior to July 1, 2014 and requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules regarding the administration of assessments to a person who has not passed one or more of the required assessments to receive a high school diploma.

-Allows questions on the statewide assessments to be made public with the spring administration for the 2014-15 school year according to a formula.

-Clarifies for students enrolled in dual enrollment programs in 2014-15 which exams and courses need to be taken to fulfill graduation requirements, and in some cases allows final course grades for courses taken under advanced standing program in the areas of physical science or biology, American history, and American government to be used in lieu of end-of-course examinations, and makes other changes that apply to courses for which students receive transcripted credit.

•Section 3301.0712 (5)(d) College and Work Ready Assessments Advanced Placement: States that a score of two on an advanced placement examination shall be considered equivalent to a proficient level of skill. A score of three on an advanced placement examination shall be considered equivalent to an accelerated level of skill.

•Section 3302.02 Performance Indicators: Changes the time line for the State Board of Education to set proficiency percentages for the performance indicators, and states that the proficiency percentage shall not be less than sixty percent for the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 school years, and the proficiency percentage shall not be less than eighty per cent for the 2017-2018 school year and each school year thereafter.

•Section 3302.03 Grading School Districts - Literacy: Adjusts the K-3-Literacy component of the report card so that the previous year’s average, not the current year’s average, is used for the calculation, and makes other adjustments for when less than five per cent of students have scored below grade level on the kindergarten diagnostic assessment, but five per cent or more of students fail to score proficient or above on the English language arts assessment.

•Section 3313.534 Model Discipline Policies (Zero Tolerance): Requires the State Board of Education to adopt by June 30, 2015 a model disciplinary policy for violent, disruptive, and inappropriate behavior, including excessive truancy. The policy must stress preventative strategies and alternatives to suspensions and expulsions. Not later than December 31, 2015 the State Board of Education is required to adopt and distribute the model policy and materials to implement the policy to schools.

•Section 3313.672 Admission to Schools - Presenting School Records: Requires schools to admit children placed in a foster home or residential care facility regardless of whether the child presents a birth certificate upon enrollment.

•Section 3313.814 School Fund Raisers: Requires the State Board of Education to formulate and adopt guidelines regarding the sale of beverages and food during the regular school day in connection with a school-sponsored fund raiser.

•Sections 3314.06, 3319.361, Section 3 of HB5 Montessori Community Schools: Permits the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education to engage in a variety of activities regarding the operation of Montessori Schools under Ohio law.

•Section 3317.12, 3317.13, and 3317.14 School Employee Salary Schedule: The omnibus amendment makes changes in the following sections of law to eliminate the minimum teacher salary schedule and the single salary scheduled, which requires equal base pay for individuals with the same experience and training:

-Section 3313.42 Joint School District: Removes the state minimum teacher salary requirement under 3317.13, which is repealed. The amendment to this section by 129th General (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.12 Salary Schedule and List of Job Classifications for Nonteaching School Employees. The bill still requires boards of education to adopt salary schedules, but adds teachers to this section, in addition to nonteaching school employees, and removes the criteria for determining the salary schedule, such as training, experience and qualifications. The repeal of this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.13 Minimum Salary Schedule for Teachers. This section is repealed. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.14 Boards to Annually Adopt Teachers’ Salary Schedule: The bill aligns this section with the changes in the other sections and the repeal of Section 3317.13. It also adds the definitions of “years of service” and “teacher” to this section. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 5126.24 Department of Development Disabilities - Schedule for Teaching and Nonteaching Employees. Aligns this section with the repeal of Section 3317.13. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

•Section 3365.04. 3365.05, and 3365.07 College Credit Plus Program: Makes changes in the College Credit Plus Program and requires boards of education to apply the same procedures for all courses taken under the college credit plus program, regardless of whether a similar course is offered at the school; requires institutions of higher education to provide equal access to qualified College Credit Plus students regardless of grade level; and adds that schools must provide information to all participants about the no-cost options available.

End-of-course examination exemption for chartered nonpublic schools
•Section 3313.612(D) and (G) Exempts chartered nonpublic schools from administering the seven required end-of-course examinations. In current law chartered nonpublic schools were exempt after October 1, 2015, only if the General Assembly did not enact different requirements. Under the exemption, a chartered nonpublic school may forego administering all of the end-of-course examinations if the school publishes the results of the required nationally standardized assessment that measures college and career readiness.

Status: House Education Committee approved the bill for passage: 11-17-14

2) House Rules Committee Votes to Repeal Common Core Standards:

The House Rules and Reference Committee, chaired by Representative Matt Huffman, approved on November 5, 2014 HB597 (Thompson/Huffman) Repeal/Replace the Common Core State Standards by a vote of 7 to 2, with all Republicans voting for the bill and two Democrats voting no. The bill would require the State Board of Education to develop new standards in English/language arts, math, science, and social studies by June 13, 2017, to be implemented in the 2018-19 school year, and prohibits the implementation of the Common Core State Standards or Ohio’s participation in the PARCC assessments. Until the new standards are developed, the State Board of Education is required to implement Massachusetts’ state standards as closely as possible. The House leadership has not indicated if the bill will be scheduled for a full House vote. The Governor and both chairs of the respective House and Senate Education committees have expressed opposition to the bill.

As a result of the outpouring of support for the 5 of 8 rule last week, some members of the State Board are interested in finding a way to change the proposed rule to address the concerns expressed by constituents.

3) State Board of Education Activity: The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, met on November 10 & 11, 2014 at the Columbus Convention Center during the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference. Board members worked-through a long and complicated agenda that included several committee meetings and over three hours of testimony from opponents of revised Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) regarding educational service personnel (ESP). The following are some highlights of the meeting:

•State Board Approves Budget Recommendations: The Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by Kathleen McGervey, approved the FY16-17 Budget Recommendations on November 10, 2014 followed by the full Board approval of it on November 11, 2014.

The proposed budget totals $8.4 billion, and is about $5 million more than FY15, but still complies with a directive from the Office of Budget and Management to stay within the current funding levels for FY15. The budget includes proposed increases in early childhood education programs ($30 million); increases in career technical education expansion grants ($1 million which now cost about $2 million a year); increases for the new kindergarten readiness assessment and childcare licensing; increases for the report cards; and increase for EMIS personnel. The budget includes a recommendation to level fund the school psychology intern program, a targeted special education funding line item.

The budget does not include recommendations for increasing the per pupil funding level, but recommends that the General Assembly maintain the current school funding formula to provide some predictability and stability for schools/districts over the next biennium. The committee approved an additional resolution to request that the General Assembly consider increasing state funds for transportation, and the State Board adopted the same resolution during their business meeting.

•Update on Operating Standards

The Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, met on November 10, 2014 and approved a revised version of Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3301-35 Standards for School Districts and Schools Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade (referred to as Operating Standards) by a vote of 4 to 3 after much discussion and debate.

The revised Operating Standards include Rules 3301-35-01 through -10, and -15. These rules apply to traditional public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, and nonpublic nonchartered schools. The rules do not apply to community schools.

The State Board of Education is authorized under §3301.07 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) to “formulate and prescribe minimum standards” or rules to “...assure that all students are provided a general education of high quality.” The first operating standards were approved in 1983 and were known as Minimum Standards for Elementary and Secondary Schools. The standards were revised in 2000, 2006, and July 2010 in accordance with the law, which requires Ohio Administrative Code rules to be revised every five years.

The State Board’s Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, has been working since October 2013 to revise the standards to increase flexibility and local control for school districts, and update and streamline the standards. In addition to Chairman Rudduck, the committee includes Vice Chair Sarah Fowler, Board President Debe Terhar, Mike Collins, Stephanie Dodd, Tess Elshoff, Brad Lamb, and Kathleen McGervey.

During the November committee meeting members reviewed their work and discussed the next steps of the process. The State Board is scheduled to consider an Intent to Adopt Resolution in December 2014. The Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) and the Common Sense Initiative Review Committee will then review and approve the new rules. The rules will then return to the State Board in late winter/early spring, possibly March, when members will consider a Resolution to Adopt.

The committee also amended Operating Standards Rule 3301-35-03 Blended Learning, to clarify the teacher/student ratio. The amendment states that “A school that implements blended learning cannot be required to have more than one teacher for every 125 students.”

Most of the committee meeting, however, focused on a discussion of changes to Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) Educational Service Personnel, referred to as the “5 of 8 rule”, because school districts are required under the current rule to employ five out of eight full time equivalent educational service personnel for every 1000 students. The current categories of educational service personnel include nurses, counselors, social workers, library media specialists, and elementary art, music, and physical education teachers.

Last week members of the State Board of Education started to receive requests from a variety of constituents across the state and nation to slow down the process and assess the consequences for changing the rule. The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, for example, sent all State Board members a letter requesting changes in two rules, 3301-35-05(A)(3) Faculty and Staff Focus and 3301-35-01 (B)(13) Definitions, on October 21, 2014 and on November 6, 2014.

In April 2014 the committee eliminated the 5 of 8 provision in Rule 3301-35-05 (A), but the committee retained language in rule defining educational service personnel. Then on October 23, 2014 the committee added more categories of educational service personnel under Definitions, Rule 3301-35-01 (B)(13).

Committee members Kathleen McGervey, Stephanie Dodd, and Sarah Fowler, along with other State Board members who attended the committee meeting, including Ann Jacobs, Debbie Cain, and Mary Rose Oakar, requested that the committee not take action on the proposed standards and take more time to deliberate on the consequences of the proposed change.

Sarah Fowler asked if the revised provision provided both local control and protected educational service personnel?

Kathleen McGervey said that she has never received so many comments in opposition to a rule from so many different constituents, including parents, educators, students, community members, and her friends. There is a real concern that if the requirement to employ educational service personnel is not mandated, then tight budgets, and other pressures, such as the increased cost for implementing the Common Core State Standards and PARCC tests, would lead to fewer educational service personnel in schools, which would harm students who need these services and educational programs.

Supporting the rule change were Ron Rudduck, President Debe Terhar, Tess Elshoff, Cathye Flory, Brad Lamb, Dr. Mark Smith, C. Todd Jones, and Vice President Tom Gunlock. They described this rule as a way to reduce mandates and provide school districts with more flexibility and local control about employment decisions. They also said that the rule was obsolete, because the law that it once applied to had been repealed years ago, and the language was written back in the 1980s. The concern about school districts eliminating these ESP because of tight budgets led Mr. Gunlock to suggest that boards of education would make the best decisions for their students, and if the public was not happy with those decisions then they could use the ballot box to elect other board members. In response to that suggestion, Mary Rose Oakar reminded the committee that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District doesn’t have an elected board of education.

As a result of the outpouring of support for the 5 of 8 rule last week, some members of the State Board are interested in finding a way to change the proposed rule to address the concerns expressed by constituents.

Presentation on Operating Standards

President Terhar re-arranged the State Board’s meeting schedule on November 11, 2014 and delayed public participation on non agenda items for about an hour while the State Board received a presentation about the revised Operating Standards. Disappointed members of the audience, who had traveled from all over the state to attend the hearing, expressed their dismay with the agenda change, and at least two Board members requested that the original agenda be followed. President Terhar responded by saying that as Board president she has the authority to change the agenda, and did so to provide the audience with information about the revised Operating Standards before public participation. President Terhar also told an audience member, who said that she might not be able to stay for the hearing, that she was welcome to leave, causing Board members A.J. Wagner, Debbie Cain, Ann Jacobs, and Stephanie Dodd to get up and leave the room. They later returned to listen to the public participation on the rule.

A presentation to the Board about the revised Operating Standards was led by Ron Rudduck, Sarah Fowler, and Debe Terhar.

Ron Rudduck, chairmen of the Operating Standards Committee, reviewed the revision process for the Board, which included information about stakeholder feedback, involvement, and the guiding principles to increase flexibility for school district, eliminate unnecessary requirements, and streamline the standards by removing requirements that duplicate or reference the Revised Code.

Once approved by the State Board, the ODE will post the Operating Standards on a new web site, which will allow visitors to search by rule number, topics, sub-topics, and provide links to the Ohio Revised Code, related Ohio Administrative Code rules, and operational guidance, which includes best practices, resources, and research.

Sarah Fowler presented an overview about the changes in Operating Standards.

Summary of Changes

-Rule 3301-35-01 Definitions: The committee added definitions for Blended Learning, Digital Learning, and removed some language for Educational Options.

The committee also expanded the definition of Educational Service Personnel to include, in addition to school nurse, social worker, library media specialist, counselor, elementary art, music, and physical education teachers, the following: title 1 coordinator, ESL specialist, school resource officer, director of athletics, EMIS – data coordinator, technology coordinator, transportation supervisor, interpreter, audiologist, adapted PE, exceptional children program director, ECP pre-school director, reading specialist, school food service director, school nutritionist, or facilities administration.

-Rule 3301-35-02 Governance, Leadership, Organization, Administration, and Supervision and Rule 3301-35-03 Strategic Planning: The committee combined these rules and added a provision from Rule 3301-35-06, and renamed it Governance, Leadership, and Strategic Planning.

The proposed rule removes language that describes the elements of a leadership system, including student centered learning environments and a commitment to effective teaching and learning; the responsibilities of the board of education, superintendent, treasurer, and administrators to stakeholders; and details about strategic planning. These “best practices” will, however, be included on the ODE’s website as additional information, but will not have the weight of law, as they do now.

Rule 3301-35-02 also includes a part of Rule -06, regarding student health and safety policies. The proposed part (C) requires that boards of education adopt policies and procedures regarding student health and safety that comply with applicable local, Ohio, and federal laws for health, fire, and safety, and include vision and hearing screenings, referrals, follow-up and posting of emergency procedures and telephone numbers in classrooms.

-Rule 3301-35-03 Blended Learning. This is a new rule that defines and sets expectations for districts with blended learning programs.

-Rule 3301-35-04 Student and Other Stakeholder Focus: This is an important rule for advocates for arts education to understand and use, because it specifies what should be included in courses of study and requires that students have opportunities to learn course of study objectives.

The committee removed references to the “prescribed curriculum” and the “requirements for graduation”, which are already in law. The “prescribed curriculum” (§3301.07 and 3313.60 ORC), requires traditional public schools to provide for the study of the fine arts including music, and the graduation requirements specify that most students in traditional public schools need to complete a semester or the equivalent in the arts in any grades 7-12 (§3313.603 (K) ORC) in order to earn a diploma. The OAAE had requested that this language be retained in the rule.

The committee retained language that requires school districts to provide for the study of personal safety and assault prevention, foreign languages, technology, family and consumer sciences, and business education, as these are requirements prescribed by the State Board of Education, and are not in law.

The committee retained important language about the components of the courses of study, including the requirement that courses of study be adopted for each subject taught; include performance objectives; include scope and sequence; include multiple and appropriate assessments; and be reviewed and updated as needed.

The committee also retained the requirement to report student progress, and procedures for student admission, placement, withdrawal, awarding credit, promotion, and retention, and the statement, “(C) The school district or school shall provide every student with opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills required to meet local course of study objectives.”

-Rule 3301-35-05 Faculty and Staff Focus: This rule includes information about the assignment of teachers and principals, and requires that credentialed and classified staff be recruited, employed, assigned, evaluated, and provided professional development. This rule also includes references to requirements for criminal background checks; teacher/student ratios; requirements for employment of educational service personnel; and school and school district professional environment.

The committee removed any reference to the Ohio Revised Code and the ratios for educational service personnel. The language about educational service personnel was removed and replaced with some of the language that the OAAE had recommended, but not all. The revised rule now states that,“(3) Educational service personnel are credentialed staff with the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college/career readiness needs of students.”

It is important to note that educational service personnel is included under part (A) of the rule, so the complete statement would read:

“Credentialed and classified staff shall be recruited, employed, assigned, evaluated and provided professional development in accordance to state and federal law. Educational service personnel are credentialed staff with the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college/career readiness needs of students.”

The committee retained the classroom ratio of teachers to students and requirement that every school be provided the services of a principal, but removed the requirement that a full time principal be assigned to every school with fifteen or more full time equivalent classroom teachers.

-Rule 3301-35-06 Educational Programs and Supports: This rule describes the learning and instructional environment, including the length of the school day (3301-35-06(B)); the requirements for educational options; educational support services; innovative pilot programs, waivers, and exemptions; services that identify student health and safety concerns and opportunities for access to appropriate related resources; and stakeholder partnerships. Schools are allowed to apply for exemptions to this rule through several sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

The committee retained language about educational options and the requirement that students be provided sufficient time and opportunity to achieve learning objectives (very important language). In addition to preparing students for the required state assessments, the OAAE requested that the words “local” and “approved” assessments be added. The statement now reads,

“(A) Educational programs and experiences shall be designed and implemented to provide a general education of high quality for all students. Students shall be provided sufficient time and opportunity to achieve local school district performance requirements and objectives measured by local, approved, and required state achievement assessments. Instruction shall be focused on the personalized and individualized needs of each student and include intervention that is designed to meet student needs.”

The committee eliminated language about the school schedule and the length of the school day, since that language is already in law.

The committee also moved to the website language regarding Educational Support Services. This language included requirements that students have access to library media and information technology programs.

Some provisions regarding positive behavior intervention, student attendance strategies, student conduct code, and financial management strategies, are moved to other rules or places in the rule, and some parts of other rules, regarding stakeholder partnerships and district contracts for academic remediation and intervention, are added to this rule.

The committee added parts of 3301-35-09 School district contracts for academic remediation and intervention, to this rule and provisions about health and safety to Rule 3301-35-03.

-Rule 3301-35-07 Data Driven Improvement: Rules 3301-35-07 Using Data to Improve Performance Results and Rule 3301-35-11 (A-D) Procedures for Evaluation and Intervention were combined into one rule.

Rule 3301-35-07 requires school districts and schools to collect and use data to analyze the effectiveness of their operations and support services. The committee retained language about data collection and how it is used. Districts will use data to compare current performance to past performances, compare current performance to the performance of similar districts, and use data to promote innovation, improve instruction and learning, and improve results.

Rule 3301-35-11 describes the evaluation and site visit procedures for districts or schools; the comprehensive self-evaluation of the educational programs and organizational effectiveness; failure to comply with standards; revoking a school/district’s charter; investigating allegation; and granting exemptions.

-Rule 3301-35-08 Non Chartered Non Tax Supported Schools: The committee aligned this rule to changes in law, 3313.48 ORC, regarding the length of the school year and day, which is now expressed in hours. The draft rule states that -08 schools shall be open for instruction for not less than 450 hours for students in kindergarten; 910 hours for students in grades 1-6; and 1001 hours for students in grades 7-12.

-Rule 3301-35-09 Chartered Non Public Schools. The committee moved most of Rule -09 to Rule -03 about Blended Learning, and as a result renumbered this rule, which now includes the rules for chartered non public schools, which were in Rule 3301-35-12. The committee aligned this rule to changes in law, 3313.48 ORC, regarding the length of the school year and day, which is now expressed in hours.

-Rule 3301-35-10 Procedures for Beginning a New School and for Changing Location or Ownership of a Schools. This rule included a provision about site-based management, which has been removed from the rule.

Language from Rules 3301-35-11, 12, 13, and 14 have been moved to other rules or eliminated.

-3301-35-15 Standards for the Implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion. This rule was recently added to Operating Standards and was not reviewed by the committee. It will not be renumbered until the rules are revised again in five years.

Public Participation on Non Agenda Items

Seventeen individuals addressed the State Board of Education on November 11, 2014 during public participation, which lasted almost three hours. All but one of the presenters addressed the Board about the 5 of 8 rule, and, of those participants, only one, Tom Ash, representing the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio School Boards Association, and the Ohio Association of State Business Officials, opposed changes in the revised 5 of 8 rule.

Participants included parents, teachers, a college student, members of boards of education, and arts education advocates, including Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld. There were also a number of organizational representatives who testified including:

-Tom Ash, Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Damon Asbury, Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials
-Sara Williams, president of the Ohio School Counselors Association
-Dr. Cindy Zellefrow, vice president of the Ohio Association of School Nurses
-Danielle Smith, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Association of School Social Workers
-Tim Katz, executive director of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
-Randy Robart, president of the Ohio Art Education Association
-Scott DiMauro, vice president of the Ohio Education Association
-Dr. Steve Mitchell, past president of the Ohio Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance,
-Molly Shack, Ohio Student Association

Several themes were expressed during the testimony.

Tom Ash from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, along with Damon Asbury, Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, were the only witnesses who testified in support of the proposed 5 of 8 rule.

Speaking for the group, Tom Ash said that the rule enhances local control and provides school district officials with more flexibility to make decisions in the best interests of their school. Many school districts are already contracting with a variety of organizations to provide services to students through community learning centers and other programs. They said that they support educational service personnel, and understand the concern about the possible loss of these positions without the mandate, but the rule has not been enforced since FY2009, and retaining the current language, which is obsolete, would still not guarantee employment for all of the educational service personnel. Right now the rule is an unfunded mandate.

Board members President Terhar, Vice President Gunlock, C. Todd Jones, Ron Rudduck, Tess Eshoff, Dr. Mark Smith, and Brad Lamb also expressed their support for this rule, which they believe provides more local control and greater flexibility for school districts.

Board member Tess Elshoff explained that her school district, which has less than 1000 students, has struggled to comply with this rule, because it doesn’t need five full time equivalent educational service personnel, and would prefer to employ some part-time educators, but cannot and still comply with the rule.

On the other side of the argument, most of the presenters expressed the opinion that the State Board should assess the consequences for removing the ratios for the educational service personnel before enacting the new rule.

Dr. Cindy Zellefrow vice president of the Ohio Association of School Nurses, said that her organization just became aware of the rule change, and requested that the State Board slow down the process and engage more experts to determine the impact of the rule on students and schools.

One presenter said that, “The cake is not baked. Take it back and do it again.”

Several Board members, including Stephanie Dodd, Mary Rose Oakar, and Sarah Fowler, requested information about the number of counselors, nurses, and social workers currently working in the schools before making a decision about eliminating this rule.

The issue of equity was also raised by some presenters. There is the concern that children from low wealth and rural communities are most likely to be deprived of a comprehensive education program with services, if school districts are not mandated to employ educational service personnel according to the ratios.

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, an arts educator and writer from Columbus, said that the private schools will have the complete curriculum. Eliminating the 5 of 8 will just widen the gap between the wealthier and poorer communities. Schools should have flexibility, but still should meet the needs of all students, and schools can’t meet the standard for a quality education without the arts.

Scott DiMaura, vice president of the Ohio Education Association, said that his members believe that eliminating the 5 of 8 rule will “further reduce the educational opportunities available to students in Ohio”. Maintaining the Rule demonstrates that “the State Board of Education is committed to equal educational opportunity for all Ohio students.”

Randy Robart, President of the Ohio Art Education Association told the Board how the arts programs that he had in school led to his careers in the arts in business and now as a teacher. His career decisions were a direct result of having access to arts education programs in school.

Several presenters responded to the explanation that the proposed 5 of 8 rule provides school districts more local control to meet the needs of their school, students, and community, by encouraging the State Board of Education to provide more leadership and guidance regarding the components of a high quality education.

Tim Katz, representing the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, reminded the Board that the purpose of Operating Standards is “to assure that all students are provided a general education of high quality,” and to create “the best learning conditions for meeting the personalized and individualized needs of each student.”

David Becker, a school board member from Crestwood Local Schools, said that the State Board of Education should be providing a framework for what’s important for local boards of education to meet. He told the Board that in the interest of promoting local control, the Board has given up its responsibility to prioritize what is important.

Molly Shack from the Ohio Student Association asked the State Board to provide leadership and take their role more seriously in this moment of crisis in education.

Board member Ann Jacobs agreed and said that the Board was “abrogating” its responsibility. There must be a balance between local control and state requirements.

One of the other issues that came-up frequently during the testimony was the expanded list of educational service personnel, which now includes directors of transportation, food services, data, etc. More than half of the presenters mentioned that the expanded list should be removed, because many of the new positions do not fit the definition of educational service personnel as credentialed educators.

Sarah Williams, President of the Ohio School Counselors Association and Danielle Smith, the Executive Director of the National Association of State Social Workers Ohio Chapter, also said that the 5 of 8 rule is the only place in law or administrative code that refers to the employment of counselors and social workers in schools. These experts are usually members of a team of professionals that, along with nurses, provide specific services to help students and staff stay healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Kevin Dengel, an orchestra teacher, asked the State Board to consider the unintended consequences for changing the 5 of 8 Rule. He said that the change in the Rule would have a negative impact on Ohio, because it invites school districts to reduce the number of licensed teachers in the arts and replace them with classroom teachers, who are not sufficiently qualified to teach the arts.

Board member Debbie Cain agreed, and said that she is concerned about adding more responsibilities to classroom teachers. She said that the 5 of 8 rule is a baseline, a minimum, and actually schools need more school nurses, counselors, social workers, and art, music and physical education teachers.

There were also several Board members who consistently urged the State Board to find a compromise that would balance high quality educational programs and local control. Stephanie Dodd also recommended that the State Board consider asking the General Assembly to provide additional funds to support ESP in the next budget.

(This State Board of Education Activity summary was excerpted with permission from the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE) Update)

NOTE: THIS UPDATE WAS WRITTEN ON 11-21-14, CHECK THE OSPA WEBSITE AND LISTSERV FOR FUTURE UPDATES AS THE HOUSE BILLS VERSIONS MAY CHANGE AS THEY ARE DEBATED IN THE SENATE COMMITTEES, CHECK FUTURE UPDATES FOR THE FINAL VERSION OF THESE BILLS.

From: Ann Brennan

The following update provides very important information on substantive education bills on a fast track in the lame duck session as well as crucial pending State Board of Education activity on the draft revised Operating Standards. The education bills pending in the House Education Committee are expected to pass in the next few weeks, and one has been extensively amended to include many other education bills and legislative priorities- and is turning into what is commonly called a Christmas tree bill - including miscellaneous education policy items on a variety of subject into one bill.

The bills to take note of which are both summarized in detail in this update are: HB 343,( educational programs), and Sub. HB 228 (limiting hours for testing). The House Education Committee meets today at 4:30 and both bills will be considered, and HB 228 is scheduled for a vote. I will provide a more in depth legislative update on both HB 343 and Sub. HB 228 following today's House Education Committee meeting. HB 343 requires new reporting indicators for students with disabilities.

The State Board of Education meeting last week was also significant and included over 3 hours of testimony from organizations opposing the draft rule revision to the Operating Standards, 3301-35-05 (A) (3), also known as the 5 of 8 education service personnel rule. Note the following extensive and detailed summary of that proposed rule and the testimony.

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Arts on Line Education Update
Joan Platz
November 17, 2014

Special Report: Update on the State Board of Education’s work regarding Operating Standards - Educational Service Personnel

The State Board of Education’s Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, approved Rules 3301-35-01 through 10, also known as Operating Standards, at their meeting on November 10, 2014. (Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3301-35 Standards for School Districts and Schools Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade)

Tim Katz, executive director of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), was one of several individuals who attended the committee meeting and public participation on non-agenda items on November 11, 2014. The OAAE requested that Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) (also known as the 5 of 8 rule) and Rule 3301-35-01 (B)(13) Definitions, be changed, and that the original language regarding the employment of Educational Service Personnel be restored, including the original definition for Educational Service Personnel.

The State Board of Education is expected to consider a Resolution of Intent to Adopt the revised Operating Standards in December 2014 and a Resolution to Adopt Operating Standards in late winter or early spring in 2015.

As a result of the outpouring of support for the 5 of 8 rule last week, some members of the State Board are interested in finding a way to change the proposed rule to address the concerns expressed by constituents.

The OAAE will continue to work with our members, stakeholders, members of the State Board, and lawmakers on Rules 3301-35-05 and 01 to find the best way to achieve a high quality education that includes the arts for all students, and creates the best conditions for learning in our schools.

A more detailed description of the State Board of Education’s Operating Standards Committee meeting and public participation meeting is included below.

1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will hold sessions and committee hearings this week.

The Ohio House approved on November 12, 2014 SB69 (Beagle), which establishes at higher education institutions a course-and-program-sharing network, administered by the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

•The Ohio House and Senate Select Leadership for 131st General Assembly: Newly elected members of the Ohio House of Representatives met on November 12, 2014 and selected Representative Cliff Rosenberger as the next Speaker of the House and other leaders for the 131st Ohio General Assembly. The official vote for House leadership positions will take place after the members of the 131st Ohio General Assembly take the oath of office on January 5, 2015. Other leadership positions decided include Representatives Ron Amstutz, who was elected speaker pro tem; Barbara Sears, majority leader; Jim Buchy, majority floor leader; Mike Dovilla, ranking majority whip; and Dorothy Pelanda, assistant majority whip. Representative Rosenberger will replace House Speaker Bill Batchelder, who is term-limited.

In the Ohio Senate Republicans unofficially re-elected Keith Faber Senate President; Senators Chris Widener president pro tem; Tom Patton majority floor leader; and Larry Obhof majority whip on November 12, 2014.

Democrats elected to the Ohio House will meet on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 to select their leadership.

•Update on the Chartered Nonpublic School Graduation Requirement Committee: Hannah News reported last week that the Chartered Nonpublic School Graduation Requirement Committee met on November 12, 2014 and recommended that private schools in Ohio be exempt from the state’s graduation testing requirements, which include seven end of course exams. In lieu of those requirements, private schools will be required to publish the aggregate scores of their students on a standardized exam, such as the ACT or SAT.

The Chartered Nonpublic School Graduation Requirement Committee was created in HB487 (Brenner) signed into law in June 2014, to recommend graduation requirements for private schools.

The members of the committee are Senator Peggy Lehner; Representatives Gerald Stebelton, Tim Derickson, and John Patterson; State Board President Debe Terhar; Rabbi Yitz Frank, Ohio director for Agudath Israel of America;
Eliza Delman of Columbus Torah Academy; Larry Keough of the Catholic Conference of Ohio; Randy Ross of the Association of Christian Schools International; Dan Dodd of the Ohio Association of Independent Schools; and Jennifer Felker, the Ohio Department of Education’s associate superintendent for accountability and quality schools. She represents Superintendent Richard Ross on the panel.

The committee will meet again in December 2014 to discuss testing and accountability requirements for students attending private schools through Ohio’s several voucher programs.

See http://www.hannah.com/Hannah/NewsStory.aspx?id=197887&HL=True

•Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission: The Education, Public Institutions, and Local Government Committee of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC) met on November 13, 2014. The committee received testimony from Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer about his involvement in the four DeRolph school funding court decisions. He told the panel that the “thorough and efficient” clause in Article VI Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution should not be removed, but could be updated. The section requires the General Assembly to provide sufficient funds to “secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state.” Justice Pfeifer told the committee that he would oppose any proposal to remove judicial oversight of the state’s school funding method, because the decisions made by the General Assembly about K-12 education are too important to the citizens of Ohio.

The chair of the committee, Chad Readler, has recommended constitutional changes that would give the General Assembly final authority over school funding decisions.

See “Justice Pfeifer Tells Study Committee That School Funding Standards Should Remain in the Constitution”, by Dan Trevas, Court News Ohio, November 13, 2014 at
http://www.courtnewsohio.gov/bench/2014/constitutionalCommittee_111314.asp#.VGefLL4fPBE

See information about the OCMC at http://www.ocmc.ohio.gov/ocmc/committees/educ_pubinst_misc_localgovt;jsessionid=4c425690bde2773a9ef81d85d93b

2) House and Senate Education Committees Meet: The House and Senate Education Committees met last week to consider a number of continuing bills and receive sponsor testimony on several bills that have not received a “first” hearing this legislative session, which ends in December 2014.

•House Education Committee Update, November 10 & 13, 2014: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, met on November 10, 2014 and November 13, 2014.

The committee accepted an omnibus amendment for HB343 (Stebelton) Education Programs on November 13, 2014. The omnibus amendment expanded the number of education-related subjects in the “catch-all” bill, including a controversial provision to remove from statute the requirement that boards of education adopt salary schedules for teachers and other school employees (Section 3317.13 ORC.)

•On November 10, 2014 the committee received testimony on Sub. HB228 (Brenner), which now, because of the substituted version, aims to limit the amount of hours of testing in schools.

Testifying in favor of the bill were Christine Linnabary, a teacher from Gahanna; Jill Schuler, President of the Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education; Roben Frentzle, principal in the Gahanna-Jefferson School District; and John Kellogg, Superintendent of the Westerville City Schools. They told the committee that the increased amount of time that is used for student testing is decreasing instructional time and affecting student engagement. They also raised questions about the cost of additional computers for state-mandated tests.

Mr. Kellogg, who is the Superintendent of the Westerville City Schools, said that there are consequences if the State continues “down this path of imbalance” between state and local testing. The consequences include a narrowing of the curriculum; reduced instructional time; fewer opportunities to use local and student centered measures to evaluate students and provide information for teachers, students and parents; fewer resources allocated for areas outside of state assessments; increased teacher frustration; increased parent disillusionment; and increased student anxiety.

See http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/education.

•On November 13, 2014 the House Education Committee met to receive testimony on HB343 (Stebelton) Education Programs. Before the hearing started, the chair introduced an omnibus amendment for HB343, which included over 20 changes in the bill, which had undergone a complete revision only a week ago. The details of the omnibus amendment are included in “Details of Amended HB343 (Stebelton)” below.

The committee also received testimony on HB343 from Tom Ash from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Jay Smith, the Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

Tom Ash presented the testimony, and explained to the committee the provisions that the three organizations support, which include the removal of specific subject matter components for the college and career readiness assessment; the addition of an assessment in biology as an alternative to the physical science assessment; collecting data for three years to determine the graduation rates for students with disability; and some of the provisions regarding student attendance laws.

The Committee also approved a technical amendment for HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) Limits on Testing, but voted down two amendments proposed by Representative Fedor. The amendments would have provided a three-year safe harbor for student performance ratings and academic growth ratings, and additional time for teachers to enter testing data.

Again Tom Ash presented proponent testimony on HB228 from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, along with Jay Smith, the Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

He said that the No Child Left Behind Act has “only accelerated the use of testing in American education” for a myriad of purposes. The organizations support a reduction in testing for the 2015-16 school year; changes in the administration of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment; the continued use of paper-and-pencil versions of the state tests; and more.

Also testifying in support of the HB228 was Scott DiMauro, vice president of the Ohio Education Association. He supported the limits on testing, the changes to the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and online testing, and an assessment of school district online testing readiness.

He also recommended that the legislature consider a three-year suspension of high stakes decisions based on test scores.

Opposing the limits on testing in SB228 was Chad Aldis, who is vice president of Ohio Policy and Advocacy for the Fordham Institute. He reminded the committee that State Superintendent Richard Ross is surveying schools to determine the amount of testing, and will recommend changes in Ohio’s assessment system to the General Assembly by January 15, 2014. He urged the committee to wait for those recommendations.

•Senate Education Committee Update: The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, met on November 12, 2014. The committee reported out SB241 (Sawyer), which would add legislative minority appointees to the Straight A Fund Governing Board.

The committee also heard sponsor testimony on HB178 (Phillips), which would change the number of required school safety drills; HB113 (Antonio/Henne), which would allow schools to excuse from high school physical education students who participate in a school-sponsored athletic club; HB367 (Driehaus.Sprague), which would require school health curricula to include instruction in prescription opioid abuse prevention; and SB329 (Schiavoni), which would strengthen audits of charter schools; create a public records commission for charter schools; and require operators and sponsors to comply with public records laws.

See http://www.ohiosenate.gov/committee/education#

3) Details About the HB343 Amendment: HB343 (Stebelton) Education Programs became more complicated on November 13, 2014 after the committee adopted an omnibus amendment that includes a number of unrelated changes in the bill, which has already been radically changed compared to the introduced version.

The amendment, which was accepted along party lines, adds a controversial provision that repeals the minimum salary schedule for teachers in Section 3317.13 ORC. Efforts to eliminate the minimum salary schedule in Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget FY14 and FY15 were eventually stopped in the Ohio Senate in 2013.

The House Education Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the bill again on November 17, 2014, and might amend the bill to include the recommendation from the Chartered Nonpublic Schools Graduation Requirements Committee to grant chartered nonpublic schools an exemption from end of course exams.

The following is a summary of the most recent changes in HB343 based on the omnibus amendment:

•Section 3 Report Card (Section 3302.035): States that the ODE shall issue grades for each performance measure for the 2014-2015 school year not later than January 15, 2016.

•Section 3 Report Card for Students with Disabilities: States that the ODE shall issue the reports on the performance measures for a school district’s or school’s students with disabilities subgroup, using data from the 2014-2015 school year, not later than January 15, 2016, and each school year thereafter, on the first day of October.

•Section 3 Community Connectors: Amends Section 263.320 of Am. Sub. HB59 to allow the fiscal year 2015 appropriation for the Community Connectors grant to be re-appropriated in subsequent fiscal years if there are funds.

•Section 3 Safe Harbor: Requires the State Board of education to make recommendations by November 1, 2015, about whether or not to extend the safe harbor provisions that were implemented in HB487 regarding high-stakes decisions.

•Section 3 Third Grade Reading: Amends Section 9 of HB487 regarding the third-grade reading guarantee. States that the third grade reading Ohio Achievement Assessment will be administered in both the fall and spring of the current school year; that the ODE shall not use the results to determine the performance index; and that the indicator benchmark for third grade will remain at 80 percent, unchanged from the previous school year.

•Section 4 School Rankings: States that the ODE shall not rank school districts, community schools, and STEM schools for the 2014-15 school year according to the performance measures prescribed in Section 3302.21 School Rankings Performance Index, Performance Growth, and Gifted, but the Department shall rank districts and schools according to the measures for current operating expenditures per equivalent students, and expenditures for classroom instruction not later than January 15, 2016.

•Section 4 Effective and Efficient Schools. Permits the State Board of Education to adopt a resolution excusing the Department of Education from determining the top ten per cent of schools for the Governor’s Effective and Efficient Schools Recognition Program under section 3302.22 of the Revised Code for the 2014-2015 school year.

•Section 3301.0711 Administration and Grading of Assessments and 3301.0712 College and Work Ready Assessment System, and Section 3: The bill makes changes in the administration of assessments and testing requirements for high school students taking college courses.

-Changes the administration of assessments to students who entered the ninth grade prior to July 1, 2014 and requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules regarding the administration of assessments to a person who has not passed one or more of the required assessments to receive a high school diploma.

-Allows questions on the statewide assessments to be made public with the spring administration for the 2014-15 school year according to a formula.

-Clarifies for students enrolled in dual enrollment programs in 2014-15 which exams and courses need to be taken to fulfill graduation requirements, and in some cases allows final course grades for courses taken under advanced standing program in the areas of physical science or biology, American history, and American government to be used in lieu of end-of-course examinations, and makes other changes that apply to courses for which students receive transcripted credit.

•Section 3301.0712 (5)(d) College and Work Ready Assessments Advanced Placement: States that a score of two on an advanced placement examination shall be considered equivalent to a proficient level of skill. A score of three on an advanced placement examination shall be considered equivalent to an accelerated level of skill.

•Section 3302.02 Performance Indicators: Changes the time line for the State Board of Education to set proficiency percentages for the performance indicators, and states that the proficiency percentage shall not be less than sixty percent for the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 school years, and the proficiency percentage shall not be less than eighty per cent for the 2017-2018 school year and each school year thereafter.

•Section 3302.03 Grading School Districts - Literacy: Adjusts the K-3-Literacy component of the report card so that the previous year’s average, not the current year’s average, is used for the calculation, and makes other adjustments for when less than five per cent of students have scored below grade level on the kindergarten diagnostic assessment, but five per cent or more of students fail to score proficient or above on the English language arts assessment.

•Section 3313.534 Model Discipline Policies (Zero Tolerance): Requires the State Board of Education to adopt by June 30, 2015 a model disciplinary policy for violent, disruptive, and inappropriate behavior, including excessive truancy. The policy must stress preventative strategies and alternatives to suspensions and expulsions. Not later than December 31, 2015 the State Board of Education is required to adopt and distribute the model policy and materials to implement the policy to schools.

•Section 3313.672 Admission to Schools - Presenting School Records: Requires schools to admit children placed in a foster home or residential care facility regardless of whether the child presents a birth certificate upon enrollment.

•Section 3313.814 School Fund Raisers: Requires the State Board of Education to formulate and adopt guidelines regarding the sale of beverages and food during the regular school day in connection with a school-sponsored fund raiser.

•Sections 3314.06, 3319.361, Section 3 of HB5 Montessori Community Schools: Permits the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education to engage in a variety of activities regarding the operation of Montessori Schools under Ohio law.

•Section 3317.12, 3317.13, and 3317.14 School Employee Salary Schedule: The omnibus amendment makes changes in the following sections of law to eliminate the minimum teacher salary schedule and the single salary scheduled, which requires equal base pay for individuals with the same experience and training:

-Section 3313.42 Joint School District: Removes the state minimum teacher salary requirement under 3317.13, which is repealed. The amendment to this section by 129th General (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.12 Salary Schedule and List of Job Classifications for Nonteaching School Employees. The bill still requires boards of education to adopt salary schedules, but adds teachers to this section, in addition to nonteaching school employees, and removes the criteria for determining the salary schedule, such as training, experience and qualifications. The repeal of this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.13 Minimum Salary Schedule for Teachers. This section is repealed. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 3317.14 Boards to Annually Adopt Teachers’ Salary Schedule: The bill aligns this section with the changes in the other sections and the repeal of Section 3317.13. It also adds the definitions of “years of service” and “teacher” to this section. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

-Section 5126.24 Department of Development Disabilities - Schedule for Teaching and Nonteaching Employees. Aligns this section with the repeal of Section 3317.13. The amendment to this section by 129th General Assembly (SB 5) was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.

•Section 3365.04. 3365.05, and 3365.07 College Credit Plus Program: Makes changes in the College Credit Plus Program and requires boards of education to apply the same procedures for all courses taken under the college credit plus program, regardless of whether a similar course is offered at the school; requires institutions of higher education to provide equal access to qualified College Credit Plus students regardless of grade level; and adds that schools must provide information to all participants about the no-cost options available.

4) This Week at the Statehouse

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on November 17, 2014 at 10:00 AM in Hearing Room 121. The committee will receive testimony on HB303 (Hayes) Student Religious Expressions; HB304 (Hayes) Public School Facilities Access; Sub. HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) Limit Hours of Testing; and Sub. HB343 (Stebelton) Educational Programs - Non High School Graduates/Graduation Assessments. A vote is possible on HB228.

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on November 18, 2014 at 4:00 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The committee will consider the following bills:

-SB266 (Skindell/Lehner) Public Schools-Behavior Intervention: Regarding the use of seclusion and physical restraint on students and positive behavior intervention supports in public schools.
-HB113 (Antonio) High School Physical Education: Specifies that school districts and chartered nonpublic schools may excuse from high school physical education classes students who participate in a school-sponsored athletic club.
-HB178 (Phillips) School Safety Drills: Amends laws regarding the requirements for school safety drills.
-HB367 (Driehaus/Sprague) Opioid Abuse Prevention Instruction - Schools: Requires the health curriculum of each school district to include instruction in prescription opioid abuse prevention.
-SB329 (Schiavoni) Community Schools - Auditing Requirements: Regarding audit and record-keeping requirements for community school sponsors and operators.
-SB241 (Sawyer) Straight A Program Governing Board: Modifies the membership of the Straight A Program Governing Board.

5) State Board of Education Reviews Operating Standards: The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, met on November 10 & 11, 2014 at the Columbus Convention Center during the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference. Board members worked-through a long and complicated agenda that included several committee meetings and over three hours of testimony from opponents of revised Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) regarding educational service personnel (ESP). The following are some highlights of the meeting:

•State Board Approves Budget Recommendations: The Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by Kathleen McGervey, approved the FY16-17 Budget Recommendations on November 10, 2014 followed by the full Board approval of it on November 11, 2014.

The proposed budget totals $8.4 billion, and is about $5 million more than FY15, but still complies with a directive from the Office of Budget and Management to stay within the current funding levels for FY15. The budget includes proposed increases in early childhood education programs ($30 million); increases in career technical education expansion grants ($1 million which now cost about $2 million a year); increases for the new kindergarten readiness assessment and childcare licensing; increases for the report cards; and increase for EMIS personnel.

The budget does not include recommendations for increasing the per pupil funding level, but recommends that the General Assembly maintain the current school funding formula to provide some predictability and stability for schools/districts over the next biennium. The committee approved an additional resolution to request that the General Assembly consider increasing state funds for transportation, and the State Board adopted the same resolution during their business meeting.

•Update on Operating Standards

The Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, met on November 10, 2014 and approved a revised version of Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3301-35 Standards for School Districts and Schools Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade (referred to as Operating Standards) by a vote of 4 to 3 after much discussion and debate.

The revised Operating Standards include Rules 3301-35-01 through -10, and -15. These rules apply to traditional public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, and nonpublic nonchartered schools. The rules do not apply to community schools.

The State Board of Education is authorized under §3301.07 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) to “formulate and prescribe minimum standards” or rules to “...assure that all students are provided a general education of high quality.” The first operating standards were approved in 1983 and were known as Minimum Standards for Elementary and Secondary Schools. The standards were revised in 2000, 2006, and July 2010 in accordance with the law, which requires Ohio Administrative Code rules to be revised every five years.

The State Board’s Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, has been working since October 2013 to revise the standards to increase flexibility and local control for school districts, and update and streamline the standards. In addition to Chairman Rudduck, the committee includes Vice Chair Sarah Fowler, Board President Debe Terhar, Mike Collins, Stephanie Dodd, Tess Elshoff, Brad Lamb, and Kathleen McGervey.

During the November committee meeting members reviewed their work and discussed the next steps of the process. The State Board is scheduled to consider an Intent to Adopt Resolution in December 2014. The Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) and the Common Sense Initiative Review Committee will then review and approve the new rules. The rules will then return to the State Board in late winter/early spring, possibly March, when members will consider a Resolution to Adopt.

The committee also amended Operating Standards Rule 3301-35-03 Blended Learning, to clarify the teacher/student ratio. The amendment states that “A school that implements blended learning cannot be required to have more than one teacher for every 125 students.”

Most of the committee meeting, however, focused on a discussion of changes to Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) Educational Service Personnel, referred to as the “5 of 8 rule”, because school districts are required under the current rule to employ five out of eight full time equivalent educational service personnel for every 1000 students. The current categories of educational service personnel include nurses, counselors, social workers, library media specialists, and elementary art, music, and physical education teachers.

Last week members of the State Board of Education started to receive requests from a variety of constituents across the state and nation to slow down the process and assess the consequences for changing the rule. The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, for example, sent all State Board members a letter requesting changes in two rules, 3301-35-05(A)(3) Faculty and Staff Focus and 3301-35-01 (B)(13) Definitions, on October 21, 2014 and on November 6, 2014.

In April 2014 the committee eliminated the 5 of 8 provision in Rule 3301-35-05 (A), but the committee retained language in rule defining educational service personnel. Then on October 23, 2014 the committee added more categories of educational service personnel under Definitions, Rule 3301-35-01 (B)(13).

Committee members Kathleen McGervey, Stephanie Dodd, and Sarah Fowler, along with other State Board members who attended the committee meeting, including Ann Jacobs, Debbie Cain, and Mary Rose Oakar, requested that the committee not take action on the proposed standards and take more time to deliberate on the consequences of the proposed change.

Sarah Fowler asked if the revised provision provided both local control and protected educational service personnel?

Kathleen McGervey said that she has never received so many comments in opposition to a rule from so many different constituents, including parents, educators, students, community members, and her friends. There is a real concern that if the requirement to employ educational service personnel is not mandated, then tight budgets, and other pressures, such as the increased cost for implementing the Common Core State Standards and PARCC tests, would lead to fewer educational service personnel in schools, which would harm students who need these services and educational programs.

Supporting the rule change were Ron Rudduck, President Debe Terhar, Tess Elshoff, Cathye Flory, Brad Lamb, Dr. Mark Smith, C. Todd Jones, and Vice President Tom Gunlock. They described this rule as a way to reduce mandates and provide school districts with more flexibility and local control about employment decisions. They also said that the rule was obsolete, because the law that it once applied to had been repealed years ago, and the language was written back in the 1980s. The concern about school districts eliminating these ESP because of tight budgets led Mr. Gunlock to suggest that boards of education would make the best decisions for their students, and if the public was not happy with those decisions then they could use the ballot box to elect other board members. In response to that suggestion, Mary Rose Oakar reminded the committee that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District doesn’t have an elected board of education.

Presentation on Operating Standards

President Terhar re-arranged the State Board’s meeting schedule on November 11, 2014 and delayed public participation on non agenda items for about an hour while the State Board received a presentation about the revised Operating Standards. Disappointed members of the audience, who had traveled from all over the state to attend the hearing, expressed their dismay with the agenda change, and at least two Board members requested that the original agenda be followed. President Terhar responded by saying that as Board president she has the authority to change the agenda, and did so to provide the audience with information about the revised Operating Standards before public participation. President Terhar also told an audience member, who said that she might not be able to stay for the hearing, that she was welcome to leave, causing Board members A.J. Wagner, Debbie Cain, Ann Jacobs, and Stephanie Dodd to get up and leave the room. They later returned to listen to the public participation on the rule.

A presentation to the Board about the revised Operating Standards was led by Ron Rudduck, Sarah Fowler, and Debe Terhar.

Ron Rudduck, chairmen of the Operating Standards Committee, reviewed the revision process for the Board, which included information about stakeholder feedback, involvement, and the guiding principles to increase flexibility for school district, eliminate unnecessary requirements, and streamline the standards by removing requirements that duplicate or reference the Revised Code.

Once approved by the State Board, the ODE will post the Operating Standards on a new web site, which will allow visitors to search by rule number, topics, sub-topics, and provide links to the Ohio Revised Code, related Ohio Administrative Code rules, and operational guidance, which includes best practices, resources, and research.

Sarah Fowler presented an overview about the changes in Operating Standards.

Summary of Changes

-Rule 3301-35-01 Definitions: The committee added definitions for Blended Learning, Digital Learning, and removed some language for Educational Options.

The committee also expanded the definition of Educational Service Personnel to include, in addition to school nurse, social worker, library media specialist, counselor, elementary art, music, and physical education teachers, the following: title 1 coordinator, ESL specialist, school resource officer, director of athletics, EMIS – data coordinator, technology coordinator, transportation supervisor, interpreter, audiologist, adapted PE, exceptional children program director, ECP pre-school director, reading specialist, school food service director, school nutritionist, or facilities administration.

-Rule 3301-35-02 Governance, Leadership, Organization, Administration, and Supervision and Rule 3301-35-03 Strategic Planning: The committee combined these rules and added a provision from Rule 3301-35-06, and renamed it Governance, Leadership, and Strategic Planning.

The proposed rule removes language that describes the elements of a leadership system, including student centered learning environments and a commitment to effective teaching and learning; the responsibilities of the board of education, superintendent, treasurer, and administrators to stakeholders; and details about strategic planning. These “best practices” will, however, be included on the ODE’s website as additional information, but will not have the weight of law, as they do now.

Rule 3301-35-02 also includes a part of Rule -06, regarding student health and safety policies. The proposed part (C) requires that boards of education adopt policies and procedures regarding student health and safety that comply with applicable local, Ohio, and federal laws for health, fire, and safety, and include vision and hearing screenings, referrals, follow-up and posting of emergency procedures and telephone numbers in classrooms.

-Rule 3301-35-03 Blended Learning. This is a new rule that defines and sets expectations for districts with blended learning programs.

-Rule 3301-35-04 Student and Other Stakeholder Focus: This is an important rule for advocates for arts education to understand and use, because it specifies what should be included in courses of study and requires that students have opportunities to learn course of study objectives.

The committee removed references to the “prescribed curriculum” and the “requirements for graduation”, which are already in law. The “prescribed curriculum” (§3301.07 and 3313.60 ORC), requires traditional public schools to provide for the study of the fine arts including music, and the graduation requirements specify that most students in traditional public schools need to complete a semester or the equivalent in the arts in any grades 7-12 (§3313.603 (K) ORC) in order to earn a diploma. The OAAE had requested that this language be retained in the rule.

The committee retained language that requires school districts to provide for the study of personal safety and assault prevention, foreign languages, technology, family and consumer sciences, and business education, as these are requirements prescribed by the State Board of Education, and are not in law.

The committee retained important language about the components of the courses of study, including the requirement that courses of study be adopted for each subject taught; include performance objectives; include scope and sequence; include multiple and appropriate assessments; and be reviewed and updated as needed.

The committee also retained the requirement to report student progress, and procedures for student admission, placement, withdrawal, awarding credit, promotion, and retention, and the statement, “(C) The school district or school shall provide every student with opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills required to meet local course of study objectives.”

-Rule 3301-35-05 Faculty and Staff Focus: This rule includes information about the assignment of teachers and principals, and requires that credentialed and classified staff be recruited, employed, assigned, evaluated, and provided professional development. This rule also includes references to requirements for criminal background checks; teacher/student ratios; requirements for employment of educational service personnel; and school and school district professional environment.

The committee removed any reference to the Ohio Revised Code and the ratios for educational service personnel. The language about educational service personnel was removed and replaced with some of the language that the OAAE had recommended, but not all. The revised rule now states that,“(3) Educational service personnel are credentialed staff with the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college/career readiness needs of students.”

It is important to note that educational service personnel is included under part (A) of the rule, so the complete statement would read:

“Credentialed and classified staff shall be recruited, employed, assigned, evaluated and provided professional development in accordance to state and federal law. Educational service personnel are credentialed staff with the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college/career readiness needs of students.”

The committee retained the classroom ratio of teachers to students and requirement that every school be provided the services of a principal, but removed the requirement that a full time principal be assigned to every school with fifteen or more full time equivalent classroom teachers.

-Rule 3301-35-06 Educational Programs and Supports: This rule describes the learning and instructional environment, including the length of the school day (3301-35-06(B)); the requirements for educational options; educational support services; innovative pilot programs, waivers, and exemptions; services that identify student health and safety concerns and opportunities for access to appropriate related resources; and stakeholder partnerships. Schools are allowed to apply for exemptions to this rule through several sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

The committee retained language about educational options and the requirement that students be provided sufficient time and opportunity to achieve learning objectives (very important language). In addition to preparing students for the required state assessments, the OAAE requested that the words “local” and “approved” assessments be added. The statement now reads,

“(A) Educational programs and experiences shall be designed and implemented to provide a general education of high quality for all students. Students shall be provided sufficient time and opportunity to achieve local school district performance requirements and objectives measured by local, approved, and required state achievement assessments. Instruction shall be focused on the personalized and individualized needs of each student and include intervention that is designed to meet student needs.”

The committee eliminated language about the school schedule and the length of the school day, since that language is already in law.

The committee also moved to the website language regarding Educational Support Services. This language included requirements that students have access to library media and information technology programs.

Some provisions regarding positive behavior intervention, student attendance strategies, student conduct code, and financial management strategies, are moved to other rules or places in the rule, and some parts of other rules, regarding stakeholder partnerships and district contracts for academic remediation and intervention, are added to this rule.

The committee added parts of 3301-35-09 School district contracts for academic remediation and intervention, to this rule and provisions about health and safety to Rule 3301-35-03.

-Rule 3301-35-07 Data Driven Improvement: Rules 3301-35-07 Using Data to Improve Performance Results and Rule 3301-35-11 (A-D) Procedures for Evaluation and Intervention were combined into one rule.

Rule 3301-35-07 requires school districts and schools to collect and use data to analyze the effectiveness of their operations and support services. The committee retained language about data collection and how it is used. Districts will use data to compare current performance to past performances, compare current performance to the performance of similar districts, and use data to promote innovation, improve instruction and learning, and improve results.

Rule 3301-35-11 describes the evaluation and site visit procedures for districts or schools; the comprehensive self-evaluation of the educational programs and organizational effectiveness; failure to comply with standards; revoking a school/district’s charter; investigating allegation; and granting exemptions.

-Rule 3301-35-08 Non Chartered Non Tax Supported Schools: The committee aligned this rule to changes in law, 3313.48 ORC, regarding the length of the school year and day, which is now expressed in hours. The draft rule states that -08 schools shall be open for instruction for not less than 450 hours for students in kindergarten; 910 hours for students in grades 1-6; and 1001 hours for students in grades 7-12.

-Rule 3301-35-09 Chartered Non Public Schools. The committee moved most of Rule -09 to Rule -03 about Blended Learning, and as a result renumbered this rule, which now includes the rules for chartered non public schools, which were in Rule 3301-35-12. The committee aligned this rule to changes in law, 3313.48 ORC, regarding the length of the school year and day, which is now expressed in hours.

-Rule 3301-35-10 Procedures for Beginning a New School and for Changing Location or Ownership of a Schools. This rule included a provision about site-based management, which has been removed from the rule.

Language from Rules 3301-35-11, 12, 13, and 14 have been moved to other rules or eliminated.

-3301-35-15 Standards for the Implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion. This rule was recently added to Operating Standards and was not reviewed by the committee. It will not be renumbered until the rules are revised again in five years.

Public Participation on Non Agenda Items

Seventeen individuals addressed the State Board of Education on November 11, 2014 during public participation, which lasted almost three hours. All but one of the presenters addressed the Board about the 5 of 8 rule, and, of those participants, only one, Tom Ash, representing the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio School Boards Association, and the Ohio Association of State Business Officials, opposed changes in the revised 5 of 8 rule.

Participants included parents, teachers, a college student, members of boards of education, and arts education advocates, including Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld. There were also a number of organizational representatives who testified including:

-Tom Ash, Buckeye Association of School Administrators, Damon Asbury, Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials
-Sara Williams, president of the Ohio School Counselors Association
-Dr. Cindy Zellefrow, vice president of the Ohio Association of School Nurses
-Danielle Smith, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Association of School Social Workers
-Tim Katz, executive director of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
-Randy Robart, president of the Ohio Art Education Association
-Scott DiMauro, vice president of the Ohio Education Association
-Dr. Steve Mitchell, past president of the Ohio Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance,
-Molly Shack, Ohio Student Association

Several themes were expressed during the testimony.

Tom Ash from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, along with Damon Asbury, Ohio School Boards Association, and Barbara Shaner, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, were the only witnesses who testified in support of the proposed 5 of 8 rule.

Speaking for the group, Tom Ash said that the rule enhances local control and provides school district officials with more flexibility to make decisions in the best interests of their school. Many school districts are already contracting with a variety of organizations to provide services to students through community learning centers and other programs. They said that they support educational service personnel, and understand the concern about the possible loss of these positions without the mandate, but the rule has not been enforced since FY2009, and retaining the current language, which is obsolete, would still not guarantee employment for all of the educational service personnel. Right now the rule is an unfunded mandate.

Board members President Terhar, Vice President Gunlock, C. Todd Jones, Ron Rudduck, Tess Eshoff, Dr. Mark Smith, and Brad Lamb also expressed their support for this rule, which they believe provides more local control and greater flexibility for school districts.

Board member Tess Elshoff explained that her school district, which has less than 1000 students, has struggled to comply with this rule, because it doesn’t need five full time equivalent educational service personnel, and would prefer to employ some part-time educators, but cannot and still comply with the rule.

On the other side of the argument, most of the presenters expressed the opinion that the State Board should assess the consequences for removing the ratios for the educational service personnel before enacting the new rule.

Dr. Cindy Zellefrow vice president of the Ohio Association of School Nurses, said that her organization just became aware of the rule change, and requested that the State Board slow down the process and engage more experts to determine the impact of the rule on students and schools.

One presenter said that, “The cake is not baked. Take it back and do it again.”

Several Board members, including Stephanie Dodd, Mary Rose Oakar, and Sarah Fowler, requested information about the number of counselors, nurses, and social workers currently working in the schools before making a decision about eliminating this rule.

The issue of equity was also raised by some presenters. There is the concern that children from low wealth and rural communities are most likely to be deprived of a comprehensive education program with services, if school districts are not mandated to employ educational service personnel according to the ratios.

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, an arts educator and writer from Columbus, said that the private schools will have the complete curriculum. Eliminating the 5 of 8 will just widen the gap between the wealthier and poorer communities. Schools should have flexibility, but still should meet the needs of all students, and schools can’t meet the standard for a quality education without the arts.

Scott DiMaura, vice president of the Ohio Education Association, said that his members believe that eliminating the 5 of 8 rule will “further reduce the educational opportunities available to students in Ohio”. Maintaining the Rule demonstrates that “the State Board of Education is committed to equal educational opportunity for all Ohio students.”

Randy Robart, President of the Ohio Art Education Association told the Board how the arts programs that he had in school led to his careers in the arts in business and now as a teacher. His career decisions were a direct result of having access to arts education programs in school.

Several presenters responded to the explanation that the proposed 5 of 8 rule provides school districts more local control to meet the needs of their school, students, and community, by encouraging the State Board of Education to provide more leadership and guidance regarding the components of a high quality education.

Tim Katz, representing the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, reminded the Board that the purpose of Operating Standards is “to assure that all students are provided a general education of high quality,” and to create “the best learning conditions for meeting the personalized and individualized needs of each student.”

David Becker, a school board member from Crestwood Local Schools, said that the State Board of Education should be providing a framework for what’s important for local boards of education to meet. He told the Board that in the interest of promoting local control, the Board has given up its responsibility to prioritize what is important.

Molly Shack from the Ohio Student Association asked the State Board to provide leadership and take their role more seriously in this moment of crisis in education.

Board member Ann Jacobs agreed and said that the Board was “abrogating” its responsibility. There must be a balance between local control and state requirements.

One of the other issues that came-up frequently during the testimony was the expanded list of educational service personnel, which now includes directors of transportation, food services, data, etc. More than half of the presenters mentioned that the expanded list should be removed, because many of the new positions do not fit the definition of educational service personnel as credentialed educators.

Sarah Williams, President of the Ohio School Counselors Association and Danielle Smith, the Executive Director of the National Association of State Social Workers Ohio Chapter, also said that the 5 of 8 rule is the only place in law or administrative code that refers to the employment of counselors and social workers in schools. These experts are usually members of a team of professionals that, along with nurses, provide specific services to help students and staff stay healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Kevin Dengel, an orchestra teacher, asked the State Board to consider the unintended consequences for changing the 5 of 8 Rule. He said that the change in the Rule would have a negative impact on Ohio, because it invites school districts to reduce the number of licensed teachers in the arts and replace them with classroom teachers, who are not sufficiently qualified to teach the arts.

Board member Debbie Cain agreed, and said that she is concerned about adding more responsibilities to classroom teachers. She said that the 5 of 8 rule is a baseline, a minimum, and actually schools need more school nurses, counselors, social workers, and art, music and physical education teachers.

There were also several Board members who consistently urged the State Board to find a compromise that would balance high quality educational programs and local control. Stephanie Dodd also recommended that the State Board consider asking the General Assembly to provide additional funds to support ESP in the next budget.

State Board Business Meeting

Following public participation the Board continued its business meeting and took action on the following resolutions:

#4 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rule 3301-27-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Qualifications to Direct, Supervise, or Coach a Pupil Activity Program.
#5 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rule 3301-51-20 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Admission, Transfer, Suspension, and Expulsion Standards for the Ohio State Schools for the Blind and the Deaf.
#7 Approved a Resolution of Intent to consider confirmation of the Columbus Grove Local School District’s determination of impractical transportation of certain students attending a private school.
#8 Approved a resolution to oppose the proposed transfer of school district territory from the River View Local School District, Coshocton County, to the North Fork Local School District, Licking County.
#23 Approved a Resolution to Amend Rules 3301-24-03 and 3301-24-18 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Teacher Education Programs and Resident Educator License.
#24 Approved a Resolution to Adopt the State Board of Education’s 2016-2017 Biennial Budget Request. Kathleen McGervey voted “yes” with reservations, but Debbie Cain voted “no”. The resolution was approved by a vote of 15 to 1.
#25 Approved an Emergency Resolution to ask for the General Assembly to Increase Funding for Transportation.

Stephanie Dodd sought an amendment to #25, increase state funds for transportation, to also ask that the General Assembly fund educational service personnel, but the amendment failed by a vote of 9 to 7.

Voting in favor of the amendment were Stephanie Dodd, Ann Jacobs, Mary Rose Oakar, A.J. Wagner, Debbie Cain, Tess Elshoff, and Cathye Flory.

Voting against the amendment were State Board members C. Todd Jones, Brad Lamb, Kathleen McGervey, Ron Rudduck, Dr. Mark Smith, Melanie Bolender, Sarah Fowler, Tom Gunlock, Debe Terhar.

Three members were not in attendance, Michael Collins, Rebecca-Vazquez-Skillings, and Joe Farmer.

Sarah Fowler said that for the record she voted “no” because the definition was too broad.

The original resolution to increase state support for transportation was approved by a vote of 16 to 0.

See http://education.ohio.gov/State-Board/State-Board-Meetings/State-Board-Meetings-for-2013-1

6) Bills Introduced

•HB661 (Stebelton) General Assembly-Executive Officer Cost of Living: To reinstate the cost of living adjustment for members of the General Assembly and statewide elected executive officers; to increase the compensation of justices and judges of the courts, county elected officials, township trustees and fiscal officers, and board of elections members.

•HB666 (Stinziano) Artist Income Tax Deduction: Authorizes an income tax deduction for income derived from the sale of art created or composed by Ohio artists and performances of that art sold or performed in designated arts and entertainment districts.

•HJR11 (Huffman) Congressional Redistricting: Establishes a constitutional process for congressional redistricting.

•HJR12 (Huffman) General Assembly Redistricting: Revises the redistricting process for General Assembly districts.

FYI ARTS!

1) Can the Arts Help People Understand Science?: Adam Frank discusses the role that the arts play in helping people understand science in a story that National Public Radio (NPR) aired on November 9, 2014.

The University of Michigan’s University Music Society recently hosted a program to discuss the quantum mechanical ideas behind sound artist Ryoji Ikeda’s composition Superposition.

According to the author, the composition Superposition was inspired by a property in quantum physics called superposition, in which “two possible states of a system overlap at the same time.” For example, think of an atom spinning simultaneously in one direction and its opposite direction.

Experiencing Superposition led physicist Anthony Aguirre, from the University of California at Santa Cruz, to agree that the exploration of image and sound in Superposition opened up new perspectives on quantum science for him, because he actually experienced it.

The author writes, “As the concert progressed, I felt like someone had opened a door in the side of my head. I’ve been thinking about quantum mechanics and what it means for a long time. But through Ikeda’s work, I wasn’t thinking about it, I was riding the waves of its intention. Through the force of the images (often coming faster than could be fully perceived) and the immersive sound (deep bass or chirping high frequencies), I got my first sense of something entirely new. It was not about what the quantum world means but, perhaps, what it feels like.”

The artistic exploration of science does more than just interpret a scientific idea, the author writes, because the unique powers of artist expression enables others to gain new experiences and perspectives.

See “Can Dancing Teach You Quantum Physics?” by Adam Frank, NPR, November 9, 2014 at
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/11/09/361374963/can-dancing-teach-you-quantum-physics

FROM: Ann Brennan 

NOTE : THE SBE is scheduled to approve Rules 3301-35-01 the revised Operating Standards, which includes eliminating the educational service personnel ratio ( 5 of 8 requirement) and also replaces with a new ESP definition. See below.\

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Arts on Line Education Update
Joan Platz
November 10, 2014

UPDATE ON THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S WORK REGARDING OPERATING STANDARDS - EDUCATIONAL SERVICE PERSONNEL
NO ACTION REQUESTED AT THIS TIME

The State Board of Education’s Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, is expected to approve Rules 3301-35-01 through 15, also known as Operating Standards, at their meeting on November 10, 2014 starting at 1:45 PM.

The State Board of Education will receive a presentation about the proposed changes in Operating Standards on November 11, 2014, and consider a Resolution of Intent to Adopt the revised Operating Standards in December 2014. The final adoption of Operating Standards is scheduled for late winter or early spring in 2015.

The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education has requested that Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) be changed, and the original language regarding Educational Service Personnel be restored.

The OAAE continues to work through the Operating Standards Committee process to secure our requested changes in the Rule.

OAAE message to the State Board of Education on November 6, 2014:

The OAAE recommends that the State Board of Education restore the original OAC Rule 3301-35-05 (A) (3) Faculty and Staff Focus, with some changes, and restore the current definition of Educational Service Personnel in Rule OAC 3301-35-01 (B) (13).

RATIONALE

-Educational service personnel are educators with special expertise to support student learning, achievement, health, mental health, welfare, and career and college attainment. These educators often address the barriers that prevent students from succeeding, and help students achieve their personal education goals. Over the past year the Urban and Rural Renewal Committee has been discussing the reasons why students struggle in school and eventually drop out. This provision supports the educators who work in and beyond the classroom to keep students engaged and on track. This provision also supports the purpose of Operating Standards, “to assure that all students are provided a general education of high quality” and to create “the best learning conditions for meeting the personalized and individualized needs of each student.”

-The revised Rule 3301-35-05 (A) (3) does not provide an adequate incentive for school districts to employ educational service personnel without the ratios and the 5 of 8 categories, which should be restored. The original Rule was aligned to the school funding formula. School districts received additional funds for employing educational service personnel, and lost funds for not employing educational service personnel. The funding provision was removed years ago, but the best practice that it supports stayed in Operating Standards along with the ratios and the 5 of 8 categories to guide schools and districts.

-The OAAE recommends some changes in Rule 3301-35-05 to eliminate outdated references to laws, and also recommends that the number of educational service personnel employed by a school district and school be reported in each category on the local report card, so that the availability of educational service personnel in the schools is made public, and schools and districts are acknowledged for their efforts to provide a comprehensive education program. The data collected could also be used to update the ratios.

-The revised definition of educational service personnel in Rule 3301-35-01 (B) (13) now includes positions that are important, but might not require the employment of licensed teachers. The original purpose of the Rule 3301-35-05, to encourage school districts to employ educators with expertise to provide a comprehensive education program and services to support student learning, is weakened when so many other positions are included in the definition, such as transportation supervisor, resource officer, data coordinator, etc. The original definition should be restored.

BACKGROUND

-The OAAE believes that the purpose of Operating Standards is to ensure that all students have access to an “education of high quality” and to establish the best “conditions for learning” the arts and all subjects in Ohio’s schools. (These words are from Rule 3301-35-01 - Definitions.)

Operating Standards help to clarify, elaborate, and strengthen the law requiring that boards of education provide for the study of the fine arts and music (ORC 3313.60 (7)), and provide a context for high quality arts education programs in Ohio’s schools. Unlike other states, Ohio does not have separate rules, guidelines, or a framework to define high quality programs in the arts. Operating Standards provides that framework and ensure that students have access to the study of the arts taught by a credentialed teacher; sequential learning in the arts based on courses of study in the arts; sufficient opportunity for students to achieve locally developed learning and performance objectives in the arts; assessment in the arts; and access to intervention.

-The OAAE is pleased that the components that support the conditions for learning in the arts are still included in the revised version Operating Standards.

-Over the past 15 or so months, the OAAE has provided recommendations and comments to the Operating Standards Committee, and the committee has responded by accepting some of our recommendations. For example, the committee added to Rule 3301-35-06 (A) words that expanded the type of assessments to include “locally approved” assessments, rather than just state assessment.

-The OAAE continues to work with the committee on Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3) Faculty and Staff Focus — Educational Service Personnel (ESP). Educational Service Personnel are credentialed educators with additional knowledge and skills to provide a complete curriculum and meet the educational, health, mental health, and career/college attainment needs of students. The original Rule requires a minimum of five full time equivalent educational service personnel be employed district-wide for each one thousand students in the regular student population. Educational service personnel shall be assigned to five of the eight following areas: counselor, library media specialist, school nurse, visiting teacher, social worker, and elementary art, music, and physical education.

-The OAAE believes that this Rule supports best practices and has requested that the original language be restored and the original definition of ESP be restored in Rule 3301-35-01 (B) (13). The current revision removes the ratios and categories, and also expands the definition of Educational Service Personnel to positions that might not require a licensed educator. The OAAE believes that the revised language does not adequately support the intent of the Rule to encourage schools/districts to employ ESP. In addition, the OAAE has requested that ESP be reported on the local report card, as a way to acknowledge schools/districts that provide comprehensive curriculum and services for students.

-Unfortunately this Rule, while still supporting best practices, is an orphan rule, meaning that the law that authorized this Rule has been repealed. One of the goals of the Operating Standards Committee has been to eliminate these orphan rules in the standards. So, what the OAAE has been trying to do is establish the Rule as a best practice for a positive condition for learning. The Committee has agreed to keep ESP in Faculty and Staff Focus, rather than eliminating ESP all together, but in the revised standards there are no requirement (ratios and categories) for employing ESP in a school/district.

-The OAAE will continue to work through the Operating Standards Committee process and with the full State Board of Education on Rule 3301-35-05 (A)(3).

-NO ACTION IS REQUESTED AT THIS TIME, BUT THE OAAE REQUESTS THAT ARTS EDUCATION ADVOCATES RESPOND TO ACTION ALERTS WHEN REQUESTED.

1) Ohio News

•130th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will resume sessions and hearings this week, as lawmakers return to the Statehouse for the final weeks of the 130th General Assembly.

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on November 10, 2014 at 1:30 PM in Hearing Room 121. The committee will receive testimony on HB303 (Hayes) Student Religious Expressions; HB304 (Hayes) Public School Facilities Access; Sub. HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) Limit Hours of Testing; and Sub. HB343 (Stebelton) Educational Programs - Non High School Graduates/Graduation Assessments.

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on November 12, 2014 at 4:00 PM in the North Hearing Room. The committee will consider the following bills:
-HB178 (Phillips) School Safety Drills: Amends laws regarding the requirements for school safety drills.
-HB113 (Antonio) High School Physical Education: Specifies that school districts and chartered nonpublic schools may excuse from high school physical education classes students who participate in a school-sponsored athletic club.
-HB367 (Driehaus/Sprague) Opioid Abuse Prevention Instruction - Schools: Requires the health curriculum of each school district to include instruction in prescription opioid abuse prevention.
-SB329 (Schiavoni) Community Schools - Auditing Requirements: Regarding audit and record-keeping requirements for community school sponsors and operators.
-SB241 (Sawyer) Straight A Program Governing Board: Modifies the membership of the Straight A Program Governing Board.

•House Committee Votes to Repeal Common Core Standards: The House Rules and Reference Committee, chaired by Representative Matt Huffman, approved on November 5, 2014 HB597 (Thompson/Huffman) Repeal/Replace the Common Core State Standards by a vote of 7 to 2, with all Republicans voting for the bill and two Democrats voting no. The bill would require the State Board of Education to develop new standards in English/language arts, math, science, and social studies by June 13, 2017, to be implemented in the 2018-19 school year, and prohibits the implementation of the Common Core State Standards or Ohio’s participation in the PARCC assessments. Until the new standards are developed, the State Board of Education is required to implement Massachusetts’ state standards as closely as possible.

Although the bill has the support of many House members, including House Speaker William Batchelder, the bill’s fate is uncertain in the full House, where it needs 50 votes, and in the Ohio Senate, where Senator Lehner, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, opposes the bill. Governor Kasich has also stated in the past that he supports the Common Core State Standards.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the bill is opposed by all major education organizations, university professors, and business groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, and opposed by the Republican chair of the House Education Committee, Representative Gerald Stebelton.

The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials released a joint statement on November 5, 2014 saying that they are disappointed with the vote, because so many school officials and teachers had contacted committee members about their opposition to the bill.

See the OSBA web site at http://ealerts.ohioschoolboards.org/msgs/2243.html

The bill is supported by parents, educators and policy-makers, who oppose the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for a variety of reasons. In testimony before the House Rules and Reference Committee opponents raised the following concerns: there is no evidence that CCSS are better than previous standards; CCSS were not developed by classroom teachers and not properly vetted; CCSS are leading to a national curriculum; school districts and states are losing autonomy; CCSS are not developmentally appropriate; CCSS are not appropriate for students with special needs; there is too much testing and involvement of testing companies and international corporations in the implementation of the standards; students are becoming stressed-out about the increased emphasis on testing; schools do not have the capacity to implement online testing aligned to the standards; etc.

See: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/rules-and-reference

The Common Core State Standards in English language arts and math were initiated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and were developed by a writing team that included members from Student Achievement Partners, Achieve, ACT, and the College Board. The architect of the CCSS, David Coleman, was the founder of Student Achievement Partners along with Susan Pimentel and Jason Zimba, and is now the president of the College Board. Development of the standards was funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Ohio State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 and eventually joined the Partnership for Assessment of College and Career Readiness (PARCC) to develop and implement standardized assessments based on the CCSS.

See the members of the CCSS writing team at http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2009/col2-content/main-content-list/title_common-core-state-standards-development-work-group-and-feedback-group-announced.html

•House Education Committee Addresses Over-Testing: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, accepted a substitute bill for HB228 (Brenner/Gonzales) that incorporates HB629 (Gonzales) Primary and Secondary Assessments. The intent of the original bill was to reform the state funding system for elementary and secondary education. The substitute bill limits the amount of time allotted for each statewide assessment prescribed in law to four hours per year beginning in 2015-16; delays statewide online testing to the 2016-17 school year; requires the ODE to study the impact of online assessments on student performance; provides flexibility for the administration of the kindergarten readiness assessment, including administering the assessment before school begins; allows districts to use evidence from the teacher residency summative assessment in the evaluation of resident teachers; and requires the Ohio Department of Education to estimate the cost of implementing a per pupil funding floor and assess the readiness of schools to administer tests online. The bill would not affect the third grade reading assessment, alternative assessments, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate assessments.

The committee also accepted a substitute bill for HB343 (Stebelton) Educational Programs Non High School Graduates. The substitute bill removes language regarding options for adults to earn high school diplomas, and adds a slew of provisions to clean-up recent changes in law regarding assessments, standardized testing, requirements for nonpublic schools, reporting requirements, withdrawing students, the definition of a full-time equivalent student, and more. A summary of the analysis of the substitute bill is included below.

•Community Connectors Board Named: Governor Kasich signed an Executive Order on November 3, 2014 creating the advisory board for Ohio’s Community Connectors, a new mentorship program signed into law in June 2014 to provide students with access to role models to help them develop the skills they need to be successful in school and the workplace. The Community Connectors program provides $10 million from lottery profits to provide 3-to-1 matching grants to support mentorship programs. The advisory committee will help State Superintendent Richard Ross design and implement the program.

The advisory board includes Rev. Dr. Todd Davidson, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland; Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership; Jane Keller, CEO and president of Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; Bill Kitson, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Cleveland; Rich Nathan, senior pastor of the Vineyard Church of Columbus; Colleen Ryan, president of Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio; and Cynthia Dungey, director of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

See the press release about the advisory board at http://communityconnectors.ohio.gov/News-and-Events/ArticleID/5/Kasich-Signs-Executive-Order-2014-05K-Creating-Advisory-Board-for-Ohios-New-School-Mentorship-Program

•OSU to Receive Investing in Innovation Grant: The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it expects to award 26 Investing in Innovation Grants worth $129 million. The Ohio State University (OSU) is one of the potential recipients of a $2.9 million development grant entitled “Improving Literacy Outcomes for Beginning Readers with Disabilities.” The purpose of the competitive grant program is to develop innovative approaches to improve student achievement and replicate effective strategies. The grantees must secure matching funds by December 10, 2014, and the final announcement of recipients will be made on December 31, 2014.

See “U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Announces Highest-Rated applications for Investing in Innovation 2014 Competition During Visit with High School Students in North Carolina”, U.S. DOE, November 6, 2014 at
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-arne-duncan-announces-highest-rated-applications-investin

2) National News:

•Speculation About the National Education Policy Agenda for the New Congress: Several articles in Education Week and other news outlets last week speculated on the future of national education policy, U.S. Department of Education initiatives, and the priorities for the last two years of President Obama’s administration as a result of the November 4, 2014.

Wins in Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, and South Dakota will lead to a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate in the 114th Congress, which convenes on January 3, 2015. According to the articles, the Republican majority in the Senate (at least 52 seats) and the increased Republican majority in the House of Representatives (at least 243 seats) signal renewed action on several stalled bills, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also referred to at No Child Left Behind Act, and the Higher Education Act, and less emphasis on President Obama’s education priorities.

Most news organizations predict that Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee will take over the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), now led by Senator Tom Harkin, who is retiring at the end of this year. Senator Patty Murray, Democrat from Washington, is likely to become the top Democrat on the committee. Both Senators Alexander and Murray have worked together on education legislation, such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which passed the Senate in June 2014 and the Strengthening Education through Research Act, which passed in September 2014.

Representative John Kline is expected to remain chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, but the top Democrat on the committee, Representative George Miller, is retiring at the end of the year, and Democrat Representative Bobby Scott is expected to become the new ranking member. Representative Kline has already guided different versions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act through the committee and the U.S. House, but now has a working partner in the U.S. Senate. According to Education Week, Senator Alexander introduced last year a rewrite of NCLB that is similar to Representative Kline’s proposal. Both versions provide states more flexibility while still requiring that students be tested in grades 3-8 and once in high school, and states report results for subgroups of students. But the proposals also reduce the federal role in K-12 policy by letting states develop their own accountability systems.

Several reporters note that the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate could increase opposition to U.S. Department of Education initiatives such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation, and the School Improvement Grant program. These competitive grant programs provided additional federal funds to states and school districts during the recession, but the initiatives came with federal mandates that some Republicans and state leaders believe inappropriately increased the role of the federal government in K-12 state policy decisions. The Obama administration’s efforts to expand early childhood eduction; increase the rigor of rules for teacher preparation programs; and increase the accountability of for-profit training programs might be put on the back burner, as Republicans pursue a different agenda, that includes more school choice (charters and vouchers), including a national voucher plan proposed by Senator Alexander.

At the state level the movement to repeal the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and limit standardized testing is likely to continue in states where opponents of the Common Core have been elected to state legislatures, governorships, and chief state school offices, including school officers elected in Georgia, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and maybe Arizona. According to the Baltimore Sun, Governor-elect Larry Hogan said that implementation of the Common Core standards has been a “complete disaster” and said it was time to “push the pause button”.

See “GOP Leaders in Congress Outline Education Priorities” by Lauren Camera, Education Week, November 7, 2014 at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/11/07/12election-congress.h34.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1

See “Republicans Will Control Senate in the 114th Congress” by Lauren Camera, Education Week, November 4, 2014 at
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2014/11/republicans_will_control_senate.html

See “GOP Wave to Sap Obama’s Clout on Education” by Alyson Klein, Education Week, November 6, 2014 at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/11/06/12election-overview.h34.html?cmp=ENL-EU-MOSTPOP

See “Brown, Hogan accuse each other of not telling the truth” by Michael Dresser and Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun, October 7, 2014.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-brown-hogan-debate-20141006-story.html#page=1

•Smarter Balanced Consortium Delays Cut Scores: Catherine Gewertz reports for Education Week that the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium delayed approving a set of cut scores for the spring assessments at their meeting in Chicago on November 6, 2014. Panelists of educators, selected by member states, met in Dallas in October 2014 to review test items and establish levels of difficulty for each grade level and subject. The panelists proposed cut scores, which were then reviewed by a technical advisory committee and presented to representatives of member states in November. But after discussion and review the Consortium said that more time is needed before the cut scores are announced.

See “Smarter Balanced Delay Vote on Cut Scores” by Catherine Gewertz, Education Week, November 6, 2014 at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/11/smarter_balanced_delays_vote_o.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3

3) State Board of Education to Meet: The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar President, will meet on November 10-11, 2014 at the Columbus Convention Center during the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference.

On November 10, 2014 the State Board will hold a Chapter 119 Hearing in room D233-235 on three Administrative Code Rules: Rule 3301-05-01 Emergency Management Plan; Rule 3301-16-04 College and Work Ready Assessment System; and Rule 3301-45-01 to -08 High School Diploma Program - HB483.

The Achievement Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, will meet at 9:30 AM in room D233-235. The committee will approve Rules 3301-62-02 through 05, -16, and 3301-68-01 Career Technical Education. The committee will also discuss Certificates of Accomplishment and early learning.

The Capacity Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, will meet at 9:30 AM in room D244-245 and consider the following:
-Rules 3301-19-02 & 03, School District Expenditure Flow Reports
-Rule 3301-56-01 School District and Building Improvement Planning, Parent Notification and Intervention
-Score setting for the resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA)
-Rule 3301-24-10 Alternative Pathway to Professional Principal Licensure for the New Leaders for Ohio Schools Pilot Program
-Measures of Satisfactory Achievement and Progress to Ensure Accountability for Funding Pursuant to ORC 3317.40
-Rule 3301-102-08, Standards for Measuring Sponsor Compliance with Applicable Laws and Rules
-Rules 3301-24-23 Alternative Resident Educator License Renewal
-Rules 3301-24-25 Senior Professional Education License Renewal and Rule 3301-24-26 Lead Professional Education License Renewal

The Urban and Rural Renewal Committee, chaired by Dr. Smith, will meet at 9:30 AM in room D246. The committee will receive a presentation about the Community Connectors Grant and updates about the web page and the Rural Education Conference.

The Graduation Requirements Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, will meet at 1:15 PM. The committee will receive an update on the Work Job Skills Assessment Recommendations and recommendations for substitute exams for the International Baccalaureate.

The Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, will meet at around 1:45 PM in room D233-235. The committee will approve the revised Operating Standards for Ohio’s Schools, Rules 3301-35-01 through 15, and review a presentation about the standards that will be made to the full State Board.

The Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by Kathleen McGervey, will meet at about 3:00 PM in room D233-35, and approve the State Board of Education’s Proposed Budget for FY16-17.

On November 11, 2014 at 9:00 AM in Room C123-125, State Superintendent Richard Ross will make a presentation to the OSBA Capital Conference.

The State Board will convene its business meeting at 10:30 AM in room D233-35; receive public participation on agenda and non agenda items; receive a presentation about the revised Operating Standards; receive reports from other committees; and vote on the report and recommendations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The State Board will take action on personnel items and the following resolutions:

#4 Approve a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rule 3301-27-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Qualifications to Direct, Supervise, or Coach a Pupil Activity Program.
#5 Approve a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rule 3301-51-20 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Admission, Transfer, Suspension, and Expulsion Standards for the Ohio State Schools for the Blind and the Deaf.
#7 Approve a Resolution of Intent to consider confirmation of the Columbus Grove Local School District’s determination of impractical transportation of certain students attending a private school.
#8 Approve a resolution to oppose the proposed transfer of school district territory from the River View Local School District, Coshocton County, to the North Fork Local School District, Licking County.
#23 Approve a Resolution to Amend Rules 3301-24-03 and 3301-24-18 of the Ohio Administrative Code entitled Teacher Education Programs and Resident Educator License.
#24 Approve a Resolution to Adopt the State Board of Education’s 2016-2017 Biennial Budget Request.

See http://education.ohio.gov/State-Board/State-Board-Meetings/State-Board-Meetings-for-2013-1

4) Recap of the November 4, 2014 Election:

U.S. House of Representatives: Voters re-elected on November 4, 2014 all members of Ohio’s delegation to the House of Representatives, which includes 12 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Ohio’s two Senators did not have to run for office this year. According to the unofficial results, Republican control will increase from 45 to at least 52 seats in the U.S. Senate, and from 234 to at least 243 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The following candidates were elected to represent Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives:

District 1: Steve Chabot (R) defeated Fred Kundrata (D)
District 2: Brad Wenstrup (R) defeated Marek Tyszkiewicz (D)
District 3: Joyce Beatty (D) defeated John Adams (R) and Ralph Applegate (WI)
District 4: Jim Jordan (R) defeated Janet Garrett (D)
District 5: Bob Latta (R) defeated Robert Fry (D) and Eric Eberly (L)
District 6: Bill Johnson (R) defeated Jennifer Garrison (D) and Dennis Lambert (G)
District 7: Bob Gibbs (R) ran unopposed.
District 8: John Boehner (R) defeated Tom Poetter (D) and James Condit (R)
District 9: Marcy Kapture (D) defeated Richard May (R) Cory Hoffman (WI) and George Skalsky (WI)
District 10: Mike Turner (R) defeated Robert Klepinger (D) and David Harlow (L)
District 11: Marcia Fudge (D) defeated Mark Zetzer (R)
District 12: Pat Tiberi (R) defeated David Tibbs (D) and Bob Hart (G)
District 13: Tim Ryan (D) defeated Thomas Pekarek (R) and David Pastorius (WI)
District 14: Dave Joyce (R) defeated Michael Wager (D) and David Macko (L)
District 15: Steve Stivers (R) defeated Scott Wharton (D)
District 16: Jim Renacci (R) defeated Pet Crossland (D)

Statewide Offices: In addition to re-electing Governor Kasich and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, Ohio voters also re-elected all Republican statewide office holders, including Jon Husted, Secretary of State; Mike DeWine, Attorney General; Josh Mandel, Treasurer; and Dave Yost, Auditor.

Judicial Races: Justices Sharon Kennedy and Judith French were re-elected to the Ohio Supreme Court and 33 new judges will be taking office next year. There were a total of 223 judicial races this year for the appeals courts, common pleas courts, and county courts. All judges in Ohio are elected to six-year terms. Information about the results of the judicial races is available at http://www.courtnewsohio.gov/bench/2014/judElectionResults_110514.asp#.VGAD8r4fPBE

State Board of Education: The State Board of Education includes 19 members: 11 members are elected and eight members are appointed. There were seven contested races on the State Board of Education this year, and four incumbents won re-election: Kathleen McGervey (District 2); A.J. Wagner (District 4); and Sarah Fowler (District 7); and Ron Rudduck (District 10). Pat Bruns, will replace Debe Terhar, who decided not to run in District 4; Roslyn Painter-Goffi defeated incumbent Brad Lamb in District 5; and Robert Hagen, who is currently in the Ohio House, will replace Debbie Cain, who is term limited, in District 8.

School Issues: Of the 162 school tax issues on the ballot this year, 65 percent were approved (105 out of 162). According to the Ohio School Boards Association the passage rate is similar to previous years, but voters approved replacement levies at a higher rate than issues asking for new money. The Ohio School Boards Association has a list of all the school levies at http://www.ohioschoolboards.org/special%20election%20results

What’s Next? According to reports by the Northeast Media Group and the Columbus Dispatch Republican lawmakers are eager to complete work on several bills before the end of 130th General Assembly, including the following:
-Legislation regarding the Common Core State Standards (HB597)
-Community learning process (HB460)
-Clean-up language about graduation requirements (HB343)
-Changes for zero tolerance policies in schools (SB167)
-A reduction in state testing (HB228 and HB629)
-Tax reforms including the Commercial Activity Tax, income tax, severance tax on fracking, and municipal income tax (HB5) -Regulation of traffic cameras
-Hand gun regulations (HB203 and SB338)
-Right to work laws
-The Heartbeat Bill (HB248)
-Reauthorizing the expansion of the Medicaid program
-Regulations for death penalty executions (HB640)
-Redistricting
-Water pollution and algal blooms (HB490).

Some of the Republican education priorities mentioned for the 131st General include lowering the cost of higher education; freeing high performing K-12 schools from state requirements and mandates; and expanding early childhood education.

See “Death penalty changes among legislation to be passed in lame duck, Statehouse leaders say” by Jackie Borchardt, Northeast Ohio Media Group, November 6, 2014 at
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/11/death_penalty_changes_among_le.html#incart_river

See “Post-ballot Ohio Legislature to Act Fast” by Jim Siegel & Randy Ludlow, Columbus Dispatch, November 9, 2014 at
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/11/09/post-ballot-legislature-to-act-fast.html

5) Whose New and Whose Out in the Statehouse: According to the unofficial results of the November 4, 2014 General Election, Republicans will have a 65 to 34 majority over Democrats in the Ohio House, and a 23 to 10 majority in the Ohio Senate when the 131st Ohio General Assembly convenes in January 2015. There is at least one close race that might change by the official count. Incumbent House Representative Debbie Phillips is about 194 votes ahead of Yolan Dennis in the 94th House District race, with provisional ballots to be counted on November 21, 2014.

Update on the Election for the Ohio Senate: Only odd-numbered Senate districts were contested this year. Running unopposed were Senators Cliff Hite (R-1st Senate District (SD)); Shannon Jones (R-7th SD); Bob Peterson (R-17th SD), and Joe Schiavoni (D-33rd SD).

Senators Eric Kearney (D-9th SD), Shirley Smith (D-21st SD), and Tim Schaffer (R-31st SD) were term-limited, and Senator Nina Turner (D-25th SD) was unsuccessful in her bid to become Secretary of State. Winning those open seats are Cecil Thomas (D), who will replace Eric Kearney; Sandra Williams (D), who will replace Shirley Smith; Jay Hottinger (R), who will replace Tim Schaffer; and Kenny Yuko (D), who will replace Nina Turner.

Incumbents who won in the Senate include Kevin Bacon (R-3rd SD); Bill Beagle (R-5th SD); Edna Brown (D-11th SD); Gayle Manning (R-13th SD); Charleta Tavares (D-15th SD); Kris Jordan (R-19th SD), Mike Skindell (D-23rd SD), Frank LaRose (R-27th SD); and Scott Oelslager (R-29th SD).

The new faces in the Senate for the 131st General Assembly include Cecil Thomas, Sandra Williams, Jay Hottinger, and Kenny Yuko, but only Cecil Thomas has not served in the General Assembly before. Sandra Williams and Jay Hottinger currently serve in the Ohio House, and Kenny Yuko formerly served in the Ohio House.

Update on the Election for the Ohio House: Several well-known lawmakers, who have served in the Statehouse for years, will be leaving at the end of December 2014. These include Representatives Matt Huffman; former House Speaker Armond Budish; Barbara Boyd; Mike Foley; John Patrick Carney; Tracey Maxwell Heard; Dale Mallory; Vern Sykes; Robert Hagen; Tom Letson; current House Speaker William Batchelder; Matt Lynch; Chairman of the House Education Committee Gerald Stebelton; Ross McGregor; Richard Adams; Lynn Wachtmann; John Adams; Rex Damschroder; Connie Pillich; Matt Lundy; and Democrat Party Chairman Chris Redfern, who recently announced his resignation as party chair.

There were 15 unopposed candidates for the Ohio House this election: Representatives Ron Amstutz (R-1st HD); Mike Dovilla (R-7th HD); Stephanie Howse (D-11th HD); John Barnes (D-12th HD); Alicia Reece (D-33rd HD); Barbara Sears (R-47th HD); Kirk Schuring (R-48th HD); Dan Ramos (D-56th HD); Michelle LaPore Hagen (D-58th HD); Bob Hackett (R-74th HD); Tony Burkley (R-82nd HD); Jim Buchy (R-84th HD); Nino Vitale (R-85th HD); Cliff Rosenberger (R-94th HD); and Gary Scherer (R-92nd HD).

Out of 99 districts in the Ohio House, voters returned 70 incumbents to office on November 4, 2014. Of the 29 districts that will have new representatives in 2015, there are five districts that switched from being Democrat to Republican.

New Representatives in the Ohio House

-Ohio House District 4: Robert Cupp (R) replaces Matt Huffman (R), who is term limited. Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Cupp also served 16 years in the Ohio Senate.
-Ohio House District 8: Kent Smith (D) replaces Armond Budish (D), who is term limited and was elected Cuyahoga County Executive.
-Ohio House District 9: Janine Boyd (D) replaces her mom, Barbara Boyd (D), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 11: Stephanie Howse (D) replaces Sandra Williams (D), who is term limited, and was elected to the Ohio Senate.
-Ohio House District 14: Martin Sweeney (D) replaces Mike Foley (D), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 22: David Leland (D) replaces John Patrick Carney (D), who ran unsuccessfully for State Auditor.
-Ohio House District 26: Hearcel Craig (D) replaces Tracy Maxwell Heard (D), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 27: Tom Brinkman (R) replaces Peter Stautberg (R), who was defeated in the primary.
-Ohio House District 32: Christie Bryant (D) replaces Dale Mallory (D), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 34: Emilia Sykes (D) replaces her dad Vern Sykes (D), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 35: Greta Johnson (D) replaces Zack Milkovich (D), who was defeated in the primary.
-Ohio House District 42: Niraj Antani (R). The district was represented by Terry Blair, who passed away in June.
-Ohio House District 54: Paul Zeltwanger (R) replaces Peter Beck (R), who was defeated in the primary.
-Ohio House District 58: Michele LaPore Hagen (D) replaces her husband Robert Hagen (D), who is term limited and was elected to the State Board of Education.
-Ohio House District 64: Michael O’Brien (D) replaces Tom Letson (D), who is term limited and ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Supreme Court.
-Ohio House District 69: Steve Hambley (R) replaces House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R), who is term-limited.
-Ohio House District 71: Scott Ryan (R) replaces Jay Hottinger (R), who is term limited, and was elected to the Ohio Senate.
-Ohio House District 76: Sarah LaTourette (R), daughter of former Congressman Steve LaTourette, replaces Matt Lynch (R), who was defeated in the primary.
-Ohio House District 77: Former Senator Tim Schaffer (R) replaces Gerald Stebelton (R), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 79: Kyle Koehler (R) replaces Ross McGregor (R), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 80: Steve Huffman (R) replaces Richard Adams (R), who retired.
-Ohio House District 81: Rob McColley (R) replaces Lynn Wachtmann (R), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 85: Nino Vitale (R) replaces John Adams (R), who is term limited.
-Ohio House District 88: William Reineke (R) replaces Rex Damschroder (R), who was kept off the primary ballot for technical reasons.

Districts that switched from Democrat to Republican:

-Ohio House District 5: Tim Ginter (R) defeated Nick Barborak (D).
-Ohio House District 28: Jonathan Dever (R) replaces Connie Pillich (D). Representative Pillich ran unsuccessfully for State Treasurer.
-Ohio House District 43: Jeffery Rezabek (R) defeated Roland Winburn (D).
-Ohio House District 55: Nathan Manning (R) replaces Matt Lundy (D). Representative Lundy is term-limited, and was elected to the Lorain County Commission.
-Ohio House District 89: Steven Kraus (R) defeated Chris Redfern (D).

6) Substitute Bill HB343 - A Clean-up Bill: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, met on November 5, 2014 and accepted a substitute bill for HB343 (Stebelton).

The original bill provided options for adults to earn high school diplomas, but a similar provision was included in HB483, the mid-biennium review, and was signed into law. The new law allows an individual who is age 22 and above and has not received a high school diploma or equivalence certificate to enroll for up to two cumulative school years in a program to earn a diploma operated by a city, local, or exempted village school district; a community school that operates a dropout prevention and recovery program; a joint vocational school district that operates an adult education program; or a community college, university branch, technical college, or state community college.

The substitute bill addresses a variety of issues that the Ohio Department of Education, administrators, teachers, and lawmakers have identified over the past months as HB487 and HB483 have been implemented. The following is a summary of some of the proposals included in HB343, and is based on an analysis prepared by the Legislative Service Commission:

Education for Older Students (R.C. 3314.38, 3317.23, 3317.24, and 3345.86.)
-Removes original language about options for adults to earn a high school diploma.
-Requires school districts, charter schools, and postsecondary institutions that enroll individuals who are at least 22 years old to annually report to the ODE specific information about each of those individuals, including coursework completed and subject area graduation tests passed during the previous school year.

College and Career Readiness Assessment
•Section 3301.0712(B)(1) Eliminates the requirement that the nationally standardized assessment, required for students in public and nonpublic schools, that measures college and career readiness must “include components in English, mathematics, science, and social studies.”

Science End of Course Exams
•Section 3301.0712(B)(2) and (4)(a) Adds an end of course exam in biology as an alternative to the current required physical science end-of-course examination.
•Section 3301.0712(B)(8)(a) Requires the ODE to make available to school districts and schools end-of-course examinations in both physical science and biology until the 2016-2017 school year.
•Section 3301.0712(B)(8)(b) Permits the State Board of Education to choose to provide one or both of the end-of-course examinations in physical science and biology beginning with the 2016-17 school year.

End-of-course examination exemption for chartered nonpublic schools
•Section 3313.612(D) and (G) Exempts chartered nonpublic schools from administering the seven required end-of-course examinations. In current law chartered nonpublic schools were exempt after October 1, 2015, only if the General Assembly did not enact different requirements. Under the exemption, a chartered nonpublic school may forego administering all of the end-of-course examinations if the school publishes the results of the required nationally standardized assessment that measures college and career readiness.

Reporting of data for students with disabilities
•Section 3302.035(A)(3) to (5) Requires the ODE to report the following for students with disabilities:
-The six-, seven-, and eight-year adjusted cohort graduation rates (in addition to the four- and five-year rates already required under current law);
-Annual measurable objectives regarding closing achievement gaps
-Data regarding disciplinary actions taken by the district or school against students with disabilities compared with those taken against students who do not have disabilities.

•Section 3302.035(B) Requires the ODE to calculate and report on its website the state averages for all the following for students with disabilities:
-Value-added progress dimension score, performance index score, four- to eight-year adjusted cohort graduation rates, AMO, and disciplinary action data
-Value-added progress dimension score disaggregated by grade level and subject area
-Performance index score disaggregated for each category of disability.

Teach for America educator licensing
•Section 3319.227(E)(1) Requires a participant in the Teach for America program in Ohio to successfully complete that program in order to continue to possess a resident educator license.
•Section 3319.227(E)(2) Requires the board of education of a school district to notify in writing the State Board of Education in the event that a participant in the Teach for America program assigned to that school district resigns or is otherwise removed from the program.

Student attendance reporting
•Section 3317.034(C)(3) and 3321.13(B)(5)(c) Removes a current school funding formula provision stating that a student’s enrollment is considered to cease when the student has 105 continuous hours of unexcused absences, and instead specifies in the student truancy law that a district superintendent must withdraw a student from school if the student has at least 265 continuous hours of unexcused absences.
•Section 3317.034(E) Specifies that a student in any of grades 9-12 is considered a full-time equivalent student if the student is enrolled in at least five units of instruction per school year.
•Section 3321.13 and 3321.13(C) Changes the requirements in the notification that a district superintendent must send to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles regarding a student’s withdrawal, habitual absence, suspension, or expulsion from school. The new requirements are the student’s grade level, number of unexcused absences, and name of the child’s parent or guardian.

Consequences for student truancy
•Section 3321.13(B)(5)(a) Requires that a school district notify a student’s parent or guardian in writing that the student may be a chronic truant if a student has at least 60 cumulative hours of unexcused absences; if the student accumulates at least 105 hours of unexcused absences, the school district must file a complaint jointly against the child and the child’s parent or guardian in the juvenile court of the county in which the student resides.

•Section 3321.13(B)(5)(b) Requires, for a student who has at least 105 cumulative hours of unexcused absences, that a district take “appropriate action” regarding the reporting of student truancy within ten days of the student accumulating 105 hours of unexcused absences. Under current law, the district might require the student’s parent or guardian to attend parental involvement or parent education programs, or file a complaint against the child and the child’s parent or guardian that the child is an unruly or delinquent child depending on the student’s truancy status.

•Section 3321.13(B)(5)(c) Requires a district superintendent to withdraw a student from school who has at least 265 continuous hours of unexcused absences.
•Section 3321.13(B)(5)(d) Requires the ODE to track and record the number of students to whom the unexcused absence conditions described above applies.
•Section 3321.13(B)(5)(d) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consider, on a case-by-case basis, a reduction in state operating payments to a school district that fails to comply with the bill’s provisions regarding student truancy.

7) Research Identifies Risk Factors for Chronic Absenteeism: The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School for Public Engagement released on November 6, 2014 a new report that identifies 18 “risk factors” that are associated with chronic absenteeism in schools and communities in New York City. According to the report, absenteeism is a better indicator of the depths of poverty than traditional measures, such as the number of children eligible for free lunch.

Schools with chronic absenteeism are those in which students miss 10 percent or more of classes, or almost a month of school for five consecutive years. These schools also report the lowest pass rates on achievement tests aligned to New York State’s Common Core learning standards.

The researchers found that “...similar rates of family poverty can feel very different in a school, depending on what kind of challenges students face within their families and on the streets. That helps explain why we found schools with very similar demographic profiles that posted significantly divergent track records in reducing chronic absenteeism. We also found that determined school leadership can make a big difference in reducing absenteeism. When principals made reducing chronic absenteeism a major priority, relatively minor investments of resources not only typically increased attendance, they also markedly improved student academic performance.”

This study is based on previous research conducted by the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania about identifying and serving truly disadvantaged schools.

Researchers in New York examined risk-factors found in previous research and then matched up school zones with census tracts, and analyzed responses from the 2007-2010 American Community Survey, internal data from the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, publicly available data from the Department for Homeless Service and the NYC Housing Authority, and data from the city and state education departments on students, teachers and school climate.

The researchers identified the following 18 variables as strong predictors of both Common Core test scores and chronic absenteeism:

School Factors:
-Students eligible for free lunch
-Students living in temporary housing
-Students eligible for welfare benefits from Human Resources Administration
-Special education students
-Black or Hispanic students
-Principal turnover
-Teacher turnover
-Student turnover
-Student suspensions
-Safety scores on the Learning Environment Survey
-Engagement score on the Learning Environment Survey

Neighborhood Factors:
-Involvement with the Administration for Children’s Services (2010)
-Poverty rate
-Adult education levels (2010)
-Professional employment (2010)
-Male unemployment (2010)
-Presence of public housing in a school’s catchment (2011)
-Presence of a homeless shelter in a school’s catchment (2011)

Using data based on these variables, the researchers were able to calculate a school’s “total risk load”. After examining the results the researchers determined that schools with chronic absenteeism are also struggling with the deepest types of poverty and have not been able to get a handle on the student-or family-related issues that keep students from attending school regularly.

The report includes recommendations for identifying and serving schools and communities with chronic absenteeism, including an effort by New York City Mayor DeBlasio to extend the community schools initiative to the lowest performing schools.

See “A Better Picture of Poverty: What Chronic Absenteeism and Risk Load Reveal about NYC’s Lowest-Income Elementary Schools”, by Kim Nauer, Nicole Mader, Gail Robinson, and Tom Jacobs, The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School for Public Engagement, November 6, 2014 at
http://www.newschool.edu/milano/nycaffairs/documents/BetterPictureofPoverty_PA_FINAL_000.pdf

FYI ARTS

1) Watercolors Featured in New Riffe Exhibition: The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in Columbus will feature a new exhibition, “100 Years of Ohio Watercolor” on January 29, 2015 through April 12, 2014. The exhibition, which spans 1915-2015, was produced by the Southern Ohio Museum (SOM) in Portsmouth and curated by SOM Artistic Director Charlotte Gordon. It features more than 45 Ohio watercolor artists, including August Biehle, Emerson Burkhardt, Alice Schille, Clarence Carter, Earl Jack, David Terry, and Cody Heichel. The exhibition is presented by the OAC’s Riffe Gallery with media support from CD102.5, CityScene, Ohio Channel, WOSU, Ohio Magazine and WCBE 90.5 FM. The exhibition will kick off the Ohio Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary celebration!!

For more information http://www.oac.state.oh.us/riffe/

2) Arts Education’s Impact on the Workforce: Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, writes in an article for the Huffington Post that “...to prepare, protect and equip today’s workforce and that of the future, we must ensure that arts education remains a priority in our schools and in our lives.”

According to the article, there are many examples in research about the positive effects of an education in the arts on the modern workforce. Researchers have found that students who are exposed to the arts have a higher graduation rate, and college students with lower incomes are more likely to complete college if they have participated in the arts. Those employed in the creative industries, including engineers, artists, and scientists, were more likely to hold on to their jobs during the 2008-2010 recession, according to a study in the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. And, researchers in Michigan have found that participating in the arts as a hobby, such as painting or playing in a band, “is a better predictor for career success in any discipline than IQ, standardized test scores, or grades”.

Business leaders are looking for employees who are creative according to the “Ready to Innovate” report by Americans for the Arts and the Conference Board and the IBM 2010 Global CEO Study. Creative individuals, like those who have participated in arts education programs, are more flexible, adapt to technology, respond quickly to changing customer preferences, and can communicate.

Mr. Lynch writes that “arts education has the power to transform societies for the better” and recommends that parents and community members use a “toolbox” developed by Americans for the Arts to engage local schools in advocating for arts education programs.

He writes, “to ensure a flexible, innovative and employable workforce, we need creative, curious citizens who have been educated in the arts.”

See “Arts Education Transforms” by Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO Americans for the Arts, Huffington Post, October 26, 2014 at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-l-lynch/arts-education-transform_b_6051742.html