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

FROM: Ann Brennan
FYI
1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate are not meeting this week, and no committee meetings are scheduled.

•Ohio Facts 2014 Available: The Ohio Legislative Service Commission released in September Ohio Facts 2014, a compilation of data and facts about Ohio organized in eight categories: demographics, economy, natural resources and environment, public finances, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, health and human services, and justice and public safety systems.

The section on K-12 education includes information about sources of revenue for schools, property valuation per type of school district, spending on school choice programs, etc. According to the document, enrollment in K-12 public schools declined by over 5000 students and K-12 enrollment in private schools declined by over 2000 students between FY2013 and 2014.

See http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/fiscal/ohiofacts/2014/ohiofacts.htm

•ODE Retracts Teacher Value-Added Scores: Patrick O’Donnell reports for The Plain Dealer that the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) removed teacher value-added information on the ODE website on October 22, 2014 after the contractor, SAS, discovered an error in how the student scores were assigned to teachers. Value-added scores are now used as part of teacher/principal evaluations, but the article notes that using value-added scores in this way is controversial.

See “Glitch causes state to pull back teacher “value added” student growth scores” by Patrick O’Donnell, The Plain Dealer, October 24, 2014 at
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/10/glitch_causes_state_to_pull_ba.html.

•School Issues on the November Ballot: The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office reports that 1675 local issues will be on the November 4, 2014 ballot, including 164 school issues. A list of the issues is available at
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/Voters/whatsontheballot/whatsOnBallot.aspx.

•Ohio Voters Support Early Childhood Education: A poll conducted for the First Five Years Fund found bipartisan support in Ohio for investments in early childhood education, with 80 percent of respondents ranking the issue as very or extremely important. The poll was conducted in Ohio by the Public Opinion Strategies and Hart Research Associates. The poll also found that 76 percent of respondents believe that investments in early childhood education programs would help Ohio’s economy; 75 percent support an increase in federal investment to help states provide more access to high quality early childhood programs for low and moderate income families; and 71 percent support using the state’s budget surplus to provide more funding for early childhood education.

See “Ohio Speaks: Investing in Early Childhood Education is a Top Priority”, First Five Years Fund, at
http://growamericastronger.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/F_FFYF_OH_ResearchSummary_100814.pdf?50f871

•Education Issues to be Considered During Lame Duck Session: Hannah News reports that Representative Gerald Stebelton, chairman of the House Education Committee, said in an recent interview that the House Education Committee will consider changing the state’s “end of course exam” in physical science to biology, and that he hopes that the full House will vote on HB460 (Brenner/Driehaus) Community Learning Process/School Restructuring, in the lame-duck session after the November 2014 election. Chairman Stebelton also said that there is not enough support in the House to repeal the common core standards, HB597 (Huffman/Thompson), but there is a need to review the scope and focus of K-12 assessments, which might be addressed through HB629 (Brenner-Gonzales).

2) National News

•Chicago Schools Chief Plans to Pilot PARCC Assessments: The Chicago Sun-Times reported on October 22, 2014 that Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett wants to pilot assessments developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) in selected schools this year, and is seeking a delay in the full implementation of these assessments aligned to the common core standards.

The Illinois State Board of Education denied the request for delay in July 2014, but Dr. Byrd-Bennett reiterated her intent to administer the PARCC assessments to 10 percent of students this year, and continue to use the Illinois Standard Achievement Test and Prairie State Achievement Exam for the other students at a Chicago Board of Education meeting on October 22, 2014.

Dr. Byrd-Bennett is quoted in the article as saying, “At present, too many questions remain about PARCC to know how this new test provides more for teachers, students, parents, and principals than we are already providing through our current assessment strategies.”

Principals have told her that some schools lack computers and bandwidth to support the online version of the test, and the assessments take hours to administer, reducing instructional time.

The article notes that some parents are supporting the delay or have already opted their children out of the PARCC assessments. According to the article, parents who took the sample PARCC assessment last spring report that it was “poorly written”, tricky, and students need a lot of computer training to take the test, which means less time for instruction.

See “CPS wants to delay new test even though state already said ‘No’” by Lauren Fitzpatrick, Chicago Sun-Times, October 22, 2014 at
http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/cps-wants-delay-new-test-even-though-state-already-said-no/wed-10222014-345pm

3) Study of D.C. Voucher Program Released: The Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, released on October 7, 2014 a preliminary report about the District of Columbia’s Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The OSP provides vouchers to eligible low-income children to attend private schools, and is funded by the U.S. Congress. The voucher program was originally approved through the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, which was funded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004. The OSP was reauthorized under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR) of 2011. The reauthorized law expanded the scholarship amount, prioritized the types of student recipients, and revised the accountability requirements for private schools.

The report includes the following key findings:

•”Just over half of all DC private schools participate, with a smaller core set involved since the program began.”
About 33 private schools have been continuously involved in the program since the 2005-06 school year. Currently 52 private schools accept students, a decrease from a high of 68 in 2005-06. Since the program was created nine private schools that had participated in the program converted to charter schools; four private schools closed; and five have withdrawn from the program.

The report states, “These trends suggest that changes in the 2011 law have not drawn more private schools into the OSP.”

•”Participating schools are more likely now than in the past to report tuition rates above the OSP scholarship amounts, to have no religious affiliation, to serve grades 9-12, and to have less diverse student populations.”
The characteristics of the private schools participating in the OSP program have changed over the years. More high schools are now participating (36 percent compared by 22 percent in 2005-06); fewer religious schools are participating (62 percent compared to 68 percent in 2005-06); and the schools serve fewer minority ethnic groups.

“Most important, a larger proportion of participating schools under the SOAR Act have published tuition rates that are above the legislated scholarship amount, while relatively few did under the earlier DC Choice Incentive Act (e.g., 64 percent in 2011–12 versus 39 percent in 2005–06. The extent to which families pay the difference will be examined in future evaluation reports, taking into account patterns suggesting that OSP students cluster in participating schools that do not charge tuition above the voucher cap.”

•”Private schools that currently participate in the OSP have been operating longer, are more likely to be religiously affiliated, and have larger class sizes than other private schools in DC.”
Participating schools have been in operation an average of 75 years compared to 50 years for nonparticipating schools. The average teacher pupil ratio is 9, compared to 7 for nonparticipating schools. Religious schools account for 64 percent of participating schools, compared to 29 percent for nonparticipating schools.

•”Compared to the public schools parents may be considering, participating schools are smaller, serve a higher share of White students, and are clustered in affluent areas of the city.”
Participating private schools enroll an average of 243 versus 348 students in traditional public and charter schools; have lower pupil-teacher ratios (on average 9 students per teacher versus 12 students per teacher) compared to traditional and charter schools; and have a higher proportion (35 percent) of White students than public schools (6 percent). Fifty-seven percent of OSP schools are located in the four most affluent sections of the city, in wards (clusters of neighborhoods) with average annual household income above $100,000 (Wards 2, 3, 4 and 6).

•”The number of applications taken has fluctuated, mostly along with funds available to admit new students.”
In spite of the greater funding available under the first two years of the SOAR Act, there were fewer eligible applicants than during the comparable period of the earlier statute.

•”Under the SOAR Act, OSP applicants represent fewer than 5 percent of eligible DC students. The law sets clear residency and family-income criteria to determine student eligibility.”
There are an estimated 53,000 children in DC who are eligible for the voucher.

•”SOAR Act applicants are less likely to have attended a low-performing school than DC students potentially eligible for the program, but as likely to have attended a charter school.”

•”Most OSP applicants live in the lowest income neighborhoods in the District, where there are fewer participating private schools.”
Sixty-nine percent of applicants live in wards with the lowest average household income, but only 43 percent of participating schools are located in these wards.

•”Older students, and those from disadvantaged schools and families, use the scholarship at lower rates than others.”
Students from schools identified as needing improvement (SINI schools) use the vouchers less than students from non-SINI schools or private schools, and fewer students from disadvantaged families use the voucher.

See “Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: An Early Look at Applicants and Participating Schools Under the SOAR Act” by Jill Feldman, Juanita Lucas-McLean, Babette Gutmann, Mark Synarski, Julian Betts, and Marsha Silverbert, Institute of Education Sciences, October 7, 2014 at
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20154000/pdf/20154000.pdf

4) Charitable Support for Public Schools Increases: Researchers at Indiana University, Ashlyn Aiko Nelson and Beth Gazley, have published the results of a study of nonprofit support for public schools in the journal Education Finance and Policy. (Note: A draft of this study was released in February 2014 and is available on the Social Science Research Network’s website at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2363032)

The study found that philanthropic support for public schools, from foundations, PTAs, booster clubs, etc. increased nearly 350 percent between 1995-2010 and totaled $880 million in 2010, but did not offset the reduction in tax revenues for schools during the recent recession. The researchers also found that philanthropic organizations support wealthier schools more than high-poverty schools, and the growth in the number and financial support of the school charities did not reduce public financing of schools.

The study is based on an analysis of IRS reports filed by school-supporting organizations between 1995-2010. The number of school charities increased during that time from 3,475 to 11,453, and the money raised, adjusted for inflation, increased from $197 million to $880 million. The percent of school districts that received support from at least one nonprofit organization also increased from 12 percent in 1995 to 29 percent in 2010. The study found that nonprofit charitable organizations were more likely to serve large school districts and school districts with more capacity, which the researchers defined as school districts with higher property values, higher percent of residents with a college education, higher household income, and low unemployment rates. The study also found that the amount of charitable revenue raised in a school district declines as enrollment increases.

The study notes that the number of nonprofit school charities has increased as states reduce state support for K-12 education and enact school funding formulas that cap the amount of revenue that school districts can raise through property taxes, in an attempt to increase equity among school districts.

Even though the amount of charitable contributions for public schools have increased, the researchers also found that the funds raised, less than one percent of the total spent on education by federal, state, and local governments, did not compensate for the 12 percent decrease in tax receipts to support schools since the start of the recession in 2008. In 2013 tax receipts were still five percent lower in inflation-adjusted terms than at the start of the recession.

See “The Rise of School-Supporting Nonprofits” by Ashlyn Aiko Nelson and Beth Gazley, Education Finance and Policy, Fall 2014 at http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/EDFP_a_00146?journalCode=edfp#.VEvZeb4fPBE

See the press release at http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/10/voluntary-school-support-study.shtml

5) 2014 Opportunity Index Released: Opportunity Nation released on October 20, 2014 the 2014 Opportunity Index, a composite measure for each state, over 2600 counties, and the District of Columbia, based on 16 key economic, education, and community factors that affect upward mobility for Americans. This is the fourth year the Opportunity Index has been published by Opportunity Nation, a bipartisan national coalition that includes more than 300 businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and community leaders, and Measure of America, a Project of the Social Science Research Council.

The 2014 National Opportunity Index shows that access to opportunity has increased by more than 6.3 percent nationwide since 2011 as a result of increases in employment, internet access, and high school graduation. However, there are several “critical” measures that need to be improved, including median income, which is 4.4 percent lower than in 2011; the poverty rate, which is 11.2 percent higher than in 2011; income inequality, which is 2.7 percent higher than 2011; and the number of disconnected youth, who are defined as Americans ages 16-24 who are not in school or working. The number of disconnect youth decreased from 5.8 million in 2013 to 5.6 million in 2014, but is still too high, and has an impact on the stability and quality of communities.

The ten states with the highest Opportunity Index scores are Vermont, Nebraska, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, and Iowa. The ten states with the lowest Opportunity Index scores are Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Nevada.

Ohio was rated 31st on the Opportunity Index with a composite score of 53 out of 100. Ohio received a score of 53.2 for economy; 51.2 for education; and 54.6 for community. Ohio’s composite score is slightly higher than the national average score of 52.8.

See “New 2014 Opportunity Index Data Released” by Cara Willis, Opportunity Nation, October 20, 2014 at
http://opportunitynation.org/latest-news/new-2014-opportunity-index-data-released/

See Ohio’s Opportunity Index at http://opportunityindex.org/#4.00/40/-97/-/Ohio.

6) Are the Common Core Standards Developmentally Appropriate? Alice G. Walton examines the concerns of child development experts regarding the common core standards and responses to those concerns in an article in Forbes.

The article explains that two hundred child development researchers and educators signed a joint statement in 2010 “expressing serious reservations” about the common core standards. The concerns include the “unrealistic” content requirements, such as requiring students to count to 100 by the end of kindergarten; standardized instruction; high-stakes testing; and the stress that students are experiencing in school.

Opponents believe that the common core K-3 standards could create more harm than good, because there is no research that standardized instruction for young children will lead to academic success later on. What children do need, according to the experts interviewed, is “rich play-based nonacademic experiences” until the age of six or seven. This is because children between the ages of 4-7 ”... are undergoing especially rapid changes in cognitive ability, but this neurological and psychological development occurs at all different rates.”

Other child development experts believe that the high stakes-testing attached to the standards is the greater problem, especially when children ages 5-7 are expected to sit for 6-8 hours of testing. They recommend fewer and shorter assessments in the early grades.

There are also proponents of the standards who say that the problem lies in how schools are implementing the standards. For example, while some schools have aligned the common core standards to a complete curriculum with time for the arts, science, social studies, and play, other schools have just doubled-up on math and language arts. Proponents of the common core standards say that the standards were never designed to “encompass all of what students need to study and learn” and were only to be part of the school day.

See “The Science of the Common Core: Experts Weigh In On Its Developmental Appropriateness” by Alice G. Walton”, Forbes, October 23, 2014 at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/10/23/the-science-of-the-common-core-experts-weigh-in-on-its-developmental-appropriateness/

7) Bills Introduced

-HB638 (Beck) Budget Stabilization Fund Deposit: Requires an annual deposit to the Budget Stabilization Fund equal to 5 percent of General Revenue Fund revenues for the preceding fiscal year.

-HB639 (Beck/Adams) Income Tax Phase-Out: Phases out the income tax and income tax expenditures over ten years.

-HB642 (Fedor) School District Teacher Evaluation Safe Harbor: Provides a three-year performance rating safe harbor for school districts and schools and provides a three-year student academic growth rating safe harbor for teacher evaluations.

-HB643 (Duffey) Election Law-Free Speech Protection: Reviews provisions of the Election Law to ensure that Ohioans’ constitutional right to free speech is protected.

-SB373 (Schiavoni) Bullying Prevention-Education: Requires the State Board of Education to establish criteria and procedures for the awarding of bullying prevention and education funds to school districts and makes an appropriation.

FYI ARTS

•Nominations for the 2015 Governor’s Awards for the Arts Extended: The Ohio Arts Council announced last week the extension of the nomination deadline for 2015 Governor’s Arts Awards until Monday, October 27, 2014 at midnight. The deadline for submitting support letters has also been extended until Monday, November 3, 2014 at midnight. The Governor’s Awards in the Arts recognize individuals and organizations in Ohio for their outstanding contributions to the arts in the following categories: arts administration, arts education, arts patron, business support of the arts, community development and participation, and individual artist. Information about the nominating process is available at http://www.oac.state.oh.us/events/GovAwards/Default.asp

•Inspirational! Brian Richardson, a music teacher in the Philadelphia public school system, writes a delightful and inspirational article for TakePart. In the article Mr. Richardson explains why he is so happy to teach music in spite of the budget cut-backs, salary cuts, crumbling facilities, and the lay-offs (he has been laid-off twice in four years) in his school, and it all has to do with the 600 students he teaches in his K-8 school. He is happy because he gets to teach kindergartners how to sing their names; first graders to breathe to relieve stress; and second graders to play instruments and do something with useful with “anxious” hands. He is happy because the girls in his fourth-grade class teach him how to choreograph a dance, and he gets to discuss questions about culture, identity, politics, and the future with seventh graders who want to talk about the “best rapper”. He is also there at lunch-time for the “sensitive souls”, the girls and boys who don’t fit in with any clique.

He writes, “Most days, I don’t think about deprivation. I get to touch the souls of hundreds of young people, and I am enriched. I get to pour my heart into my job, and most days I receive even more love than I give. I get to teach music, and I smile because I’m a lucky man.”

See “Despite Cuts, Here’s Why Arts Education Matters to Kids of Every Age” by Brian Richardson, TakePart, October 16, 2014 at
http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/10/16/arts-education-op-ed

From: Ann Brennan

FYI: Update on HB 597, and note that 2015 report cards will be delayed until 2016.

1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly: There are no sessions or committee meetings scheduled this week for the Ohio House and Senate.

•2015 Report Cards Will Be Delayed: Patrick O’Donnell from the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the release of the 2015 State Report Cards will likely be delayed from August 2015 until 2016. According to the article, Ohio schools will administer new assessments developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortium in the spring of 2015, but the consortium will not be able to set the passing scores for the tests until the fall of 2015, delaying the release of the report cards until 2016. The new assessments include those aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in math and English language arts and “end of course exams” developed by PARCC. Of course the timeline could change if the legislature and governor approve HB597 (Huffman/Thompson) or other bills that would alter state standards and assessments.

See “Grades from spring Common Core tests may not be available until 2016; state report cards will be delayed” by Patrick O’Donnell, The Plain Dealer, October 14, 2014 at
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/10/grades_from_spring_common_core_tests_may_not_be_available_until_2016.html

•Update on HB597/Common Core Hearings: The Ohio House Rules and Reference Committee, chaired by Representative Matt Huffman, held a hearing last week (October 14, 2014) on HB597 (Huffman/Thompson) Repeal Common Core Standards. The testimony was limited to proponents, who repeated previous concerns about the development of the common core standards; the amount of testing; the influence of business/corporate interests on schools; the inappropriate developmental level of some of the standards, especially in math; the lack of time, resources, and professional development to implement the standards; and the increased anxiety and stress caused by the new standards, testing, and consequences. Chairman Huffman plans another committee meeting for opponents to testify on the bill before the committee takes action, and would like the bill to be considered by the full House after the November election.

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

•ODE Announces Grants: The Ohio Department of Education, Office of Career-Technical Education, announced on October 15, 2014 the availability of $2.5 million in planning grants for Adult Career Opportunity Pilot Programs. Competitive grants of up to $500,000 will be awarded to five community colleges, Ohio technical centers, or technical colleges in fiscal year 2015 to develop Adult Career Opportunity Programs, to assist adults ages 22 or older, complete their high school diplomas and earn an industry credential or certificate. The funds will be distributed geographically among five regions. The application deadline is November 21, 2014.
See http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Career-Tech/AdultCareerOpportunityPlanningGrant.

•Should the State Receive a Report Card Grade?: Katie Wedell reports for the Springfield News-Sun that “...the Ohio Department of Education would have received a grade of D on its 2014 report card if it calculated a statewide score for all Ohio public schools combined the way it does for individual schools and districts.” According to the article, the State would have met only 14 out of 24 indicators if all student scores were aggregated. The State would have earned a B on the Performance Index and a D for graduation rates. The DOE reported statewide averages on the annual report cards in the past, but has not done so recently.

See “Ohio would have earned “D” on annual report card” by Katie Wedell, Springfield News-Sun, October 11, 2014 at
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local-education/ohio-would-have-earned-d-on-annual-report-card/nhf3Q/?__federated=1#cmComments

2) National News

•Grants to Support Special Education Announced: The U.S. Department of Education announced on October 8, 2014 the recipients of $121 million in grants from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The grants will support technical assistance centers; the IDEA Fiscal Data Center at WestEd in San Francisco; the Leadership Consortia in Sensory Disabilities and Disabilities Associated with Intensive Service Needs; special education early childhood education programs; special education low incidence programs; special education related services; special education minority institutions; and Parent Training and Information Centers.

The Office of Special Education Program grants (OSEP) also include $8.7 million for WestED in San Francisco to create a Center for Systemic Improvement (CSI). The center will provide technical assistance to states to improve intervention service programs for children with disabilities in local schools. The intervention services need to align with the U.S. DOE’s Results Driven Accountability Framework.

See http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/121-million-awarded-grants-help-improve-outcomes-individuals-disabilities?src=rotator

•Thirty States Still Providing Less State Funding for Schools: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a report on October 16, 2014 entitled Most States Still Funding Schools Less Than Before the Recession by Michael Leachman and Chris Mai. The authors examined state budget documents and found that 30 states are providing less funding per K-12 student for the 2014-15 school year than before the recession in 2008-2009. Fourteen states have cut per student funding by more than 10 percent since the beginning of the recession.

Although the authors found that state funding for K-12 education programs increased this school year in some states, the increase has not made-up for the past cuts in 30 states. States providing less funding per student in 2014-15 than in 2008 are Oklahoma (down 23.6 percent), Alabama; Arizona, Idaho, Wisconsin, Kansas, North Carolina, Utah, Maine, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, South Dakota, New Mexico, Florida, Arkansas, Nevada, California, Louisiana, Montana, West Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Colorado, and Vermont.

Some states have increased state per student funding in 2008-15. These include Ohio (.3 percent or $13 per student), Nebraska, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Oregon, New York, Missouri, Minnesota, Wyoming, Maryland (5.4 percent), Rhode Island (5.6 percent), Washington (5.9 percent), Massachusetts (6.3 percent), Delaware (9.1 percent), Alaska (16.4 percent), and North Dakota (31.6 percent).

Budget information for Hawai’i, Indiana, and Iowa was not available to be included in the report.

The authors also describe the consequences of the state cuts to schools, which include reduced educational services and programs, and increased local taxes to support schools. The cuts in K-12 education programs have also “slowed the economy’s recovery from the recession”. According to federal employment data, by 2012 school districts had cut about 330,000 jobs and are still down 260,000 jobs compared to 2008. The authors question the capacity of school districts to successfully implement new content standards, assessments, teacher evaluations, and other reforms with fewer resources, including human resources.

See Most States Still Funding Schools Less Than Before the Recession by Michael Leachman and Chris Mai, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 16, 2014 at
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=4213

3) More Questions Raised About the Amount of Student Testing: Last week three organizations released reports and statements about the amount of student testing going on in schools, and as a result President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced their support for reviewing mandated assessments and the amount of time students spend on testing. The organizations include the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Council of Great City Schools, and the Center for American Progress.

•The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) reported on October 15, 2014 that many states are reviewing assessment systems to make sure that “every test is in the best interest of students and teachers.”

The CCSSO will ask its members to review state assessments for quality and alignment, assist school districts as they review formative assessments, eliminate redundant assessments, and increase the transparency of the state assessment systems by publishing an easily accessible list of all state assessments.

The CGCS is surveying its members to determine the number of tests administered, and will compile case studies to determine the amount of time spent on school-based testing and test preparation. CGCS will convene a special task force to review the findings, and make recommendations to streamline or eliminate assessments that are found to be of low quality, redundant, or inappropriately used; increase transparency; and work to ensure that assessment results are used to enhance classroom instruction, and curtail counterproductive “test prep” practices.

The two organizations also released a document entitled Commitments on High-Quality Assessments, which includes the following principles to guide the development and use of assessments:
-”Assessments should be high quality. We cannot waste student or teacher time with low quality tests. Assessments must be aligned with college- and career-ready standards. Assessments must measure students’ abilities to think critically, synthesize material from multiple sources, analyze problems, and explain and justify responses.
-Assessments should be part of a coherent system. Assessments should complement each other in a way that defines a coherent system of measures. Assessments should be administered in only the numbers and duration that will give us the information that is needed and nothing more. Multiple assessments of the same students for similar purposes should be minimized or eliminated.
-Assessments should be meaningful. Assessments are critical to improving instructional practice in the classroom and to helping parents make decisions. Therefore, the results of assessments should be timely, transparent, disaggregated, and easily accessible to students, parents, teachers and the public so they can interpret and analyze results, as needed.”

See “Chief State School Officers and Urban School Leaders Announce Joint Effort to Improve Student Testing”, October 15, 2014 at http://www.ccsso.org/News_and_Events/Press_Releases/Chief_State_School_Officers_and_Urban_School_Leaders_Announce_Joint_Effort_to_Improve_Student_Testing.html

See “Push to Limit Federal Test Mandates Gain Steam” by Alyson Klein, Education Week, October 13, 2014 at
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/15/08testing.h34.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

•The Center for American Progress released on October 16, 2014 a report about student testing entitled Testing Overload in America’s Schools by Melissa Lazarin. The report examined how much time students spent taking state-mandated tests verses classroom, school, or district tests in 14 school districts in seven states during the 2013-14 school year. The school districts included in the report are the Columbus City Schools and South-Western City Schools in Ohio; the Denver Public Schools and Jefferson County (JeffCo) in Colorado; Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Sarasota County Schools in Florida; the Atlanta Public Schools and Cobb County School District in Georgia; the Chicago Public Schools and Elmwood Community Schools in Illinois; Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville and Bullitt County Public Schools in Kentucky; and the Shelby County Schools and Knox County Schools in Tennessee.

According to the report, ”Students are tested as frequently as twice per month and an average of once per month. Our analysis found that students take as many as 20 standardized assessments per year and an average of 10 tests in grades 3-8. The regularity with which testing occurs, especially in these grades, may be causing students, families, and educators to feel burdened by testing.”

The report also notes that students take more district tests than state assessments, and students spend on average 1.6 percent of instructional time or less on testing, or, on average, 15-16 hours on district and state exams. The report goes on to say, ”While the actual time spent taking tests might be low, a culture has arisen in some states and districts that places a premium on testing over learning. It is difficult to systematically document the prevalence of these activities. However, our research indicates that some districts and states may be administering tests that are duplicative or unnecessary; they may also be requiring or encouraging significant amounts of test preparation, such as taking practice tests.”

The report recommends that states and school leaders implement the new Common Core aligned assessments, because they include open-ended questions and are better assessments; provide schools and districts with more technical assistance and guidance about their assessment programs so that they are not duplicative or redundant; involve teachers in decisions regarding the effectiveness of assessments for improving instruction; refrain from test preparation and other practices and activities that might increase test anxiety; and improve the transparency of district-level assessments so that parents and the community are “...informed of all district and state tests, including when they are scheduled to occur, their purpose, their administration time, and whether they are required by the state or district. At a minimum, this information should be posted on school districts’ websites.”

See Testing Overload in America’s Schools” by Melissa Lazarin, American Center for Progress, October 16, 2014 at
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2014/10/16/99073/testing-overload-in-americas-schools/

•What is happening in Ohio? Recently proponents of HB597 (Huffman/Thompson), Repeal the Common Core Standards, have questioned the number of tests administered in Ohio’s schools in hearings on the bill. Debate last spring about HB487 (Brenner), the Mid Biennium Review-Education, also raised questions about the amount of testing. As a result, when the bill was signed into law in June 2014, the number of “end of course exams” was set at 7, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction was directed to report to the governor and General Assembly by January 15, 2015 ways to reduce the number and duration of state assessments. In contrast to the law, the State Board of Education had approved in 2013 graduation requirements that included 10 “end of course exams.” Recently introduced HB629 (Brenner/Gonzales) would limit to four the number of hours for state-mandated testing per student per year.

See proponent and opponent testimony on HB597 at http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/rules-and-reference

•Response from the White House: In response to the new reports about testing, President Obama said in a statement on October 15, 2014 that he is directing Education Secretary Arne Duncan “...to support states and school districts in the effort to improve assessment of student learning so that parents and teachers have the information they need, that classroom time is used wisely, and assessments are one part of fair evaluation of teachers and accountability for schools.”

See “As overtesting outcry grows education leaders pull back on standardized tests” Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 2014 at http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2014/1016/As-overtesting-outcry-grows-education-leaders-pull-back-on-standardized-tests

Also on October 15, 2014 U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement, “Educators, parents, and policy makers need to know how much students are learning; that’s why thoughtful assessment of student learning and student growth, including annual assessments, is a vital part of progress in education. Assessments must be of high quality, and must make good use of educators’ and students’ time. Yet in some places, tests – and preparation for them – are dominating the calendar and culture of schools and causing undue stress for students and educators. I welcome the action announced today by state and district leaders, which will bring new energy and focus to improving assessment of student learning. My Department will support that effort.”

See http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/statement-us-education-secretary-arne-duncan-commitments-council-chief-state-sch

See also “Standardized Tests Must Measure Up” by Arne Duncan, Washington Post, October 17, 2014 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/arne-duncan-standardized-tests-must-measure-up/2014/10/17/e0e699c4-54a4-11e4-892e-602188e70e9c_story.html

•Response from FairTest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest), Monty Neill executive director, issued a statement on October 12, 2014 recommending a moratorium on standardized tests, punitive sanctions on schools and districts, and the use of student scores to judge teachers. The moratorium would give states time to create new state assessment systems that support teaching and learning, and provide information about student achievement to parents, communities, and states.

See “Time for a Real Testing Moratorium” FairTest, October 12, 2014 at
http://www.fairtest.org/time-real-testing-moratorium

•Response from the NEA: In a press release issued on October 16, 2014, Lilly Eskelsen, president of the National Education Association, said that the “...statements by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Council of the Great City Schools and today’s report from Center for American Progress have confirmed that too often and in too many places, the education system has turned into a system of teach, learn and test with a focus on punishments and prizes.”

The NEA president recommended that the federal government return to “grade span testing” and using testing is a “way to guide instruction for our students and tailor lessons to their individual needs.”

She goes on to say, “As experts in educational practice, we know that the current system of standardized tests does not provide educators or students with the feedback or accountability any of us need to promote the success and learning of students. It also doesn’t address the main issues that plague our education system, like ensuring equity and opportunity for all students.”

See “NEA: Standardized Testing Mania Hurts Students, Does Nothing to Close Gaps”, National Education Association, October 16, 2014 at http://www.nea.org/home/60750.htm

4) New Recommendations for State Accountability Systems: Two reports about state accountability systems were released on October 16, 2014 at a briefing hosted by the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington, D.C. See https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/events/1262

The first report, Accountability for College and Career Readiness: Developing a New Paradigm, by Linda Darling-Hammond, Gene Wilhoit, and Linda Pittenger, recommends a new framework for state accountability systems based on meaningful learning, professionally skilled and committed educators, and adequate and appropriate resources so that students are prepared for college or careers (CCR) when they graduate from high school. The framework is built on the following principles for effective accountability systems:

•Develop assessments that are more focused on 21st century learning skills and are used in ways that improve teaching and learning
•Create stronger, more multidimensional ways to evaluate schools and more sophisticated strategies to help schools improve
•Address the opportunity gap that has allowed inequalities in resources to deprive many students of needed opportunities to learn
•Develop an infrastructure that allows educators to acquire and share the knowledge and skills they need to enable students to learn, including quality preparation, professional learning, evaluation, and career advancement for individuals.

The proposed accountability system would include multiple measures of outcomes and also inputs. The following measures are proposed:

State and Local Assessment Results
-Consortium tests at designated grade bands (not every year) to validate local assessment results
-Performance assessments
-English-language proficiency gains
-Assessment of college & career ready (CCR) skills, such as AP, IB, CTE

Student Participation Measures
-Attendance
-Persistence rates
-Graduate rates (4,5, & 6 year)
-Expulsion/suspension
-Postsecondary transition
-Secondary-year enrollment in IHE

School Climate/Opportunity to Learn
-Student surveys
-Parent surveys
-Teacher surveys
-Percent completing career and college ready courses of study
-Social-emotional learning & supports

Inputs/Context
-Instructional expenditures
-Educator qualifications
-Student characteristics
-Student supports
-Curriculum Offerings
-Extracurricular opportunities

See “Accountability for College and Career Readiness Developing a New Paradigm”, by Linda Darling-Hammond, Gene Wilhoit, and Linda Pittenger, October 16, 2014, Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education at
https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/accountability-college-and-career-readiness-developing-new-paradigm.pdf

The second report, Next Generation Accountability Systems: An Overview of Current State Policies and Practices by the Center for American Progress and the Council of Chief state School Officers, provides examples of next-generation accountability concepts currently being implemented in some states in the following areas:

-Measuring progress toward college and career readiness
-Diagnosing and responding to challenges via school-based quality improvement
-State systems of support and intervention, including school support teams, pairing high-growth schools with low-performing schools, networks of low-performing schools, engaging external providers, and recovery school districts.
-Resource accountability, including new school funding formulas, increased transparency, and accountability.
-Professional accountability, including teacher evaluation systems, professional development, teacher preparation, teacher selection, retention, and tenure.

The Ohio Department of Education’s School Improvement Diagnostic Review (SIDR) is featured as an example of a state strategy to help low performing schools identify ways to improve.

The report also identifies the challenges that states, districts, and schools face in implementing new accountability systems, such as transitioning to new assessments; developing, implementing, and validating richer measures of student and school success; implementing school-quality improvement systems; enforcing resource accountability; and strengthening the teaching profession.

The report concludes with the following statement: “While innovation in one or two of the above categories represents a desire to move beyond status quo, states should take care that their reforms do not create unintended consequences or adverse incentives for various stakeholders in the system. Rather, states should ensure that accountability reforms affect student outcomes in a positive direction by designing their system for coherence and continuous improvement in a way that does not mask gaps in progress by individual groups of students. States can achieve this by creating a theory of action that articulates how the goals of the accountability system drive key design decisions and which supports and interventions will be given at various system levels to provide capacity along the way.”

5) Bills Introduced

•SB370 (LaRose) Voter Registration Awareness Day: Designates the fourth Tuesday in September as “Voter Registration Awareness Day.”•

FYI ARTS

1) Recruiting Students for Arts Day: The Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation is seeking high schools to participate in the Student Advocates Program. Selected high schools will send teams of students to serve as advocates for arts education on Arts Day, May 13, 2015 in Columbus, OH. The high school teams will participate in a range of activities (at their school and in Columbus) to prepare for Arts Day, and meet with their representatives in the General Assembly. The experience provides students with opportunities to learn about Ohio government and the value and importance of the arts and arts education as a part of a complete curriculum; hone public speaking skills; and network with students and teachers who are involved in the arts in other schools. The Student Advocates visit all legislative offices at the Ohio Statehouse on Arts Day as ambassadors of the arts and arts education, and are guests at the annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts ceremony and luncheon.

For information about this opportunity, please contact:
Shoshanna Gross, Shoshanna@OhioCitizensForTheArts.org
Telephone: 614.221.4064 Fax: 614.241.5329
Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation 77 South High Street, 2nd Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108

2) Register Now for a Conference on Sustaining Arts and Culture: The first ever Sustaining Ohio’s Arts & Culture Ecosystem Conference will be held on December 9, 2014 from 8:30 - 4:30 PM at the Ohio History Center in Columbus. The conference, which is hosted by the Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Citizens for the Arts, the Ohio History Connection, and Heritage Ohio, will provide information about strategies for boards, volunteers, and staff to use to strengthen Ohio’s arts and cultural organizations. Some of the topics that will be discussed include resources for financing arts and cultural organizations, organizing fund raising campaigns, capital and program planning, and creating advocacy networks. The keynote speaker will be Jamie Bennett, Executive Director of ArtPlace America. The cost of the conference is $25.00. To register go to https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50232/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=79231. For more information please contact Joyce Barrett, Heritage Ohio, at 614-258-6200

3) Researchers Say Policy Makers Must Broaden the Measures of School Success: Researchers at the University of Arkansas (U of A), led by Professor Jay Greene, published on October 14, 2014 the results of a second study, Learning from Live Theater Students Realize Gains in Knowledge, Tolerance, and More, showing the positive affects of culturally enriching field trips on students.

In September 2013 Professor Greene and researchers at U of A published a similar report which showed that students who were randomly chosen to participate in field trips to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in northwest Arkansas gained knowledge and showed more tolerance, empathy, and improved critical thinking skills compared to similar students who did not visit the museum. (See “The Educational Value of Field Trips,” by Jay P. Greene, Brian Kisida and Daniel H. Bowen, EducationNext, September 9, 2013, at http://educationnext.org/the-educational-value-of-field-trips/)

In this recent study 49 student groups (totaling 670 students) were assigned by lottery to a control group or to a group to see theater productions of Hamlet or A Christmas Carol produced by TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

According to the report, “Among students assigned by lottery to see live theater, we find enhanced knowledge of the plot and vocabulary in those plays, greater tolerance, and improved ability to read the emotions of others.”

As a result of this study, the researchers conclude, “Our goal in pursuing research on the effects of culturally enriching field trips is to broaden the types of measures that education researchers, and in turn policy makers and practitioners, consider when judging the educational success or failure of schools. It requires significantly greater effort to collect new measures than to rely solely on state-provided math and reading tests, but we believe that this effort is worthwhile. By broadening the measures used to assess educational outcomes, we can also learn what role, if any, cultural institutions may play in producing those outcomes.”

Jay P. Greene is professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas; Collin Hitt and Anne Kraybill are doctoral students; and Cari A. Bogulski is a researcher.

See “Learning from Live Theater Students Realize Gains in Knowledge, Tolerance, and More” by Jay P. Greene, Collin Hitt, Anne Kraybill and Cari A. Bogulski, EducationNext, Winter 2015 at
http://educationnext.org/learning-live-theater/