Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update
Joan Platz
June 22, 2014

1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate are on recess.

The Legislative Schedule for the second half of 2014 has been posted. The House and Senate have scheduled “if needed” sessions in September; the Senate has scheduled an “if needed” session in October; both the House and Senate have scheduled sessions and committee hearings in November after November 11, 2014 (Veterans Day); and both the House and Senate have scheduled sessions in December.

•Governor Signs Bills: Governor Kasich signed into law on June 16, 2014 two mid-biennium review bills (MBR), HB483 (Amstutz) MBR Operations and HB487 (Brenner) MBR Education, and HB393 (Baker/Landis), which requires public high schools to publish a career decision guide annually.

Because HB483 is an appropriations measure, the governor could apply a “line-item” veto. He vetoed three provisions, including one education provision. The governor vetoed Section 3318.36, which would have allowed school districts impacted by the tangible personal property tax phase-out to negotiate new school construction agreements with the Ohio School Facilities Commission. In the veto statement Governor Kasich explained that he vetoed the provision, because it would increase state costs.

•August Special Election: Ballot issues for the August Special Election have been posted on the Secretary of State’s web site at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/Research/electResultsMain/2014Results.aspx

There are a total of 16 issues, including seven school issues. The following counties have issues on the August ballot: Brown, Champaign, Clark, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Hocking, Licking, Lucas, Pickaway, Portage, Stark, Summit and Warren.

•ODE Releases Test Results: The Ohio Department of Education released last week the latest results of student testing on state assessments, including the Ohio Achievement Assessment and the Ohio Graduation Tests.

Ohio Achievement Assessment - Third Grade Reading: Eighty-eight percent of students statewide earned a passing grade on the third-grade reading exam administered in the spring 2014. Last fall about 36 percent of students failed to pass the reading test. Twelve percent of students could be retained in third grade next school year, if they do not pass the reading test or an alternative exam this summer, or are not granted an exemption. Students needed to achieve a cut score of 392 to pass the exam this year, but the State Board is considering raising the cut-score, because 400 is the score for proficient. The State Board of Education's Achievement Committee voted on June 9, 2014 to increase the cut-score to 394 for next year. The State Board will consider the proposed cut-score increase at their July 2014 meeting.

See http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Testing/Ohio-Achievement-Assessments/Ohio-Achievement-Assessment-Results

Ohio Graduation Tests: Seventy-one percent of Ohio 10th grade students in traditional public schools and charter schools passed all five sections of the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) administered in the spring 2014. The passage rates for each exam breaks down in the following ways:
-89.4 percent of students passed the reading test
-77.4 percent passed the science test
-88 percent passed the writing test
-82.9 percent passed the social studies test
-82.3 percent passed the math test

Also taking the OGT were 12,111 nonpublic students. The passage rates for nonpublic school students for each exam breaks-down in the following ways:
-97.5 percent passed the reading test
-91.0 percent passed the science test
-97.1 percent passed the writing test
-93.9 percent passed the social studies test
-92.3 percent passed the math test

The results are still preliminary and need to be verified by the schools.

See
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Testing/Testing-Results/Ohio-Graduation-Tests-OGT-Assessment-Results/Highlights-of-March-2014-OGT-2.pdf.aspx

•Second Round Straight A Fund Grants Announced: The Straight A Fund Governing Board, chaired by Alex Fischer, announced on June 20, 2014 the recipients of the second-round of Straight A Fund grants for FY2015. The Governing Board selected 34 projects to fund and three additional projects to fund on a conditional basis, from about 339 applications submitted in April 2014.

The Straight A Fund program was created in HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget to support education projects that either raise student achievement; reduce spending; or target a greater share of resources to the classroom. The projects also must prove that they are self-sustaining.

The fund included around $250 million for two rounds of project grants. The first round of grants, totaling $88.6 million, was awarded in December 2013. In this second round about $150 million will be awarded.

The Straight A grants are subject to approval by the Controlling Board, which is scheduled to meet on Monday, July 28, 2014.

See http://education.ohio.gov/Media/Media-Releases/Ohio-Straight-A-Fund-Governing-Board-Recommends-Ap#.U6SrLzlqJhM

2) National News

•DC Holding Off on Using VAM for Teacher Evaluations: According to Education Week, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced on June 19, 2014 that value added scores based on student test results will not be used in teacher evaluations for the coming school year. Chancellor Henderson said that it was not fair to use student scores on new tests and new standards until a baseline is established and complications are resolved. Value-added measures (VAM) currently account for 35 percent of a teacher’s evaluation for teachers who teach in tested grades and subjects in the Washington DC school district. In place of VAM teacher evaluations will be based on observations and other measures.

See “DC to suspend test scores in teacher evaluations” by Ben Nuckols and Kimberly Hefling, Education Week Teacher, June 20, 2014 at
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/06/19/dc-to-suspend-test-scores-in-1.html

•Teacher Evaluation Agreement Worked-Out in New York: The New York Post is reporting that Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature have agreed on a new teacher evaluation plan for the coming school year. The plan delays using student test score results for teachers rated “ineffective” or “developing” for two years, 2014 and 2015. Instead, these teachers will be evaluated using other methods. Teachers rated “effective” or “highly effective” will still receive ratings based on student scores.

See “Albany OKs Common Core reprieve for low-rated teachers” by Pat Bailey, Aaron Short, and Carl Campanile, New York Post, June 19, 2014.

•Louisiana in a Conundrum over Common Core and Assessments: Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post reported on June 18, 2014 that opposing sides of the Common Core Standards and PARCC assessments were issuing directives regarding the future policy direction of the state. Earlier in the week Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had issued an executive order for the state to withdraw from participating in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) assessments. According to the article, Governor Jindal questioned Louisiana’s involvement in PARCC, which he believes is in violation of the state’s lowest bid procurement process. Louisiana State Board of Education chairman Chas Roemer and Superintendent of Education John White later responded saying that the governor had no legal authority to withdraw Louisiana from PARCC or change state standards. Yet the governor later suspended the state’s contract with PARCC and the procurement of the PARCC assessments. Stay tuned!

See “Jindal says he’s withdrawing Louisiana from Common Core standards” by Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post, June 18, 2014 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jindal-w

3) Poll Finds that Few Know About CCSS: NBC News and the Wall Street Journal released on June 18, 2014 the results of a poll conducted by Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies. The poll of 1000 adults conducted between June 11-15, 2014 covers a variety of topics about the economy, the popularity of the president, presidential candidates, and some questions about education. The pollsters found, for example, that 47 percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed have not heard of the common core state standards; 22 percent said that they had heard a lot about the standards; and 30 percent said that they had heard “some” about the standards.

When the common core standards are described in a positive way, 27 percent of respondents reported that they strongly support the standards; 32 percent said that they somewhat support the standards; 11 percent said that they somewhat oppose the standards; 20 percent said that they strongly oppose the standards; and 10 percent said that they are not sure.

Regarding the quality of schools, 5 percent of those surveyed responded that public schools are working well; 31 percent said that some changes are needed, but basically schools should be kept the same; 35 percent said that major changes are needed; 26 percent said that a complete overhaul is needed; and 3 percent said that they are not sure.

The poll also found the following:

•Role of Government: 46 percent reported that the “government” should do more to solve problems and help meet the needs of people, while 50 percent said that the “government” is doing to many things better left to business and individuals.

•November Election: 32 percent surveyed said that their representative to Congress deserves to be re-elected; 57 percent said that someone else should have a chance; and 11 percent said that they were not sure.

•Children in the Household: Only 28 percent of respondents reported that they have children living in their household.

See MSN/Wall Street Journal June 2014 Poll at
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/14463%20JUNE%20NBC-WSJ%20Poll%20%286-18%20Release%29.pdf

4) Summit Recommends Policies to Address Poverty: The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institute held a two-day summit on June 19-20, 2014 entitled Addressing America’s Poverty Crisis. The Hamilton Project was founded at Brookings in 2006 to recommend “innovative policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans.” The project is guided by an Advisory Council of academics, business leaders, and policy makers.

According to the information about the summit, “...roughly one-in-seven adults and one-in-five children live in poverty.” The impact of poverty imposes a number of challenges on people, including inconsistent nutrition, inadequate skills, poor health, and limited wages and job opportunities.

The summit was used to introduce the following 14 new policy proposals to combat poverty:
-Expand preschool access for disadvantaged children
-Address the parenting divide to promote early childhood development for disadvantaged children
-Reduce unintended pregnancies for low-income women
-Design effective mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth
-Expand summer employment opportunities for low-income youth
-Address the academic barriers to higher education
-Expand apprenticeship opportunities for disadvantaged students
-Provide disadvantaged workers with skills to succeed in the labor market
-Support low-income workers through refundable child-care credits
-Build on the success of the earned income tax credit
-Encourage work sharing to reduce unemployment
-Design thoughtful minimum wage policies at the state and local levels
-Develop smarter, better, and faster predictive analytics and rapid-cycle evaluation to improve programs and outcomes.

See http://www.hamiltonproject.org/events/addressing_americas_poverty_crisis/

5) The Impact of Toxic Stress and Poverty on Children: The United Way of Central Ohio released on June 18, 2014 a report entitled 2014 Franklin County Children’s Report: How Toxic Stress Threatens Success.

The report describes how poverty increases the level of trauma, insecurity, anxiety, and stress on children, and negatively affects their development. The report also includes some strategies that foster resiliency in children, and identifies the steps that are needed to foster in Franklin County an environment where all children have opportunities to succeed.

According to the report, toxic stress in children is caused by a prolonged exposure to adversity so that children feel that they are in a state of constant danger. As a result the children have high levels of stress hormones in their bodies and are unable to focus on learning. Their normal development is disrupted, increasing the risk of cognitive impairment and poor health conditions throughout their lives.

About 25 percent of children in Franklin County (70,700 children) are considered to be living in poverty, and many of these children experience the following conditions that could result in toxic stress:
-Unstable homes, families, and schools: Research shows that students who change schools often perform worse academically than their peers. In 2012-13 seventeen percent of students in Franklin County (32,987 students) attended one school for less than a full academic year.
-Food Insecurity: Researchers have found that hunger adversely affects the physical and cognitive development of children between ages 0-3, and going hungry actually makes children sick. About 21 percent of children in Franklin County experience food insecurity and about 45 percent receive SNAP assistance.
-Juvenile Detention: Research has found that the experience of incarceration impacts the mental, physical, and emotional health of adolescents. In Franklin County 2,640 youth were admitted to the juvenile detention system in 2013.

The report notes, “Unfortunately, our policy and program responses often fail to align with what neuroscience tells us can improve life outcomes—health, economic and educational. We invest too little in children during their early years when their cognitive and non-cognitive abilities are the most malleable. Gaps in non-cognitive abilities between advantaged and disadvantaged children appear early in the lives of children, and are heavily influenced by the environments in which they grow up and the relationships they enjoy from birth—those things that neuroscience tells us are important for healthy child development, in fact, “schooling after the second grade plays only a minor role in alleviating these gaps, schooling quality and school resources have relatively small effects on ability deficits and only marginally account for any divergence by age in test scores across children from different socioeconomic groups.”

To help children develop secure attachments and feel safe, parents and caregivers must be able to manage stress and provide children with nurturing attention. Positive support systems can help parents develop resiliency, competence, and lower anxiety in families. The negative impact of toxic stress can be reversed through the following early and ongoing interventions with children and with parents:

•Early intervention for pregnant women: According to the report, “We need to do everything we can to support mothers of young children, from making sure their basic emotional and physical needs are met to just hanging out with them and being available when they need us most.”

•Stability: Creating caring environments that promote empathy and resiliency will help children build trust. Researchers have found that countries that exhibit more interpersonal trust and equity enjoy greater economic prosperity.

According to the report, “...schools that report greater student connectedness have lower rates of drug use, violence, heavy drinking, smoking and suicide attempts—so the benefits don’t just go to the children who would otherwise be victimized, but to the whole community.”

The report recommends that schools become hubs for wrap-around services for families to increase food security, housing stability, and access to mental and physical health care, etc.

•Nurturing relationships among children and youth: According to the report, “...mentoring relationships have been shown to have numerous positive outcomes, including: improvements in self-esteem; better relationships with parents and peers; greater school connectedness; improved academic performance; and reductions in substance use, violence and other risk behaviors.”

•Trauma-informed interventions: Children who experience trauma often show behavior problems in school. Using strict punishments, however, only re-traumatize the children. Suspending children from school is also not helpful, because the school might be the only safe and stable place that the child knows. Interventions must support conditions that reduce trauma and build resiliency.

•Coordinate poverty programs: Asset-mapping should be used to identify existing community programs that support parents and families in poverty, and identify gaps so that resources can be targeted. The report also emphasizes that organizations that work with families should develop mutual goals and coordinate resources to achieve the goals.

See “2014 Franklin County Children’s Report: How Toxic Stress Threatens Success”, prepared by the Kirwan Institute, Community Research Partners, and Champion of Children, an initiative of United Way of Central Ohio, June 18, 2014 at
http://liveunitedcentralohio.org/download/initiatives/champion_of_children/2014_FCC_Report_140620.pdf

6) State Board of Education Update: The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, met on June 9 and 10, 2014 in Columbus. The following is a summary of committee and board actions:

•Achievement Committee
The Achievement Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, met on June 9, 2014. The committee approved an increase in the passing cut-score for the Ohio Achievement Assessment for Grade 3 Reading. If approved by the State Board of Education in July 2014, the cut-score will increase from 392 to 394 on a scale in which 400 is proficient. Cut-scores have been set to determine whether students are reading at a “limited”, “basic”, “proficient”, “accelerated” or “advanced” level. The new cut-score, 394, is considered to be “high basic” and will be used as the passing score in reading for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

The State Board will need to review the cut-scores for all exams in the future, as schools in Ohio transition to new assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and are administered by PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

•Accountability Committee
The Accountability Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, met on June 9, 2014. The committee approved the component scores on the state report card for the gifted indicator for future school years. The gifted indicator includes three components: progress (value added), the performance index score, and input points. School districts must meet all of the component scores to meet the gifted indicator.

For 2013-14 and 2014-15 the component scores are Progress, C and above; Performance Index, 115 and above; Input Points, 40 and above.

For 2014-15 the component scores are Progress, C or above; Performance Index, 115 and above; and Input Points, 40 and above.

For 2015-16 the component scores are Progress, C or above; Performance Index, 116 and above; and Input Points, 60 and above.

For 2016-17 the component scores are Progress, C or above; Performance Index, 117 and above; Input Points, 80 and above.

•Operating Standards Committee
The Operating Standards Committee, chaired by Ron Rudduck, met on June 9, 2014. The committee continued the discussion about the revision of Operating Standards, Ohio Administrative Code Rules 3301-35-01 through 15. The committee received more information about blended learning, and decided that a separate rule should be created for blended learning. Currently it is referenced in Rule 3301-35-06 of the Operating Standards. Next month the committee will discuss Rules 3301-35-07,09, and 11.

State Board Business Meeting June 10, 2014

Public Participation

-Dr. Jennifer Miller, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for Middle Childhood Education at Hiram College, and Dr. Paula M. White, Professor of Education and Director of Middle Childhood Education at Ohio Wesleyan University, addressed the State Board about the low rates of passage for teacher candidates on the middle-level content licensing exams. The exams, developed by Pearson, were administered in 2013 for the first time.

Both presenters are officers in an organization called the Ohio Middle Level Professors Association, which serves as a forum for educators who prepare middle-level teachers in Ohio. The Ohio Middle Level Professors Association recently evaluated the new Pearson licensing exams for middle level teachers and identified the following issues:
-The exams are not aligned to the state approved K-12 curriculum
-Institutions of higher education were not given sufficient time to realign their curriculum to prepare teachers
-The cost of the required tests and license fees for middle-level teacher candidates is over $800, and higher than other teacher licensing exams and fees.

The presenters said that the Ohio Middle Level Professors Association endorses the resolution before the State Board to adjust the passing score on the qualifying exam, but also noted that the issue goes beyond reducing the cut score. The presenters support the creation of the proposed middle-grade assessment panel to further investigate the issues that they have raised about the exam.

–Dan Dodd, representing the Ohio Association for Independent Schools, addressed the State Board regarding the graduation requirements for students in nonpublic schools. He asked the State Board to abide by a provision included in recently approved HB487 (Brenner) the Mid Biennium Review-Education, regarding the formation of a committee to review the graduation requirements for students in nonpublic schools. The committee is required to submit their recommendations to the Ohio General Assembly by January 15, 2015. He specifically asked that the State Board not make any “rash decisions” or go forward with “proposals in the next few months that would undermine what it is that the committee is trying to address.”

The State Board also recognized Lori Lofton, for eight years of service to the State Board. She has resigned from her position as Director of the Office of Educator Quality at the Ohio Department of Education, and accepted a position in the Westerville City School District.

The State Board took the following action on June 10, 2014:

-#6 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rules 3301-24-03 and 3301-24-18 of the Ohio Administrative Code Entitled Teacher Education Programs and Resident Educator License.
-#14 Approved a Resolution to Rescind Rules 3301-21-05 to -07 of the Ohio Administrative Code Regarding Colleges and Universities Preparing Teachers.
-#15 Approved a Resolution to Amend Rules 3301-24-07 of the Ohio Administrative Code Entitled Provisional License Renewal.
-#16 Approved a Resolution to Amend Rules 3301-37-01 to 3301-37-12 of the Ohio Administrative Code Regarding Child Day Care Programs.
-#17 Approved a Resolution to adopt Rule 3301-102-011 of the Ohio Administrative Code Entitled Dropout Prevention and Recovery Schools’ Assessment of Growth in Student Achievement and to Adopt Rule 3301-102-12 of the Administrative Code Entitled Standards for Awarding an Overall Report Card Designation to Dropout Prevention and Recovery Community Schools.
-#18 Approved a Resolution to Adopt New Ohio Assessments for Educators Licensing Exams and Associated Qualifying Scores for Agriculture Science and Health Licensing Areas.
-#19 Approved a Resolutions to Adopt Adjusted Qualifying Scores for Five Ohio Assessments for Educators Licensing Exams.
-#20 Approved a Resolution to Adopt Model Curricula in Fine Arts and World Languages.

FYI ARTS

1) Arts Assessment Project Funded by the Straight A Fund: Congratulations to a consortium, led by Hamilton Local Schools, for receiving a $1.42 million grant from the Straight A Fund to develop 44 assessments in the arts. The grant was awarded last week to the consortium, which also includes the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, West Muskingum Local Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools, The Ohio State University, the Dublin Arts Council, and Battelle for Kids.

2) Arts Education Gets Big Boost in New York City: Geoff Decker reports for Chalkbeat New York that a coalition of arts organizations in New York City, led by the Center for Arts Education, wrote a letter on June 17, 2014 to New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina with recommendations for expanding access for students to the arts. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed an additional $23 million in the city’s budget to expand arts education opportunities for students in New York City schools. The money is to be used to meet minimum state requirements for arts education, but the arts organizations outlined in the letter other ways the money could be used to support the arts. These include using a percent of the funds to subsidize the salaries of arts teachers as an incentive for principals to hire more arts teachers; expanding partnerships between the schools and community arts organizations; expanding professional development for arts teachers; and including the arts in the district’s accountability framework.

According to the article, the school system lost more than 200 certified arts teachers over the past four years. Funding for the arts is now around $300 million, but one in five city schools is not providing state mandated instruction in the arts, according to a report prepared by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

See “Advocates ask city to help principals pay salaries for new art teachers” by Geoff Decker, Chalkbeat New York, June 18, 2014 at
http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2014/06/18/advocates-ask-city-to-help-principals-pay-salaries-for-new-art-teachers/
###

Joan Platz
Director of Research

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
77 South High Street Second Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
614-446-9669 - cell
joan.platz@gmail.com

Ohio News

130th Ohio General Assembly: No committees of the House or Senate are scheduled to meet this week.

State Board of Education Gains/Loses Members: Darryl Mehaffie, an at-large member of the State Board of Education, resigned on June 6, 2014 after serving on the board for 18 months. Governor Kasich lost no time replacing him, and appointed Cathye Flory to the board on June 11, 2014.

Cathye Flory of Logan served on the Logan Hocking Board of Education for 12 years and on the Tri-County Career Center Board for 10 years.

The State Board includes 11 elected members and 8 appointed at-large members. The terms are four years and staggered. The board is still down one member, due to the resignation in December 2013 of Jeff Mims, an elected member representing the 3rd State Board District.

Governor Kasich has appointed thirteen members to the board since taking office in 2011. His appointments include replacing two elected members, Jeff Hardin (who passed away) and Bryan Williams (who resigned), and appointing 11 "at-large" members, including Tess Elshoff, Joe Farmer, C. Todd Jones, Dr. Mark Smith, Cathye Flory, Darryl Mehaffie (who just resigned), Dennis Shelton (who resigned), Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings, Angela Thi Bennett (who resigned), Melanie Bolender, and Stanley Jackson (who was not reappointed).

New Resources on the ODE Website: The Ohio Department of Education has posted on its website two documents that summarize provisions included in two bills recently approved by the General Assembly, HB487 and HB483.
• The "Highlights of the 2014 Mid-Biennium Review" is posted at http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Ohio-s-New-Learning-Standards/News/Mid-Biennium-Review-Conference-Committee-Synopsis/Summary-of-Key-Points-MBR-2014.pdf.aspx
• A document summarizing new state graduation requirements is posted at http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Testing/News/New-High-School-Graduation-Requirements/GradReq_2018_061214.pdf.aspx

Legislative Update
Signed into Law:
Governor Kasich signed into law last week the following bills:
• HB362 (Derickson-Scherer) STEM/Teacher Evaluations
• HB85 (Terhar-Gonzales) Homestead Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities
• HB171 (McClain-Patmon) Credit for Release-Time Religious Instruction
• HB264 (Wachtmann/Barnes) Care of Diabetic Students in Schools
The main mid biennium review budgets, HB487 (Brennan) MBR Education and HB483 (Amstutz) MBR Operations, have been sent to the governor and await his signature.
National News
FY15 Appropriations Bill Approved in Senate Subcommittee: The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, approved on June 10, 2014 a FY15 Appropriations Bill. The bill includes over $156 billion in discretionary budget authority (the same amount as FY14) for a wide-range of federal programs, including preschool and K-12 education programs. The increases in a number of programs are offset by decreases in current programs.

The bill sets as priorities for funding early childhood care and education, and includes increases for Head Start, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Preschool Development Grants, and IDEA Grants for Infants and Families.

The bill also increases funding for Title 1 grants to local education agencies for low-income students; Striving Readers; and TRIO for first generation college students.

The bill was expected to move to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration, but might be folded into an omnibus bill.

Gates Foundation Supports Delay in Accountability Consequences: Vicki Phillips, Director of Education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, issued on June 10, 2014 a letter to partners saying that "...assessment results should not be taken into account in high-stakes decisions on teacher evaluation or student promotion for the next two years." The letter notes that new teacher evaluation systems adopted by states cannot work unless teachers believe that they are fair and reliable. Providing additional time for teachers to get familiar with the tests, offer their feedback, and see how students perform is "an important part of the process of arriving at fair and reliable tests."

See "A Letter to our Partners: Let's Give Students and Teachers Time" by Vicki Phillips at http://collegeready.gatesfoundation.org/LinkClick.aspxfileticket=wPhuLSxJgV4%3D&portalid=0

More States Delay Common Core Consequences: Andrew Ujifusa reports for Education Week that several states, including Ohio, are delaying the consequences imposed by their accountability systems for schools and teachers as they implement new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and aligned assessments. The delay has implications for the accountability provisions required as part of the federal waivers of the No Child Left Behind Act as well.

According to the article lawmakers in Florida, Colorado, New Jersey, Ohio, Louisiana, and Mississippi have approved changes that will impact consequences for low performing schools, teacher evaluations, and student grades in state K-12 accountability systems for the coming school year.

In Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, and New Jersey, for example, lawmakers have given school districts more flexibility about using value added data in teacher evaluations. School districts in Colorado can decide how much student growth is factored into teacher evaluations, or not use it at all.

In Florida lawmakers approved a law that removed at-risk students from the graduation rate and delayed the requirement that schools rated "F" for two years in a row implement a turn-around plan.

Some states, for example Mississippi, are letting school districts keep the same accountability ratings for two years, and will use scores in 2015 as the starting point for new accountability systems based on the new standards and assessments.

The author also writes that the U.S. Department of Education has signaled a willingness to provide more flexibility to states regarding the accountability consequences promised in their No Child Left Behind waiver requests, and is extending NCLB waivers for some states.

See "Teacher, School Accountability Systems Shaken Up States move to delay, alter test-based rating systems, including 'A-F' approaches rolled out in recent years" by Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week, June 10, 2014 at
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/06/11/35accountability.h33.html

Judge Issues Vergara v. California Decision
The decision, Vergara v. California, Los Angles County Superior Court, is available at http://studentsmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Tenative-Decision.pdf

California Judge Rules Teacher Dismissal and Tenure Rules Unconstitutional: Stephen Sawchuk reports for Education Week's Teacher Beat Blog that a tentative decision in the high profile Vergara v. California case in Los Angeles was issued on June 10, 2014 by Judge Rolf Treu of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The decision declares five sections of state law unconstitutional, including the two-year review process that determines continuing employment for teachers; the due process procedures for dismissing teachers; and the use of seniority in layoff decisions. According to the decision, these policies disproportionately expose minority and disadvantaged students to "ineffective teachers", in violation of the California Constitution's equal protection clause.

The lawsuit was filed by Students Matter, founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and millionaire David Welch, on behalf of nine students in the Los Angeles City School Districts. Others, including Michelle Rhee of Students First, Parent Revolution Executive Director Ben Austin, and billionaire Eli Broad, are also supporters of the lawsuit.

The California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers intervened in the case on the side of the defendant, the State of California.

The article explains that the plaintiffs argued, and the judge agreed, that California's teacher tenure laws resulted in the assignment of ineffective teachers to teach minority and disadvantaged students to their detriment. The defendants, including the California Teachers Association, argued that the tenure laws have little impact on the quality of teachers in a particular school, because "well-managed" schools had no problem dismissing poor teachers.

Judge Treu also accepted the plaintiffs' views regarding the efficacy of the controversial "value added" methodology to identify good teachers, and the negative impact of a teacher with a low value-added score on student achievement.

In the Education Week article, Stephen Sawchuk notes that 16 states have moved to tie teacher employment to evaluations using "value added" scores, and that Florida and Kansas have eliminated either the continuing employment or due process associated with tenure. However, a court in North Carolina recently declared unconstitutional a recent law passed there outlawing continuing contracts for teachers.

The article also raises questions about the unintended consequences of the decision, which cites the "disparate impact" of the California teacher tenure and dismissal laws on minority and disadvantaged students as a reason for judging them unconstitutional.

Judge Treu bases his decision on three important court decisions involving equality of opportunity, Brown v Board of Education, Serrano v. Priest, and Butt v. California. But, whereas these decisions use the "fundamentally below" the prevailing statewide standard to determine constitutionality, Judge Treu applies a different standard of proof, and says that the challenged teacher laws impose a "real and appreciable impact" on the fundamental right of students to a quality education.

The article quotes Joshua Dunn, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, regarding the new level of proof used in the decision. He says, "Should California's courts accept the group's legal rationale, which hinges on disparate-impact analysis, the floodgates could open for litigation calling for even greater judicial control over California's schools."

Stephen Sawchuk also points out that the 16-page decision offers some ways for the California legislature to repair the challenged laws and align teacher employment and dismissal laws with national trends.

The Vergara decision is expected to be appealed by the California Teachers Association.

See "State Judge Strikes Down California's Laws on Teacher Tenure, Dismissal"
By Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week, June 10, 2014 at
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2014/06/breaking_california_teacher_tenure.html

For Another View on Vergara: Kevin Welner writes for Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet Blog for the Washington Post on June 12, 2014 that Judge Treu's decision in Vergara poses some interesting questions for an appellate court to consider.

Kevin Welner is the director of the National Education Policy Center, an attorney, and a professor of education policy at the University of Colorado Boulder.

He explains that the Vergara decision relies on an important 1992 California Supreme Court decision called Thomas K. Butt v. State of California, but not exactly. He wonders if an appellate court will be "...willing to join Judge Treu in moving away from the standard requiring plaintiffs to show that a law results in schooling that, when viewed as a whole, falls "fundamentally below prevailing statewide standards" to one where plaintiffs need only show that the law results in a "real and appreciable impact" on students' fundamental right to equality of education?"

Professor Welner also questions the "poor evidentiary record" included in the decision. He writes, "Other judges would have certainly resisted, for example, reaching a finding that a specific statute can or should be identified as having caused "grossly ineffective" teachers to be in the classroom. While it is easy to see how any one of these rules could result in an inferior teacher in a given instance being employed, it's much harder to see causal proof that the effect of the statute, "viewed as a whole," would result in more such teachers."

He goes on to say, "If the relatively anemic facts and evidentiary record in Vergara support the striking down of five state statutes, it's almost mind-boggling what the future may hold for education rights litigation in California (again, if the appellate courts use similar reasoning)."

See "The Answer Sheet: A Silver Lining in the Vergara Decision?" by Valerie Strauss and Kevin Welner, The Answer Sheet, The Washington Post, June 12, 2014 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/11/a-silver-lining-in-the-vergara-decision/
FYI Arts

Congratulations Donna! Donna Collins was presented the Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award at the annual Americans for the Arts Convention on June 13, 2014 in Nashville. Americans for the Arts president Robert Lynch and chair of the board of directors, Abel Lopez, presented Donna with the award, which recognizes individuals who have exerted a positive influence on the political landscape of a state in support of the arts, arts organizations, artists, and the creative economy.

A video of the presentation is available at http://convention.artsusa.org/. Donna receives the award at 27 minutes 32 seconds into the plenary session of the convention.

Senate Approves NEA Chair: The U.S. Senate approved on June 12, 2014 Dr. Jane Chu as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The appointment comes almost a year and a half after the retirement of former chair Rocco Landesman.

President Obama nominated Dr. Jane Chu in February 2014. She was president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.

Bob Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, issued a statement about the appointment, saying that, "Dr. Chu brings an insightful combination of expertise to the position-experience in arts education, business administration, and philanthropy. She also understands the value of art at the community level and how the arts are transformative to individuals as well as places."

The Role of the Arts in Schools: Last week Larry Ferlazzo, writing for Education Week's "Classroom Q and A" Blog, asked the question, "What role should arts education have in a school's curriculum?"

According to the blog the question raised a lot of interest and responses from teachers, parents, students, artists, and arts educators. Larry Ferlazzo highlights three responses from Virginia McEnerney, David Booth, and Healther Wolpert-Gawron:

-Virginia McEnerney, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, writes, that arts education is not just for those who "aspire to be professional artists or writers, but "should play an essential role in affirming and developing creative abilities among students of all skill levels.

"If young people have an inherent pull to create, which we believe, then the arts must be integral to students' education, rather than viewed as separate."

-David Booth, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, talks in his response about the importance of the arts in helping students "grow as whole beings".

"That is the real role of the arts in school--to help youngsters construct their worlds in wonderful and meaningful ways and, at the same time, gain satisfaction from their expanded understanding of how to accomplish this lifelong process."

-Heather Wolpert-Gawron, a middle school teacher and author, writes that the arts are an important way to communicate.

"Incorporating the arts into your curriculum is about developing kids that are well rounded, that are exposed to things other than simply the CORE subjects. Think about our innovators, or simply about those people in your life you respect the most. They have elements about them that are diversified."

The blog also includes a link to a related website, The Best Resources Discussing The Importance of Art in Education, which includes videos and other resources about arts education.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/05/21/the-best-resources-discussing-the-importance-of-art-in-education-help-me-find-more/

See "Response: The Role of Arts in Schools, by Larry Ferlazzo, Education Week "Classroom Q and A" on June 11, 2014 at

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2014/06/response_the_role_of_arts_education_in_schools.html

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This update is written weekly by Joan Platz, Research and Knowledge Director for the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. The purpose of the update is to keep arts education advocates informed about issues dealing with the arts, education, policy, research, and opportunities. The distribution of this information is made possible through the generous support of the Ohio Music Education Association (www.omea-ohio.org), Ohio Art Education Association (www.oaea.org), Ohio Educational Theatre Association (www.Ohioedta.org); OhioDance (www.ohiodance.org), and the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (www.OAAE.net).
Donna S. Collins
Executive Director
77 South High Street, 2nd floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108
614.224.1060

FROM: Ann Brennan

FYI: IMPORTANT Update on the final versions of HB 487 the education MBR bill and HB 362, where the teacher evaluation system changes were included. Please note that the HB 487 Senate/House Conference Committee added some new provisions not previously contained in either House or Senate passed versions of HB 487. they are noted below as NEW. The graduation requirement changes are all new, and they are substantive, calling for a modified version of the State Board of Education's plan for end of course exams replacing the OGT.

Among the other new elements listed below worth noting are:

-NEW Requires the ODE to annually publish not later than October 1, 2015 a report regarding the performance of students with disabilities, and attend school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools. The report shall include the value added progress score disaggregated for each subgroup; the performance index score for each subgroup; the four and five year adjusted cohort graduation rates for each subgroup.

-NEW Requires school districts to review the Individual Service Plans of students attending nonpublic schools and are exempted from TGRG.

The Ohio General Assembly adjourned for the summer on June 4, 2014 after passing four major mid-biennium review bills.

After weeks of negotiation between the House and Senate leadership and education committee chairs the HB 487, Education MBR bill conference committee adopted a final version, which both the Senate and the House approved on June 4. The most contentious issue addressed in the conference committee was what percentage of the teacher evaluation process should be devoted to student growth measures. These teacher evaluation provisions were then included in HB 362, were changed from the Senate passed version of HB 487, and approved by the legislature. Additionally, changes in the law with regard to graduation requirements were added to HB 487 during the conference committee deliberations.

HB 487 – K-12 Education MBR: Summary of Major Provisions

One-Year Suspension of High-Stakes Decisions Based on Standardized
Tests

• Maintains the prohibition of using the report card ratings issued for the 2014-2015 school year in determining whether a school district is subject to sanctions.

• Maintains the provision that permits a school district, community school, or STEM school to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its teachers' union that stipulates that the value-added rating issued for the 2014-2015 school year will not be used when making decisions regarding teacher dismissal, retention, tenure, or compensation.

• Gives discretion to the State Board of Education to not assign an individual grade to the following components of the report card for the 2014-2015 school year: Gap closing, Achievement, Progress, Graduation, Kindergarten through third-grader literacy and Prepared for Success.

High School Graduation Requirements

HB 487 includes new requirements for high school graduation. Changes in graduation requirements had not previously been a part of HB 487. In December of last year, the State Board of Education had made recommendations to change graduation requirements while the House passed separate legislation (HB 193), which contained different requirements. The language in HB 487 represents a “middle ground” of sorts between the two proposals:

• New graduation requirements go into effect for students entering ninth grade in the 2014-15 school year (class of 2018) and thereafter.

• Eliminates the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) for these students. Instead, requires students to pass the necessary number of standard courses (unchanged in the bill) and satisfy one of three testing components.

Testing components/pathways

• Option 1: Achieve a cumulative passing score across seven end-of-course exams in English/language arts I, English/language arts II, physical science, Algebra I, geometry, American history and American government.

- AP exams or similar measures could be used in place of the end-of-course exams in physical science, American history and American government.

• Option 2: Achieve a “remediation free” score on a nationally-recognized college admission test (ACT or SAT) that is yet to be selected. The state will pay for statewide administration of the test in the students’ junior year.

• Option 3: Earn an industry-recognized credential or state license to work in a vocation and achieve a score on a job-skills assessment that shows workforce readiness and employability.

School District/Building Report Cards

• Removes Senate-passed language regarding changes to the calculation of the overall value-added progress score for the annual state report cards so that ODE uses either up to three years of value-added data or value-added data from the most recent school year, whichever results in a higher score.

• Retains current law requiring the value-added progress to be based on up to three years of value-added data unless a school district/building is a “high mobility” district/building.

• Creates a “high mobility” value-added progress score for school districts or buildings where at least twenty-five percent of its total enrollment is made up of students who have attended that school district or building for less than one year. The measure will use value-added data from the most recent school year available. Assessment scores would be from only students whom the district or building has administered assessments for each of the two most recent consecutive school years.

• For high schools currently participating in Battelle for Kids SOAR, adds value-added data for mathematics and English language arts to the school/district report card as a report only for the 2014-2015 school year. This will become a graded measure in the 2015-2016 school year.

• Prohibits reporting identified gifted students as served if they are charged for a course with an exception for fees associated with advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) assessments.

Opt-out Provisions Regarding Graduation and Coursework

• Revises law regarding students (entering ninth grade before or after July 1, 2010 and before July 1, 2016) who may qualify to graduate even though the student has not completed all the current requirements for graduation. Requires students to be enrolled in their third year of high school instead of having attended high school for two years. Current law is retained that requires the student’s parent/guardian to consent to graduating without completing the graduation requirements and acknowledges that the student would not be eligible to enroll in most state universities without completing additional coursework.

• Creates a new requirement for students who enter the ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2014 to successfully complete the curriculum in order for graduation except the following: four units of mathematics, five elective units, three units of science and any other course approved by ODE using standards established by ODE no later than October 1, 2014.

• Requires ODE to analyze data provided from school districts on the opt-out provisions and make recommendations to extend the opt-out provisions beyond those students who enter the ninth grade before July 1, 2015.

Career Education and Advising

• Requires “input from” and not “consultation with” teachers regarding student success plans.

• Requires by July 1, 2015 for ODE to create an online database of information regarding “proven” practices for policies on career advising and student success plans that districts may utilize to comply with the requirement.

• Requires ODE by July 1, 2015 to create an online database of information regarding identification and intervention for at-risk students.

Third Grade Reading Guarantee

• Requires third grade students who meet the cut score or higher under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee during fall testing to take the new PARCC state reading assessment in the spring. Those students who fail to attain the cut score or higher would take the same assessment they completed in the fall.

• Requires review by either the student’s school district of residence or the school district in which the chartered nonpublic school is located regarding a nonpublic schools special education student’s exemption from retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

• Permits school districts in the 2014-2015 school year or the 2015-2016 school year to submit an alternative staffing plan to the Ohio Department of Education to comply with the provisions of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

College Credit Plus Program

• Requires that the chancellor approve an agreement that includes a payment below the per credit floor as long as there is compliance with all provisions regarding program quality.

• Shifts rulemaking authority for the College Credit Plus program from the State Board of Education to the Chancellor of the Board of Regents.

Other/Miscellaneous Provisions

• Requires private schools that charge tuition to students using an EdChoice voucher to report the number of students and the average amount charged.

• Restricts statewide sponsorship of charter schools by Educational Service Centers.

• Prohibits sharing of students names and address with any multi-state assessment consortium.

• Requires ODE to report which districts and schools administered assessments online and which did not during the 2014-2015 school year.

• Requires by December 31, 2014 the Superintendent of Public Instruction to submit to the Governor and General Assembly recommendations for legislative changes regarding intervention for poor performing school districts that are at risk of becoming subject to the establishment of an Academic Distress Commission.

• Requires ODE to publish an annual report regarding performance of students with disabilities. Requires, not later than October 1, 2015, the Department of Education to report for each school district, community school, STEM school, and college-preparatory boarding school, and make available on its website, the following performance measures for students with disabilities: (1) the value-added progress dimension score disaggregated for that subgroup, (2) the performance index score for that subgroup, (3) the four- and five-year adjusted cohort graduation rates for that subgroup. (R.C. 3302.035)

• Requires the Department of Education to establish, not later than July 1, 2015, a clearinghouse of information regarding the identification of and intervention for at-risk students. (R.C. 3301.28.) Requires this clearinghouse to include (1) indicators of at-risk status that have been proven accurate or effective by research, (2) identification and intervention programs used in this state, categorized by type of district using the Department's most recent district typology categories, that have been confirmed effective through research, and (3) national identification and intervention programs that have been confirmed effective through research.

• Requires ODE by October 30 of each year to report expenditures for gifted education from the previous school year.

• Removes the provision regarding mergers across county lines.

• Allows for Montessori-trained teachers to be eligible to obtain an alternative resident educator license.

• Establishes approval process for conversion charter schools in the Cleveland Municipal School District.

• Creates a School Based Health Care Advisory Workgroup to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the improvement of academic achievement through better student health. A representative from OSPA was included on this workgroup in an amendment added in the Senate Education Committee.

HB 362: Teacher Evaluation System Changes

The compromise reached this week between the House and Senate, using HB 362 as the vehicle, allows for districts to use the new “alternative framework” for teacher evaluations, which will take effect in the 2014-15 school year.

The framework provides for the following:

• Measuring student academic growth in evaluations is reduced from 50% to 42.5%.
• Teacher classroom performance measures are also reduced from 50% to 42.5%.
• Local school districts will have the flexibility to choose one additional measure for the remaining
15% of the evaluation from this list (there is no such provision in current law):
- Student surveys
- Teacher self-evaluations
- Peer review evaluations
- Student portfolios

HB 362 also includes the following:

• Teachers who are rated “Accomplished” may be evaluated once every three years, so long as the teacher’s student academic growth measure for the most recent school year for which data is available is average or higher. However, at least one observation and at least one conference with the teacher must be held each year.
• Teachers who are rated “Skilled” may be evaluated once every two years, so long as the teacher’s student academic growth measure for the most recent year for which data is available is average or higher. However, at least one observation and at least one conference with the teacher must be held each year.

• A school board may elect not to conduct an evaluation in cases where:
- A teacher was on leave from the school district for fifty percent or more of
the school year,
- A teacher has submitted notice of retirement and that notice has been
accepted by the board not later than the first day of December.
• There were no changes to the collective bargaining law.

The Ohio Department of Education is in the process of establishing a guidance document for school districts regarding the teacher evaluation changes.

The ODE posted on its website a summary of HB362 here.

HB 483 General MBR with Provisions Regarding Education, Developmental Disabilities, Appropriations and Taxation

Primary and Secondary Education

• Removes the bill’s provision that permits Auxiliary Services funds to be used for the purchase or lease of emergency communications systems and school entrance security systems in nonpublic schools.

• Changes eligibility requirements for the GED tests by allowing a person who is at least 18 years old (rather than 19 as under current law) to take the GED without additional administrative requirements if the individual is officially withdrawn from high school and has not received a diploma.

• Eliminates a requirement for a person, who is at least 16 and under the age of 18, who wishes to take the GED exam to obtain approval from a school superintendent or a principal where they were last enrolled.

Adult Learning Programs

• Establishes the Adult Career Opportunity Pilot Program to permit a community college or technical college/center to develop and offer programs of study that allows individuals who are at least 22 years old and who have not received a high school diploma or a certificate of equivalence upon receiving approval from the State Board of Education and Chancellor.

• The program must allow students to complete the requirements for obtaining a high school diploma while completing requirements for an approved industry credential and include career advising and outreach. The bill appropriates $2.5 million for this program and authorizes the state Superintendent to award up to $500,000 to not more than five eligible institutions.

• Reinstates provisions of HB 343 that would allow high school dropouts between the ages of 22-29 to earn a diploma from a dropout recovery city, local, or exempted village school district, community school, an adult career center or a community college. Caps the enrollment to 1,000 participants and appropriates $5 million in FY 2015 for this program.

Developmental Disabilities

• Retains current law prohibiting certain individuals from being employed by a County Board of Developmental Disabilities (ex. employees of agencies that contract with the board).

• Requires that if employees of a County Board of DD are covered by a collective
bargaining agreement, the County Board must negotiate with the employees’
representative before entering into an agreement to share employees with another County Board.

Taxation

• Increases the nonrefundable state earned income tax credit from 5% of the federal earned income tax credit to 10% of the federal credit beginning in 2014.

• Retains the $400 million income tax cut. Modifies the small business tax cut from 50 percent to 75 percent conditional based on the state’s ending fund balance after there is a transfer of up to $300 million to the Medicaid Reserve Fund and the personal income tax cut is accelerated from 8.5% to 10 percent for tax year 2014.

ODE link to download the LSC HB 487 Conference Committee Complete Synopsis: http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohio-s-New-Learning-Standards/News/Mid-Biennium-Review-Conference-Committee-Synopsis

Submitted by: Ann Brennan, June 6, 2014 (With permission, OEA’s Legislative Update and summary was used as a resource)