FROM: Ann Brennan

FYI:  IMPORTANT UPDATE : note Sub. SB 299 changes ( teacher evaluation system changes) the House Education committee has made major changes to the Senate bill.

Also note the deliberations on the education MBR bill ( HB 487) continue in the House Education Committee. The General Assembly will recess on April 9 - April 29.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joan Platz
To: Joan Platz 
Sent: Mon, Mar 31, 2014 2:17 am
Subject: Education Update March 31, 2014

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update

March 31, 2014

Joan Platz

1) Ohio News

•130th Ohio General Assembly:  The Ohio House and Senate will hold hearings and sessions this week.  The Senate is scheduled to vote on HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016, and the House will continue hearings on the Mid Biennial Review bills (MBR).  

Senate President Keith Faber announced last week that two “if needed” weeks will be added to the Senate’s session schedule. The Senate was to recess on May 21, 2014, but the additional weeks mean that the Senate could be meeting in June to complete work on the MBRs, which are making their way through House committees. 

•May Primary Election:  The May 6th Primary Election is just weeks away. Voters will be selecting candidates to run in November 2014 for statewide executive offices, including Governor/Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer; members of the Ohio General Assembly; representatives to the U.S. Congress; members of the State Board of Education; county offices; judicial offices; and members of political parties.  Voters will also vote on 614 local issues, including 150 school issues, and vote on State Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment to fund public infrastructure capital improvements by permitting the issuance of general obligation bonds. 

Boards of elections will be mailing absentee ballots for those who requested them this week, and in-person absentee voting begins on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.  April 7, 2014 is the deadline to register to vote in the primary election.

See The Secretary of State’s web site at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters/whatsontheballot/whatsOnBallot.aspx

•Students Field Testing New Assessments:  The Ohio Department of Education announced last week that students in several Ohio schools began field-testing assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  Ohio is among several states participating in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), a consortium that is working with Pearson Inc. to develop assessments in English language arts and math aligned to the new standards.  Ohio is also working with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to field-test assessments for science and social studies. 

The computer-based assessments include performance-based sections, in which students must demonstrate how they would solve a problem, and multiple choice sections, which will be administered later this school year. Paper and pencil assessments are also available in some schools. 

   

See http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Testing/Next-Generation-Assessments/2013-2014-Field-Tests  

2)  Legislative Update

•Governor Signs Bills:  Governor Kasich signed into law on March 26, 2014 HB107 (Baker) Career Exploration Internships-Tax Credits.  The law authorizes a tax credit for businesses that employ high school students in career exploration internships. 

He also signed into law HB416 (Burkley/Hill) Calamity Days.  This law permits payment in fiscal year 2015 to school districts and STEM schools that exceed, by up to four days, the number of permitted “calamity” days in fiscal year 2014.

•House Approves the Capital Bill:  The Ohio House approved last week HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016.  The $2.4 billion bill sailed through the House with only minor adjustments to some of the agencies administering the funds.  The Senate is expected to pass the bill quickly this week, so that projects currently underway are not delayed.

•House Education Committee Reports Bills: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, met on March 29, 2014 and reported the following bills: 

-HB241 (Hagen) School Employees-Sexual Conduct, which would prohibit an employee of a public or nonpublic school or institution of higher education from engaging in sexual conduct with a minor who is enrolled in or attends that public or nonpublic school. 

-SB69 (Beagle) Course and Program Sharing Network, which would establish the Course and Program Sharing Network. 

   

-HB393 (Baker/Landis) Career Decision Guide Publication, which would require public high schools to publish annually a career decision guide in its newsletter or on its web site. 

•Substitute Bill Changes SB299:  The House Education Committee also accepted a substitute bill for SB229 (Gardner) Teacher Performance Evaluations.  SB299 was unanimously approved by the Ohio Senate on December 4, 2013, but has languished in the House Education Committee since then.  As passed by the Senate the bill would have reduced the number of complete evaluations for accomplished teachers under Ohio’s Teacher Evaluation System (OTES), and decreased the student growth measure component used in the teacher evaluation metric from 50 to 35 percent, which is in line with other state teacher evaluation systems. 

The substitute bill completely changes the focus of SB229 in the following ways:

-Reverts to current law which requires student academic growth to account for 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation, but permits boards of education to use an alternate teacher evaluation framework, which would include 40 percent for student academic growth measure; 40 percent for teacher performance measure; and 20 percent for student surveys. Allows boards of education to use the new framework that includes the student survey results, or a Teacher Evaluation Rating Table.  The table includes five ranges for scoring the student academic growth measure and four scores ranging from one to four for the teacher performance levels, which are based on formal observations. Teachers could be rated accomplished, skilled, effective, developing, or ineffective, according to the table.

-Permits student surveys to be part of teacher evaluations and requires the State Board to approve two surveys by March 31, 2015. The surveys must be empirically tested and validated.

   

-Adds another performance level rating of “effective” between “skilled” and “developing,” “thus creating five educator performance levels.” 

-Requires at least one formal unannounced observation of a teacher by an evaluator.

-Reverts to current law allowing a district or school to evaluate a teacher rated “accomplished” once every two years, but adds this condition: reduces the number of annual evaluations for a teacher who is rated “accomplished” or “skilled” if the teacher’s student academic growth measure is rated average or higher. The bill also requires that teachers who are not formally evaluated every year be observed and participate in a conference regarding the observation.

-Allows a district or school to choose not to evaluate a teacher, if the teacher has been on leave from the school district for 70 percent or more of the school year, or has submitted a notice to retire.

-Requires teachers rated effective, developing, or ineffective to prepare and implement an improvement plan.

-Beginning July 1, 2015 prohibits a school district from assigning students to a teacher who has been rated ineffective for two consecutive school years. Also prohibits the assignment of a student teacher to a teacher who was rated developing or ineffective for the previous school year.

-Requires that teachers who have at least 10 years experience, but receive a designation of either “least effective” or “below average growth” on the student academic growth portion of an educator evaluation, receive the “developing” rating only once.

-Requires the ODE not later than July 1, 2015 to develop a standardized framework for assessing student academic growth for grade levels and subjects for which the value-added progress dimension does not apply. 

-Requires that boards of education administer an assessment to students in each of grades K-12 to determine a teacher’s student academic growth in English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science beginning on July 1, 2016. The ODE must select the assessments, which may include diagnostic assessments and achievement assessments already required under law. 

  

-Requires teacher “evaluators” to meet certain criteria, and requires school administrators to complete an evaluator training program as part of their administrator certification/licensing requirements. 

-Requires the State Board to develop a framework to evaluate principals and assistant principals.

-Requires all diagnostic assessments adopted by the State Board of Education to be based either on the value-added progress dimension or assessments of student growth measures developed by a vendor.

-Specifies that the reading diagnostic assessments used to determine a student’s reading level for the third-grade reading guarantee be based either on the value-added progress dimension or assessments of student growth measures developed by a vendor, and be approved by the ODE.

-Exempts all provisions regarding educator evaluations from collective bargaining.

-States that the “value-added progress dimension rating for the 2014-2015 school year will not be used when making decisions regarding teacher dismissal, retention, tenure or compensation.”

3) This Week at the Statehouse

March 31, 2013

•House Higher Education Subcommittee

The House Higher Education Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Rosenberger, will meet on March 31, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 311.  The committee will receive testimony regarding HB484 (Rosenberger) MBR Higher Education Reforms.

    

•Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on March 31, 2014 at 1:30 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony regarding HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

•House Higher Education Subcommittee

The House Higher Education Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Rosenberger, will meet on April 1, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 311.  The committee will receive testimony regarding HB484 (Rosenberger) MBR Higher Education Reforms.

    

•Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on April 1, 2014 at 9:30 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony regarding HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016.

•House Finance and Appropriations

The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz, will meet on April 1, 2014 at 1:30 PM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony regarding HB483 (Amstutz) MBR - Changes in State Programs.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

•House Education Committee

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on April 2, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 017. The committee will receive testimony on HB447 (Lynch) Consolidated School District Loans and HB487 (Brenner) MBR-K-12 Education Programs.

•House Finance and Appropriations

The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz, will meet on April 2, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony regarding HB483 (Amstutz) MBR-Changes in State Programs.

•Senate Education Committee

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on April 2, 2014 at 3:30 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive a presentation from the Ohio College Access Network, and receive testimony on SB241 (Sawyer) Straight A Program Governing Board, and HB171 (McClain/Patmon) Released Time Courses-Religious Instruction.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

•House Education Committee

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on April 3, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony on HB460 (Brenner/Driehaus) School Restructuring and HB487 (Brenner) MBR-K-12 Education Programs.

4) National News

•Leveraging Federal Funds for Technology:  In a letter to colleagues dated February 4, 2014, Richard Culatta, the U.S. Department of Education’s director of the Office of Educational Technology, identified several ways for educators to leverage federal funds to support digital teaching and learning. For example, Dr. Culatta recommended that states, districts, and partnerships understand and better use their federal grant programs to support innovative technology-based strategies to personalize learning. These include ESEA Title I, II, III funds and IDEA funds. These funds can be used to improve personalized professional development for educators, increase access to high-quality content and resources for students, facilitate educator collaboration and communication, and provide devices for students to access digital learning resources.

See http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/files/2013/06/Federal-Funds-Tech-DC-.pdf.

•Indiana Opts Out of the Common Core, or Does It??  The Indianapolis Star reported on March 24, 2014 that Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law last week SB91, a bill that removes references to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Indiana law, and requires the Indiana state board of education to adopt new standards aligned with national and international college and career readiness standards.  

Indiana was one of 45 states and the District of Columbia to adopt the Common Core State Standards in 2010. The framework for the CCSS standards was developed by David Coleman, formerly of Achieve and now president of the College Board, with the assistance of Student Achievement Partners and through the leadership of the National Governor’s Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve.  (See http://achievethecore.org/about-us)

Anticipating this legislative action the Indiana Department of Education developed a process to involve educators, parents, and citizens in a review of the Common Core State Standards, and developed new academic content standards in English language arts and math. The Indiana State Board is scheduled to vote on the proposed Indiana academic standards in April 2014.  The standards would go into effect on July 1, 2014.  

According to the article, some experts believe that the new standards do not differ very much from the original Common Core State Standards, but officials in the Indiana department of education say that drafts of the proposed standards are being changed daily, and the final version of the standards will represent the knowledge and skills that the people of Indiana want students in grades K-12 to know and learn.

Here in Ohio State Representative Andy Thompson (R-Marietta) introduced HB237, which would prohibit the State Board of Education from adopting the Common Core State Standards and participating in the assessments developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), the Smarter Balanced Assessments, or any other assessments related to the Common Core State Standards.  The bill also outlines a process that the State Board would use to develop Ohio-based academic content standards.  The bill had two hearings in the House Education Committee last fall, but no recent action has been taken on the bill.

See “Gov. Mike Pence ends Common Core, but not its influence” by Eric Weddle, Indy Star at http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2014/03/24/gov-mike-pence-ends-common-core-influence/6842999/

•More Students Reported with Autism:  The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released on March 28, 2014 a report with information about the prevalence of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 8 year old children for 2010.  The report was prepared by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network and included ASD data collected from eleven ADDM sites. 

According to an abstract of the report “...the overall prevalence of ASD among the ADDM sites was 14.7 per 1,000 (one in 68) children aged 8 years. Overall ASD prevalence estimates varied among sites from 5.7 to 21.9 per 1,000 children aged 8 years. ASD prevalence estimates also varied by sex and racial/ethnic group. Approximately one in 42 boys and one in 189 girls living in the ADDM Network communities were identified as having ASD. Non-Hispanic white children were approximately 30% more likely to be identified with ASD than non-Hispanic black children and were almost 50% more likely to be identified with ASD than Hispanic children.”

The report also notes that the median age of earliest known ASD diagnosis was 53 months and did not differ significantly by sex or race/ethnicity. 

The authors of the report warn that the prevalence estimates presented in the report cannot be generalized to all children aged 8, because the ADDM Network sites do not provide a representative sample of the entire United States.

Also, the authors note the “significant variations in ASD prevalence by geographic area, sex, race/ethnicity, and level of intellectual ability”, and offer that these variation might be “...attributable to diagnostic practices, under recognition of ASD symptoms in some racial/ethnic groups, socioeconomic disparities in access to services, and regional differences in clinical or school-based practices”.

The authors recommend that standardized measures to document ASD severity and functional limitations associated with ASD diagnosis be developed and used; those who diagnose ASD improve recognition and documentation of symptoms, particularly among both boys and girls, children without intellectual disability, and children in all racial/ethnic groups; and that the children be assessed for ASD at an earlier age.  The earliest age for a diagnosis is two years.

See “Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2010 Surveillance Summaries” by Jon Baio, corresponding author, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 28, 2014 at

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6302a1.htm?s_cid=ss6302a1_w 

5) AEP Releases Summary of State Arts Policies: The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) recently released a policy brief entitled “A Snapshot of State Policies for Arts Education”.  The brief summarizes the “...results of a 2014 analysis of current state policies for arts education. The brief provides the background for the study and reports the findings in several policy areas, including requirements for standards, instruction, assessment, accountability, and teacher certification.”

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) is a national coalition of more than 100 education, arts, business, cultural, government, and philanthropic organizations established in 1995 by the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). The AEP is a noted source for objective and nonpartisan information about current and emerging arts education research, policies, issues, and activities.

According to the policy brief, there is “...a strong public policy consensus across states that the arts are an important curricular area that contribute to a quality K-12 education, but also that there’s considerable variation in how states address specific arts education policy areas.” 

The brief identifies a “policy paradox” in which millions of students are denied instruction in the arts as part of their regular education (based on federal surveys), even though there is overall support for arts education programs in state laws and in state administrative codes. 

The authors conclude, “The promise of an equitable and high quality education that includes the arts for every student depends upon the combination of strong policies at the state level, adequate resources and support to implement them at the local level, and mechanisms in place to hold all parties accountable for compliance.” 

The following is a summary of some of the findings of the brief organized into several policy areas, and comments offered by this author about the status of arts education in Ohio's traditional public schools.

•The Arts as a Core Academic Subject: According to the brief 27 states define the arts as a core academic subject, but a majority of the 27 states do not define the term “arts”.  Only Georgia lists the four arts disciplines of dance, drama/theatre, music, and visual art in its statutes. Currently federal law defines the arts as a core academic subject in The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind of 2001), but the law does not define the term “arts”.  

Comment:  Ohio law requires boards of education to provide for the study of the “fine arts including music”, and requires STEM schools to include the arts in their curriculum.  Charter schools are not required to provide instruction in the arts.  

“The arts” are not defined in Ohio law, and there is no specific requirement that the arts be taught at any grade level for any length of time.  Required minutes of instruction in the arts at the elementary and middle school levels were in the 1983 Operating Standards for Ohio’s Schools, but were removed in the 2001 revision of the standards. Ohio law does include the arts in the list of "elective courses" that students can take to earn credits for graduation.

The July 2011 revision of operating standards, which are part of the Ohio Administrative Code, requires that boards of education adopt courses of study for each subject taught, and include in the courses of study learning objectives; sequential learning; sufficient opportunity for students to learn the course of study objectives; and assessment of student learning.  Arts education advocates have used this language to promote sequential learning in the arts in grades K-12.

•State Standards for Arts Education:  According to the brief all but one state, Iowa, have adopted elementary and secondary standards for arts education. Most states have developed separate standards for each of the arts disciplines, but only three states, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Carolina, have developed standards for media arts. 

Most states (45) have also included the arts in their early learning standards for children birth to school age. 

Comment:  The Ohio State Board of Education adopted revised academic standards for the fine arts in 2012, but the standards do not include media arts as a separate discipline.  Ohio’s early learning standards do not include the arts. Currently the State Board of Education is reviewing a new model curriculum for the arts aligned to the 2012 standards, and is scheduled to adopt the curriculum in June 2014.

•Instructional Requirements for the Arts:  According to the brief, forty-five states have instructional requirements for the arts at the elementary and middle school levels, and 42 states have them at the high school level.  The instructional requirements are often part of a school’s state accreditation process. 

Instructional requirements vary greatly among the states.  Some states, for example Missouri, require that “Each elementary student will receive regular instruction in art, music, and physical education for a minimum of 50 minutes in each area each week.”  

Arkansas law provides the strongest support for arts instruction at the elementary level.  It states, “... every public elementary school in the state shall provide [weekly] instruction for no less than forty (40) minutes in visual art and no less than forty [40] minutes in music based on the state visual art and music frameworks.” Other states, including Ohio, are less specific.

Comment:  As stated before, required minutes of instruction in the arts were removed from Operating Standards in 2001.  Ohio’s public schools are chartered by the State Department of Education, but schools are no longer audited or inspected regularly to ensure that they comply with all laws and rules.  However, Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3301-35-11 (C) states that, “Failure to comply with applicable rules in this chapter and rule 3301-56-01 of the Administrative Code shall be cause for initiating efforts to revoke the school district’s charter in accordance with section 3301.16 of the Revised Code and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The department of education may investigate allegations of noncompliance with the rules in this chapter, as it deems necessary.” 

•High School Graduation Requirements Pertaining to the Arts: The brief finds that twenty-six states mandate that high school students earn at least one credit in the arts as a requirement for graduation. Utah requires high school students to take “1.5 units of credit from any of the following areas:  visual arts, music, dance [and] theater.” Another 18 states require students to earn “elective” credits, and include the arts among the elective subjects.

The brief also notes that some statewide institutions of higher education require arts credits for admission, including higher education systems in California, Arizona, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Connecticut.  

Comment:  With some exceptions, students in traditional public schools in Ohio are required to successfully complete two semesters or the equivalent in the arts in any grades 7-12 starting with the class of 2014.  Students in charter schools, dropout prevention and recovery programs, and students in career technology programs are exempted from this requirement. 

The arts are listed among a variety of electives that students can take to meet graduation requirements, and many Ohio colleges and universities require the arts as part of their admission standards.

•Assessment and Accountability in the Arts: According to the brief 17 states have policies in statute or code that pertain to assessment of student learning in the arts. Most states have general requirements that local boards of education adopt policies to assess student progress in all subjects taught. Only Oklahoma and New Jersey specify in their arts assessment policies either reporting requirements or details of assessment.  Oklahoma requires an assessment of student achievement in the arts in grades 3-8, and requires each school district to prepare an annual report outlining the fine arts assessment strategies used; when assessments were administered; and the results of the assessments.

New Jersey requires that boards of education report the “progress of all students” in developing the knowledge and skills in the visual and performing arts. New Jersey’s 2014 School Performance Reports included for the first time the percent of New Jersey students who were enrolled in courses in the arts. 

The brief also notes that Connecticut, Maine, North Carolina, and Kentucky provide resources for the assessment of student learning in the arts.

Comment:  Ohio law requires the assessment of student achievement in all courses taught, but Ohio does not have a statewide assessment in the arts.  The Ohio Department of Education is required to report on the 2014 local report card the availability of fine arts courses for students. The ODE is currently working on how this will look.

•Teacher Certification or Licensing Requirements:  According to the brief 42 states have arts-specific language pertaining to certification or licensing requirements for arts teachers.  Most of the 42 states refer to requirements for music and visual art educators.  Certification/licensing requirements for theater teachers are identified in 32 states, and in 26 states for dance teachers.  Several states also certify English teachers to teach theater, and physical education teachers to teach dance. 

In addition, 34 states require non-arts teachers to take courses in the arts in teacher preparation programs, especially teachers at the elementary level.  North Carolina includes references to arts integration in its teacher preparation requirements for general elementary level educators. Six states, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Wyoming, do not mention the certification of educators in the arts in statute or code.

Comment:  Ohio requires that courses in the arts be taught by teachers with the appropriate license, which includes a multi-age license in a specific arts discipline; a preK-3 license (which requires course work to teach the arts); a 4-9 license with an endorsement in an arts discipline; and an early childhood generalist license (for grades 4 & 5), which is a license that is added to the preK-3 license. 

Overall the brief identifies Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New Jersey as states that define the arts as a core subject and have aligned arts education policies with other core curricular areas. According to the brief, “These three states include in statute or administrative code requirements for (1) elementary and secondary content standards; (2) instruction at elementary, middle, and high school levels; (3) course credits for high school graduation; and (4) assessment of student learning in the arts.” 

State policies regarding K-12 arts education are available through ArtScan, a searchable database that provides information in 14 policy areas, and is available on the Arts Education Partnership website. ArtScan allows users to explore data in multiple ways by providing a state level profile for all policy areas, a comparison of selected state and policy areas, and state-level reports. A new feature of ArtScan is the descriptive indicators for each state compiled annually by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

See “A Snapshot of State Policies for Arts Education” at

http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/A-Snapshot-of-State-Policies-for-Arts-Education.pdf

6)  Bills Introduced

•HB502 (Foley/Hagen) Minimum Wage Increase:  Increases the state minimum wage to ten dollars and ten cents an hour beginning January 1, 2015. 

    

•HB503 (Budish) Business Plan Development-Higher Education Students: Requires the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to establish a competition for the development of successful business plans for students enrolled at state institutions of higher education and makes an appropriation.

•HB507 (Butler) Ohio Local Government Expenditure Database:  Establishes the Ohio Local Government Expenditure Database.

        

FYI ARTS

1) Ohio Senator Earns Arts Leadership Award:  Americans for the Arts in conjunction with The United States Conference of Mayors presented the 2014 National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative James P. Moran (D-VA). The award, which recognizes distinguished public service on behalf of the arts, was presented on March 25, 2014 at the Congressional Arts Kick Off during National Arts Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.

Senator Brown was recognized for his support of local arts organizations in Ohio; his interest in how the arts impact economic and workforce development; his support for arts education as part of a well-rounded education; and his interest in the role of the arts in revitalizing communities and individual lives.

Representative Moran was recognized for his steadfast support for the National Endowment for the Arts in the U.S. House; his support for cultural and performing arts in and around the District; and for his support for research about the healing properties of arts therapy for wounded veterans.

The National Award for Congressional Arts Leadership is part of a series of Public Leadership in the Arts Awards which have been given annually since 1997 by Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors.

See http://www.americansforthearts.org/news-room/press-releases/us-senator-sherrod-brown-and-us-congressman-james-p-moran-honored-with-2014-national-awards-for

2) All-Ohio State Fair Director Named:  Ohio State Fair officials announced last week the selection of Dr. Jon C. Peterson of Canton in Stark County as director of the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir.

Dr. Peterson earned a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Choral Conducting, with a minor in historical musicology from the University of Arizona. He currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, where he conducts the Malone University Chorale, Chamber Choir and Chapel Choir. At Malone he also teaches courses in music education, conducting, and music ministry. Prior to coming to Malone last fall, Dr. Peterson served on the choral faculty at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio, and as Artistic Director of The Magpie Consort, a Columbus-based chamber choir.

As director of the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir Dr. Peterson will recruit, select, prepare, and lead more than 200 high school vocalists in the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir. Members of The All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir will arrive at the Ohio Expo Center on July 17, 2014 and perform six to eight times each day during the 12-day Fair.

See http://www.ohiostatefair.com/index.php/news-a-media-48/item/616-dr-jon-c-peterson-named-all-ohio-state-fair-youth-choir-director

3) NY City Teams with Amp Up NYC:  Guest blogger Alyssa Morones writes for Education Week’s Curriculum Matters Blog that New York City Schools are expanding music education programs through the Amp Up NYC partnership.  Working with Amp Up NYC are the New York Department of Education, Berklee College of Music, and Little Kids Rock. The purpose of the program is to train music teachers to teach modern band, such as hip hop, hard rock, and punk. The program will provide the curriculum and lesson plans, and participating teachers will receive credits to purchase instruments (guitars, drums, keyboards, etc.) for free provided by Amp Up. Berklee will provide sheet music, history, and the recordings of modern songs, while Little Kids Rock will provide materials for younger students. The three year pilot program is expected to reach more than 600 schools and 60,000 students. 

See “New Partnership Brings Rock and Roll to N.Y.C. Schools” by Alyssa Morones Education Week’s Curriculum Matters Blog, March 27, 2014 at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/03/new_partnership_brings_modern_.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3. 

###

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

Please note that my account at

jplatz@chemistry.ohio-state.edu 

will soon be deactivated. Please transition to my gmail account. Thank you.

From: Ann Brennan 

FYI - IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE UPDATE on MBR

-----Original Message-----
From: Joan Platz 
Sent: Mon, Mar 24, 2014 1:58 am
Subject: Arts on Line Education Update March 24, 2014
Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Arts on Line Education Update
Joan Platz
March 24, 2014

1) Ohio News

•130th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will hold committee hearings and sessions this week. Most of the committees in the House will be working on bills that include legislative changes comprising the Mid-biennium Review (MBR), introduced on March 11, 2014 as HB472 (McClain). The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz, will be reviewing HB497 (Amstutz) the Capital Budget, which is on a fast track and scheduled for hearings in the Senate Finance Committee by the end of the week. The Senate Education Committee will continue hearings on HB193 (Brenner) Requirements for a Diploma.

•MBR Separated into Fourteen Separate Bills: Last week Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder announced that HB472 (McClain) the Mid Biennium Review (MBR), would be divided into 14 separate bills and would be considered by 11 different committees in the Ohio House.

The MBR was introduced on March 11, 2014 by Representative McClain, and includes policy changes and appropriations proposed by Governor Kasich. The 1000 plus page bill was split into subject-specific bills to facilitate the hearing process, as lawmakers work to finalize actions on many bills before they break in May/June for the summer, and prepare for the November 2014 elections.

Not all of the bills introduced last week to address MBR provisions are new. A bill already being debated, HB369 (Sprague), will become the vehicle for MBR changes addressing mental health and drug addiction services, and HB375 (Huffman), which has received hearings in the House Ways and Means Committee, will become the vehicle for the severance tax changes on oil and gas drilling.

Also, multiple bills have been introduced to cover changes in the law related to K-12 education and higher education. Most of the proposed policy changes for K-12 education are included in HB487 (Brenner), while changes in some formulas to fund K-12 programs and a new adult education pilot program are included in HB483 (Amstutz). There is also some overlap between HB487 and three bills that include changes for higher education: HB484 (Rosenberger-Brown) higher education reform; HB486 (Baker-Stebelton) workforce development; and HB488 (Dovilla-Landis) veterans’ issues.

The following is a list of the bills that now make-up the mid biennium review - MBR:

-HB369 (Sprague) Mental health/drug addiction components: House Finance and Appropriations Committee

-HB375 (Huffman) Severance tax: House Ways and Means Committee

-HB472 (McClain) Tax reform: House Ways and Means Committee. This bill would make changes in the commercial activity tax; personal income tax; and cigarette tax.

-HB483 (Amstutz) Appropriation changes and policy changes. House Finance and Appropriations Committee. HB483 includes some adjustments to the school funding formula and policy changes for pre-apprenticeship programs, career-technical education programs, STEM programs, and community schools. It also permits the superintendent of public instruction to award up to $500,000 in planning grants for a proposed Adult Career Opportunity Pilot Program in FY2015.

-HB484 (Rosenberger-Brown) Higher education reform: House Finance and Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education. HB484 includes the following: requires a report about how faculty at institutions of higher education can increase their workload by 10 percent; authorizes the creation of a tuition guarantee program; requires the chancellor to create a course and program sharing network; revises the state formula for funding community colleges and technical colleges in FY15; establishes a formula for funding Ohio Technical Centers;
permits the chancellor to designate a post-secondary globalization liaison; and requires a complete inventory on workforce development programs.

-HB485 (Smith-Johnson) Creation of the Office of Human Services Innovation: House Health and Aging Committee.

-HB486 (Baker-Stebelton) Workforce development: House Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee. The bill includes provisions to align the three main federal workforce programs into a single plan. The three programs are Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins): and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

-HB487 (Brenner) Education reform: House Education Committee. See the highlights of this bill at #6 below.

-HB488 (Dovilla-Landis) Veterans issues: House Veterans Affairs Committee. The bill would make it easier for veterans to transfer their skills to receive academic and licensure credit by creating a Fast Track to State Licenses for veterans who work with a professional licensing board.

-HB489 (Blair) Lease-lease back provision: House State and Local Government Committee.

-HB490 (Hall-Thompson) ODNR/ODAg/EPA reforms: House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

-HB491 (Buchy/Blessing) Lottery/casino changes: House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee.

-HB492 (Scherer) Tax corrective changes: House Ways and Means Committee.

-HB493 (Sears/Henne) Bureau of Workers Compensation reforms: House Insurance Committee.

•Gifted Task Force to Meet: An ad hoc committee appointed by the State Board of Education’s Accountability Committee has scheduled meetings to develop an accountability rating for gifted education programs in schools/districts on the local report card. The ad hoc committee is chaired by the director of the ODE’s Office of Accountability Chris Woolard, and includes Tom Ash, BASA; Michael Tefs, Superintendent of Wooster City Schools; Jamie Meade, Battelle for Kids, Ann Sheldon (OAGC); Dr. Colleen Boyle (Columbus City Schools); Matt Cohen (ODE Chief Research Officer); and Wendy Stoica, assistant director, ODE Office of Exceptional Children.

The group is tasked with determining the components of a new measure to rate gifted education programs in schools/districts on the state’s report card, and make recommendations to the Accountability Committee by the May 2014 meeting of the State Board. Over the past months advocates for gifted education and the Ohio Department of Education have proposed different ways to rate gifted education programs, and the purpose of the ad hoc committee is to find consensus. The committee will meet March 26, April 2, May 1 (tentative), and May 7, 2014.

•Legislative Update: The Ohio House approved on March 19, 2014 HB334 (Hayes/Hottinger) Student Expulsion. The bill would allow the superintendent of a school district to extend the time a student is expelled if there is a reason to believe that the student poses an “imminent threat.” The current limit on expulsions is 80 days. A student could return to school earlier if he/she met certain conditions, such as undergoing a psychological evaluation. The bill was approved by a vote of 69 to 26.

The House unanimously passed HB178 (Phillips) School Safety Drills, which would require schools to conduct three safety drills in conjunction with safety plans and local fire and law enforcement.

The House also approved HB85 (Terhar-Gonzales), which would enhance the homestead exemption for disabled military veterans.

2) Capital Bill Introduced: Representative Ron Amstutz introduced last week HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations. The bill includes $2.39 billion for state capital projects; includes changes in the law governing capital projects; and re-appropriates funds to continue projects through the biennium ending June 30, 2016.

The bill will be considered by the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz. Hearings started last week, and the bill is expected to be on a fast track for approval, so that it can go into effect by July 1, 2014 and disruptions in current capital projects can be avoided.

This is the first genuine capital budget bill introduced since the onset of the recession six years ago. A capital budget was not recommended in 2010, and a trimmed-down budget was passed in 2012. The bill includes funds in the following areas:

-Administrative Building Fund: $108,155,819
-Adult Correctional Building Fund: $130,000,000
-Juvenile Correctional Building Fund: $36,104,321
-Transportation Building Fund: $100,000,000
-Cultural and Sports Facilities Building Fund: $82,900,704
-Ohio Parks & Natural Resources Fund: $57,248,465
-School Building Program Assistance Fund: $575,000,000
-Mental Health Facilities Improvement Fund: $39,744,140
-Higher Education Improvement Fund: $499,241,296
-Parks & Recreation Improvement Fund: $137,690,595
-State Capital Improvements Fund: $300,000,000
-Coal Research and Development Fund: $3,000,000
-Clean Ohio Conservation Fund: $75,000,000
-Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Fund: $12,500,000
-Clean Ohio Trail Fund: $12,500,000

The Cultural Sports and Facilities Fund includes state support for a number of arts-related projects in each county. The projects range from a few thousand dollars to over a million dollars. The projects were selected regionally and vetted by the Ohio Arts Council before the Kasich administration included them in the bill. The following are some of arts-related projects that would receive the highest amounts of state support through HB497:

-Columbus Museum of Art Expansion and Renovation $1.1 million
-Cleveland Institute of Art Campus Unification Project $1 million
-Gordon Square Arts District $1 million
-Rock and Roll Hall of Fame $1.06 million
-Cleveland Museum of Art $2 million
-Playhouse Square Ohio Theatre $1.5 million
-Cleveland Museum of Natural History $2.5 million
-Columbus Theater-Based Community Development Project $1 million
-Cincinnati Music Hall Revitalization $5 million
-Preserving and Updating the Historic Dayton Art Institute $2.1 million

See more about proposed state funding for community-based arts programs at http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/fiscal/capitalbudget130/introduced/fcc.pdf

3) This Week at the Statehouse

•The House Education Committee
The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on March 26, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 017. The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:

-SB69 (Beagle) Course and Program Sharing Network: Establishes the Course and Program Sharing Network.
-HB393 (Baker/Landis) Career Decision Guide Publication: Requires public high schools to publish annually a career decision guide in its newsletter or on its web site.
-HB241 (Hagen) School Employees-Sexual Conduct: Prohibits an employee of a public or nonpublic school or institution of higher education from engaging in sexual conduct with a minor who is enrolled in or attends that public or nonpublic school.
-SB229 (Gardner) Teacher Performance Evaluations: Regarding teacher performance evaluations. -HB447 (Lynch) Consolidated School Districts: Permits a school district resulting from the consolidation of two or more school districts that meet specified conditions to receive a loan from the Ohio school facilities commission for the construction of a new facility to support the consolidated district.

The House Education Committee will also meet on March 27, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 313 to receive testimony on HB487 (Brenner) MBR-K-12 Education Programs.

•The House Higher Education Subcommittee
The House Higher Education Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Rosenberger, will meet on March 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 311. The committee will receive testimony regarding HB484 (Rosenberger/Brown) MBR-Higher Education.

•The House Ways and Means Committee
The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative McClain, will meet on March 25, 2014 at 9:30 AM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony on HB472 (McClain) MBR-Mid Biennium Budget Review and HB492 (Scherer) MBR-TAXATION.

The House Ways and Means Committee will also meet on March 26, 2014 at 3:00 PM in hearing room 116 to receive testimony on HB472 (McClain) MBR-Mid Biennium Budget Review and HB492 (Scherer) MBR-TAXATION.

•The House Finance and Appropriations Committee
The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz, will meet on March 25, 2014 at 1:30 PM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony regarding HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016.

The committee will also receive testimony on HB483 (Amstutz) MBR- State Appropriations, which makes operating and other appropriations and provides authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs.

The House Finance and Appropriations Committee will meet on March 26, 2014 at 9:00 AM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony on HB483 (Amstutz) MBR State Appropriations.

•The Senate Finance Committee
The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on March 26, 2014 at 3:00 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The committee will receive testimony on
HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016, pending referral.

•The Senate Education Committee
The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on March 26, 2014 at 4:00 PM in the South Hearing Room. The committee will receive testimony on HB193 (Brenner) High School Diploma Requirements.

4) National News

•More Parents Opt Their Children Out of Testing: Karla Scoon Reid reports in an article for Education Week that opponents of high stakes testing are encouraged by the number of parents who are opting their children out of state mandated tests this spring, and see the opt-out movement as a way to make policy-makers take their cause more seriously. Parents nationwide are becoming more informed and organized about how to opt children out of statewide testing as a result of efforts in Chicago, where teachers refused to administer the Illinois Student Achievement Tests, and efforts in Seattle, California, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, etc. A new website sponsored by Testing Resistance & Reform Spring is working to coordinate local opt-out efforts and create a movement to oppose high-stakes testing. There is also an organization called United Opt Out National, which provides parents with advice about state laws regarding testing.

See “Testing Skeptics Aim to Build Support for Opt-out Strategy” by Karla Scoon Reid, Education Week, March 11, 2014 at
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/12/24boycotts_ep.h33.html

5) Race to the Top Year 3 Report: The U.S. Department of Education released on March 19, the 2014 annual performance report for year 3 (school year 2012-13) of the federal Race to the Top grant program for the eleven participating states and the District of Columbia.

Ohio received a $400 million four year Race to the Top Grant in 2010 to engage 538 participating LEAs in achieving the following goals:

• Increase high school graduation rates by 0.5 percent per year to approximately 88 percent by the end of the grant period;
• Reduce the graduation rate gap by 50 percent between underrepresented and majority students in participating LEAs and community schools;
• Reduce academic performance gaps by 50 percent on national and statewide assessments for the same students;
• Reduce the gap between Ohio and the nation’s best-performing states by 50 percent on national reading and mathematics assessments; and,
• More than double the increase in college enrollment of students under the age of 19 to 14.5 percent by fall 2013, and more than double the increase in college persistence of enrolled students to 10.35 percent within the same time period.

According to the summary report for year three of the grant, the number of Ohio LEAs participating in the grant as of June 2013 has dropped from 538 to 445.

In year three the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) provided support for 71 persistently low-achieving schools (PLA) through transformation specialists and 56 innovative model grantees through innovation specialists, and expanded its STEM hubs, which were rebranded Innovation Zones.

-The ODE also expanded participation in Race to the Top reform efforts to all LEAs in the state and developed more effective and efficient channels for sharing information about reforms with LEAs.

-The State secured an Instruction Improvement System (IIS) vendor in Year 3, and expanded training and informational webinars for participating LEAs.

-Working with statewide educational organizations the ODE was able to build understanding for the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System and the Ohio Principal Evaluation System and student growth measures used to evaluate teachers.

The Ohio report identified transitions in leadership; key changes in staff at the ODE; and reduced ODE staff as challenges that resulted in delays in the implementation of several initiatives.

Legislative changes throughout Year 3 were also identified as a “significant challenge”, including the Third Grade Reading Guarantee and modifications to State requirements for the student growth component of educator evaluation ratings.

The delay in the State’s IIS contract resulted in a forced realignment of the timeline and there were also challenges related to the Great Teachers and Leaders initiatives.

An external evaluator was able to collect data on a subset of 23 participating LEAs that chose to fully implement all components of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) and analyze data submitted to the State’s electronic Teacher and Principal Evaluation System (eTPES). However, the State did not collect data about the other LEAs that were participating in eTPES in SY2012-13. It is therefore not clear how the ODE provided support for participating LEAs, or assessed the readiness of the field to fully implement the teacher and principal evaluations in SY2013-14.

The ODE was also not able to report on the Equitable Distribution of Effective and Highly Effective Educators.

The report also notes that there was little LEA interest in the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA) and tenure model pilots; the State’s METWorks resources; the Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning (TELL) Ohio survey, and the Teacher Exit Survey (TExS).

Student outcome data compared over three years in English language arts shows mixed results. According to the report student achievement increased in grades three, four, seven, eight, and ten, and decreased in grades five and six. Student achievement in math increased in grades five and ten, and decreased in the remaining grades. The State met only one target in SY2012-13 in grade eight English language arts, and almost met one of the grade level targets in math.

Achievement gaps on the English language arts assessment increased slightly in the SY2012-13 for children with disabilities and children without disabilities, and decreased slightly for not low income and low income subgroups. Achievement gaps on Ohio’s SY2012-2013 mathematics assessments slightly increased when compared to SY2011- 2012 levels for all reported sub-groups.

The report also includes information about Year 4 of the project. The ODE will focus on data analysis and how LEAs can use the data to inform implementation; implement a bridge assessment for SY2013-2014 that includes items aligned to both the existing Ohio standards and the new standards; and develop the Next Generation Assessments for fourth and sixth grade social studies and fifth and eighth grade science in SY2014-15.

The ODE expects to provide all LEAs with an opportunity to register for the State’s IIS, which should be operational in March 2014. LEAs will fully implement teacher and principal evaluation in Year 4. The ODE will conduct audits of LEAs using OTES and locally developed evaluation systems to ensure the data are reliable and valid, and the systems are being implemented in accordance with the frameworks. The ODE also plans to continue providing supports for PLAs implementing school intervention initiatives, and monitor the progress of innovative model grantees.

See “Race to the Top Annual Performance Report 2012-13 - Ohio” U.S Department of Education, March 19, 2014 at https://www.rtt-apr.us/

6) Highlights of HB487 (Brenner) Mid-Biennium Review - K12 Education: The following are highlights of HB487 as introduced.

An analysis of the bill is available at
http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/analyses130/h0487-i-130.pdf

The bill is available at
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_HB_487

Kindergarten Diagnostic Assessment

•AMENDED Section 3301.0714 Kindergarten Diagnostic Assessment: The bill requires school districts to report to the ODE the results of diagnostics assessments for kindergarten in language arts and reading, even if parents request that the results not be reported, and removes a provision that prohibited the data collected about the kindergarten assessment to be reported on the report card 3302.03.

•AMENDED Section 3301.0715 Kindergarten Diagnostic Assessment: This provision allows a district or school to administer kindergarten diagnostics to transfer students during the regular administration of the test, if the student transfers before the assessment is normally administered. It removes outdated language about when the kindergarten assessment can be administered; states that the kindergarten assessment shall not apply to students with significant cognitive disabilities; aligns this section with the states letter grade accountability system; allows school districts rated A and B on the performance index or the value added measure to use different diagnostic assessments for Kindergarten; and allows the ODE to report school and district level kindergarten diagnostic assessment data, and use diagnostic data to calculate the K-3 literacy measure on the state report card.

College Credit Plus - Report Card

•AMENDED Section 3302.03 State Report Card: The bill requires the ODE to include on a school or district’s report card the number of students who have earned credit in advanced standing programs (formerly dual enrollment), such as college credit plus program (CCP) (formerly post-secondary enrollment options) and career technical courses.

Academic Distress Commission

•AMENDED Section 3302.10 Academic Distress Commission: This section changes the criteria for the superintendent of public instruction to create an academic distress commission for school districts. It states that an academic distress commission shall be created if a school district meets any combination of the following conditions for two of the three most recent years:

-The district has been declared to be in a state of academic emergency, prior to March 22, 2013, and has failed to make adequate yearly progress
-The district has received a grade of “F” for the performance index score and a grade of “D” or “F” for the value-added progress dimension for the 2013-2014 school year
-The district has received an overall grade of “F”
-The district’s academic performance makes it subject to the most severe level of state intervention as specified by the most recent “Elementary and Secondary Education Act” waiver issued to Ohio

The bill removes a condition that required at least fifty per cent of the schools operated by the district to have received an overall grade of “D” or “F” before a commission was formed.

A new provision states that a school district is not subject to an academic distress commission if it meets any of the above conditions, but has received on the most recent report card a grade of “A” or “B” on at least two components prescribed under division (C)(3) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code.

The bill also makes some changes in the conditions needed for an academic distress commission to be dissolved. The conditions align with the state’s letter grade accountability system. This section states that an academic distress commission can be dissolved if a district receives an overall grade of “C” or better, or if the district is no longer subject to the most severe level of state intervention under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

At-Risk Students - Graduation

•AMENDED Section 3313.603 Graduation requirements: The bill allows students who enter ninth grade before July 1, 2016, rather than July 1, 2014, to qualify for graduation even if they have not completed the Ohio Core 3313.603 (C).

The bill also changes “individual career plan” to “student success plan” under Section 3313.605(C)(1) ORC, and requires dropout prevention and recovery programs to develop a student success plan that specifies the student’s matriculating to a two-year degree program, acquiring a business industry credential, or entering an apprenticeship.

For students enrolled in dropout prevention and recovery programs a new section states that prior to a student receiving the waiver from completing the Ohio Core Curriculum, the program itself must submit to the ODE a policy on career advising, including how every student will receive career advising.

The dropout prevention and recovery program must also submit to the ODE a written agreement outlining future cooperation between the program and any combination of local job training, postsecondary education, and nonprofit and health and social service organizations to provide services for students and their families.

Advanced Standing Programs and Early College High School

•AMENDED Section 3313.6013 Advanced Standing Programs and Early College. The bill changes the term “dual enrollment” to “advanced standing program”. It defines an advanced standing program as a program that enables a student to earn credit toward a degree from an institution of higher education while enrolled in high school. Furthermore it states that an advanced standing program enables a student to complete coursework while enrolled in high school, and earn credit toward a degree from an institution of higher education upon the student’s attainment of a specified score on an examination covering the coursework. Advanced standing programs may include the “college credit plus program (CCP)” established under Chapter 3365 of the Revised Code (formerly post secondary enrollment options - PSEO); Advanced placement courses; International baccalaureate diploma courses; and early college high school programs.

The bill requires each city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school district, and chartered nonpublic school to provide students enrolled in grades nine through twelve with the opportunity to participate in an advanced standing program, and offer at least one advanced standing program.

Agreements between a school district or school and an associated college regarding an early college high school program are subject to the requirements of the college credit plus program unless the agreement is not related to the conferral of transcripted credit; the early college high school program began operating prior to July 1, 2014; the district, school, or associated college obtained a waiver; or the district, school, or associated college operating the early college high school program was granted a Straight A award.

The bill clarifies that the college credit plus program does not govern any advanced placement course or international baccalaureate diploma course.

The bill defines “early college high school program” as a program operated by a school district or school and an associated college, as defined in section 3365.10 of the Revised Code. The program provides a personalized learning plan, which is based on accelerated curriculum and includes both high school and college-level coursework. It enables certain students to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree, or the equivalent number of transcripted credits, upon successful completion of the program.

According to the bill students who can participate in early college include students who are underrepresented in regard to completing post-secondary education; students who are economically disadvantaged, as defined by the department of education; and students whose parents did not earn a college degree.

Career Advising - Identifying and Serving At-Risk Students

•NEW Section 3313.6015 Career Advising/At Risk Students: This section requires that beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, the board of education of each city, local, exempted village, joint vocational school district (and in current law each community school and STEM school) adopt a policy on career advising, and post the policy on its website.

The policy on career advising must include the following:
-Provide students with grade-level examples that link their schoolwork to one or more career fields. A district may use career connections developed under division (B)(2) of section 3301.079 of the Revised Code for this purpose.
-Create a plan to provide career advising to students in grades six through twelve.
-Provide additional interventions and career advising for students who are identified as at risk of dropping out of school.
-Train its employees on how to advise students on career pathways, including training on advising students using online tools.
-Develop multiple, clear academic pathways through high school that students may choose in order to earn a high school diploma.
-Identify and publicize courses that can award students both traditional academic and career-technical credit.
-Document the career advising provided to each student for review by the student, the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian, and future schools that the student may attend. The bill states that a district cannot release this information without the written consent of the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian, if the student is less than eighteen years old, or the written consent of the student, if the student is at least eighteen years old.
-Prepare students for their transition from high school to their post-secondary destinations, including any special interventions that are necessary for students in need of remediation in mathematics or English language arts.

The bill requires that each district (STEM and community school in current law) identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school using a method that is both research-based and locally-based. If a student is identified as at risk of dropping out of school, the district must develop a student success plan that specifies an academic pathway for successful graduation, and includes career-technical education, competency-based education, and experiential learning, as appropriate.

Prior to developing a student success plan for a student, the district must invite the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian to assist in developing the plan. If the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian do not participate in the development of the plan, the district will provide to the parent, guardian, or custodian a copy of the student’s success plan, and a statement of the importance of a high school diploma, and the academic pathways available to the student in order to successfully graduate.

Following the development of a student success plan for a student, the district must provide career advising to the student that is aligned with the student’s plan and the district’s plan to provide career advising.

This provision also requires the ODE to develop and post on its web site not later than September 30, 2014, model policies on career advising and model student success plans.

Career Technical Education

•AMENDED Section 3313.90 Career Technical Education. This section requires each city, local, and exempted village school district to provide to students enrolled in grades seven through twelve career-technical education to prepare a student for an occupation. It also increases to 2500 students in grades 7-12 the minimum enrollment required for high schools to provide comprehensive career-technical education programs to students, beginning with the 2014-15 school year.

Boards of education can receive a waiver from the ODE regarding this requirement by adopting a resolution requesting the waiver, and submitting the request to the ODE by September 30th in the school year for which career-technical education will not be provided.

Community Schools

•AMENDED Section 3314.08 Community Schools: This section addresses funding for community schools. It requires that state payments to community schools be reduced to reflect state payments to colleges for students participating in the Ohio College Credit Plus Program.

Educator Licenses

•AMENDED Section 3319.22 Educator Licenses: This section allows the state board of education to issue a resident educator license which is valid for four years and renewable.

The state board, on a case-by-case basis, may extend the license’s duration as necessary to enable the license holder to complete the Ohio teacher residency program established under section 3319.223 of the Revised Code.

The state board is required to adopt rules establishing the standards and requirements for obtaining each educator license, including the reasons for which a resident educator license may be renewed.

•AMENDED Section 3319.26 Alternative Educator License Standards and Rules: The bill states that the rules will also include the reasons why an alternative resident educator license may be renewed under Division (D) of this section.

Compulsory School Attendance

•AMENDED Sections 3321.03 to 3321.09 Compulsory School Attendance: These sections are amended to align them with changes proposed in the bill regarding an “alternative education program” that is specified in the child’s student success plan developed under division (C)(1) of section 3313.6015 of the Revised Code.

Changes are also made in the requirements for students with an Age and Schooling Certificate.

Gifted Education

•AMENDED Section 3324.07 Gifted Education Programs: This section for gifted education includes references to “post secondary enrollment options”. These references are changed to the “college credit plus program.”

STEM Payments

•AMENDED Section 3326.36 STEM Payments. This section reduces state payments to STEM schools to reflect payments made to colleges under the Ohio College Credit Plus Program, Chapter 3365.

College Preparatory High Schools

•AMENDED Section 3328.24 Ohio College Credit Plus: Adds the College Credit Plus program to the list of requirements that a college-preparatory boarding school must meet.

Age and School Certificate

•AMENDED Section 3331.04 Age and School Certificate: This section requires a student (over the age of 16) to be participating in a program that, upon successful completion of instruction, will result in the child receiving an industry-recognized credential, a journeyman certification as recognized by the United States department of labor, or full-time employment, before the superintendent of the school can issue the student an age and schooling certificate.

The bill also changes the requirements which permit a superintendent to issue a certificate to “a child over age 16 who is unable to pass a test for the completion of seventh grade and who is not so below the normal in mental development that the child cannot profit from further schooling.”

Switching from PSEO to CCP

•AMENDED Sections 3333.041, 3333.35, 3333.43, 3333.86 and 3345.06 College Enrollment: These sections include references to the “post-secondary enrollment options program”, which are changed to “college credit plus program”. References to “dual enrollment programs” are changed to “advanced standing programs.”

Ohio College Credit Plus Program

•NEW Section 3365.01 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: This section includes definitions of the terms and the components of the College Credit Plus Program, and the funding formulas for determining payments to colleges and universities participating in the program, including the default ceiling amount; the default floor amount; and maximum per participant charge amount.

The “default ceiling amount” payment to colleges is equal to 83 percent of the state aid formula amount divided by either 30 or 45, depending on whether the college operates on a semester or quarter schedule. This applies to a student enrolled in a college course delivered on the college campus, at another location operated by the college, or online.

The payment is 50 percent of the default ceiling amount, for a student enrolled in a college course delivered at the student’s high school, but taught by college faculty.

The “default floor amount” is defined as 25 percent of the default ceiling amount for a student enrolled in a college course delivered at the student’s high school and taught by a high school teacher.

•NEW Section 3365.02 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: The bill establishes the college credit plus program for the 2015-16 school year. The program allows a high school student to enroll at a college, on a full or part-time basis, and complete nonsectarian, non-remedial courses for high school and college credit.

The bill states that a secondary level student will receive transcripted credit from a college/university for successfully completing coursework taken under the program, except for students participating in the early college high school program; advanced placement courses or the international baccalaureate diploma program; or a career-technical education program.

Students enrolled in public and nonpublic secondary schools and students who are home-schooled are allowed to enroll in the program. The bill requires that all public secondary schools and all public colleges, except the Northeast Ohio Medical University, participate in the program, and subjects them to the requirements of this chapter.

Nonpublic secondary schools or private colleges that choose to participate in the program are subject to the requirements of the law.

The bill requires the state board of education in consultation with the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, to adopt rules governing the program.

•NEW Section 3365.03 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: This section establishes the criteria for students to participate in the Ohio College Credit Plus Program. Students enrolled in public and nonpublic secondary schools, and students who are homeschooled, may apply to enroll in a college under the college credit plus program.

-Students in a public secondary school must meet the following: The student or the student’s parent must inform the principal, or equivalent, of the student’s school by the first day of April of the student’s intent to participate in the program during the following school year. Any student who fails to provide the notification by the required date may not participate in the program during the following school year without the written consent of the principal, or equivalent. The student must apply and meet the admissions requirements established by the public or participating college and elect at the time of enrollment to either participate under options A or B described in Section 3365.06. The student and the student’s parent must also sign a form, provided by the school, stating that they have received counseling and understand the responsibilities they must assume in the program.

-Students in nonpublic secondary school or homeschooled must meet the following: The student or the student’s parent shall inform the principal, or equivalent, of the student’s school by the first day of April of the student’s intent to participate in the program during the following school year, and the student must apply and meet the admissions requirements established by the public or participating college.

The bill also states that no public or nonpublic school shall prohibit a student from enrolling in the program, unless the student has been expelled.

The bill also states that participation in the college credit plus program will not affect the student’s eligibility at any public college for scholarships, or for other benefits or opportunities that are available to first-time college students, and are awarded by that college, regardless of the number of credit hours that the student completed under the program.

•RENUMBERED Section 3365.031 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: This section states that a student may not receive credit for college courses toward high school graduation for more than the equivalent of four academic school years, if a ninth grader; three years if a tenth grader; two years, if an eleventh grader; and one year if in the 12th grade.

•AMENDED Section 3365.032 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Student Expulsions: This section describes what happens to a student, who is enrolled in the College Credit Plus Program and is expelled from school.

•NEW Section 3365.04 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - School Requirements: The bill states that each public and participating nonpublic secondary school shall do all of the following:

-Provide information about the program prior to the first day of March of each year to all students enrolled in grades eight through eleven.
-Provide counseling services to students in grades eight through eleven and to their parents before the students participate in the program to ensure that students and parents are fully aware of the possible consequences and benefits of participation.
-Communicate the possible consequences and benefits of participation,
-Promote the program on the school’s web site, including the details of the school’s current agreements with partnering colleges.
-Schedule at least one informational session per school year to allow each partnering college that is located within thirty miles of the school to meet with interested students and parents. The session will include the benefits and consequences of participation and outline any changes or additions to the requirements of the program. If there are no partnering colleges located within thirty miles of the school, the school must coordinate with the closest partnering college to offer an informational session.
-Implement a policy for awarding grades and calculating class standing for courses.
-Develop model course pathways, and publish the course pathways among the school’s official list of course offerings for the program.
-Annually collect, report, and track data related to the program according to data reporting guidelines adopted by the chancellor and the superintendent of public instruction.

•NEW Section 3365.05 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Enrollment. The bill requires each public and participating private college to do the following:

-Apply established standards and procedures for admission to the college and for course placement for participants. When determining admission and course placement, the college shall consider all available student data that may be an indicator of college readiness, including grade point average and end-of-course examination scores; give priority to its current students regarding enrollment in courses. However, once a participant has been accepted into a course, the college shall not displace the participant for another student; adhere to any capacity limitations that the college has established for specified courses.

-Send written notice to a participant, the participant’s parent, the participant’s secondary school, and the superintendent of public instruction, not later than fourteen calendar days prior to the first day of classes for that term, of the participant’s admission to the college and courses under the program.

-Provide not later than twenty-one calendar days after the first day of classes for that term, to each participant, participant’s secondary school, and the superintendent of public instruction, the courses and hours of enrollment of the participant; the option elected by the participant to receive credit; a roster of participants from that school that are enrolled in the college; and a list of course assignments for each participant.

-Promote the program on the college’s web site, including the details of the college’s current agreements with partnering secondary schools.

-Coordinate with each partnering secondary school that is located within thirty miles of the college to present at least one informational session per school year for interested students and parents. The session will include the benefits and consequences of participation and outline any changes or additions to the requirements of the program. If there are no partnering schools located within thirty miles of the college, the college will coordinate with the closest partnering school to offer an informational session.

-Assign an academic advisor that is employed by the college to each participant enrolled in that college. Prior to the date on which a withdrawal from a course would negatively affect a participant’s transcripted grade, as prescribed by the college’s established withdrawal policy, the college will ensure that the academic advisor and the participant meet at least once to discuss the program and the courses in which the participant is enrolled.

-Provide high school teachers who are teaching courses for the college at least one professional development session per school year, and conduct at least one classroom observation per school year for each course that is authorized by the college and taught by a high school teacher to ensure that the course meets the quality of a college-level course.

-Annually collect, report, and track specified data related to the program according to data reporting guidelines adopted by the chancellor and the superintendent of public instruction.

•AMENDED Section 3365.06 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Options for Enrollment: There are two enrollment options that participants in the Ohio College Credit Plus Program can select:

(A) The participant may elect at the time of enrollment to be responsible for payment of all tuition and the cost of all textbooks, materials, and fees associated with the course. The college will notify the participant about payment of tuition and fees in the customary manner followed by the college. A participant electing this option also can elect, at the time of enrollment, whether to receive only college credit or high school credit and college credit for the course.

(B) The participant may elect at the time of enrollment for each course to have the college reimbursed. If the student participant successfully completes the course, the college will award the participant full credit for the course, and governing entity of a public school, or the governing body of a participating nonpublic school will award the participant high school credit,

When determining a school district’s enrollment, the time a participant is attending courses under division (A) of this section shall be considered as time the participant is not attending or enrolled in school anywhere, and the time a participant is attending courses under division (B) of this section shall be considered as time the participant is attending or enrolled in the district’s schools.

•NEW Section 3365.07 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Payments: This section establishes the definitions for reimbursing colleges and universities for participants in the college credit plus program.

It also specifies which entity is responsible for the costs of textbooks and fees under the CCP program.

The bill also permits the district board, or the equivalent, of a student’s high school and a college to enter into an agreement establishing an alternative payment structure for tuition, textbooks, and fees that differs from the default payment amounts included in this section. Public or nonpublic high school students enrolled in a public college cannot be charged for participation in CCP, including under an alternative payment structure.

Unless an agreement specifying an alternative payment structure is entered into by the high school and the college, the ODE must pay the college the following for a student who is enrolled in a public or nonpublic high school for courses taken under the CCP program per enrolled credit hour:

For a participant enrolled in a college course delivered on the college campus, at another location operated by the college, or online, the default ceiling amount will be paid.

For a participant enrolled in a college course delivered at the participant’s secondary school, but taught by college faculty, fifty per cent of the default ceiling amount will be paid.

For a participant enrolled in a college course delivered at the participant’s secondary school and taught by a high school teacher, who has met the credential requirements established for purposes of the program in rules adopted by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, the default floor amount will be paid.

For a home-instructed student who is enrolled in a college course at a public or private college that is delivered on the college campus, at another location operated by the college, or online, the ODE must pay the college the default ceiling amount. The bill does not specify any amount that the Department must pay for a college course that is delivered in a high school setting.

The bill also establishes payment levels for participants enrolled in private colleges; nonpublic participants enrolled in private colleges; and participants at nonpublic schools who are also receiving scholarships to attend nonpublic schools.

•NEW Section 3365.071 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Nonpublic School Participants: This section requires the state board of education in consultation with the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents to adopt rules prescribing application procedures and standards for nonpublic secondary school and home-instructed students who wish to participate in the college credit plus program; a method to allocate and distribute payments for nonpublic secondary school and home-instructed participants; a method to calculate the amounts deducted from a joint vocational school district and from a participant’s city, local, or exempted village school district for payments.

•AMENDED Section 3365.08 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Textbooks/Transportation: The bill removes a provision that states that if a college expects to receive reimbursement it must provide participants all textbooks and materials directly related to a course taken by the participant and cannot charge for tuition, textbooks, materials, or other fees directly related to any such course.

The bill states that no participants enrolled under this chapter in a course for which credit toward high school graduation is awarded will receive direct financial aid through any state or federal program.

The bill also allows parents to seek reimbursement for the cost of transporting a student to a participating college, if a school district provides transportation for resident school students in grades eleven and twelve, or a community school provides transportation for students in grades nine through twelve. The state board of education is required to establish guidelines, based on financial need, under which a district or community school may provide such reimbursement.

•AMENDED Section 3365.09 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Reimbursement: This provision states that if a participant in the CCP fails to attain a passing grade the superintendent of a school district or the chief administrator of a nonpublic school may request that the participant, or the parents of the participant, reimburse the school district/nonpublic school for the cost of the program.

The governing entity of a public school/nonpublic school may also withhold grades and credits received by the participant for high school courses taken by the participant until the participant or the participant’s parent provides reimbursement.

Upon the collection of any funds from a participant or participant’s parent under this division, the chief administrator of a nonpublic school will send an amount equal to the funds collected to the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction will credit that amount to the general revenue fund.

This provision does not apply to a participant who is identified as economically disadvantaged, unless the participant was expelled by the school, the superintendent, or equivalent, or chief administrator of a nonpublic school.

•NEW Section 3365.10 Ohio College Credit Plus - Waiver: Any public or participating nonpublic secondary school or any public or participating private college, including a secondary school and an associated college operating an early college high school program, defined in Section 3313.6013, may apply to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and the superintendent of public instruction for a waiver from the requirements of the college credit plus program. The chancellor and the superintendent may grant a waiver if the school or college meets all criteria set forth in rules adopted by the chancellor and the superintendent.

Except as provided for in division (E) of section 3313.6013 of the Revised Code, any agreement between a public secondary school and an associated college governing the operation of an early college high school program will be subject to the requirements of the college credit plus program. The chancellor and the superintendent may grant a waiver if the agreement includes innovative programming proposed to exclusively address the needs of underrepresented student subgroups and meets all criteria set forth in rules adopted by the chancellor and the superintendent.

•NEW Section 3365.11 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Instructor: Each instructor teaching a course under the college credit plus program must meet the credential requirements set forth in guidelines and procedures established by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents. If the guidelines require high school teachers to take any additional graduate-level coursework in order to meet the credential requirements, that coursework must be applicable to continuing education and professional development requirements for the renewal of the teacher’s educator license.

•RENUMBERED Section 3365.12 Ohio College Credit Plus Program - Courses: All courses offered under the college credit plus program must be the same courses that are included in the partnering college’s course catalogue for college-level, nonremedial courses and will apply to at least one degree or professional certification at the partnering college.

High school credit awarded for courses successfully completed under this chapter will count toward the graduation requirements and subject area requirements of the public secondary school, or participating nonpublic secondary school.

If a course comparable to one a participant completed at a college is offered by school, the governing entity or governing body will award comparable credit for the course completed at the college. If no comparable course is offered by the school, the governing entity or governing body will grant an appropriate number of elective credits to the participant.

If there is a dispute between a participant’s school and a participant regarding high school credits granted for a course, the participant may appeal the decision to the state board of education. The state board’s decision regarding any high school credits granted under this section is final.

Evidence of successful completion of each course and the high school credits awarded by the district or school will be included in the student’s record. The record will indicate that the credits were earned as a participant under this chapter and will include the name of the college at which the credits were earned.

-NEW Section 3365.13 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: The bill states that each public secondary school will develop, in consultation with at least one public partnering college, two model pathways for courses offered under the college credit plus program.

One of the model pathways will be a fifteen-credit hour pathway and one will be a thirty-credit hour pathway.

Each pathway will include courses which, once completed, all apply to at least one degree or professional certification offered at the college.

The pathways may be organized by desired major or career path or may include various core courses required for a degree or professional certification by the college.

The school will publish the pathways among the school’s official list of course offerings from which a participant may select. These pathways will serve as samples of the courses that a participant may take, if desired, to earn multiple credits toward a specified degree or certification, but participants are not required to following them.

•NEW Section 3365.15 Ohio College Credit Plus Program: This section requires the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and the superintendent of public instruction to do the following:

-Adopt data reporting guidelines specifying the types of data that public and participating nonpublic secondary schools and public and participating private colleges must collect, report, and track. The guidelines must also include policies and procedures for the collection, reporting, and tracking of such data.

-Submit a biennial report detailing the status of the college credit plus program to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the chairpersons of the education committees of the senate and house of representatives. The first report must be submitted not later than December 31, 2017, and each subsequent report must be submitted not later than the thirty-first day of December every two years thereafter.

-Establish a college credit plus advisory committee to assist in the development of performance metrics and the monitoring of the program’s progress.

-Require the chancellor in consultation with the superintendent to create a standard packet of information for the college credit plus program directed toward students and parents that are interested in the program.

•Section 3 Temporary Law: The bill creates the School Based Health Care Advisory Workgroup, which consists of 31 members including representatives of statewide education organizations, health organizations, business interests, state agencies, and the Ohio House and Senate.

The Workgroup will do the following:
-Review evidence of the correlation between student health and academic achievement;
-Identify existing best practices to improve academic achievement through better student health;
-Based on existing best practices, recommend one or more models for communities that want to improve academic achievement through better student health;
-Recommend financial strategies to sustain the models over time, with an emphasis on health coverage through commercial insurance and Medicaid, not other governmental subsidies;
-Recommend health care service delivery strategies that are known to improve health outcomes, such as patient-centered medical homes;
-Ensure that all recommendations adhere to state and federal law.
-Prepare a report of its findings and recommendations and, not later than December 31, 2014, submit the report to the General Assembly. Upon submission of the report, the Workgroup will cease to exist.

7) Bills Introduced

•HB498 (Young) School District Mergers: Addresses the merger of city, local, or exempted village school districts.
•HB484 (Rosenberger) MBR - Higher Education
•HB486 (Baker/Stebelton) MBR- Workforce and Economic Development Programs
•HB487 (Brenner) MBR-K-12 Education
•HB488 (Dovilla) MBR - Higher Education Veterans
•HB496 (Pillich) Education Management Information System: Requires the assignment of an additional identifier in the statewide Education Management Information System to each student who has a parent or guardian Who is a member of the Aimed Services of the United States, a reserve unit, or the Ohio National Guard.
•HB497 (Amstutz) Capital Appropriations: Make capital appropriations and changes to the law governing capital projects and to make reappropriations for the biennium ending June 30, 2016.

FYI ARTS

•Philadelphia School Leader Champions Arts Education: Caralee J. Adams writes in Education Week’s Leaders to Learn From column about Dennis W. Creedon, the assistant superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia.

According to the article, Mr. Creedon, who is a musician, uses research studies to inform colleagues about the benefits of an education in the arts; how the arts affect brain development; and how the arts are an essential part of the curriculum. He advocates for arts education courses in schools with high numbers of disadvantaged students, because the arts help to reduce the stress that so many students from disadvantaged backgrounds experience, and provide a positive, safe, and creative way for students to express themselves.

Mr. Creedon started in the Philadelphia district as a theater education specialist in 1987 working in partnership with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He aligned lessons about “Don Giovanni” and “Madame Butterfly” to the history curriculum, and worked in several schools to integrate the arts throughout the curriculum. He has made it possible for nearly 160,000 public school students to attend the opera for free.

In 2012 he became the assistant superintendent. At that time the School District of Philadelphia faced a $304 million budget deficit and the loss of 3000 teaching positions, including those in the arts. Through his leadership he encouraged arts leaders in Philadelphia to advocate and support the arts in the schools. Today funding for arts education is 70 percent lower than last year, but some of the arts teaching positions have been restored.

See “Philadelphia Leader Makes the Case for Arts Education” by Caralee J. Adams, Education Week, March 3, 2014.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23ltlf-creedon.h33.html

•2014 Ohio Statehouse T-shirt Contest: The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) announced recently that the Statehouse Museum Shop is sponsoring a T-shirt design contest. The Statehouse Museum Shop is looking for an unique T-shirt design that reflects the creativity and innovation of Ohioans, and must include the words “Ohio Statehouse” or “Ohio.”

Contestants must live in Ohio. Those under 18 years of age must have their entry signed by a parent or guardian. Entries must be received by April 30, 2014.

Semifinalists will be selected by the T-shirt design committee and will be announced on May 5, 2014. The semifinalists’ designs will be posted on the Ohio Statehouse Facebook page, the Statehouse Museum Shop Facebook page, and the Statehouse Museum Shop Pinterest page, where visitors can “like” their favorite design. The designs will also be on display in the Statehouse Museum Shop, where visitors can cast a vote for their favorite design.

All public voting ends May 23, 2014. The T-shirt design committee will consider the public voting results when selecting the winner. The winning design will be announced on June 2, 2014 and will be on display in the Statehouse Museum Shop. T-shirts with the winning design will be on sale this summer.

The winner will receive a T-shirt with the winning art; one $25 gift card from the Statehouse Museum Shop; and a private tour of the Ohio Statehouse including the Cupola for up to 10 people.

Contest rules and entry forms are available at
http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/news/2014-ohio-statehouse-t-shirt-design-contest

•State Fair Extends Application Deadline: The Ohio State Fair has extended the deadline for high school students to apply for the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir to April 15, 2014. This year the choir will begin rehearsals on Thursday, July 17, 2014 and perform July 23, 2014 through August 3, 2014. The Youth Choir sings six to eight concerts a day, marching up to ten miles each day to various performance sites around the 360-acre fairgrounds. Talented young musicians in grades 9 through 12 are encouraged to apply for membership online or through their choir director in school. Online applications are available at
http://www.aosfyc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=392&catid=17&Itemid=84
###
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

Please note that my account at
jplatz@chemistry.ohio-state.edu
will soon be deactivated. Please transition to my gmail account. Thank you.

 

FROM: Ann Brennan

FYI: Note the information about the third grade guarantee and the selection by ODE of the alternative tests. Also note the education provisions in HB 472 ( MBR).

-----Original Message-----
From: Joan Platz <joan.platz@gmail.com>
To: Joan Platz <joan.platz@gmail.com>
Sent: Sun, Mar 16, 2014 7:32 pm
Subject: Arts on Line Education Update March 17, 2014

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update

March 17, 2014

Joan Platz

1)  Ohio

•130th Ohio General Assembly:  The Ohio House will hold committee meetings and a session this week, but the Senate will only hold committee meetings.

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on March 19, 2014 at 9:30 AM in hearing Room 017.  The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:

-HB241 (Hagen) School Employees-Sexual Conduct:  Prohibits an employee of a public or nonpublic school or institution of higher education from engaging in sexual conduct with a minor who is enrolled in or attends that public or nonpublic school.

  -HB449 (Gonzales) Higher Education-Residency: With respect to residency status for certain veterans, spouses, and dependents at state institutions of higher education.

  -HB454 (Gonzales) Concealed Carry-School Safety Zone: Expands and clarifies the authority of a concealed handgun licensee to possess a handgun in a school safety zone.  

-HB460 (Brenner/Driehaus) School Restructuring:  Authorizes school districts and community schools to initiate a community learning process to assist and guide school restructuring.  

  •Straight A Fund:  The Straight A Fund Governing Board met last week and announced a schedule for accepting the next round of grant applications for the $150 million Straight A Grant program and changes in the program to reflect recently passed HB342 (Brenner/Driehaus) Straight A Grant Program.  The application process for this round of awards will begin Friday, April 4, 2014 and end Friday, April 18, 2014.  The Governing Board will begin the first round of reviews on May 12, 2014 and the second round on May 21, 2014.  Grant awards will be announced after June 20, 2014. 

See http://education.ohio.gov/Media 

•ODE Selects Alternative Tests for Reading Guarantee:  The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) announced last week the alternative tests that schools/districts can use to prove that a student is proficient in reading if the student was not able to pass the Ohio Achievement Assessment in the third grade under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.  Students in the third grade can take the state assessments in the fall, spring, and summer to prove that they are proficient in reading. The alternative assessment could be given to students to demonstrate proficiency, but not as a substitute for the state reading assessment. The ODE selected the Iowa Assessments Form F Level 9 for third grade; Northwest Evaluation Association Measure of Academic Progress; and the Terra Nova 3.

See http://education.ohio.gov/Media 

   •Voter Bill of Rights:  A proposed constitutional amendment for the November 2014 ballot overcame two hurdles last week. Attorney General Mike DeWine approved petition language for the proposed “Ohio Voter Bill of Rights” and the Ohio Ballot Board determined that it was one subject.  The proposed amendment would add to the constitution provisions about early voting, electronic voter registration, absentee ballots, etc. The group supporting the amendment, Citizens for Ohio Voter Bill of Rights, must collect 385,247 valid signatures by July 2, 2014 to place the issue on the November 2014 ballot. 

The proposed constitutional amendment is available at 

https://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/upload/ballotboard/2014/2014-03-10-petition.pdf

•New Statehouse Website Launched: The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) announced last week the launch of a newly redesigned and upgraded website.  The website consolidates information that was previously found on five independent websites, and includes a searchable online catalog on Ohio Statehouse history. 

See http://www.ohiostatehouse.org. 

2) Mid Biennium Review Introduced:  Governor Kasich submitted on March 11, 2014 HB472 (McClain) the Mid Biennium Review (MBR) to the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative Jeff McClain.  Known in the past as a “corrections bill”, the first MBR was introduced in 2012 during the second year of the Kasich  Administration.  HB472 is expected to be divided-up into separate bills, which will considered by different House committees, based on their subject. 

The first hearing on HB472 was held on March 12, 2014 in the House Ways and Means Committee.  Several members of Governor’s Kasich’s cabinet testified including Budget Director Tim Keen, Tax Commissioner Joe Testa, Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Tracy Plouck, Workforce Transformation Director Tracy Intihar, Regents Chancellor John Carey, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross.

The MBR includes a number of policy changes for Ohio’s tax system, higher education, vocational education, dropout prevention programs, workforce development, and human services. The following are some of the highlights of the bill:

Tax Policy Changes: The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to consider the proposed changes in Ohio’s tax structure included in the MBR.  The committee has been holding hearings on HB375 (Huffman), which includes changes in the severance tax for oil and gas drilling, including fracking. It could be that some of the tax changes in the MBR will become part of HB375, or visa versa.

•Lower Income Tax Rates:  The MBR would lower personal income tax rates over the next three years by 8.5 percent, so that the highest rate would eventually be 4.88 percent by 2016. To offset the revenue lost, which would be $2.6 billion, the plan would raise other state taxes by $2.4 billion through FY17. Overall state taxes would be cut by $91 million in FY14 and $121 million in FY15.

•Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Exemptions:  The governor’s proposal would increase the EITC from 5 to 15 percent of the federal credit. Personal income tax exemptions would be increased for Ohioans earning less than $40,000 from $1,700 to $2,700 and for Ohioans earning between $40,000 and $80,000 from $1,700 to $2,200. These changes would lower state revenue by $453 million over three years. 

•Cigarette Tax:  This tax would increase from $1.25 to $1.85 per pack over two years.  The tax would also be applied to e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. The amount of revenue earned is estimated to be $848 million over three years. 

•Oil and Gas Drilling: The governor’s plan would create the Ohio Shale Gas Regional Commission to oversee local distribution of some of the revenue generated by gas and oil drilling. A severance tax rate of 2.75 percent is proposed along with exempting up to $8 million of gross receipts per well from taxation for three years to help producers recoup start-up costs and eliminating severance taxes on small producers. The proposed changes could increase tax revenue by $874 million over three years.

•Commercial Activity Tax (CAT):  The CAT would increase from 0.26 percent to 0.30 percent, and raise $743 million over three years. The CAT was introduced in 2005 and the rate has not changed since introduced.

According to testimony presented on March 12, 2014 by Budget Director Tim Keen, the MBR also includes $53.3 million to address the rise in the prison population.

K-12 Education: The Kasich Administration’s plan for K-12 education would focus on keeping students in school; expanding career education as an option for students; and providing support for adults to earn high school diplomas. School districts and schools would be required to develop a career-advising policy for students. Other provisions would create a process for teachers with a resident educator license to renew that license, and change the criteria for school districts to be identified in need of an academic distress commission. 

•Dropout Prevention:  According to the governor, nearly 24,000 Ohio students drop out of school every year.  The administration’s plan would call on the Ohio Department of Education to work with local school districts and create a tool to identify at-risk students and provide better support for them, including career counseling and creating new pathways to earn a diploma. The pathways could include career-technical education, participation in Dropout Prevention and Recovery Programs, and the development of unique diploma plans worked-out between the student and the school.

•Helping Adults Earn Diplomas:  The MBR includes a pilot project that would allow approved Career Centers and community colleges to provide opportunities for adults who do not have a high school diploma, to earn credits while pursuing job training coupled with credential efforts.

•Mentorship through Community Connectors: The governor proposes using $10 million from casino-license fees to provide grants (matched 3 to 1) to support community-based and business-based mentorship programs for students. 

•Expanding Access to Vocational Education: The governor proposes making Ohio’s high-quality network of technical and vocational education available to students beginning in the 7th grade to give more Ohio students a jump-start on career education. Boards of education can opt-out of this expansion by passing a resolution.  

Higher Education:  The Kasich Administration will continue efforts already underway to increase pathways for individuals to earn college and university degrees, and align state support for institutions of higher education with the number of graduates. The administration is also requesting to enter into a reciprocity agreement with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact to deliver distance learning in and outside of Ohio.

•College Credit Plus:  Governor Kasich supports increasing student enrollment in dual credit programs, in which students earn college credits while still in high school.  The purpose of these programs is to provide more students with a jump-start to earn a college degree at a lower cost to families.  To do this the governor’s plan would establish the College Credit Plus data collection and reporting system; make the funding mechanism for both high schools and higher education institutions more equitable and transparent; ensure course and program quality; and provide better information for parents and students.  Many of the recommendations for these provisions were reported in the College Credit Plus report, prepared by Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey.

•Increase Graduation Rates:  HB59 the state’s FY14-15 budget included a new funding formula that ties state funds for four year institutions of higher education to course completion and graduation. The presidents of Ohio’s community colleges recently finalized their recommendations to align state funding on successful course, degree, and certificate completions, rather than course enrollments, and this component is included the MBR.  The new community college formula also provides greater payments to schools for older, low income, and minority students who are successful. 

•Ohio’s Technical Centers: The MBR includes a new formula that will require that 50 percent of state funding for Ohio’s Technical Centers be based upon the percentage of students who actually find a job after they complete their program of study. The remaining 50 percent of state funding will be based upon a combination of factors, such as successful student retention, the number of students who successfully complete a workforce training program, and the number of students who successfully receive an industry recognized credential.

•Course- and Program-Sharing Network: The governor’s plan would require the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to implement a course- and program-sharing network to encourage institutions and adult career centers to share existing courses and programs across the state. The Chancellor would also have the ability to enter into an agreement with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact to allow Ohio colleges to deliver distance learning to students in other states. Participation in an agreement would allow Ohio colleges and universities to expand their distance education offerings and create more opportunities for Ohio residents to take college courses to expand their knowledge and skill sets.

•Retaining International Students:  To keep more international students in Ohio after graduation the MBR directs the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to create a globalization liaison by the end of 2014 to increase recruitment and enrollment of international students, and to encourage them to remain in the state after graduation. 

•Guaranteed Tuition:  The MBR would allow Ohio’s community colleges to offer students a guaranteed tuition rate that would apply to their time on campus. HB59 granted the same option to all of Ohio’s four-year public universities.

•Credits for Veterans: Veterans who work toward a college degree would receive credit for military training, experience, and the coursework that they took while serving in the military. The MBR requires the creation of a Military Transfer Assurance Guide to provide baseline standards, procedures, and tools for any public college or university to grant college credit for military experiences.  Veterans would also be assured that they will not be charged for the military-training credits, including fees for evaluations, transcripts, and applications for college credit for military experiences.

•Veterans Transition to College:  The MBR includes provisions to ensure that all Ohio campuses are using best practices to counsel transitioning veterans so that the veterans can enroll in the courses that they need.  

Work Force Development:  The Kasich Administration is continuing efforts to better align Ohio’s workforce training system to help Ohioans who want to start new careers or learn new skills.  

•More Efficient Workforce Development System for Ohio: The MBR includes provisions to align the three main federal workforce programs into a single plan:  Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins): and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

  •Helping Veterans Get Jobs: The governor proposes making it easier for veterans to transfer their skills to receive academic and licensure credit by creating a Fast Track to State Licenses, for veterans who work with a professional licensing board.

Human Services:  The Kasich Administration has focused on providing support for people struggling with drug addiction, mental illness, and disabilities.  The MBR includes new initiatives that would do the following:

-increase access to crisis intervention and provide safe places for Ohioans with mental illness and addiction 

-expand the “Start Talking!” drug prevention program in schools 

-provide $6.5 million for statewide investment in drug prevention initiatives 

-allocate $26.9 million from the Master Settlement Agreement to the Ohio Department of Health to support a five-year plan for tobacco prevention and cessation programs -create a voluntary, free-of-charge online training and certification program for Ohioans interested in training to work with individuals with autism. 

The MBR also includes a new Human Services Innovation Office in the Department of Job and Family Services to implement a standardized, computer-based system for determining eligibility for welfare and other public-assistance programs, improve case management, and coordinate workforce training and other state programs to find people jobs.

See http://transforming.ohio.gov/index.aspx

See http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_HB_472 for an online version of HB472

3)  Policy Matters Ohio Responds to the MBR: Zach Schiller of Policy Matters Ohio released on March 11, 2014 a statement about the Mid-Biennium Review, saying that “Gov. Kasich’s proposal contains helpful initiatives, but Ohio does not need the across-the-board income-tax cut that is the centerpiece of his mid-biennium budget proposal.”

The statement goes on to explain that the proposed $900 million reduction in personal income taxes will go to the most affluent Ohioans, and the state taxes that will increase to offset the revenue reductions are not sustainable.  The proposed increases in the cigarette tax will eventually lead to a decrease in the number of people smoking, which is a welcome outcome, but not one that will sustain the revenue from the cigarette tax. The boom in gas and oil drilling in Ohio is also not expected to last forever.  This means that state revenue to support important services will not be available in the future. Many state services have been underfunded since the state made cuts to the local government fund and K-12 education during the recession.  These cuts still have not been restored.

Policy Matters Ohio recommends the following: 

-Protective services for both children and adults need to be strengthened. 

-Additional resources are needed to reduce Ohio’s high infant mortality rates. 

-The local government fund needs to be restored. 

-Need-based aid should be increased so more students can afford college. 

-Mandates like the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee should be funded.  

-Actions should be taken right now to fight poverty in Ohio.  “The administration should accept the federal waiver that allowed more than 100,000 single Ohioans to continue receiving nutrition aid because of high unemployment.”  

-Legislators should look also at making the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable, so it could aid the poorest. 

See http://www.policymattersohio.org/mbr-mar2014 

4)  Legislative Update

Signed into Law

•HB342 (Brennen/Driehaus) Straight A Program Changes:  Governor Kasich signed HB342 into law on March 11, 2014, and it took effect immediately.  The law makes changes in the Straight A Fund grant program.  It permits an educational service center to be a partner or the lead applicant of an education consortium seeking a grant; modifies the goals of projects supported by the program; and makes other changes regarding the operation of the program.

Passed the House and Senate

•HB416 (Burkley/Hill) Calamity Days: The House and Senate approved HB416 on March 12, 2014 after a conference committee worked-out differences between the House and Senate version of the bill. 

The bill increases the number of extra calamity days to four.  These are days that do not have to be made-up, but districts must first use four of their “contingency days”, so, school districts will have nine calamity days this year.

School districts can also make up missed days in 30-minute increments added onto the end of regular days, and can update their calamity day contingency plans for the current year at any time to include online lessons and blizzard bags.  The bill also allows the superintendent of public instruction to waive compliance with the minimum school year for schools operated by county boards of developmental disabilities, and authorizes a delay in reporting scores on the Ohio Achievement Assessments in grades three through eight by one week to reflect the delay in administering the tests that was recently authorized by the state superintendent of public instruction.

The bill also states that high school seniors will not have to return to make-up additional classes scheduled at the end of the year if they occur after the graduation ceremony.

•HB107 (Baker) Career Exploration Internships:  The Senate approved HB107 on March 12, 2014.  The bill authorizes a tax credit for businesses that employ high school students in career exploration internships. 

Passed in the House

•HB367 (Driehaus/Sprague) Opioid Instruction in School Curriculum:  The House approved HB367 on March 12, 2014.  The bill would require health curricula in schools to include instruction on opioid abuse prevention.

Reported by the House Education Committee

•HB290 (Stebelton) School Premises Liability: The House Education Committee reported HB290 on March 12, 2014.  The bill would allow the use of school district premises by members of the public and provide immunity from civil liability for a school district and schools when permitting members of the public to use school premises. 

Reported by the House Finance and Appropriations Committee

•HB85 (Terhar/Gonzales) Homestead Exemption:  The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Amstutz, amended HB85 on March 11, 2014, and reported it.  The bill enhances the homestead exemption for military veterans who are 100 percent disabled from a service-connected disability. The amendment changes the definition of disabled veteran to match federal regulations.

5)  National News

•Child Care Bill Passes Senate:  The U.S. Senate passed the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) of 2014 (S.1086) on March 15, 2014, reauthorizing this federal child care program created in 1996.  The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski along with Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)  It passed the Senate by a vote of 96-2.

The CCDBG will improve the quality of child care for the more than 1.5 million children and families, and includes the following provisions:

-Requires states to devote more of their funding to quality initiatives, such as training, professional development, and professional advancement of the child care workforce. 

-Ensures that CCDBG providers meet certain health and safety requirements

-Provides families more stability in the CCDBG program 

-Requires states to focus on infant and toddler quality initiatives 

-Requires mandatory background checks for child care providers in the CCDBG program  

The bill is supported by Afterschool Alliance, American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees (AFSME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Catholic Charities USA, Child Care Aware, Children’s Defense Fund, Easter Seals, First Focus, MomsRising, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Child Abuse Coalition, National PTA, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), Stand for Children, Teach for America, United Way Worldwide and Zero to Three, among many others. 

See http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/media/pressrelease/3-13-2014.cfm

•Legislation to Reduce Mandated Testing:  Last week U.S. Representatives Chris Gibson (R-NY) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced HR-4172, the Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The bill would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and replace annual testing for math and English language arts in each grade with testing once over a certain span of grades. 

According to a statement by Representative Gibson, “Reducing the frequency of federally required testing allows more time for classroom instruction, decreases the burden on educational resources associated with testing and moves our public education system away from the practice of “teaching to the test” that was an unfortunate consequence of NCLB.”

The National Education Association endorsed HR-4175 last week.

See http://gibson.house.gov/legislation/gibson-esea-amendment.htm

•Dayton to Participate in Community Conversations:  The Dayton Public Schools will participate with 13 other school districts in “Community Conversations”, an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), Congressional City Conference in Washington, and the National League of Cities.  The conversations will bring together local leaders, educators. families and community leaders around the topics of early childhood education, afterschool learning experiences, closing achievement gaps, and postsecondary education. The other cities that will participate in the conversations are Avondale, AZ; Berkeley, CA; Gary, IN; Hattiesburg, MS; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; Madison, WI; Memphis, TN; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Saint Paul, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; and Savannah, GA. 

See http://www.nlc.org/media-center/news-search/cities-partner-with-us-dept-of-education-to-improve-schools-through-early-childhood-afterschool-and-postsecondary-attainment-programs

•The Problem with Public Schools is Elected Boards of Education:  At the California Charter Schools Association conference on March 4, 2014 Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told an audience that school districts have no control over boards of education, which is why public schools are in chaos. The governance structure of public schools, i.e. elected boards of education, leads to instability and the inability of education reforms to become entrenched. That’s because, according to Hastings, every time someone is elected to a board of education they want to implement their own education reforms, which means that school districts are constantly changing directions.  Charter schools, on the other hand, are governed by appointed boards which lead to stable reform efforts over a longer period of time.

Reed Hastings, who is also a former member of the California State Board of Education and a large donor to charter school causes, also told the audience that it will probably take 20 or 30 years for the number of students that are enrolled in charter schools to reach 90 percent, which will be when charter schools take over the K-12 education system. Currently 8 percent of students are enrollment in charter schools nationally. He pointed to New Orleans as an example of a city which has a successful charter-school based education system, with 90 percent of students enrolled in charter schools.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBMNllBviQU 

6) State Board of Education:  The State Board of Education met on March 10 & 11, 2014 in Columbus.  The board received updates about implementing the next generation of assessments; continued conversations about the accountability measures on the local report card; and formed an ad hoc committee to develop recommendations for the gifted indicator on the local report card.  

Board members also received an update about the recent staff changes at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) from Jason Rafeld, ODE chief of staff. 

Eric Bode, the executive director of the Office of School Finance, resigned from the ODE in February 2014 to take a position at The Ohio State University.

Shasheen Phillips, executive director of the Office of Curriculum and Assessments, will be leaving the ODE at the end of the month. The ODE will conduct a national search for the position, which includes working closely with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

Dean Whitworth, former Superintendent of Findlay City Schools, will replace John Richard, who recently was promoted to Associate State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Steve Gratz will be moving up to replace Kathy Shibley as the director of Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education.

Clairie Huff-Franklin is the new director of the Office of Distress Commission and Ed Reform. She will continue as lead for the Urban and Rural Renewal Education Committee.

Readiness for implementing the New Online Assessments: Jason Rafeld also updated the board about the readiness of schools and districts in Ohio to implement the next generation of assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards. 

Ohio is one of several states that is working with the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers to administer the new online assessments.  

According to information gathered by the ODE over the past months, an estimated 86 to 90 percent of schools have the necessary 100MB connectivity and 80 percent of the equipment specifications to administer online assessments. 

Field testing of the new assessments, which begins this month, will serve as a reality check for how well the online assessment system works, said Mr. Rafeld. About 290 districts (120,000 students) will administer assessments in English language arts and math, and about 422 school districts (27,000 -36,000 students) will administer assessments in science and social studies. 

In the future schools/districts that opt for students to take the written assessments will have to prove that they don’t have the appropriate technology. The ODE technology assistant teams will also work with schools/districts to resolve technology problems. 

Mr. Rafeld also reported that the cost of the PARCC assessment is $21-26 per child at each grade level, compared to the cost of the OGT and OAA, which is $26-30 per child at each grade level.

Board members expressed concerns about the amount of bandwidth that schools have available; what kind of technology is needed to be considered ready to implement the assessments; which schools are participating in the field tests; why students are taking the field tests and the OAA at the same time; how many community schools are participating in the field tests; and what kind of training and preparation did the ODE provide to ensure that students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the public are ready for the new assessments. 

Stephanie Dodd, who represents State Board District 9, which includes several rural counties, asked how many schools and districts completed the technology readiness tool distributed by the ODE; what efforts are being made to secure funding to help schools connect to the internet; and why PARCC is asking schools to download the assessments on their main servers, which poses a security problem?

Mr. Rafeld explained that the ODE is working with a number of agencies such as the Department of Administrative Services, the Board of Regents, OARNET, and private companies like Time Warner to connect schools to the internet. The state might also apply for funds through the Federal Communications Commission for connectivity.  Schools that are having other technical problems should contact the ODE technology assistance team. 

The following are highlights from the Operating Standards, Accountability, and Achievement Committee meetings:

Operating Standards Committee: The Operating Standards Committee met on March 11, 2014. Chairman Ron Rudduck reviewed the minutes of the February 19, 2014 committee meeting, which included a demonstration about the proposed web-based version of the operating standards. 

The committee then reviewed feedback about Rule 3301-35-04 Student and Stakeholder Focus, and the comments submitted by the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE).  Dr. John Richard, ODE Associate State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Sandy Hay, ODE Educational Consultant, told the committee that they believed that the OAAE concerns about eliminating the course requirements for graduation from operating standards will be addressed through the links to the Ohio Revised Code that will be provided for the web-based operating standards. 

The committee also received comments from four librarians, Dr. Susan Yutzey, President of the Ohio Educational Library Media Association; Brandi Young, InfOhio Integration Librarian; Joanna McNally, Orange City School District; and Susan Ridgeway, Wooster City Schools. 

The comments focused on the “education service personnel” component of Rule 3301-35-05 Faculty and Staff Focus and more broadly on the role of the librarian and libraries in Ohio schools.  

This provision of operating standards requires school districts to employ five of eight education service personnel for every 1000 students. Education service personnel are defined as a counselor, library media specialist, school nurse, visiting teacher, social worker, and elementary art, music, and physical education teachers. At one time school districts received additional state aid, or state aid reductions, based on meeting, or not meeting, this standard. These financial incentives were removed from law years ago.

The presenters described the status of libraries in Ohio schools, and said that 27 percent of schools do not have a school librarian. The current number of school librarians in Ohio is 977; about 77 percent serve more than one school; and 30 percent are the only librarians in their district. 

They explained that they believe that the educational service personnel requirement in the rule gives school districts the option not to employ librarians.  They asked the State Board to mandate that school districts employ certified librarians, or eliminate the provision in the rule.

All board members expressed support for school librarians, but President Terhar also explained that she believed that school districts have local control to allocate resources.  Mr. Collins suggested that the presenters return with a recommendation that the committee could consider.

Chairman Rudduck said that the committee appreciated their comments and will take them under consideration.

Accountability Committee:  The Accountability Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, met on March 10, 2014.  The committee approved Rule 3301-102-11 “Dropout prevention and recovery schools’ assessment of growth in student achievement” and 3301-102-12 “Standards for awarding an overall report card designation to dropout prevention and recovery community schools”. The committee continued discussions about the following:

-Gifted education web-based “dashboard”; Chris Woolard, Director of Accountability at ODE and Mike Carmack at ODE, presented a draft of the Gifted Dashboard, which will include additional information about gifted education programs on the state report card. Some of the elements proposed for the dashboard include gifted indicator status; value added - gifted; percent of students scoring at each achievement level on state tests - subject specific and superior cognitive; district/building aggregate summary of screening, identification, and services; formal acceleration; audit results; number of students participating in advanced placement, international baccalaureate, dual enrollment, etc. Some of the data elements are available now, but others will be added when the data is available.  

-Gifted indicator: Matt Cohen, Chief Research Officer at ODE, reviewed the gifted performance indicator proposed by the ODE. The proposed indicator would be calculated for districts that have a gifted value added grade and a gifted performance index score, and would include the following measures:

-Student Performance Measures:  These include the gifted value added measure; a new gifted achievement measure; and future measures as available, such as ACT scores.

-District/School Input Measures:  These include the percent of enrolled students identified as gifted by grade bands, such as K-3; 4-8; and 9-12, and the percentage of enrolled students who receive gifted services by grade bands. Schools/districts could receive up to 30 points based on the percentage of students identified and served by grade level bands.

The State Board would need to set minimum thresholds for the gifted-value added measure, the gifted achievement measure, and the minimum number of points for the District/School Input Measures.    

During the February 2014 committee meeting, Ann Sheldon and Dr. Colleen Boyle, representing the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, offered an alternative proposal.  

To move the process forward Debe Terhar, President of the State Board, proposed forming an ad hoc committee to review the current proposals, and make recommendations to the committee at the May meeting of the State Board. The committee approved a resolution creating the ad-hoc committee, and identified the following members of the committee:

Tom Ash, BASA; Michael Tefs, Superintendent of Wooster City Schools; Jamie Meade, Battelle for Kids, Ann Sheldon (OAGC), one other member to be appointed by OAGC, Chris Woolard, (who will chair the committee), Matt Cohen, and one designee from ODE Office of Exceptional Children. 

-“Prepared for Success Measure”: Chris Woolard introduced a discussion about a new measure and component, Prepared for Success, which will be “reported only” on the 2014 report card, but will be a graded component on the 2015 report card. In 2014 the Prepared for Success component will include summary data for schools and districts on the percent of students who receive honors diplomas, industry credentials, remediation free on ACT/SAT, and credit for dual enrollment, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate programs.

The law requires that the State Board develop a method to determine a grade for the Prepared for Success Measure based on six measures; when determining the overall grade, no student shall be counted in more than one performance measure, but the state board may specify an additional weight for students meeting more than one performance measure; and the measure must be based on the four- and five-year graduation cohorts.

Chris Woolard explained that the ODE is recommending for consideration mandatory elements and bonus elements to include in the Prepared for Success Measure.  The mandatory elements would indicate that a student is remediation free, by achieving an honors diploma, industry credential, or remediation free on the ACT/SAT tests.  Students would receive “bonus points” if they also received credit for dual enrollment, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate programs. The committee will receive preliminary summary data on this component in the future, and will continue to discuss the framework.

-Combining Report Card Measures:  Chris Woolard reviewed with the committee a proposed framework for combining the report card measures, so that districts and schools receive an overall letter grade in addition to letter grades on components. This framework would allow for different weights for multiple measures within a component; addresses threshold and large ranges (e.g. the difference between a low “A” and a high “B”), and allows for score differentiation to better identify schools that need additional support, which is a requirement of Ohio’s ESEA waiver.  

-Weighting Indicators: The committee also reviewed options for weighting the reporting card indictors.  Chris Woolard presented to the committee some examples of how different measures could be weighted equally or given more emphasis than others. He asked if under the Achievement Measure, if the performance index (PI) should be equally weighted with the Indicators, or if more emphasis should be placed on the Performance Index; graduation rate; and value added. 

Debe Terhar asked if it was appropriate to put so much emphasis on the results of one test that students take at one time.  Chris Woolard responded that both the PI and Indicators are based on tests taken at one time. Mike Collins said he needed more data on both components to make a decision, while Tom Gunlock favored weighting them equally.  He and other committee members agreed that the four year graduation rate should be weighted more than the five year graduation rate. Mike Collins also wanted more information about how these components align with international measures of achievement.

There was more discussion about weighting the value added component, which includes four measures:  the overall value added, value added for gifted, value added for the lowest 20 percent, and value added for student with disabilities. 

Stephanie Dodd suggested that the subgroups should be weighted equally.  C. Todd Jones asked how would students in more than one subgroup count and how the overlap of students would affect the score of a school/district.  Chris Woolard responded that students in more than one subgroup would count in each subgroup.  Matt Cohen said that the ODE could break-out the data to see the range of the overlap of students within the subgroups.

Mary Rose Oakar asked about how students with serious cognitive disabilities are counted. Matt Cohen said that students with serious cognitive disabilities take an alternative assessment and are not included in this measure.

Committee members agreed that it would be helpful to see different scenarios for weighting different subgroup results.  There is a problem, however, because some schools and districts might not have data for some of the subgroups.  For example, the number of students identified and served in gifted education in some schools/districts is small or nonexistent. Committee member Mary Rose Oakar responded by suggesting that districts be mandated to identify and serve gifted students, so that all schools would have enough students in the subgroup. She also suggested that the work of the Accountability and Achievement Committee overlap, because the decisions made by the Achievement Committee regarding the definition of gifted services, which is included in the operating standards for gifted education programs, will establish standards that will become the basis for the accountability rating.

Chairman Gunlock also said that he is concerned about schools/districts not identifying gifted students so that they don’t have data for value added gifted, and requested that the ODE provide the committee with information about the number of schools that have not identified gifted students.

Chris Woolard said that the ODE will prepare some scenarios for the April meeting.  

Achievement Committee:  The Achievement Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, considered the following topics during its meeting on March 10, 2014:

-Career Technical Education:  Jamie Nash, Associate Director of Career Technical Education, provided background information about proposed rule changes for career technical education.  The changes include rescinding three rules now found to be obsolete by HB59 the FY14-15 State Budget, and revising two other rules in order to include career-technical opportunities at the middle school level. The two rules that are to be rescinded, Rules 3301-61-04 Family Consumer Science and 3301-61-05 Career-Based Interventions, will now be included in the rules for Career Technical Education, rather than Workforce Development.  Rule 3301-61-03 will be revised to include Family and Consumer Science and Career-Based Interventions, and 3301-68-01, referring to funding for Career Technical Education will be rescinded, since it also refers to workforce development. Rule 3301-61-18 Use of Career-Technical Education Additional Weighted Cost Funds and Career-Technical Associated Service Funds, will be revised to remove redundant language and add an additional item to allowable costs for associated services to permit the monitoring of career-technical education programs.

-Model Curricula:  The committee received information about the status of three curricula models being developed by the ODE:  Financial Literacy, Fine Arts, and World Languages. 

Brian Roget, Associate Director for Curriculum and Assessment, provided an update about the financial literacy curriculum, which will be posted next month for public review. 

Nancy Pistone, ODE Fine Arts Consultant, reported that the Fine Arts model curriculum is aligned to the Fine Arts Standards adopted by the State Board in 2012, and will be used by teachers in the fine arts to guide the development of courses of study in the arts and lessons in the arts.  The curriculum model was developed through a process that included four regional meetings to gather information from teachers in the arts, followed by the work of four writing teams, composed of 55 teachers representing all areas of the state, grade levels, and arts disciplines.  The model was posted on the ODE website between January and February 2014, and there was “great response” and a “high level of interest” by stakeholders. According to Dr. Pistone, the model emphasizes thinking skills that are required for artistic production and performance, including problem-solving, reasoning, and creativity, and career connections between technology and the arts. Based on the public feedback the curriculum model will be revised and brought to the board for adoption in June 2014. 

Kathy Shelton, ODE Consultant for World Languages, reviewed the process for developing the model curriculum for World Languages.  The standards for world languages were adopted by the State Board in June 2012, and shortly after an 18 member committee was created to develop the model curriculum. The committee, which included teachers from different regions in Ohio and representing different world languages taught in Ohio’s schools, completed a draft of the model, which was posted on the ODE website in January and February 2014.  She reported that the response to the model has been very favorable.  The model will be revised based on the feedback, and will be brought back to the board at the June 2014 meeting for approval.  

-TGRG Road Map:  Shasheen Phillips provided the committee information about the Third Grade Reading Guarantee Parent Road Map.  The ODE Communications Office is editing the final version, which will be posted on the ODE website.

7) Bills Introduced

•HB470 (Barnes) School Bullying Prevention Awareness Act:  Enacts the School Bullying Prevention Awareness Act to designate September as School Bullying Prevention Awareness Month and declares an emergency. 

•HB472 (McClain) Mid-Biennium Budget Review:  Makes operating and other appropriations and provides authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs.   

•HCR50 (Lundy/Blair) E-Book Access-Public Libraries:  Urges Ohio members of the Congress of the United States to seek a solution to ensure public access to e-book materials through public libraries. 

•HB473 (Hayes) Education-Student Expression Forum:  Requires school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools to establish a limited public forum for student expression.

FYI ARTS

1)  Ohio’s Poetry Out Loud Winner Announced:  The Ohio Arts Council announced recently that Lake Wilburn, a junior at Centennial High School in Columbus, became the ninth student to win Ohio’s Poetry Out Loud competition, held on March 8, 2014 at the Maatesich Theatre at Ohio Dominican University.  Wilburn recited “Double Dutch,” by Gregory Pardlo; “When You Are Old,” by William Butler Yeats; and “They Feed They Lion,” by Philip Levine. 

The winner of the state finals receives a $300 prize and an all-expense-paid trip to compete in the Poetry Out Loud national finals in Washington, D.C. on April 28-30, 2014. The winner’s school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry books.

This year more than 8,000 students from more than 50 schools participated in preliminary Poetry Out Loud competitions held in classrooms and schools.  Thirty-six students advanced to the finals held in Columbus, and performed classic and contemporary poems for a three-judge panel of poetry and performance experts. Students were awarded points for accuracy, physical presence, voice and articulation, level of complexity, and other criteria.

The Poetry Out Loud national finals provide students with the opportunity to win scholarships and stipends for their schools, including a $20,000 cash prize for the national winner.  Ohio’s previous Poetry Out Loud winners have received several recognitions at the national finals: Ohio winner Jackson Hille was the first national Poetry Out Loud winner in 2006;  Mido Aly was among the top five national finalists in 2009; and Taribo Osuobeni, received an Honorable Mention in 2013.

Poetry Out Loud, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council, encourages high school students to experience poetry, gain confidence through performance, and learn more about our nation’s literary heritage.  

See “Columbus Student Wins 2014 Ohio’s Poetry Out Loud Contest, Advances to Nationals” by Patricia Shannon, Ohio Arts Council, March 2014 at

http://www.oac.state.oh.us/news/NewsArticle.asp?intArticleId=726

2) Valuing the Arts and the Cultural Sector:  In December 2013 the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released a white paper entitled the NEA Guide to the U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA).  The guide provides information about the work of the NEA and BEA, begun in 2012, to “devise a system for valuing arts and culture as a distinct sector of the nation’s economy”. 

According to the BEA, satellite accounts capture the data from sectors of the nation’s economy that are linked to, but distinct from, the main industry systems and cut across industry data.  The BEA’s main industry account, for example, shows that the performing arts, spectator sports, and museums added $83 billion to the U.S. economy in 2011.  The satellite account for the arts and culture will ensure that “estimates for the performing arts are reported not only in aggregate, but also for specific commodities such as theaters, dance troupes, and symphony orchestras.” 

See NEA Guide to the U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA) at http://arts.gov/sites/default/files/nea_guide_white_paper.pdf

3) Preliminary Data for ACPSA Released:  In December 2013 the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released prototype estimates from the new Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA).  According to the estimates “3.2 percent -- or $504 billion -- of current-dollar GDP in 2011 was attributable to arts and culture. In comparison, BEA’s estimated value of the U.S. travel and tourism industry was 2.8 percent of GDP.”

The preliminary estimates also include the following about the economic contributions of arts and cultural production (ADP):

-In 2011 the gross output of ADP was $916 billion.  Advertising (creative content only) contributed $200 billion or 20 percent of all arts and cultural commodities.  Post secondary fine arts and performing arts departments, and academic performing arts centers contributed $104 billion.  Cable television production and distribution contributed $100 billion.  The motion picture and video goods and services contributed $83 billion in output.

-”The arts suffered more than the overall economy during the great recession of 2007-2009. Between 1998 and 2006, the ratio of current-dollar value added for ACP to current-dollar GDP ranged between 3.5 and 3.7 percent. In 2007, the ratio fell to 3.3 percent of GDP, and dipped further to 3.2 percent in 2009 where it held steady through 2011.”

-The U.S. posted ACP trade surpluses beginning in 2008.  In 2011 the U.S. exported $10.4 billion more ACP than it imported.

-In 2011 the production of arts and cultural goods and services employed 2.0 million workers, and generated $289.5 billion in employee compensation in the form of wages, salaries, and supplements.  The motion picture and video industry employed nearly 310,000 workers at $25 billion in compensation and museums and performing arts industries each employed roughly 100,000 workers who earned $6 billion and $8 billion, respectively. 

“The 2007-2009 recession took a heavy toll on arts and cultural employment. In 2009 alone, ACPSA-related employment declined by more than 170,000.”

The BEA will publish in the fall of 2014 revised ACSPA estimates for 1998-2012 in The Survey of Current Business.

See Preliminary Report on the Impact of Arts and Culture on U.S. Economy

at http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/general/acpsa/acpsa1213.pdf

###

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

Please note that my account at

jplatz@chemistry.ohio-state.edu 

will soon be deactivated. Please transition to my gmail account. Thank you.

Arts On Line

Education Update

Ohio News

130th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate have not scheduled hearings or sessions this week. The next session is scheduled on March 12, 2014.

More Election-Law Controversy: Last week Governor Kasich signed into law SB216 (Seitz) Provisional Ballots, one of three controversial election bills that have recently become law. The two other election bills, SB205 and SB238, were signed into law two weeks ago.

SB205 (Coley) prohibits any public office or employee from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications to voters. The law allows the Secretary of State to mail unsolicited absentee ballot applications for general elections in even-numbered years, but only when the legislature appropriates money for that purpose. The bill also clarifies that voters are responsible for accurately completing absentee applications and absentee ballots, which could be discarded by boards of election if found incomplete.

SB238 (LaRose) eliminates the overlap between early voting and the deadline to register to vote. As a result, the number of days for early voting is reduced from 35 to 28 or 29 days before an election.

SB216 (Seitz) reduces the number of reasons that require voters to cast provisional ballots; allows provisional ballots to count as voter registration for future elections; reduces the number of days after the election in which provisional voters can verify their identity to boards of election; allows provisional ballots cast in the right polling place, but wrong precinct to count; and disallows ballots cast in the wrong precinct and wrong polling place to count.

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Also last week Secretary of State Jon Husted launched another election controversy by issuing a directive to boards of election regarding in-person voting before the November 6, 2014. According to the directive, boards of election in all 88 counties will have a uniform schedule. They will be open four weeks before the election from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday-Friday, and on the last two Saturdays before the election from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Voters will also be sent an absentee voter request form. According to the Secretary of State's announcement, the voting schedule was negotiated by Democrat and Republican election officials. However, some election officials, organizations, and politicians are protesting, because the schedule doesn't include hours on Sunday, which is a favored day for voters in some urban counties, and could affect African-American voter turn-out. The schedule also doesn't include the Monday before elections. According to the Toledo Blade, Ed FitzGerald, Cuyahoga County Executive and Democratic candidate for governor, held a news conference last week to protest the new election laws and early voting schedule, saying that the recent changes in law will make it harder for working men and women to vote, and will affect minority and urban area voters disproportionately. Cuyahoga County has filed three lawsuits opposing changes in election laws in recent years, and has won them all.  See "Cuyahoga County may fight voting changes" by Jim Provance, Toledo Blade, February 28, 2014. Statewide Education Symposium: Registration is now open for Ohio's Spring Education Symposium 2014 sponsored by Race to the Top. The symposium will be held on Friday, March 28, 2014 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. This year the symposium will focus on selecting, developing, and using assessments.   National News First NPE Conference in Austin, Texas: The Network for Public Education (NPE) held its first conference at the University of Texas, Austin on March 1 & 2, 2014. The conference included panel discussions led by Anthony Cody, Leonie Haimson, and Julian Vasquez Heilig, workshops, and a keynote address by Diane Ravitch, who is president of the NPE Board.  The NPE was formed last year to advocate for public education and research-based strategies to improve student achievement. The NPE supports the following:  A full and rich curriculum for all children, including the arts, physical education, history, civics, foreign languages, literature, mathematics, and the sciences.-Schools that are subject to democratic control by members of their community. Adequate resources to meet the needs of students, such as guidance counselors, social workers, librarians, and psychologists. Equitable funding of schools, with extra resources for those students with the greatest needs. Reasonable class sizes, so that teachers have the time to help the children in their care. Early childhood education, because we know that the achievement gap begins before the first day of school. High standards of professionalism for teachers, principals, and superintendents. Every classroom should be led by a teacher who is well educated, well prepared for the challenges of teaching, and certified. Wraparound services for children, such as health clinics and after-school programs. Assessments that are used to support children and teachers, and measure what was taught, through projects and activities in which students can demonstrate what they have learned. Assessments should not be used to punish or stigmatize students, schools, or teachers, or to hand out monetary rewards,  The evaluation of teachers by professionals, not by unreliable test scores. Helping schools that are struggling, not closing them. Parent involvement in decisions about their children. Students' confidential information must remain confidential and not be handed over to entrepreneurs and marketing agents. Teacher professionalism in decisions about curriculum, teaching methods, and selection of teaching materials. Public education because it is a pillar of our democratic society. Information is available. First White House Student Film Festival: President Barack Obama hosted the first White House Student Film Festival on February 28, 2014 to highlight the role of technology in K-12 education. He also used this opportunity to announce commitments of $400 million in free software for schools from Adobe and Prezi. Over 3000 films were submitted by students to the festival, which was held in collaboration with the American Film Institute. Students were asked to submit films that showed how technology was being used to support learning in their classrooms. Sixteen films were officially selected, but other honorable mention films were also included. The selected films can be viewed. At the White House event President Obama congratulated the student film-makers for their creativity and film-making and technology skills. He also thanked Adobe and Prezi for their commitments to the ConnectEd Program, and noted that other companies, including Apple, AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, Verizon Foundation, have already committed about $750 million in products and free high-speed Internet services for schools. The ConnectEd Program's goal is to ensure that all schools and libraries have high-speed broadband. New Coalition Protests Expanded Student Testing: Several national organizations have come together to form Testing Resistance & Reform Spring, a coalition to support efforts to revamp how students are evaluated in schools. The main organizations participating in this effort are FairTest, Parents Across America, United Opt Out, Network for Public Education, and Save Our Schools. The coalition has three goals:  Stop the high-stakes use of standardized tests Reduce the number of standardized exams, and Replace multiple-choice tests with performance-based assessments. The coalition has launched a web site to coordinate several campaigns that help parents to "opt" their student out of state assessments. The website will also provide research about the misuse of assessments and provide information about opt-out laws in different states. The coalition will also be working to change federal and state policies that support standardized testing of all students. Website Focuses on For-Profit Charter School Industry: The American Federation of Teachers and In the Public Interest have launched a new website called "Cashing in on Kids" to provide information, news articles, reports, and commentaries about the for-profit charter school industry. According to the website, the purpose of Cashing in on Kids is to make sure that "...charter schools and neighborhood public schools function in the best interests of students, parents and community members" by adhering to "...six basic principles of a democratic society: transparency, accountability, quality, oversight, equity and public control." Maryland Asks to Delay Teacher/Principal Evaluations: Liz Bowie at the Baltimore Sun reports that the Maryland State Board of Education voted on February 25, 2014 to request from the U.S. Department of Education a three-year delay in the implementation of new teacher and principal evaluations. Students in Maryland, and other states, will field-test new assessments based on the Common Core State Standards this year, but some students are still taking state assessments aligned to the former state standards. Officials at the Maryland Department of Education believe that they need at least two years of data from the new tests to evaluate teachers accurately, and that data won't be available until the 2016-17 school year. The new assessments also need to be validated. The delay is supported by Maryland governor Martin O'Mallory and State Superintendent Lillian Lowery. The article also notes that Maryland lawmakers are hearing a lot of criticism about how the Common Core State Standards have been implemented, and several bills have been introduced to repeal the standards or delay the assessments. See "State seeks to delay using test scores to evaluate teachers: New tests with Common Core won't be ready until next year" by Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun, February 25, 2014. White House Announces New Initiative to Help Minority Youth: President Obama announced on February 28, 2014 a new initiative called My Brother's Keeper, to help young minority men graduate prepared for college and work. He also created a task force, My Brother's Keeper Task Force, to determine which public and private efforts are successful in helping minority youth; how the Federal government can support those efforts; and how more individuals and organizations can become involved. According to the White House press release, 86 percent of African-American males and 82 percent of Hispanic boys are reading below proficient levels by the time they are in grade four. Minority youth are also more than six times as likely to be victims of murder. My Brother's Keeper will engage leading foundations and businesses to "build ladders of opportunity and unlock the full potential of boys and young men of color". Several foundations have already committed over $200 million to support the effort, including The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The California Endowment, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Open Society Foundations, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Kapor Center for Social Impact. Some of these foundations are members of the Executives' Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color, "...a coalition of philanthropic institutions committed to leveraging philanthropy's role in improving life outcomes for boys and men of color."  Governor Presents the State of the State Address Governor Kasich attended on February 24, 2014 a joint session of the Ohio House and Senate at the Medina Performing Arts Center, Medina, Ohio, to present the annual State of the State Address. In addition to the usual compliments to the host city, the governor recognized House Speaker William Batchelder, who represents Medina, and, because of term limits, will be completing his final term in the Ohio House this year. The address included a review of the economic policy changes that the governor and legislature have implemented over the past three years, including JobsOhio; tax cuts; taking steps to make Ohio more business friendly; closing an $8 billion budget deficit; accruing a $1.5 billion surplus for the rainy day fund; and creating more than 170,000 jobs. The governor described the following new initiatives that are expected to be included in the Mid-Biennium Review (MBR), which will be introduced soon. The governor also said that the MBR will include a "package of proposals to better connect kids with career opportunities in a very meaningful way." A Fact Sheet that provides more details about the Mid-Biennium Review is available. Tax Cuts: The governor proposes to reduce to below 5 percent the state's income tax rate. The address did not include a proposal about how the revenue lost as a result of the tax cut would be recovered, but lawmakers have been discussing other tax reforms and are still debating the severance tax on oil and gas drilling. School Reforms: The governor said that Cleveland, "is the greatest example of school reform in the North in America", and would support "anybody in this state that supports a reform agenda to put our children first". Higher Education: The governor complimented the presidents of Ohio's public colleges and universities for developing a single unified plan for new buildings and construction, and creating a new funding system focused on helping students graduate. He proposed an initiative that would provide students entering institutions of higher education in Ohio with a "virtual menu" so that they know the courses that are required for a diploma that will lead to a job. Students would also receive individual guidance to ensure that they complete their degree. School dropouts: The governor proposed to provide more individual support for students who are at-risk for dropping out of school. The governor proposes that local school districts develop "...unique plans for these students that chart a completely alternative path to their high school diploma. And if that path takes some of them out of the traditional classroom and into real-life job training, so be it." Adult Education: According to the governor, there are over a million adults in Ohio without a high school diploma. He proposes to build an "innovative system" to help these adults receive a diploma, credentials, and training through two-year colleges. Community Connectors: This initiative is similar to some programs currently operating in the state. The governor mentioned Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Toledo Schools' Community Hubs program, and United Way's new efforts in 17 schools as part of the Cleveland Plan. The purpose of Community Connectors would be to "...support the best ideas in our state for bringing together schools, parents, communities, community organizations, faith-based groups, business leaders, and, of course, our students in mentoring efforts based on proven practices." The program would be supported by $10 million from casino receipts and matching community funds. Communities could receive a $3 dollar match from the state for every dollar spent on mentoring programs. The initiative would include training about workplace culture and professional etiquette. Online Career Road Maps: This initiative is already underway and should be available in the spring. Students will be able to find the jobs that are "in demand" and the qualifications for those jobs online. Career and Technical Education: The governor said that the public has forgotten the value of vocational education. He proposes to expand vocational education for seventh grade students. College Credit: According to the governor not all students in Ohio have the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. About 30,000 public high school students participated in dual-credit programs out of a potential 500,000 high school students. He proposes to ensure that all students have a dual-credit enrollment opportunity. Early Childhood Education: According to the address: "To make sure Ohio is doing everything it can to help our youngest learners, we're raising the standards for publicly funded early childhood education so that more children enter school ready to succeed. And at the same time, we're going to make sure we're spending those important dollars in ways that will make a difference. We believe in early childhood education. We're going to promote it. We're going to make it work in our state in an effective way." Veterans: A new initiative is proposed to award veterans college and academic credits for the training and experience they've received in the Armed Forces. The credits will be free. Legislative Update HB342 (Brenner/Driehaus) Straight A Program: The Ohio Senate approved, and the House concurred with, HB342 (Brenner/Driehaus) Straight A Program, on February 26, 2014. The bill would permit an educational service center to be a partner or the lead applicant of an education consortium seeking a grant under the Straight A Program, and modifies the goals of program. The bill also,  states that if two or more Straight A Fund proposals have similar scores, the proposal saving the most money will be funded. reduces the current $5 million cap on grants for a single school to $1 million. stipulates that if an educational service center (ESC) is the lead applicant then at least one school in that ESC's area must be part of the consortium.  permits county boards of developmental disabilities to participate in the program. clarifies that an ESC can apply for the grant with non-member school districts, as long as one school district in the application is a member of the ESC.  HB416 (Burkley/Hill) Calamity Day Legislation: The House refused to accept Senate changes for HB416, sending it to a conference committee on February 26, 2014. The conferees are Representatives Gerald Stebelton, Andrew Brenner, and Heather Bishoff. The Senate members include Senators Peggy Lehner, Randy Gardner, and Tom Sawyer. The next time the bill can be considered by lawmakers is March 12, 2014, because no voting sessions are currently scheduled in the House and Senate. The legislative history of HB416 has been unusual. Governor Kasich inspired the bill by commenting publicly that school districts should consider student safety when making decisions about closing due to bad weather. The bill sailed through the House Education Committee, only to be stalled in the House. Some House lawmakers felt uncomfortable supporting legislation that reduced instructional time for students, while teachers still received their salaries. As a result, the House amended the committee-passed version of the bill, and added just two calamity days, rather than four, to the current five, but also allowed school districts to use two days of teacher professional development time to make-up for school closures. The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, was working on its own calamity day bill, SB284 (Coley). When the Senate Committee began hearings on HB416 last week, they replaced the provisions in HB416 with those in SB284. When some House members raised concerns about the Senate changes to HB416, the full Senate amended the bill and changed the number of additional calamity days to three, and added a fourth calamity day, which is permissive, if teachers are in school for professional development. Schools can use the extra calamity days if they have made-up four of their contingency days. The Senate approved HB416 unanimously on February 26, 2014, but the House refused to accept the Senate changes, thus creating the need for a conference committee. The Senate passed bill also includes permissive authority for boards of education to add thirty-minute increments to the existing school day to make-up for school closures; allows the Ohio Department of Education to approve applications for blizzard bags and online learning; clarifies that graduation ceremonies that have already been scheduled can be held even if the district adds attendance days at the end of the school year; and excuses graduating seniors from attending school after their graduation ceremony has been held. Some of these provisions are also included in SB273 (Gardner). The bill also includes a provision sought by the Ohio Department of Education, to delay reporting the results of the Ohio Achievement Assessments for grades 3-8 to the General Assembly by a week, to correspond with the recent delay in the administration of the exams, granted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. HB393 (Baker) Career Guide: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, accepted a substitute bill on February 26, 2014. The bill would require boards of education to publish information about job opportunities, career planning, and online education tools available through the OhioMeansJobs website in existing school publications. The OhioMeansJobs website will be available sometime this spring. The bill requires the Ohio Department of Education and the Department of Job and Family Services to develop an online career and education planning tool for students. HB413 (Stautberg/Brenner) Education Assessments: The House Education Committee received testimony on February 26, 2014 regarding HB413. The bill would prohibit the administration of the PARCC assessments (Partnership of Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) in the 2014-15 school year; prohibits the renewal of the state's memorandum of understanding with PARCC; and declares an emergency. HB107 (Baker) Career Exploration Internships: The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, reported on February 25, 2014 HB107 Career Exploration Internships. The bill authorizes a tax credit for businesses that employ high school students in career exploration internships. HB362 (Scherer/Derickson) STEM Schools: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, reported on February 26, 2014 HB362. This bill authorizes the STEM Committee to grant a designation of STEM school equivalent to a community school or chartered nonpublic school, and makes other revisions to the law regarding STEM schools. Test-Based Accountability Fails Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, writes for the Education Week's Top Performer Blog, that after ten years of federal education policies, "There is little doubt-whether test-based accountability is being used to hold schools accountable or individual teachers-that it has failed to improve student performance. He goes on to say that test-based accountability is "doing untold damage to the profession of teaching." The author identifies several problems with state accountability systems and their impact on the teaching profession. He says that using student test score results in two subjects and value-added methods that produce different results each year make "a mockery" of the work that teachers do. He writes, "Test-based accountability and teacher evaluation systems are not neutral in their effect. It is not simply that they fail to improve student performance. Their pernicious effect is to create an environment that could not be better calculated to drive the best practitioners out of teaching and to prevent the most promising young people from entering it. If we want broad improvement in student performance and we want to close the gap between disadvantaged students and the majority of our students, then we will abandon test-based accountability and teacher evaluation as key drivers of our education reform program." See "The Failure of Test-Based Accountability" by Marc Tucker, Education Week's Top Performer Blog, February 27, 2014.  State Accountability Systems Analyzed Researchers at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, published in the Educational Researcher in January 2014 an analysis of the accountability systems that states have implemented to qualify for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) accountability requirements.  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that states receiving Title 1 funds must meet progressive proficiency targets each year so that 100 percent of students are grade-level proficient by 2014. To receive a waiver from this requirement the U.S. Department of Education established new accountability requirements for states to meet. The study examined the new accountability systems implemented in the forty-two states and the District of Columbia that received waivers, based on four standards of practice regarding the appropriate use of assessment data: construct validity, reliability, fairness, and transparency. The study also examined the rules for determining reward, focus, and priority schools. Schools identified as priority schools, for example, were to receive the most attention from the states to improve student achievement. The researchers conclude the following:  "Although most of the waivers provided positive changes over the NCLB system, the net change is harder to summarize.  "In many of the waivers, states have strengthened the construct validity of their accountability systems by using nontest measures and measures of student growth. These changes should capture more of the multidimensional nature of schooling, increasing the alignment between incentives and desired outcomes." Only 33 percent (14 states) added tests in other subjects to their accountability systems, so most accountability systems maintain a "heavy focus on math and English language arts", which could contribute to the unintended consequence of narrowing the curriculum.  Most states continued to rely on proficiency status to identify focus and priority schools for improvement, which is problematic, because it penalizes schools serving students from historically disadvantaged groups. The type and use of growth measures in state accountability systems varies widely, and some states are not using growth measures to identify focus and priority schools. "The USDOE's decision to prohibit states from controlling for student demographics will likely create performance measures biased by factors unrelated to school policies and practices. The reliability of growth measures could be increased by using multiple years, but few states implemented this change." The researchers make the following policy recommendations:  "Moving away from the use of unadjusted proficiency rates and adding additional tested subjects to accountability would improve the construct validity of classifications considerably. Since all states are required to test science, they should include science testing results in priority and focus determinations."  "To further improve the construct validity and fairness of accountability classifications, the USDOE should allow states to create more refined comparison groups for schools by conditioning on student demographics in the construction of school performance measures." "By excluding student demographics from performance measures, the system expects the same performance from all schools regardless of their student inputs, penalizing schools for factors they cannot control." To improve construct validity, states should "move away from within-state achievement gaps and look at gaps within a school and a district. "This would change the focus away from low-performing subgroups to reducing the gap within a school or district." States should use multiple years of data for school performance measures, especially measures incorporating student growth, to improve reliability of performance classifications. States should define low-performing schools based on a set of performance criteria rather than setting the bar at the lowest performing 5 or 10 percent of schools. States should re-evaluate using composite A-F grades to identify schools that need improvement to improve transparency and construct validity. "Although A-to-F systems are, on the surface, transparent, the underlying design of these systems involves a great deal of arbitrariness that makes it difficult for educators and parents to understand performance. Furthermore, keeping indicators separate allows for a more nuanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of schools that can be used to tailor interventions." States should evaluate the implementation of their waiver systems and make adjustments. "The problems of NCLB were well known shortly into the implementation, yet little was done to mitigate the unintended consequences."  See "The Waive of the Future? School Accountability in the Waiver Era" by Morgan S. Polikoff, Andrew J. McEachin, Stephani L. Wrabel and Matthew Duque, Educational Researcher, Published on behalf of American Educational Research Association, December 2013.  Bills Introduced HB460 (Brenner/Driehaus) School Restructuring:  Authorizes school districts and community schools to initiate a community learning process to assist and guide school restructuring. "Community learning center" means a school operated by a city, exempted village, or local school district or community school established under Chapter 3314 of the Revised Code that participates in a coordinated, community-based effort with community partners to provide comprehensive educational, developmental, family, and health services to students, families, and community members during school hours and hours in which school is not in session.  FYI Arts Resources for Educators: March is Women's History Month and Youth Art Month. The U.S. Department of Education has included on its website the following recommendations for teachers to engage students and celebrate women's contributions to the arts: Take students on a field trip to a museum (or take a virtual tour) and focus on the contributions of women artists. Start with The National Museum of Women in the Arts. View portraits and photographs of famous women and their accomplishments at  Study American heritage through quilts. Visit the National Quilt Collection, and help students create a classroom quilt based on their creativity and experiences.  Explore modern dance through an interactive website about Martha Graham, known as the "mother of modern dance". Survey Finds Chicago Students Missing Arts: According to a web-based survey conducted in January and February 2014 by Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, 65 percent of elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools district do not offer two hours of weekly arts instruction. The non-scientific survey is based on the responses from 444 people representing 170 elementary schools in Chicago, which is about one third of CPS schools.    The survey also found the following:  14% have no arts instruction 51% have less than two hours of arts instruction per week 26% have two hours of art instruction 9% have more than two hours of arts instruction 31% saw a decline in arts instruction this year. The Chicago Public Schools has an arts plan to ensure that all students have access to arts education, but, according to Wendy Katten, director of Raise Your Hand, schools are not receiving the funds to implement it. Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education is a grassroots coalition of parents and concerned citizens who advocate for quality public education for all children. Their mission is to help parents become advocates for their children by providing information on policies that impact public education, create networks to share data and practices, and provide tools and support to elicit change. See "Arts Survey Finds 65 percent of Schools Lack 2 Hours of Arts Per Week". The Arts are Essential: Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers write for Education Week's Leadership Blog that the arts are an essential education reform, because the arts engage and motivate today's students, and make education relevant. According to the authors, today's students come to school " ....with a wider range of values about education, abilities, disabilities, challenges both in and outside of our buildings, health issues, and socio-economic and cultural differences." Unfortunately in many schools students are losing opportunities to engage in the arts due to budget cuts, emphasis on testing and accountability, and the narrowing of the curriculum. The authors write that this is too bad, because learning through the arts provides students with "experiences" to prepare them to "...attend to other complex problems in science, technology, engineering, math, and society with the skill, engagement and motivation that every teacher wants for their students." They explain that there are school districts that have integrated the arts to teach academic standards in math, science, reading, writing, and social studies, through inquiry and project-based learning. Opening Minds through the Arts in the Tucson Unified School District is an example of an integrated, arts education program, that has been recognized nationally for increasing student achievement for all students, regardless of socio-economic status or ethnic background. The authors conclude by saying, "Minimizing the arts makes no sense but neither does preserving them as a separate and apart from academics, especially in this time of focus on STEM subjects. They are interrelated. While we are struggling to find the best way to best educate today's students, we cannot let the arts slip away." See "The Arts Are Essential" by Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers, Education Week's Leadership Blog, February 23, 2014.   Support Music in the House Through Power2Give: Music in the House is a fun afterschool neighborhood choir program for young kids in urban neighborhoods of Columbus who want to sing, and do it with power! Music in the House kids will get to perform publicly, showing their families, friends, teachers, and lots of other people in their community what they've learned to do. Music in the House honors, respects, and celebrates all kids and their abilities, while focusing on families in higher-needs areas of Columbus that too often fall under the public radar. Donor funds will go directly to help pay for artists' fees, apprentice teaching artists/musicians' stipends, materials, sheet music, and other project costs. There is currently a 1:1 cash match in place through the generous offer of PNC Bank, so every dollar you donate will be doubled! Please click on the power2give link below, and donate what you can to this project now, so kids who want to sing and learn music will have the chance to do it well! Thank you!   Music in the House! Kids' Choir's Link Music in the House is a partnership of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), Columbus Children's Choir, and TRANSIT ARTS, a program of Central Community House. Students receive professional choir instruction after school, in settlement houses located right in the neighborhoods where they and their families live." WHAT IS POWER2GIVE.ORG?   power2give.org is an online cultural marketplace designed to connect donors and projects. Hosted by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, serving Franklin County power2give.org allows non-profit organizations to post and promote arts and culture projects in need of funding and invites donors to contribute directly to projects that are intriguing to them.   Power2give.org is devoted to supporting non-profit organizations and encouraging people to help the organizations they love turn their needs into a reality. Click here to learn more about Music in the House and to Donate online. Connect With US on Facebook! Join The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education on Facebook. Click to "like" us but don't stop there - post your support for the OAAE and arts education on your profile, and ask your friends and colleagues to 'like' us too. As a follower of the OAAE, you can find out what's happening around the state with school arts programs and arts education decisions made by local school boards and the State Legislature, and share other relevant arts education related news. It's a quick and easy way to stay connected to us and to share what's happening with arts education in your community and throughout Ohio.   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