Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update

Joan Platz

June 10, 2013

 

•Update on HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-15:  The Senate passed Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-15 on June 6, 2013 along party lines. The $61.7 billion budget bill was amended twice by the Senate Finance Committee and then the Senate, adding more money for K-12 education compared to the House and executive versions of HB59, but does not include an executive provision to expand Medicaid for uninsured Ohioans, or provide additional state funds for local governments. More information about the Senate version of HB59 is included below.

 

•Third Grade Reading Guarantee:  Governor Kasich signed SB 21 (Lehner) Third-grade Reading Guarantee on June 4, 2013. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted by the 129th General Assembly in SB316 and amended later in HB555. SB21 addresses concerns raised by educators after the law was approved last year, including a provision that severely limits the number of teachers who would be qualified in Ohio to provide intervention services to students who are not reading on grade level. 

 

•Ohio’s School Funding System Still Unconstitutional:  The Columbus Dispatch reported on June 3, 2013 an interview in which Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor expressed her belief that Ohio’s system of funding public schools is not compliant with the DeRolph court decisions issued by the Ohio Supreme Court.  According to the Dispatch, “The Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor says state lawmakers have failed to fix the way public schools are financed since the high court in 2002 issued its last of four rulings that the funding system was unconstitutional.”  The Chief Justice was speaking to the Dispatch Editorial Board about how lawmakers have responded to the DeRolph decisions. She believes that nothing has changed, and the system is still unconstitutional.  

 

The article is available at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/06/04/justice-still-waiting-for-compliance.html

 

•State Tax Revenues Up:  The preliminary May 2013 revenue report released by the Office of Budget and Management, Tim Keen Director, shows that state revenue is now $735 million ahead of forecasts for FY13, which ends on June 30, 2013. More revenue than expected was collected from personal income tax and sales taxes.  The personal income tax earned $8.6 billion for the fiscal year so far, which is about $520 million over estimates.

 

This is good news for House and Senate leaders, who expect a conference committee will be needed to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-15, and will be using the latest revenue estimates to determine FY14-15 allocations for HB59. Republican lawmakers and Governor Kasich are also discussing additional income tax cuts, while Democrats would use additional funds to support K-12 education, the local government fund, food banks, health care services, etc.

 

The OBM revenue report is available at 

http://obm.ohio.gov/MiscPages/MonthlyFinancialReports/

 

 

Senate and House Leaders Introduce Education Bills:  U.S. Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, and House Republicans introduced last week separate legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act (2002). The act has been in limbo since 2007 as lawmakers continue to disagree about the federal role in K-12 education and specifically about how to reauthorize various provisions of the act that have become controversial. Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed legislation to reauthorize ESEA, but neither chamber has seriously considered the other chamber’s bills.

 

Senate Democrat Plan:  Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Pension, and Labor Committee (HELP), introduced on June 4, 2013 the Senate Democrat’s latest version to reauthorize ESEA entitled, Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 (SASA) (S1094).

 

According to a summary of the bill, the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 provides a framework to help all students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills needed for success in college/and or a career by supporting teachers and principals to provide high quality instruction; ensuring disadvantaged students get the supports they need to succeed; and focusing federal attention on supporting states and districts in turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps.

 

To accomplish these goals SASA focuses on education programs for young children; the achievement of subgroups of students; equal educational opportunities; flexibility for states to sustain current reforms; and teachers and principals.

 

The bill would direct states to develop guidelines for what children should know and be able to do prior to kindergarten entry to reduce gaps in school readiness; encourage states to provide full-day kindergarten and expand early childhood education; and help more schools provide a well-rounded education with time for the arts and physical activity.

 

The bill also includes a number of provisions that arts education advocates support.  The arts are listed as a core academic subject; arts and music are included as enrichment activities in the Expanded Learning Time and Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students sections; and the bill amends ESEA to require states to develop core standards for key subjects such as math, reading, and “creative arts” for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. This is a very positive step, because it will align K-3 standards with existing standards for grades 4-12, which already include the arts as key subjects.

 

Some of the more controversial and unpopular provisions of No Child Left Behind Act are modified, but still included in SASA, such as the practice of disaggregating student achievement data across subgroups to focus on disparities, and teacher evaluations based on student performance. 

 

The bill calls for an expansion of the categories of disaggregation to include gender and English proficiency, and disseminating an equity score card to provide school-level information to parents on the school’s climate, the school’s educational opportunity offerings (such as AP, full-day kindergarten, or gifted programming), the number of assessments required, and the school’s funding by sources (state, local, and federal).

 

However, states would be provided more flexibility to set their own accountability goals for student achievement and reforms to improve low-performing schools. Currently 37 states have received an NCLB waiver from the U.S. DOE to set their own accountability standards within certain federal guidelines.  States without a waiver would be allowed to adopt their own accountability targets based on certain criteria. However, the bill still requires that all state accountability systems must “include student academic achievement and growth, English language proficiency for English Learners and, for high schools, graduation rates for all students; systems will also include accountability for all subgroups.” 

 

One of the more interesting requirements would require that local and state resources per-pupil for Title I schools are equal to or greater than the average combined local and state funds per pupil in non-Title I schools.

 

The Strengthening America’s Schools Act is at http://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ESEA%20One%20Pager%206.4.13.pdf

 

Senate Republican Plan:  Senate Republicans introduced their version to reauthorize ESEA on June 6, 2013 entitled the Every Child Ready for College or Career Act (S.1101).  The bill is sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Mark Kirk of Illinois.

 

At just 220 pages, compared to the Senate Democrat plan at 1,150 pages, the Republic plan would “move out of Washington and back to the states decisions about whether schools and teachers are succeeding or failing”. 

 

The Senate Republican bill would transfer decisions about measuring student achievement and fixing under-performing schools to state and local control; give states the authority to define standards and tests for students in reading, math, and science; allow states to use $14.5 billion in Title I funds for low-income children to follow those children to the public school they attend; encourage the formation of charter schools; end the federal definition of “highly qualified” teachers and encourages states to use their share of $2.5 billion in federal Title II funds to create teacher evaluation systems related to student performance and other factors; consolidate 62 programs into two block grants, and give states more flexibility in spending education dollars; and continue state and district report cards; and create an annual Secretary’s report card about the nation’s schools.

 

The Republican Plan is available at http://www.help.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=3f7e7905-b348-44fd-b41b-22e175884794&groups=Ranking

 

House Republic Plan:  Representatives John Kline (R-Minnesota) and Todd Rokita (R-Indiana) introduced on June 6, 2013 the Student Success Act (H.R. 5) to reauthorize ESEA, and “....restore local control, support more effective teachers, reduce the federal footprint, and empower parents.” Representative Kline is chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and Representative Rokita is chair of the House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee.  The bill does the following:

 

-Reduces the federal role in education by returning authority for measuring student performance and turning around low-performing schools to states and local officials. The bill repeals the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) metric and federally-prescribed school improvement and turnaround interventions, and empowers states to develop accountability systems that effectively evaluate school quality. At the same time, the legislation maintains a focus on high standards and disaggregated assessment data, ensuring school and student performance is transparent and parents have the information needed to make decisions about their children’s education.  

 

-Eliminates more than 70 programs and replaces them with the Local Academic Flexible Grant to provide states and school districts the flexibility to support initiatives based on their local needs. 

 

-Maintains separate funding streams for the Migrant Education, Neglected and Delinquent, English Language Acquisition, Rural Education, and Indian Education programs, but merges them into Title I of the law. The legislation also strengthens these programs to improve student achievement, and provides states and districts flexibility to use funds across programs to better support their students’ needs.

  

-Repeals the Highly Qualified Teacher requirement and supports the development and implementation of state- and locally-driven teacher evaluation systems that provide states and school districts the tools necessary to measure an educator’s influence on student achievement. 

 

-Consolidates most of the teacher quality programs in current law into a Teacher and School Leader Flexible Grant program to support evidence-based initiatives to recruit, hire, train, compensate, and retain effective teachers.

 

-Reauthorizes the Charter Schools Program, which supports the expansion and replication of high- quality charter schools. The legislation also strengthens the existing Magnet School and Parent Information and Resource Center programs, which provide states, school districts, and other entities with federal support so parents can identify quality options and participate in their children’s education.   

 

-Strengthens the five existing Impact Aid programs, which provide direct funding to school districts impacted by the presence of the federal government. The programs reimburse districts located near, or serving students from, military bases, federal lands, and Indian reservations for the loss of 

property taxes.  

 

-Strengthens provisions to ensure the participation of private school students and teachers in the programs funded under the law, and improves the military recruiting provisions by ensuring military recruiters have equal access to high schools as institutions of higher education. 

 

-Limits the authority of the Secretary of Education in four key ways: prohibits the secretary from imposing conditions, including conditions involving state standards and assessments, on states and school districts in exchange for a waiver of federal law; prevents the secretary from creating additional burdens on states and districts through the regulatory process, particularly in the areas of standards, assessments, and state accountability plans; prohibits the secretary from demanding changes to state standards, and influencing and coercing states to enter into partnerships with other states; and outlines specific procedures the secretary must follow when issuing federal regulations and conducting peer review processes for grant applications. 

 

-Reauthorizes the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and places a greater emphasis on improved identification of homeless children and youth; provides better collaboration and information sharing among federal and state agencies to provide services for homeless students; and strengthens provisions in current law to enhance school stability and protections for homeless youth and parents. 

 

The Student Success Act is available at 

http://edworkforce.house.gov/studentsuccessact/default.aspx

 

1.   The House and Senate will hold sessions and hearings this week.

 

TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013

 

•The Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Senator Schaffer, will meet on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 10:00 AM in the South Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:

 

-HB138 (McClain/Letson) Tax Appeals Board Law Changes:  Makes changes to the law governing the Board of Tax Appeals.

-SB127 (Jordan) Property Tax Reduction-Home Schooled Children:  Creates a property tax and a 

manufactured home tax reduction for parents of home schooled children equal to the taxes levied by the school district on the homestead of the parent.  

-SB135 (Tavares) Tax Credits-Donations-Community Services Providers: Authorizes nonrefundable tax 

credits for authorized donations to projects of nonprofit entities and municipal agencies providing community services.  

-SB89 (Skindell) Earned Income Tax Credit: Grants a state earned income tax credit equal to a percentage of the federal earned income tax credit.  

-SB52 (Coley) Property Tax Complaints: Permits property tax complaints to be initiated only by the property owner.  

 

•The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner will meet on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 1:30 PM in the South Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus Plan, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools to levy property taxes, the revenue from which may be shared with partnering community schools. A vote is possible. 

 

The committee will also receive testimony on HB14 (Pelanda) School Records, which would change the process that school districts use when withholding or transferring to another district or school the records of a child who is alleged or adjudicated as an abused, neglected, or dependent child.  

 

•The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:00 PM in hearing room 116.  The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:

 

-HB18 (Paton) Metal Detectors-Public Schools.

-HB58 (Gerberry) State Board of Education Membership, which would change the voting membership of the State Board of Education to consist of a member from each of several electoral districts with boundaries coinciding with the state’s Congressional districts, and a president to be appointed by the Governor if there is an even number of such electoral districts.

-HB96 (Strahorn) Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Law, which would eliminate an exemption from the Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Law for specified educational employees.  

-HB178 (Phillips) School Safety Drills, which would amend the number and schedule of school safety drills in schools.

 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013

 

•If Needed:  The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner will meet on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 10:15 AM in the South Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus Plan, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools to levy property taxes, and share the revenue with partnering community schools. A vote is possible. 

 

•The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative Beck, will meet on Wednesday, June 12, 013 at 3:00 PM in hearing room 116 and receive testimony on the following bills:  

-HB107 (Baker) Career Exploration Internships - Tax Credit, which would authorize a tax credit for businesses that employ high school students in career exploration internships.

-HB24 (Boose) Tax Expenditure Review Committee, which would create a Tax Expenditure Review Committee for the purpose of periodically reviewing existing and proposed tax expenditures. 

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013

  

•The Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission will meet at 3:00 PM in the TJM Judicial Center Room 101. The agenda for the meeting includes a presentation by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, updates, and reports from the standing committees. 

 

The following committees of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission will meet earlier in the day: 

 

-The Finance, Taxation, and Economic Development Committee at 9:30 AM in hearing room 115.  The committee will hear a presentation by Greg Stype, partner on Squire Sanders, on Article VIII (Public Debt and Public Works) and Article XVIII. 

-The Education, Public Institutions, and Miscellaneous and Local Government Committee will meet at 9:30 AM in hearing room 113.  

-The Judicial Branch and the Administration of Justice Committee will meet at 9:30 AM in hearing room 311. 

-The Legislative Branch and Executive Branch Committee will meet at 11:15 AM in hearing room 113. 

-The Revisions and Updating Committee will meet at 11:15 AM in Hearing Room 115. 

-The Organization and Administration Committee will meet at 1:30 PM in hearing room 115. 

-The Public Education and Information Committee will meet at 1:30 PM in hearing room 311. 

-The Liaisons with Public Offices Committee will meet at 1:30 PM in hearing room 113.

-The Coordinating Committee will meet at 1:30 PM in hearing room 114.

 

4) State Board of Education to Meet:  The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, will meet on June 10 and 11, 2013 at the Ohio Department of Education Conference Center, 25 South Front Street in Columbus, OH.  

 

This month the State Board will hold a Chapter 119 Hearing on Ohio Administrative Code Rules 3301-83- 09, 10, 16, 17,  21, 22, 24, and 51-10, Pupil Transportation Rules, and receive presentations about implementing provisions of HB555 (Stebelton) Report Cards (129th General Assembly); the Third Grade Guarantee; STEM schools; and new assessments for educator licensing.

 

The State Board will recognize Ohio Schools to Watch, recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and the Milken Educator.  

 

The Achievement, Capacity, Legislative and Budget, and Urban Education committees will also meet.  

 

The Achievement Committee will discuss and approve a Resolution to Adopt Career Connections Learning Strategies; discuss and approve a Resolution of Intent to Adopt Amended Rule 3301-13-02, Administering Required State Assessments at the Designated Grades; receive an update on the Early Learning Challenge Grant; and discuss graduation requirements.

 

The Capacity Committee will receive a presentation on Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES)-Feedback from Pilot Schools and Districts; discuss Rule 3301-57-01, Administering the Child Abuse Detection Training Program; and discuss proposed amendments to School Operating Standards.

 

The Urban Education Committee will continue work on implementing HB555 of the 129th General Assembly.

 

The Legislative and Budget Committee will receive updates about HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-15; Medicaid for Schools Program; and federal legislative activity.

 

The State Board will consider and vote on the following resolutions:

 

#2 Approve a Resolution of Intent to Amend Rule 3301-13-02 of the Administrative Code entitled Administering Required State Assessments at the Designated Grades (Volume 2 Page 6).

 

#3 Approve a Resolution of Intent to Consider Confirmation of the West Geauga Local School District’s Determination of Impractical Transportation of Certain Students Attending St. Francis of Assisi School, Gates Mills, Cuyahoga County, OH.  (Volume 2 Page 19).

 

#6 Approve a Resolution to Adopt Rules 3301-28-01 of the Administrative Code regarding Local Report Card Measures and to Rescind Rules 3301-58-01 to 3301-58-03 of the Administrative Code regarding the value-added progress dimension.  (Volume 3, Page 30.)

 

#7 Approve a Resolution to Amend Rule 3301-52-01 of the Administrative Code entitled Appropriate Uses of Early Childhood Education Screening and Assessment Information.  (Volume 3, Page 54.)

 

#8 Approve a Resolution to Amend Rules 3301-102-01 of the Administrative Code regarding Community Schools. (Volume 3, Page 59.)

 

#9 Approve a Resolution to Adopt Rules 3301-102-10 of the Administrative Code regarding the Academic Performance Rating and Report Card System for Community Schools that Serve Students Enrolled in Dropout Prevention and Recovery Programs. (Volume 3, Page 93.)

 

#10  Approve a Resolution to Adopt Model Curriculum in English language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies with embedded Career Connection Learning strategies for the Purpose of Meeting the Requirements of Revised Code Section 3301.079 (Volume 4, Page 4.)

 

#11  Approve a Resolution to Adopt the New Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) and Associated Qualifying Scores for Various Ohio License Areas.  (Volume 4, Page 6).

 

#12  Approve a Resolution to Confirm the Tuslaw Local School District Board of Education’s Determination of Impractical Transportation of Certain Students Attending Heritage Christian School in Canton, Stark County, OH.  (Volume 4, Page 17.)

 

5) Ohio Senate Amends HB59:  The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, agreed to additional amendments for HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-15, before the full Senate amended and approved the $61.7 billion budget plan on June 6, 2013. 

 

Overall the Senate version of HB59 adjusts Ohio’s system for funding schools; provides a tax cut for small businesses, but not the across the board tax cut proposed by the House; and excludes Medicaid expansion, which was proposed by Governor Kasich and included in the bill as introduced.

 

The Senate version of HB59 provides a total for the biennium of $22.6 million in General Revenue Funds for the Ohio Arts Council.  This is an increase of $5.8 million over FY12-13 levels. All Fund Groups for the Ohio Arts Council total $25.6 million for the biennium.

 

The General Revenue Fund budget for the Ohio Department of Education increases from $15.1 billion in FY12-13 to $16.4 billion in FY14-15, an increase of $1.292 billion.  The All Fund Groups budget for education increases from $22.4 billion in FY12-13 to $23.6 billion in FY14-15. 

 

Compared to FY12-13, the Senate version of HB59 increases funding through the General Revenue Fund for Early Childhood Education; the Ohio Educational Computer Network, due to the re-constitution of the eTech Commission; Academic Standards; Student Assessments; Educator Preparation; Community Schools/Choice; General Technology Operations; Technology Integration and Professional Development; Transportation; Auxiliary Services; Nonpublic Administrative Costs Reimbursements; Special Education Enhancements; Career Tech Enhancements; Foundation Funding; Literacy Improvement; and Property Tax Allocation.

 

New education programs included in the bill are the Straight A Fund ($250 million); Education Choice Expansion ($25.5 million); and Community School Facilities ($15 million).  These programs are being funded out of the Lottery Profits Fund, which is increasing from $1.4 billion in FY12-13 to $1.78 billion in FY14-15.

 

HB59 also slightly decreases funding for Accountability/Report Cards and eliminates funding for Ready to Learn, a program originally included in the House version of HB59, and now removed by the Senate. 

 

The total General Revenue Fund budget for FY14-15 increases by $7.5 billion from $54 billion in FY12-13 to $61.7 billion in FY14-15. The All Fund Groups budget totals $120.5 billion for FY14-15.

 

6) Senate Budget Bill Addresses Some Opponents' Issues:  The latest Senate version of HB59 also addresses the following K-12 policies that education stakeholders testified against before the Senate Finance Committee, Education Subcommittee:

 

-Tax Appeals:  Removes a provision, added by the Senate Finance Committee, that would prohibit boards of education from filing appeals on property values for real estate taxes within their districts. Boards of education often challenge the value of properties through the Board of Revisions process in order to ensure that real property is valued fairly for tax purposes, so that school districts receive the tax dollars that they are due to operate the schools, and all tax payers are treated fairly.

 

-Pupil Count:  Changes a House provision requiring school districts to take a monthly student count, and instead requires two student counts per school year, one in October and another in February.  Witnesses testified that taking a student count every month would be impractical and would lead to significant planning problems for school districts.  Currently school districts take one count of all students in October, but it takes on average three months to verify the results. 

 

-Payment in Lieu of Transportation:  Restores current law regarding how parents are reimbursed when school districts determine that transportation of students is impractical. Several witnesses requested that the House provision be removed, because it removed the ability of the school district to negotiate with parents about the transportation of their students, and would have deducted from the school district’s transportation aid a larger per pupil reimbursement.  Since state aid for transportation is already underfunded and must be supplemented with local district revenue, school districts told lawmakers that they could not afford this change, and have enough money to transport students.

 

-Straight A Fund: Increases the Straight A Fund to $250 million a year.  Governor Kasich had proposed $300 million to support the Straight A Fund in the executive budget, but the House lowered the fund to $150 million.  The purpose of the fund is to provide districts grants through a competitive process to become more innovative and improve academics or lower costs. 

 

-Early Childhood Education:  Increases state funds to support early childhood education, including $33.3 million in FY14 and $45.3 million in FY15 to allow children from low-income families to attend private preschools when publicly funded preschools are not available.

 

-Motor Fuel Tax:  Increases the motor fuel tax reimbursement for city, exempted village, joint vocational, and local school districts and educational service centers for motor fuel purchased and used for school district and service center operations from 6¢ per gallon to 10¢ per gallon. Under continuing law, the overall motor fuel tax rate is 28¢ per gallon. Superintendents and treasurers testified that the reimbursement hadn’t been changed in years.

 

7) Requests not included in HB59:  Superintendents, treasurers, and representatives of education organizations urged Senators to change several HB59 provisions that could negatively impact schools and districts, and establish a mechanism for determining an adequate formula amount per pupil for funding schools.  

 

The Senate, however, retained several controversial provisions in HB59, and did not include a method to determine an adequate formula amount based on education standards, services, or student needs.

 

-EdChoice Expanded:  Retains the expanded EdChoice voucher programs with some changes. The Senate version of HB59 includes two voucher programs, one based on family income and the other based on school district ratings on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee measure. 

 

The expanded Education Choice voucher based on income would allow students in the 2013-2014 school year entering Kindergarten and first grade to qualify for a voucher to attend eligible private schools,  if their family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, regardless of the rating of the school on the local report card. The program would be funded by the state rather than through deductions from the resident school district, which is the way the EdChoice voucher is currently funded.  Participation in the program is therefore limited by the amount of state funding, which is $8.5 million in FY14 and $17 million in FY15.  Assuming students use the maximum scholarship amount, there would be about 2000 vouchers available in FY14 and 4000 available in FY15. The bill also states that students can continue to receive vouchers in future years. The bill was amended to provide tiered funding for continuing voucher students whose parents’ income level increased more than 200 percent of the poverty level.

 

Superintendents and representatives from education organizations testified that many effective and excellent school districts, especially those in rural Ohio, could have a large number of students qualify for the expanded EdChoice voucher program based on family income.  Even though funding for the voucher would be capped at $8.5 million in FY14 and $17 million in FY15, and would be funded by the state, superintendents and treasurers testified that losing students and state funding per student could financially harm their school districts. They also noted that if the expanded voucher program continued in future biennia, it could provide public funds to almost all students attending private schools in a few years, increasing the overall burden and cost for K-12 education for the state. 

 

The Third Grade Guarantee voucher provision would begin with the 2016-2017 school year.  It qualifies for the EdChoice scholarship students in kindergarten through third grade who are enrolled in a district-operated school that has received a grade of “D” or “F” in “making progress in improving K-3 literacy” in two of the three most recent state report cards, and has not received an “A” in “making progress in improving K-3 literacy” in the most recent report card issued prior to the first day of July of the school year for which the scholarship is sought. 

 

Opponents of this voucher program told lawmakers that the provision would allow students to leave public schools that must ensure students are reading at grade level, to attend private schools that do not have to comply with the Third Grade Guarantee law or provide additional reading help for students.

 

-Contract-Out Provisions (Section 3317.40):  Retains the bill’s provision that requires school districts that fail to show “satisfactory achievement and progress”, as determined by the State Board of Education, serving subgroups of students (special education, economically disadvantaged, ELL and students identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability and specific academic ability), to submit an improvement plan to the ODE for approval. The ODE may require the school district to partner with other organizations to provide services to these students.  Witnesses testified that this provision is impractical to implement, because state aid only provides a portion of the full cost to provide services to subgroups of students anyway, and school districts already contract out many of these services to other organizations.

 

-Joint Vocational School District Boards:  Retains the bill’s provision that changes the composition of the boards of education of joint vocational school districts (JVSD).  The members of JVSD boards are now selected from among the elected representatives of participating districts.  The Senate version of the bill would require JVSD board members to be selected from regional employers, which would duplicate the membership of the JVSD business advisory boards, which currently include representatives of regional employers and others in the community who are involved in career education.

 

-Transportation and Career Tech Components:  Retains the bill’s provisions that keep state funding for transportation and career tech within the gain cap, thereby limiting the amount of state funding available for school districts.  Also retains a provision in the bill that removed components of the current transportation-funding formula. These components supported best practices regarding the transportation of students to schools.

 

8) Summary of Recent Senate Changes to HB59:  The Ohio Senate and House have now approved very different versions of HB59 (Amstutz) Appropriations for FY14-FY15.  The House is expected this week to vote to reject the Senate changes for HB59, which means that the bill will be assigned to a conference committee composed of three members from the House and three members from the Senate, who will work to develop a compromise bill.  The conferees could start work next week. Lawmakers have until June 30, 2013 to complete work on the bill, and most agree that the House and Senate will meet the deadline.

 

In the meantime, although more changes will be made by the conference committee, the following is a summary of the latest changes made by the Ohio Senate to HB59 last week.

 

FUNDING CHANGES

 

•Ohio Arts Council Section 217.10:  Increases appropriation item 370502, State Program Subsidies, by $25,000 in each fiscal year.

 

•Foundation Funding:  Decreases GRF appropriation item 200550, Foundation Funding, by $5.7 million in FY14 and increases this item by $147.3 million in FY15.

 

•Payment in Lieu of Transportation:  Earmarks $5 million in FY14 and $2.5 million in FY15 for payments to parents in lieu of transportation.

 

•Straight A Fund Section 263.10:  Increases the Lottery Profits Education Fund 7017 appropriation item 200648, Straight A Fund, by $50 million in each fiscal year. Appropriates $100 million in FY14 and $150 million in FY15.

 

•Early Childhood Education 263.20:  Increases GRF appropriation item 200408, Early Childhood, to $33.3 million in FY14 and by $45.3 million in FY15. Eliminates the Ready to Learn program and GRF appropriation item 200468, Ready to Learn, funded at $5.05 million in each fiscal year.

 

•Read Baby Read Section 263.255: Re-establishes GRF appropriation item 200566, Literacy Improvement, with an appropriation of $150,000 in each fiscal year and specifies that the funds be used for Read Baby Read.

 

•Ready, Set, Go.... to Kindergarten (Lorain County): Moves the $50,000 earmark in each year for the Ready, Set, Go...to Kindergarten Program from appropriation item 200468, Ready to Learn, to appropriation item 200408, Early Childhood Education.

 

•Jon Peterson Scholarship:  Increases GRF appropriation item 200550, Foundation Funding, by $5 million in FY14 and earmarks that amount in 2014. Specifies that the earmark must be used to reimburse school districts for the full cost of Jon Peterson Scholarship deductions taken for students who did not attend a public school in their resident district in the previous year, and specifies that the payment amounts may be prorated if the earmarked amount is not sufficient.

 

•Auxiliary Services:  Decreases GRF appropriation item 200511, Auxiliary Services, by $48,338 in FY14 and increases this appropriation item by $3.3 million in FY15.

 

•Nonpublic Administrative Cost Reimbursement 3317.063:  Decreases GRF appropriation item 200532, Nonpublic Administrative Cost Reimbursement, by $21,836 in FY14 and increases this appropriation item by $1.5 million in FY15. Allocates $58.9 million in FY14 and $62.4 million in FY15.  Increases the maximum per pupil amount for reimbursement of noncharter school administrative cost funds to $360. 

 

•Board of Regents Section 363.483: Increases the earmark under GSF appropriation item 235653, Co-op Internship Program, for the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University from $75,000 to $150,000.

 

•Board of Regents Section 363.10: Increases GRF appropriation item 235444, Post-Secondary Adult Career-Technical Education, by $500,000 in each fiscal 11 year.

 

•Board of Regents Section 363.483:  Earmarks $10,000 in each fiscal year in Fund 5JC0 appropriation item 235649, Co-op Internship Program, for the Ohio College Access Network to support the Ohio Student Education Policy Institute.

 

FORMULA CHANGES

 

•Formula Amount:  Changes the formula amount to $5,745 (from $5,732) in FY14 and to $5,800 (from $5,789) in FY15.

 

•Bi-annual ADM Counts R.C. 3317.01 and 3317.03 31: Requires the superintendent of each city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school district to certify the average daily membership of students receiving services from schools under the superintendent’s supervision during the first full week of October and the first full week of February (rather than during the first full school week of each month as required by the bill).  Specifies that annualized periodic payments for each school district must be based on the district’s final student counts verified by the superintendent of public instruction based on reports under section 3317.03 of the Revised Code, as adjusted, if so ordered, under division (K) of that section, equal to the sum of one-half of the number of students verified and adjusted for the first full week in October plus one-half of the average of the numbers verified and adjusted for the first full week in October and for the first full week in February.

 

•Preschool Special Education Students:  Credits school districts with funding for preschool students who receive a scholarship to attend an alternative provider under the Autism Scholarship Program.

 

•Special Education:  Replaces the special education multiples of the formula amount in the bill (which are the multiples in current law) with dollar amounts for FY14, and increases those dollar amounts in FY15.

 

•Third Grade Reading Guarantee:  Changes the bill’s formula for Kindergarten through third grade literacy funds by decreasing the dollar amounts that are multiplied by the state share index, but adding an additional dollar amount that is not multiplied by the state share index to the payment, and provides for these dollar amounts to increase in FY15. Provides $125 in FY14 and $175 in FY15 per pupil for students in grades K-3.  The added amounts per pupil are $100 in FY14 and $160 in FY15.

 

•Economically Disadvantaged Students:  Changes the bill’s formula for economically disadvantaged funds by decreasing the dollar amounts from $300 to $250 per pupil in FY14 and to $253 in FY15. 

 

•Career Tech:  Replaces the career-technical education multiples of the formula amount and the career-technical education associated services multiple in the bill (which are the multiples in current law) with dollar amounts for FY14, and increases those dollar amounts in FY15.

 

•Joint Vocational School Districts:  Changes the formulas for special education funds, economically disadvantaged funds, career-technical education funds, and career-technical education associated services. Changes the formula amount to $5,745 in FY14 and to $5,800 in FY15.  Allocates an estimated $269 million in FY14 and $276.1 million in FY15 for JVSD state aid.

 

•Community Schools and STEM Schools:  Changes the formulas for special education funds, Kindergarten through third grade literacy funds, economically disadvantaged funds, and career-technical education funds.

 

•Student Counts for Certain Payments:  Specifies that 25 percent of a district’s students that attend a community school (other than an Internet- or computer-based community school (e-school)) are included in the district’s “net formula ADM” for purposes of calculating targeted assistance, to correspond with the provisions of the bill’s school funding formula specifying that community schools (other than e-schools) receive payments for 25 percent of students in this category.  Subtracts a district’s students attending an e-school from the district’s counts of limited English proficient students, Kindergarten through third grade students, and economically disadvantaged students to correspond with the provisions of the bill’s school funding formula specifying that e-schools do not receive payments for these categories of students.

 

•Gain Cap:  Increases the factor by which foundation funding is capped for traditional and joint vocational districts from 1.06 times prior year funding in each fiscal year to 1.0625 and 1.105 times prior year funding for FY14 and FY15.

 

•Transitional Aid Guarantee JVSD:  Requires the ODE to adjust, as necessary, the transitional aid guarantee base of school districts that participate in the establishment of a joint vocational school district (JVSD) that first begins receiving funding under the JVSD funding formula in FY14. 

 

•Pupil Transportation:  Specifies the amounts of $413.4 million in FY14 and $434.1 million in FY15 earmarked from GRF appropriation item 200502, Pupil Transportation, for pupil transportation formula payments to school districts rather than earmarking the remainder of this appropriation for such payments after the allocation of certain set-asides.

 

•Pupil Transportation:  Specifies that, for purposes of calculating transportation funding, “rider density” means “total ADM per square mile of a school district” rather than “the number of qualifying riders per square mile of a school district.”

 

•Kindergarten Students:  Requires the ODE to adjust a district’s average daily membership certification by one-half of the full time equivalency for each student charged fees or tuition for all-day kindergarten.

 

•Tuition:  Removes a provision of the bill specifying that a district may charge tuition for a student enrolled in all-day kindergarten as long as the student is included in the student count reported to the Department of Education as less than one full-time equivalent student.

 

•Spending Requirement for Economically Disadvantaged Funds:  Requires a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, community school, or STEM school to spend the economically disadvantaged funds it receives for any of the following initiatives or a combination of any of the following initiatives: extended school day and school year, reading improvement and intervention, instructional technology or blended learning, professional development in reading instruction for teachers of students in kindergarten through third grade, dropout prevention, and school safety and security measures.

 

Requires each school district, community school, and STEM school to submit a report to the ODE at the end of each fiscal year describing the initiative or initiatives on which the district’s or school’s economically disadvantaged funds were spent during that fiscal year, and requires the ODE to submit a report of this information to the General Assembly not later than December 1 of each odd-numbered year, starting in 2015.

 

•Educational Service Centers: Reinstates the $6.50 per pupil transfer and current law that permits the board of education of any client school district to pay an amount in excess of $6.50 per student, per district approval.  Sets the state payments per pupil to ESCs at $37.00 per pupil in FY14 and $35 per pupil in FY15. Increases the state earmark for ESCs to $43.5 million in FY14 and $40 million FY15, in addition to a $3.8 million earmark for ESCs to provide services for gifted students. 

 

SPECIAL EDUCATION

 

•Physical Education Exemption for Children with Disabilities R.C. 3302.032, 3313.603, 3313.6016, and 3313.674 98:  Subject to a child’s individualized education program (IEP), exempts a child with a disability from the physical education requirement to graduation from high school; the physical activity pilot project; and the school body mass index screenings. 

 

•Specifies that a child with a disability must not be included in the measure established by the State Board of Education to gauge student success in meeting physical education benchmarks, compliance with local wellness policies prescribed by the federal “Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004,” whether a school district or building elected to administer the screenings for body mass index, and whether a school district or building is participating in the physical activity pilot program.

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

 

•Modifies the Early Childhood Education program to qualify licensed child care providers for funding and requires programs that are highly rated under the Step Up to Quality program to comply with the requirements of that program, instead of certain requirements of the existing program.

 

•Requires the Early Childhood Advisory Council to issue recommendations regarding an early childhood voucher program to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Governor’s office of 21st Century Education, the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees by October 1, 2013.

 

•Increases the appropriation for Early Childhood Education to $33.3 million in FY14 and to $45.3 million in FY15.  Increases the number of providers who are eligible to receive funds under the program.

 

JOINT VOCATIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS R.C. 3311.19:  

 

•JVSC Board:  Replaces the current method of appointing members of a JVSD board of education with a system where the school districts or ESC that belong to a JVSD each appoint one member to a JVSD board. Specifies that the appointed individuals may not be members of the appointing board or ESC and that the total number of members appointed to the JVSD board is equal to the number of members on the JVSD's board prior to the bill's effective date.Requires the appointing board to select members who represent regional employers and who are qualified to consider a region's workforce needs.Specifies that a term of office for a JVSD board member be three years and limits members to two consecutive terms.

 

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS

 

•Carryover Funds:  Specifies that the option to carry over ESC funds at the end of a fiscal year applies only to both unexpended and unobligated funds, rather than funds that are only unexpended as under the bill. Removes the bill’s provision that would permit an ESC client to use a portion of its carryover funds for a purpose other than those specified in its service agreement, and requires that those funds only be used for services specified in the service agreement.

 

•Removes ESC Responsibilities:  Requires each “local” district board to prescribe a curriculum for all schools under its control, and removes this requirement for ESCs with respect to “local” districts (R.C. 3313.60). Removes a requirement that each ESC annually certify the average daily membership (ADM) of students receiving services from schools. Permits a “local” district superintendent to excuse a child that resides in the district from attendance for any part of the remainder of the current school year upon satisfying conditions specified in law and in accordance with district board and State Board rules, and removes this authority for an ESC superintendent acting on behalf of a “local” district (R.C. 3321.04). Requires the superintendent of a “local” district in which a child withdraws from school to immediately receive notice of the withdrawal from the child’s teacher, and removes this requirement as it applies to ESC superintendents acting on behalf of “local” districts (R.C. 3321.13). 

 

•Attendance Officer:  Permits a city or exempted village district board to obtain services from an ESC attendance officer instead of employing its own attendance officer (R.C. 3321.14). Permits, rather than requires, every ESC governing board to employ an ESC attendance officer, and requires an ESC to make the decision regarding employment of an attendance officer based on consultation with the districts that have agreements with the ESC (R.C. 3321.15).

 

•Instructional Program:  Permits a “local” district, rather than the ESC, to provide an instructional program for the employees of the district, in the same manner as currently authorized for “city” and “exempted village” districts (R.C. 3315.07(A)).

 

•Business Advisory Council:  Requires a “local” district board to appoint a business advisory council unless the district and an ESC have an agreement providing that the ESC’s business advisory council will represent the district’s business (R.C. 3313.82). Applies the above exception to the requirement to appoint a business advisory council to city and exempted village districts, which are already required to appoint a council under existing law (R.C. 3313.82).

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

•Parental School Transportation Subsidy:  Restores current law provisions for a payment in lieu of transportation to a student’s parent, where a school district board determines it is impractical to transport the student by school conveyance. Changes the minimum amount for payment in lieu of transportation from an amount determined by the ODE to $225, effective July 1, 2014. The maximum amount for payment in lieu of transportation, or the average cost of pupil transportation for the previous school year as determined by the ODE remains the same.Increases GRF appropriation item 200502, Pupil Transportation, by $2.5 million in FY15 and earmarks the same amount for payments in lieu of transportation.

 

•Transportation of Chartered Nonpublic and Community School Students on Weekends R.C. 3327.01: Maintains the bill’s provision exempting school districts from transporting students to and from chartered nonpublic and community schools on Saturday or Sunday, unless an agreement to do so is in place prior to July 1, 2014.

 

STRAIGHT A PROGRAM

 

•Straight A Program Section 263.325:  Adds both of the following to the list of entities that may receive grants from the Straight A Program and removes them from the list of entities which may be part of an education consortia: institutions of higher education and private entities partnering with one or more of the educational entities that are eligible to receive grants from the program.

 

•Purpose of Program:  Specifies that Straight A Program grants are for projects that aim to achieve significant advancement in one or more of the following goals: student achievement, spending reduction in the five-year fiscal forecast, and utilization of a greater share of resources in the classroom. 

 

•Board Membership:  Adds an additional gubernatorial appointee to the governing board that makes grant decisions for the Straight A Program.

 

•Grant Application Reviews:  Removes a requirement that the system for evaluating and scoring grant applications under the Straight A Program must be given priority to applicants whose goals “demonstrate particular attempts” in achieving the following: cost reduction in the delivery of services, progress in improving literacy in grades kindergarten to three, achievement and progress for students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, limited English proficient students, and gifted students improving the performance measures that comprise the Prepared for Success component under the new academic performance rating system, and “utilizing programs recognized as innovative under the federal Race to the Top program.”

 

•Maximum Grant:  Removes a provision specifying that the maximum amount of a grant that may be awarded to a school district, educational service center, community school, STEM school, college preparatory boarding school, or individual school that applies for a grant is $500,000. Removes a provision specifying that the maximum amount of a grant that may be awarded to education consortia is $1 million.

 

NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

•Administer State Achievement Tests:  Requires each chartered nonpublic school to administer the state achievement assessments to all of its students if at least 35 percent of its total enrollment is made up of students who are participating in the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, Autism Scholarship Program, Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, or the Pilot Project (Cleveland) Scholarship Program.  For each chartered nonpublic school that has a total enrollment in which less than 35 percent of students participate in the scholarship programs described above, maintains current law which requires the school, if it educates students in ninth through twelfth grades, to administer the Ohio Graduation Tests, and permits the school to elect to administer the elementary state assessments.

 

VOUCHER PROGRAMS

 

Education Choice

•Ed Choice Scholarship – Volunteering in Lieu of Payment R.C. 3310.13 20:  Eliminates the requirement that chartered nonpublic schools that accept the Ed Choice Scholarship permit families of eligible students to provide volunteer services in lieu of cash payment to pay all or part of the amount of the school’s tuition not covered by the scholarship.

 

•Ed Choice Scholarship Eligibility R.C. 3310.032:  Removes a provision that deems a student who has received an educational choice scholarship in the previous year an eligible student in subsequent years even if the student’s family income rises above 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and replaces it with a provision that establishes tiered eligibility according to the following:

 

If the student’s family income is above 200 percent but at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, the student may receive a scholarship in the amount of 75 percent of the full scholarship amount. If the student’s family income is above 300 percent but at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, the student may receive a scholarship in the amount of 50% of the full scholarship amount. If the student’s family income is above 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, the student is no longer eligible to receive an Educational Choice Scholarship.

 

•Ed Choice Eligibility R.C. 3310.03: Specifies that a student who will be enrolling in school in this state for the first time and would otherwise be assigned to a school building that would qualify for the Ed Choice scholarship (under the bill) must be at least five years of age by January 1st of the school year that the scholarship is sought. (Age five is the age at which a student who is not a preschool child with a disability becomes entitled to attend school in the district. The students parents, or in some case

the student, resides in.)

 

Autism Scholarship Program

 

•Autism Scholarship Program:  Specifies that individuals that provide services to a child under the Autism Scholarship Program are not required to obtain a one-year, renewable instructional assistant permit until December 20, 2014, which is 24 months (rather than 12 months as under current law) after the effective date of the act that authorized the State Board of Education to issue such a permit to an individual, upon the request of a registered private provider, qualifying that individual to provide services to a child under the Autism Scholarship Program.

 

Jon Peterson Scholarship

 

•Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program:  Provides that, during the fall 2013 application period for the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, the ODE shall not accept any applications from students who have not received a scholarship from the program in the previous or current school year.

 

HOME-SCHOOL and PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION

 

•Participation by Home-schooled and Private School Students in School District Extracurricular Activity R.C. 3313.5311 and 3313.5312 141:  Affords students enrolled in chartered or nonchartered nonpublic schools and students receiving home instruction the opportunity to participate in an extracurricular activity at the school of the student’s resident school district to which the student would be otherwise assigned under specified conditions. Permits the superintendent of any school district to afford any student, who is enrolled in a nonpublic school and is not entitled to attend school in that district, the opportunity to participate in a school’s extracurricular activities if, the nonpublic school in which the student is enrolled does not offer the extracurricular activity, and the extracurricular activity is not interscholastic athletics or interscholastic contests or competition in music, drama, or forensics.  Requires the superintendent of any school district to afford any student receiving home instruction and who is not entitled to attend school in that district the opportunity to participate in a school’s extracurricular activities, if the activity is not offered by the student’s resident district. Prohibits a school district, interscholastic conference, or organization that regulates interscholastic conferences or events from imposing eligibility requirements on nonpublic school or home schooled students that conflict with the amendment’s provisions. Authorizes a school district board of education to require students enrolled in chartered or nonchartered nonpublic schools and students receiving home instruction who are participating in an extracurricular activity in that district to enroll and participate in not more than one academic course at the school offering the extracurricular activity as a condition to participating in the activity. Requires the district board, if it chooses to implement the course requirement described above, to admit students seeking to enroll in an academic course to fulfill that requirement as space allows, after first enrolling students assigned to that school.

 

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

 

•E-school Provisions R.C. 3302.035, 3314.261, and 3314.29:  Requires the ODE to issue composite grades to a community school operator that manages, in whole or in part, more than one Internet- or computer-based community school (“e-school”), based on the grades issued for the e-schools managed by the operator. Requires that an e-school managed by an operator described above be subject to sanctions or permanent closure based on the lower of the composite grade of the operator or the grade that the individual e-school received. Exempts community schools where the majority of its students are enrolled in dropout recovery and prevention programs from the provisions of the amendment. (Those schools are issued separate report cards that do not include letter grades and are subject to separate closure standards.) Specifies that a student who transfers from one e-school to another e-school managed by the same operator is considered “continuously enrolled” for purposes of state assessment administration.Specifies that the resulting two e-schools from a separation under the bill may not add grade levels.

 

•E-School Exemptions:  Exempt students enrolled in e-schools from the physical education requirement to graduate from high schools and exempts e-schools from the physical education/wellness measure on the report card.

 

•Licensing Requirements:  Removes a House provision that removed the requirement that physical education teachers in community schools to hold a proper teacher license to provide instruction in physical education.

 

•Community School Closure:  Specifies that in order to trigger permanent closure of a community school after July 1, 2013, a school that offers any of grades 4 to 8 and does not offer a grade higher than grade 9, in at least two of the three most recent school years, must have been both, in a state of academic emergency and showed less than one standard year of academic growth in either reading or mathematics, as determined by ODE. (Both criteria apply for such schools before July 1, 2013. Current law requires only that such schools be in academic emergency for 2 of the last 3 years to trigger permanent closure after July 1, 2013.) According to the Legislative Service Commission this provision might make it more difficult to close community schools after July 1, 2013 (compared with current law after that date).

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

•New Leaders for Ohio Schools:  Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules for the issuance of an alternative principal or administrator license to an individual who successfully completes the New Leaders for Ohio Schools pilot program.

 

•Tuition for All-Day Kindergarten R.C. 3321.01:  Specifies that the only school districts that may charge fees or tuition for all-day kindergarten are those districts that are offering all-day kindergarten for the first time or that charged fees or tuition for all-day kindergarten in the 2012-2013 school year.

 

•Gifted Funding Study Section 263.433:  Removes the provision that mandates a study of appropriate funding for gifted students.

 

•Executive Session Municipal School District R.C. 3311.86: Authorizes the committees and subcommittees of a board of directors of a municipal school district transformation alliance to hold executive sessions as if the committee were a public body with public employees. A provision in the bill authorizes the boards of directors of such entities to hold executive sessions under the same conditions.

 

•Student Participation in the PSEO Program R.C. 3365.02:  Requires the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to report recommendations to establish the College Credit Plus Program. Revises the bill’s requirement that student in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program be based solely on the participating college’s established “admission” standards, to instead be based solely on the participating college’s established “placement” standards for credit-bearing, college level courses. Prohibits the ODE from reimbursing a college for any remedial college courses.

 

HIGHER EDUCATION

 

•Completion Plan R.C. 3345.81: Replaces the bill’s language requiring all boards of trustees of state institutions of higher education to adopt by May 1, 2014, an institution-specific strategic completion plan with certain provisions. Retains the bill’s requirements that the strategic completion plan be designed to increase the number of degrees and certificates awarded to students, be consistent with the

mission and strategic priorities of the institution, and include measurable student completion goals.

 

 

•HB193 (Brenner) High School Diploma Requirements:  Revises current high school diploma requirements including state-administered assessments.

 

FYI ARTS

 

1. The National Center on Time and Learning and the The Wallace Foundation released on June 5, 2013 a report entitled Advancing Arts Education Through An Expanded School Day:  Lesson from Five Schools by David Farbman, Dennie Palmer Wolf, and Diane

 

The report highlights the findings of case studies of five schools that were able to integrate the arts into a comprehensive education program by expanding and redesigning the school day; focusing on improving overall academic instruction; and focusing on individual student achievement. The report describes how these schools embed the arts throughout their educational programs; identifies the common components of the curricula, programs, and processes so that others can strengthen their arts programs; and examines the role of arts education programs in boosting student engagement, skills, and achievement. 

 

The schools included in the study are the Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School - BART (Adams, MA); Clarence Edwards Middle School (Boston, MA); Metropolitan Arts and Technology Charter High School – Metro (San Francisco, CA); Cole Arts and Sciences Academy – CASA (Denver, CO); and the Roger Williams Middle School (Providence, RI). The schools predominately serve students from low-income families, and represent a variety of grades served, sizes, geographic locations, and school types.  They also provide more learning time than most schools, which, on average, operate 180 days and six and a half hours/day. 

 

According to the report, over the past 30 years, and particularly during the last decade, “arts education has occupied a shrinking place in the life of schools” due to the emphasis on increasing student achievement in math, language arts, and science.  Advocates for arts education have had to compete for instructional time during the school day with other content areas, instead of partnering “in a potential educational synergy that holds both intrinsic and instrumental benefits for students.” 

 

To raise student achievement and also expand learning opportunities for students, some schools have expanded the school day for students and teachers, which allows them to prioritize and design a more complete education program that includes the arts. A survey of schools conducted by the National Center on Time and Learning (NCTL) recently found that there are over 1000 schools across the national that operate at least seven hours per day.  Some of these schools were able to increase learning time through the federal School Improvement Grant program, which provides additional funding to extend the school day.  

 

The authors write that a study of the schools identified the following approaches that support arts education:  

 

-The arts are a core feature of a comprehensive educational program at each of the schools.  Teachers and arts specialists set high expectations for student achievement and value how the arts help students to develop the skills they need for school and lifelong success.

 

-The schools’ schedules support the arts.  All students participate at least one hour daily in arts-specific classes taught by arts teachers and arts specialists, and ample time is allotted for practice.

 

-The schools provide a variety of arts education choices and activities, so that students develop a broad array of skills, but also can develop proficiency in a particular art form.

 

-More time in the school day allows educators to reconcile the tension between meeting accountability requirements in content areas and providing students a well-rounded education.

 

The report is available at http://www.timeandlearning.org/?q=advancing-arts-education-through-expanded-school-day

 

###

 

 

 

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

June 3, 2013

Arts On Line
Education Update

Dear Ann,
If not for Dr. MacGregor ...
If not for Dr. Nancy MacGregor, president of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education in 1981 and 1982, our efforts to work in close partnership with the Ohio Legislature and School Administrators may have taken many more years, and our efforts to impact policy and local decisions would not be as engrained in our daily work as it is today.
During Dr. MacGregor's tenure as president, the State Board of Education and Board of Regents issued an "Articulation Report" and the OAAE worked dutifully to make sure the arts were included. While they were not successful, the process and the relationships that were built allowed us to lean into people's personal and professional lives regarding the need for and value of the arts to a complete education. OAAE made specific recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding the academic content standards and made some headway into that endeavor. Dr. MacGregor, then and now, is a persuasive lady who does not back down when pursuing what's good for kids. She moves forward with such style and class, that people don't know what hit them!
Under Dr. MacGregor's leadership the Information Exchange, a statewide conference on arts education, debuted. Bringing teachers, administrators, parents, and policy makers together to celebrate arts education and to learn together. A promotional brochure was created and distributed statewide, and during this time a slide tape presentation titled "Make it Happen With the Arts" was also designed. Some of you reading this article might not even know what a 'slide tape' presentation is, but it was cutting edge at the time.
Today, Dr. MacGregor remains an active and vibrant arts education leader. She is a past-president of the Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA), an active member of the Ohio Art Education Association Distinguished Fellows, and serves on the board of the Ohio Art Education Foundation (OAEF). Dr. MacGregor was a founder of the National Art Education Foundation that OAEA used as a model, with her guidance, to establish the OAEF. Dr. MacGregor was the National Art Education President from 1983-1985 and was inducted into NAEA Distinguished Fellows in 1986. At the national level she is a Life Trustee of the National Art Education Foundation.
Dr. MacGregor is a Professor Emeritus of Art Education at The Ohio State University. She was instrumental in bringing discipline-based art education into the classroom. Her accomplishments in leadership, scholarship, and the policy arena are vast. However, I believe her contributions are even greater at a personal level. Dr. MacGregor nurtured and developed young teachers, pushed average teachers to be great, and has always kept the children at the core of her being. Dr. MacGregor guided and advised graduate students, from around the world, who became accomplished in their own right, due to her mentoring, high expectations, and tough love. She continues to be a role model, an advocate, and a champion for arts education. And, if not for Dr. Nancy MacGregor I would not be the state and national leader I am today.
Susan W. Witten, Ph.D.
President
Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Ohio News
Senate Announces School Funding Changes: Ohio Senate President Keith Faber held a news conference on May 30, 2013 to announce the Senate's plan for funding K-12 education in Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. The Ohio Senate plans to increase the state aid formula amount to $5,745 per pupil in FY14 and $5,800 in FY15. The plan would increase funding for schools by $717.4 million over FY13 levels, and increase the cap on state funding increases (referred to as the gain cap) to 6.25 percent in FY14, and 10.5 percent in FY15. According to a spreadsheet, also released, 242 districts would be capped by the end of the biennium, and 176 school districts would be on a guarantee. The Columbus Dispatch also reported that the Senate plan includes $54 million to support the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, and an additional $30 million to support early childhood education. More details about the Senate school funding plan will be available this week, when the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, considers an omnibus amendment for Am. Sub. HB59.
"Senate unveils school funding proposal, $142M more than House plan", Columbus Dispatch, May 30, 2013.

Senate Web site is available.
House Approves Bill for Columbus City Schools: The House approved on May 29, 2013 by a vote of 78 to 15 HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus Schools Oversight. The bill would do the following:
• Authorize a specific school district (Columbus City Schools) to levy property taxes, the revenue from which may be shared with partnering community schools
• Require the district to place a levy on the ballot at the next general or special election
• Create the position of independent auditor, subject to voter approval. The independent auditor would be selected for a five-year term by a committee consisting of the mayor, council president, city auditor, school board president, and county probate court judge.
• Authorize the mayor of Columbus to sponsor community schools
• Declare an emergency.
The bill's provisions are in response to State Auditor David Yost's findings and recommendations regarding attendance data irregularities at the Columbus City Schools. In addition, an ad hoc committee, appointed by Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Columbus City Council Member Andy Ginther, developed 55 recommendations for improving accountability and student achievement in the Columbus City Schools, and three of those recommendations are addressed in this legislation.
The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration, although some speculate that it will be folded into Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget, which is currently being considered by the Senate.
This Week at the Statehouse
The Ohio House and Senate will hold hearings and sessions this week. The Senate is expected to consider Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget, on Thursday, June 6, 2013.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on June 4, 2013 at 11:15 AM in the North hearing room. The committee will review Governor Kasich's appointments:
• Wanda L. Carter, Kenneth L. Kutina and James R. Wilson to the Ohio Higher Educational Facility Commission.
• Kenneth C. Miller to the State Board of Career Colleges and Schools.
The committee will also hold an information hearing on HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus Plan, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools board of education to levy property taxes and share the revenue with partnering community schools, and SB96 (LaRose) Social Studies Curriculum, which would require students to complete one unit of world history in the high school social studies curriculum.

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on June 4, 2013, at 1:00 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The committee will consider an omnibus amendment to HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget; will receive public testimony regarding HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget; and will review the following appointments by Governor Kasich:
• James F. Dicke and Robert J. Hankins to the Ohio Arts Council.
• Stacey L. Hoffman and Jamie K. Oxendine to the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board.
• Bruce A. Langos to the Third Frontier Commission.
• Kay E. Reiter to the Terra State Community College Board of Trustees.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on June 5, 2013 at 10:00 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. A vote is possible.

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Lehner, will meet on June 5, 2013 at 10:15 AM in the South hearing room. The committee will hold an information hearing on HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus Plan, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools board of education to levy property taxes and share the revenue with partnering community schools, and SB96 (LaRose) Social Studies Curriculum, which would require students to complete one unit of world history in the high school social studies curriculum.

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative Beck, will meet on June 5, 2013 at 3:00 PM in room 116. The committee will receive testimony on SB42 Property Taxes-School Security (Manning/Gardner), which would authorize school districts to levy a property tax exclusively for school safety and security purposes.

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on June 5, 2013 at 4:30 PM in hearing Room 121. The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:
• HB158 (Brenner/Patmon) Nonrefundable Tax Credits-Nonpublic Schools, which would authorize nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in nonpublic schools.
• HB8 (Roegner) School Safety Laws.
• HB113 (Antonio/Henne) High School Physical Education, which would specify that school districts and chartered nonpublic schools may excuse from high school physical education students who participate in a school-sponsored athletic club.
• HB171 (McClain/Patmon) Religious Instruction, which would permit public school students to attend and receive credit for released time courses in religious instruction conducted off school property during regular school hours.
National News
Schools Need Adequate Time to Implement Common Core: Four national education organizations released a joint statement on May 30, 2013 saying that schools need "adequate time" to prepare teachers, principals, students, and the community to achieve the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), but time is running out. The groups include the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), and the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The statement outlines the following obstacles related to aligning the CCSS curriculum and implementing the new CCSS tests starting in 2014-15 school year:
• The date to begin online assessment of the CCSS is arbitrary.
• There must be time to consider the implications for bandwidth, infrastructure, and professional development as it relates to online assessment. -There must be adequate time to consider how assessments can be used to provide useful information about instruction to schools in a timely manner.
• States and districts need time to properly address data collection issues.
• Educators need time to adjust to the shift in practices and expectations of CCSS and the related assessments.
• Schools and districts need time to identify, acquire, and implement the essential technology infrastructure and equipment that is needed, especially at the elementary level, to support the delivery of new online assessments.
• School districts need time to educate the community, including media, about the reasons CCSS are important; to inform them about the changes in content and instruction the CCSS will bring about; and to manage expectations when early results on new assessments will likely be lower because of higher standards, new instruction and curriculum for teachers and students.
According to the statement, "Getting this transition right can mean the difference between getting and keeping public and educator support for the Common Core or a loss in confidence in the standards and even the public schools, especially if as expected the first-year scores will disappoint."

School Leadership Groups Urge Adequate Time to Implement Common Core Standards. The undersigned groups, representing AASA, NAESP, NASSP, and NSBA, May 30, 2013.
Senate Committee Accepts Substitute Bill
The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, accepted a substitute bill for Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget on May 28, 2013. The substitute bill didn't include changes for the K-12 state school funding formula. Those changes are expected to be included in an omnibus amendment, which the committee will receive this week. According to Senate President Keith Faber, the $61.5 billion budget bill is still on track for adoption by the end of June and the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2013.

The substitute bill is $7.5 million below House total General Revenue Funds, but that is expected to change when the Senate Finance Committee considers the omnibus amendment that includes changes in the state's funding formula for K-12 education. According to initial reports, the Senate intends to increase funding for K-12 education by $717 million over FY13 levels.

The proposed budget also does not include the Medicaid expansion provision championed by Governor Kasich. Senate and House leaders are currently working on separate legislation to expand health care to low income Ohioans.

Among the significant changes proposed by Senate Republicans in the substitute bill are the reinstatement of Governor Kasich's tax cuts for small businesses, included in the budget as introduced. To pay for the tax cuts the Senate Committee eliminated the House provision to provide a 7 percent tax cut for all taxpayers. Senators also added $26 million more to the Clean Ohio Fund, bringing the total to $52 million for the biennium, and added another $1.6 million to the budget of the Ohio Arts Council, bringing its total in General Revenue Funds to $22.648 million for the biennium.
Senate Changes Address Some But Not All Education Concerns
The substitute budget bill (Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget) accepted by the Senate Finance Committee last week included some of the policy changes regarding K-12 education requested by witnesses over the past two weeks, but not all.

Requests included in Sub. HB59: The following are some of the requested changes that were included in the Senate substitute version of HB59:
• Adjusts the six percent cap so that more school districts can benefit from the state aid funding formula. Many school districts believe that the gain cap on increases in state aid in the House version of HB59 is still too high, and too many school districts are on the gain cap. The Senate funding plan, which will be further clarified this week, provides more state aid to school districts by increasing the gain cap.
• Removes the academic distress commission aimed at the Columbus City Schools. The House recently passed HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Columbus City Schools Plan, which includes provisions to address accountability issues regarding the Columbus City Schools' mishandling of attendance data, therefore eliminating the need to establish the academic distress commission. Some believe that HB167 will be added to HB59.
• Removes a provision prohibiting a school district from using public transit buses as a means to transport pupils in grades kindergarten through five to and from school.
• Reinstates current law defining the school week as five days.
• Removes the provision from the bill requiring that, if a state institution of higher education issues a student a letter or utility bill to use as proof for voting purposes in Ohio, the student must be granted residency status by rule of the Chancellor of the Board of Regents for the purpose of state subsidy and tuition surcharges.
• Prescribes that the student academic growth factor must account for 35 percent (rather than 50 percent as under current law) of each evaluation under the standards-based state framework for evaluation of teachers developed by the State Board of Education.
• Specifies that, when calculating student academic growth for a teacher evaluation, students who have had 30 or more excused or unexcused absences for the school year must be excluded (rather than excluding students with 60 or more unexcused absences as under current law).
• Restores to current law the teacher and non-teaching minimum salary schedules.
• Restores funding to executive proposed levels for teacher/principal evaluation funding in line item 200448.
• Reinstate current law requiring educational service centers to receive $6.50 per student from each district they serve.
• Allows school districts to participate in the Local Government Innovation Fund.
Requests not included in HB59: Superintendents, treasurers, and representatives of education organizations urged the Senate Finance Committee last week to change several HB59 provisions that could negatively impact schools and districts, and establish a mechanism for determining an adequate formula amount per pupil for funding schools.

School Funding Formula: Senate leadership announced last week that changes in the House version of the HB59 regarding state funding for schools were coming in an omnibus amendment that the Senate Finance Committee will consider this week. The Senate is expected to increase the formula amount from $5,732 to $5,745 in FY14 and from $5,789 in FY15 to $5,800. More details will be available this week.

Payment in Lieu of Transportation: Retains a House provision that changes the way parents are reimbursed when school districts find that transportation of students is impractical. Several witnesses requested that the provision to change current law regarding "payment in lieu of transportation" be removed. In current law school districts work with parents when it is not practical to transport students, and parents receive a payment from the state. Am. Sub. HB59 establishes a new process which directs the Ohio Department of Education to work with the parent, rather than the school district, and increases the "payment in lieu of transportation", which is deducted from the school district state aid. Since state aid for transportation is already underfunded and must be supplemented with local district revenue, school districts will not be able to afford this change.

Transportation: Removes provisions in current law that are incentives for school districts to transport students. Retains the House provision that includes state funding for transportation in the state aid formula, subjecting the amount of state funds allocated to schools for transportation to the gain cap. Does not address the cost of replacing buses. In the past the state has provided some support to help school districts purchase buses.

Catastrophic Costs for Special Education: Retains the House levels for funding special education catastrophic costs, which most witnesses told the Senate Committee was insufficient.

ADM: Retains the House provision that school districts take a monthly pupil count. Witnesses testified that this provision is impractical to implement and would lead to significant planning problems. Currently school districts take one count of all students in October, but it takes on average three months to verify the results.

Vouchers: Retains the expanded voucher programs. Superintendents and representatives from education organizations testified that many effective and excellent school districts, especially those is rural Ohio, could have a large number of students who would qualify for the expanded EdChoice voucher program based on family income. These districts could be financially harmed if a large number of students left the district to attend private schools. They also noted that if the expanded voucher program continued in future biennia, it could provide public funds to almost all students attending private schools in a few years, increasing the overall cost for K-12 education for the state.

Gifted Education: Advocates for gifted education support the House provision regarding the expenditure of funds for subgroups of students and are disappointed that the Senate restored language from the Executive version of the budget. The House version required school districts and schools to account for the expenditure of state education funds provided for services to subgroups of students, including students identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability and specific academic ability fields under Chapter 3324 of the Revised Code.

Contract-Out Provisions (Section 3317.40): Modifies a provision that requires school districts that fail to show "satisfactory achievement and progress", as determined by the State Board of Education, serving subgroups of students (special education, economically disadvantaged, ELL and students identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability and specific academic ability), to submit an improvement plan to the ODE for approval. The ODE may require the school district to partner with other organizations to provide services to these students. Witnesses testified that this provision is impractical to implement, because state aid only provides a portion of the full cost to provide services to subgroups of students anyway, and school districts already contract out many of these services to other organizations.

Additional Concerns As A Result of the Senate Amendments: Some of the changes that the Senate made to HB59 raised additional concerns for witnesses last week.

For example, representatives of BASA, OSBA, and OASBO asked the committee to reconsider a new Senate provision that changes the composition of the boards of education of joint vocational school districts (JVSD). The members of JVSD boards are now selected from among the elected representatives of participating districts. The Senate version of the bill would require JVSD board members to be selected from regional employers, which would duplicate the membership of the JVSD business advisory boards, which currently include representatives of regional employers and others in the community who are involved in career education.

Another provision added by the Senate would prohibit boards of education from filing appeals on property values for real estate taxes within their districts. Boards of education often challenge the value of properties through the Board of Revisions process in order to ensure that real property is valued fairly for tax purposes, so that school districts receive the tax dollars that they are due to operate the schools, and all tax payers are treated fairly.
Highlights of Senate Committee Changes for HB59
The following are highlights of the amendments that were accepted in a substitute bill for HB59 by the Senate Finance Committee last week regarding K-12 education. This list was compiled from the Senate Finance Committee's list of amendments, and is arranged by topics.

FUNDING CHANGES
Increases funding for the Ohio Arts Council subsidy line item by $825,000 per fiscal year and the operational line item by $50,000 per fiscal year.

Decreases the appropriation for Adult Basic and Literacy Education in Board of Regents' budget by $250,000 in each fiscal year and eliminates the earmarking language.

Revises the set-aside for college pre-boarding schools, as it is expected this entity will not open until FY15.

Sets aside $600,000 in FY15 from non-GRF fund 1060 in line item 055612, General Reimbursement, to create the Ohio BCI Forensic Research and Professional Training Center at Bowling Green State University.

Sets aside in non-GRF fund 7017 appropriation item 200648, Straight A Fund, up to $70,000 in each fiscal year for Kids Unlimited of Toledo for after-school tutoring and mentoring programs in two elementary schools. Requires Kids Unlimited of Toledo to provide local matching funds equal to the earmark.

Utilizes $5 million in FY15 in non-GRF fund 7017 appropriation item 200648, Straight A Fund, to support the implementation of the Administration's College Credit Plus Program.

Earmarks $250,000 in each fiscal year in non-GRF appropriation item 200648, Straight A Fund, for the purpose of providing grants to Promise Neighborhood programs for administrative costs associated with the Promise Neighborhood program. Specifies that a grant recipient must contribute local matching funds equal to the amount of the grant.

Makes interested party requested changes to the New Leaders for Ohio's Schools set-aside in the Department of Education budget.

Deletes the Preparing Students for Education Success Grant Program and instead earmarks $500,000 per fiscal year of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for the Ohio Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.

Earmarks $50,000 in each fiscal year in GRF appropriation item 200468, Ready to Learn, for the operations of the "Ready, Set, Go...to Kindergarten" program in Lorain County, and creates certain reporting requirements.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Removes an uncodified provision of the bill that allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a five-member academic distress commission for any school district that is found by the Auditor of State to have knowingly manipulated student data with evidence of intent to deceive.

Removes a provision that prohibits grants from being awarded from the Local Government Innovation Fund to city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational school districts, educational service centers, community schools, STEM schools, college-preparatory boarding schools, and educational consortia beginning July 1, 2013. Removes a provision that prohibits loans from being awarded from the Local Government Innovation Fund to such entities beginning July 1, 2014. Under continuing law, the Local Government Innovation Fund provides loans and grants to local government innovation projects.

Authorizes the board of directors of a municipal school district transformation alliance to hold an executive session, as if it were a public body with public employees, for any of the reasons for which an executive session may be held under the Open Meetings Act (R.C. 121.22).

Removes a provision creating the new Workforce Training Pilot Program for the Economically Disadvantaged.

SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA
Makes a technical amendment to the definition of "net formula ADM" which is used to calculate targeted assistance for school districts. Current law removes e-school and all scholarship students except those with a Jon Peterson Special Needs scholarship from this calculation. This amendment also removes JPSN scholarship students.

ACCOUNTABILITY
Eliminates a provision that would require districts to report spending based on subgroups by building, and reinstates the "as introduced language", which states that it is the intent of the General Assembly that funds provided for subgroups of students be used for services that will allow students in those subgroups to master the knowledge base required for high school graduation.

STEM SCHOOLS
Permits a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) school to contract for any services necessary for the operation of the school. Specifies that the governing body of each STEM school must "engage the services of" administrative officers, teachers, and nonteaching employees, instead of "employ and fix the compensation" of such individuals as under current law. Specifies that the governing body of each STEM school must "engage the services of" a chief administrative officer, instead of "employ" such an individual as under current law.

POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT OPTIONS/COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS
Specifies that the Department of Education is prohibited from reimbursing a participating college for any college course or remedial college course taken by a participating student under the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program. The House version of the bill stated that the ODE was not required to pay for any course that is not included in, or is the equivalent to, a transfer module or the Chancellor of the Board of Regents' Transfer Assurance Guide.

Requires the Chancellor to report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2013, on recommendations to establish the College Credit Plus program, for high school students to earn credits through Ohio institutions of higher education. Requires the Chancellor to consult with the Inter-University Council of Ohio, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio, the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction in developing the recommendations.

Requires the Department of Education annually to compile a list of all institutions of higher education that currently participate in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEO) or in other dual enrollment programs and, not later than December 31 of each school year, to distribute that list to all school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and chartered nonpublic schools in the state. Requires a district or school to provide the list of participating higher education institutions, as part of the counseling services required of the district or school prior to a student's participation in PSEO, to both the interested student and the student's parents or guardians.

EXPENDITURE RANKING
Makes a technical clarification of as-introduced provision that expenditures are reported by ODE on an "equivalent pupil basis" and not a "per pupil basis" for school operating expenditure ranking.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Exempts from childcare regulation preschool programs that are operated by nonchartered, nontax-supported schools, provided that those programs meet specified conditions.

TRANSPORTATION
Eliminates the provision prohibiting a school district from using public transit buses as a means to transport pupils in grades kindergarten through five to and from school.

STATE MINIMUM SCHOOL YEAR
Reinstates current law defining the school week as five days. (The bill changes the minimum school year to one based on hours, rather than days as under current law.)

Removes the requirement that a school district board of education publish notice of the required public hearing on the adoption of a new school calendar in a newspaper in the district not later than 30 days prior to the hearing.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
Reinstates the current law requirement that the Department of Education annually deduct from each client school district of each educational service center and pay to that service center an amount equal to $6.50 times the school district's total student count. (The bill repeals the current codified law regarding state payments and the $6.50 per student district payment and, instead, specifies in a temporary, uncodified provision a formula for state payments subject to the appropriation for that purpose. The amendment does not affect that uncodified provision.)

Reinstates current law that permits the board of education of any client school district to pay an amount in excess of $6.50 per student and that specifies, if a majority of a service center's districts approve the higher amount, the Department must deduct the approved excess from all of the service center's client school districts.

Permits a joint vocational school district to enter into a fee-for-service agreement with an educational service center (ESC) in the same manner as a city, exempted village, or local school district.

Permits a school district or community school that has entered into a fee-for-service agreement with an ESC to direct the Department of Education to make deductions and transfers of funds to cover the payments owed under the agreements.

Authorizes school districts, community schools, or STEM schools to agree to share any services offered by an educational service center (ESC) with any other school districts, community schools, or STEM schools provided that each participant in those shared services specifies in its service agreement: the amount of funds it will be contributing toward the total cost of the shared services, the services that will be shared, and the other participating districts or schools.

Provides that a participant's funding contribution must be paid in a manner that is statutorily permitted.

Specifies that the authority described above is in addition to the authority to share the services of supervisory teachers, special instruction teachers, special education teachers, and other licensed personnel granted to school district boards of education under continuing law.

TEACHERS/PRINCIPALS
Prescribes that the student academic growth factor must account for 35 percent (rather than 50 percent as under current law) of each evaluation under the standards-based state framework for evaluation of teachers developed by the State Board of Education. Permits a school district to attribute an additional percentage to the student academic growth factor, not to exceed 15 percent of each evaluation.

Specifies that, when calculating student academic growth for a teacher evaluation, students who have had 30 or more excused or unexcused absences for the school year must be excluded (rather than excluding students with 60 or more unexcused absences as under current law).

Restores to current law the teacher and nonteaching minimum salary schedules.

Restores funding to executive proposed levels for teacher/principal evaluation funding in line item 200448.

CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Eliminates provisions of current law and the bill that exclude any student enrolled in an Internet- or computer-based community school from the average daily membership reported by the superintendent of each city, local, and exempted village school district of the district's students enrolled in each category of career-technical education programs.

Makes a technical correction to House changes to ensure that community schools and STEM schools are assigned to a career-technical planning district (CTPD) and that the lead district would approve career technical programming.

Restores current law eliminated by the House requiring community schools and STEM schools to use career technical education (CTE) funding only for what ODE approves for CTE expenses. Language also clarifies House added language which subjects member districts of a JVSD, community school, and STEM schools offering programs at their facilities to these spending requirements.

Career Tech Extended Programming: Requires extended career tech programming offered by school districts be used for activities that involve direct contact with students, or are directly related to student programs and activities, and be provided for at least one hour on any given day that it is provided. However, the amendment also provides that extended programming funds may be used for teacher professional development activities.

For the purpose of providing extended programming, permits a school district to employ certificated instructional personnel for hours outside of the normal school day. With respect to licensed educators providing extended programming, requires that a school district board pay each educator on an hourly basis at the regular per diem rate determined under the educator's employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, and the educator not provide more than eight hours of extended programming in a twenty-four hour day.

Agriculture Education: Requires all agricultural education instructors to utilize a three-part model of agricultural education instruction focusing on classroom instruction, FFA activities, and extended programming projects. Requires agricultural education instructors to submit a monthly time log to the principal of the school at which the extended programming is offered or the principal's designee, for review.

Increases GRF appropriation 200545, Career-Technical Education Enhancements, by $300,000 in each fiscal year and commensurately increases the amount earmarked each fiscal year from this appropriation item for the Agriculture 5th Quarter Project, from $300,000 to $600,000.

Adds a non-substantive description of the cross-reference regarding the approval of a community school's career-technical education programs by the lead district of a career-technical planning district or the Department of Education prior to deduction and payment of career-technical education funds to a community school.

Requires a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, community school, or STEM school to spend at least 75 percent of the state career-technical education funding it receives on costs directly associated with career-technical education programs and not more than 25 percent on personnel expenditures. An existing State Board of Education rule (O.A.C. 3301-61-16) prescribes these same percentages for these same purposes for the expenditure of career-technical education funds by all types of providers.

Replaces the current method of appointing members of a joint vocational school district (JVSD) board of education with a system where the school districts that belong to a JVSD each appoint one member to a JVSD board. Requires the appointing board to select members who represent regional employers and who are qualified to consider a region's workforce needs. Limits a JVSD board to the number of member school districts. Specifies that a term of office for a JVSD board member be three years and limits members to two consecutive terms. Specifies that no more than three members of the board be affiliated with or be a member of a labor organization. Requires two members of the board to be selected based on their experience in career development and career counseling for grades K-12 and career counseling for adult education.

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
Specifies that a community school that offers any of grades 4 to 8 and does not offer a grade higher than grade 9, in at least two of the three most recent school years, must have been both, in a state of academic emergency and showed less than one standard year of academic growth in either reading or mathematics, as determined by the Department of Education, to trigger permanent closure of that school after July 1, 2013.

Modifies the provision which allows e-schools to split into two schools if in operation by the effective date of the bill. The language is needed to ensure the past performance of these schools follows the two newly created e-schools for report card purposes.

Guarantees that, in FY14 and FY15, a community school that was declared to be excellent or higher on the local report cards for the 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 school years receives at least the amount of the community school's payments for FY13.

Specifies that the initial term under agreement between the Department of Education and a community school sponsor runs for up to seven years. Unless a sponsor notifies the Department that it does not wish to have the term of the agreement extended, requires the Department to add one year to the agreement term for every year that the sponsor either (1) prior to January 1, 2015, is not ranked in the bottom 20 percent of sponsors statewide according to composite performance index score, or (2) on and after January 1, 2015, is rated as "exemplary" or "effective" under the new sponsor rating system that will be in place at that time, and in either case continues to meet all the statutory requirements pertaining to community school sponsors.

Streamlines language of current law regarding grand-fathered community school sponsors not subject to approval by the Department of Education, and clarifies that those sponsors may continue to sponsor community schools and enter into new contracts to sponsor community schools so long as the contracts conform with the Community School Law.

Exempts students enrolled in Internet or computer-based schools from the physical education requirement to graduate from high school. Exempts students that are enrolled in e-schools from the requirements for students currently attending districts or schools that chose to participate in the physical activity pilot project.

Exempts a community school primarily comprised of students with disabilities from the current law requirement that each teacher teaching a core subject area take all written examinations of content knowledge selected by the Department of Education, if the school is ranked in the lowest 10 percent of all public school buildings according to performance index score.

Revises a provision that requires a community school to develop a plan if they are found to be noncompliant by requiring the Department of Education to approve or disapprove the compliance plan.

Clarifies a provision that suspended community schools have until September 30th of the following school year in which the operation was suspended to remedy the conditions cited by the sponsor before the school's contract is void. Adds language that community schools suspended prior to the date of the amendment have until September 30, 2014 to comply.

Specifies that appropriation item 200684, Community School Facilities, is to be used to pay STEM schools $100 per pupil for the cost of facilities (in addition to being used to pay community schools $100 per pupil, a provision that is included in the "House Passed" bill).

NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS
Exempts students of chartered nonpublic schools accredited through the Independent School Association of the Central States from passing the end-of-course examinations as a prerequisite for graduation from high school.¨

Eliminates the bill's requirements allowing students of nonpublic schools or those receiving home instruction to participate in extracurricular activities provided by public schools in their resident district.

Eliminates the bill's grant of discretion to a school district superintendent to allow students of nonpublic schools or those receiving home instruction, living outside their district, to participate in certain of that district's extracurricular activities.

Increases to $360 (from $325 under current law) the maximum per pupil amount for reimbursement of chartered nonpublic school administrative costs.

Restores as-introduced temporary language allowing the Department of Education to contract out the evaluation of the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program.

Qualifies a student for an Educational Choice Scholarship if the student will be enrolling in school in Ohio for the first time (instead of "eligible to enroll in kindergarten," as in current law) in the school year for which the scholarship is sought and the school district or district building the student would otherwise attend qualifies for scholarships (including the bill's new qualification beginning in the 2016-2017 school year for students in buildings with a "D" or "F" on the K-3 literacy grade). Therefore, under the amendment, students moving to Ohio from another state and students who were previously homeschooled, regardless of their grade level, will be eligible for scholarships.

BOARD OF REGENTS
Removes the provision from the bill requiring that, if a state institution of higher education issues a student a letter or utility bill to use as proof for voting purposes in Ohio, the student must be granted residency status by rule of the Chancellor of the Board of Regents for the purpose of state subsidy and tuition surcharges.

Re-establishes GRF appropriation item 235434, College Readiness and Access, with an appropriation of $1.2 million in each fiscal year. Specifies that funds are to be used by the Chancellor to support early college high school initiatives and requires the Chancellor to distribute grants equal to $2,000 per student to each institution of higher education supporting an early college high school. Permits the Chancellor to decrease the per student grant amount if appropriations are inadequate to provide full grant awards.
Bills Introduced
HB178 (Phillips) School Safety Drills: Changes the number of times per school year that the principal or person in charge of a school or educational institution shall conduct drills or rapid dismissals during the school year from nine to five, and makes other changes in law regarding school safety drills.
FYI Arts
UK Debating Loss of Arts Education: According to a report aired on Southern California Public Radio (89.3 KPCC) some lawmakers in the United Kingdom (UK) are so concerned about the loss of arts education in schools that they are recommending that achievement in the arts become a requirement for high school graduation as part of the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc). The arts would become the "sixth" pillar, as they are known, along with English, science, math, languages and a humanities subject such as history.

Arts Ed UK style: a look at the movement abroad by Mary Plummer, May 23, 2013, 12:00pm.

What is the Point of Teaching the Arts: Wendy Earle writes for Spiked that the future of arts education in the United Kingdom (UK) has recently become a matter of public discussion as arts education advocates struggle to convince policy makers, who are focused on math, reading, and science, about the value of a citizenry knowledgeable about the arts.

The article describes the history of arts education programming in the UK schools, which is similar to the United States. In fact, educators in the UK over the years have promoted the role of the arts in the education of the "whole child" and implemented discipline-based art education (DBAE), which became a model for the national curriculum for art in the UK.

Also like the U.S., the focus on math, science, and literacy starting in the late nineties forced schools to scale-back arts education programming, and as a result education in the arts has been marginalized in the UK. Two government-commissioned reports, Arts Education in Secondary Schools: Effects and Effectiveness (Harland et al 2000); and Cultural Education in England (Henley, 2012) describe how arts education has become increasingly extra-curricular, provided by agencies external to schools, and inaccessible to many students.

As policy-makers pushed the arts out of the curriculum, arts education advocates identified a variety of ways that the arts benefit students, the economy, society, and communities to justify public spending on the arts.

The author writes that in an effort to promote the value of arts education, arts education advocates have "exaggerated art's ability to solve social ills and promote economic development."

She concludes that "....the future of art is seriously at risk, not because the government does not recognise its importance, but because so little art is taught, even under the guise of arts education. We need to develop an alternative way of defending the value and importance of art and arts education."

"What is the Point of Teaching the Arts? Essay: Too many in the UK cultural sector seek to defend arts education in terms that have nothing to do with art" by Wendy Earle, Spiked, May 21, 2013.

Wendy Earle is impacts and knowledge exchange manager, Birkbeck, University of London and the convenor of Institute of Ideas Arts and Society Forum.

Fender Music Foundation Grants: The Fender Music Foundation awards grants to music academies, schools, local music programs, and national music programs across America, particularly in-school music classes, in which the students make music; after-school music programs that are not run by the school; and music therapy programs, in which the participants make the music. The maximum award is $5,000. To be eligible, programs must be established, ongoing, and sustainable, and provide music instruction for people of any age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music. Information is available at http://www.fendermusicfoundation.org/grants/.

CALL FOR CLASSROOMS VSA Ohio Arts Residency Program
School Year 2013 - 2014
VSA Ohio, the state organization on arts and disability, is pleased to invite applications from Ohio schools (PreK-12) to participate in the arts residency program, Adaptation, Integration, and the Arts (AIA) during the 2013 - 2014 academic school year.
AIA provides arts education opportunities to classrooms inclusive of students with and without disabilities. Experienced Teaching Artists will partner with educators to integrate the arts with other subject areas to provide a unique opportunity to experience the power of the arts to support student creativity and innovation.
The primary objectives of AIA align with the Ohio Department of Education's Race to the Top priorities:

• Children will increase academic achievement levels
• Children will be better prepared for life, work, and post-secondary education
• General, special, and arts educators will be better prepared to support learning and inclusion
To be considered for this creative, fun, and free learning opportunity, download the Call for Classrooms application, read the program overview and expectations, fill it out, and return the form to VSA Ohio.

Classroom Application for 2013-2014 School Year.

Application Deadlines: June 21 & September 30

For more information contact:
Erin Hoppe
Executive Director
VSA Ohio
614-241-5325
ehoppe@vsao.orgConnect 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

Ohio News May 7, 2013 Election Update: According to unofficial results from the Ohio School Boards Association, voters approved 82 (59.8 percent) of 137 school tax issues on the May 7, 2013 ballot. According to StateImpact Ohio, 90 percent of renewal levies and 42 percent of new levies were approved, and the results for school districts were better than expected when compared to past primary elections. Information about the status of specific school tax issues on May 7, 2013 ballot is available. House Approves School Records Bill: The Ohio House approved on May 8, 2013 HB14 (Pelanda) School Records/Abused Neglected Dependent Child. This bill would require boards of education, if ordered by a juvenile court judge, to release grades, credits, official transcripts, and other school documents about students who have been, or are alleged to be, adjudicated as abused, neglected, or dependent. These students are usually in foster care, and might have had to move to a different school. School districts currently can withhold school documents for these students, such as transcripts, due to unpaid fees. House Education Committee: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, reported out HB127 (Adams) which would designate the month of March as "Career-Technical Education and Skilled Workforce Development Month. Select Committee Upholds Landis Win: The House Select Committee on the Election Contest in the 98th House District, chaired by Matt Huffman, voted along party lines on May 7, 2013 to recognize Representative Al Landis (R-Dover) as the winner of the 98th House District contest, defeating former Representative Joshua O'Farrell (D-New Philadelphia) by eight votes. According to the majority of the committee, former Representative O'Farrell "failed to offer clear and convincing evidence" of fraud or election irregularities to change the outcome of the election. The Ohio House will consider a resolution based on the recommendation after House members have ten days to review the Select Committee's report. Judicial Campaign Reform: Ohio Chief Court Justice Maureen O'Connor introduced on May 9, 2013 a plan to reform the process to elect justices. The eight-point reform plan is intended to initiate a statewide discussion about how justices are elected in Ohio. According to the Chief Justice voter participation in judicial elections in Ohio is 25 percent less than other races. The goal of this reform effort is to help voters become better informed and more involved in the election of judges. Some of the ideas that the judicial election reform plan raises include the following: Change the placement of judicial candidates on the statewide ballot. Judges are now listed toward the end of the ballot, which might discourage voting for judicial candidates. Change when judges are elected. Judicial contests currently compete with presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, and could be moved to years in which municipal elections are held.  Expand civic education programs about judicial elections  Expand the use of cameras in court rooms Eliminate party affiliation in primary elections  Establish a formal, non-partisan system for recommending nominees to the governor to fill judicial vacancies  Require the Senate to confirm judicial appointments by the governor  Increase the basic requirements for judicial candidates  Increase the length of judicial terms of office.  The reform plan is available. Constitutional Committee for Education Meets: The Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission (OCMC) was created to review the Ohio Constitution and make recommendations to amend it, if necessary. The 32-member OCMC includes representatives of the General Assembly and public members, and is co-chaired by House Speaker William Batchelder and Representative Vernon Sykes. The commission has been meeting the second Thursday of the month, and has created 10 committees to review specific articles of the Ohio Constitution. The committee that will review Article 6 of the Ohio Constitution, regarding primary and secondary education, is called the Education, Public Institutions and Miscellaneous and Local Government Committee, and is chaired by Chad Readler, an attorney with Jones Day in Columbus. Other members of the committee include Edward Gilbert (vice chair), Paula Brooks, Larry Macon, Joseph Rugola, Roger Beckett, former Governor Bob Taft, and Representatives Vern Sykes, Kathleen Clyde, and Matt Huffman, and Senator Keith Faber. Article 6.02 of the Ohio Constitution requires the General Assembly to "secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state" and prohibits religious or other sect, or sects, to have "any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state." Article 6.04 states that there shall be a "...state board of education which shall be selected in such manner and for such terms as shall be provided by law. There shall be a superintendent of public instruction, who shall be appointed by the state board of education. The respective powers and duties of the board and of the superintendent shall be prescribed by law. This committee will also review Article VII (Public Institutions), Article XV (Miscellaneous), School funding, Article X (County and township organization), Article XVIII (Municipal Corporations), Home rule, and Adjoining regionalization and economic development. Information about the OCMO is available.  Inquires can also be made to the co-chairs offices: In House Speaker's Batchelder's office contact Lizz Eisaman at 614-752-9900, and in Representative Sykes's office contact Cynthia Ellis or John Meacham at 614-466-3100.
This Week at the Statehouse The Ohio House and Senate will hold hearings and sessions this week. Monday, May 13, 2013 The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Gerald Stebelton, will meet at 5:00 PM in hearing room 313. The committee will receive testimony on SB21 (Lehner) Third Grade Reading Guarantee. This bill would revise the requirements for reading teachers related to the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Tuesday, May 14, 2013 The Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Senator Randy Gardner, will meet at 10:00 AM in the South Hearing Room. The committee will receive public testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Gerald Stebelton, will meet at 4:00 PM in hearing room 116. The committee will receive testimony on SB21 (Lehner) Third Grade Reading Guarantee. This bill would revise the requirements for reading teachers related to the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Wednesday, May 15, 2013 The Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Senator Randy Gardner, will meet at 10:00 AM in the South Hearing Room. The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget.    National News Presidential Scholars Named: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced on May 6, 2013 the 49th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. The award recognizes 141 high school seniors each year for their accomplishments in academics or the arts.  Over 3,000 candidates qualified for the 2013 awards. Candidates had to be nominated by the chief state school officer and the National YoungArts Foundation. The winners were then chosen by The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. The U.S. Presidential Scholars include one young man and one young women from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and families living abroad; 15 at-large scholars; and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. This year four students from Ohio were selected: Kevin Hwang, Athens High School, Athens Alyssa M. Bryan, Hathaway Brown School, Chagrin Falls Drake S. Thomas, Dublin Coffman High School, Dublin Sean M. Howe from Sylvania and attending the Toledo School for the Arts. He is a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts specializing in dance. The 2013 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts will preform at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, June 17, 2013. There will also be an exhibition of the works of the U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. Information about the Presidential Scholars is available.    News from the ODE ODE Awards Literacy Grants: The Ohio Department of Education announced on May 7, 2013 the schools and consortia that will receive Early Literacy and Reading Readiness Grants to support Third Grade Reading Guarantee initiatives. Lawmakers allocated $13 last year to support competitive reading grants for school districts, community schools, and consortia. The ODE selected 91 out of 248 applicants. The grants range from $20,000 to $250,000. A list of grant recipients is available. Race to the Top Year Two Progress Report: The Ohio Department of Education released last week an update that shows that Ohio is making progress in achieving the goals of its federal Race to the Top (RttT) grant. The report was prepared by the Ohio Education Research Center, a collaborative of Ohio-based researchers from six universities and five research institutions. (Ohio's Race to the Top Year Two Progress Report prepared by the Ohio Research Center/The Ohio State University Joshua D. Hawley Project Team leader, May 2013.) Ohio was awarded a $400 million RttT grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 to achieve five goals over four years. According to the report Ohio is making progress in achieving the following goals:  Graduation Rate Goal: Ohio will increase the state's on-time graduation rate by .5 percent each year of RttT.  "Ohio has increased the graduation rate for RttT schools more quickly than the goal, and is on track to meet the 2014 goal. The overall graduation rate stood at 80.1% in 2012 for all schools and 76.7% for RttT buildings." Graduation Gap Goal: Ohio will reduce graduation rate gaps by 50 percent by 2014.  "Economically disadvantaged and non-White students saw measurable increases in the graduation rate in the first two years of RttT. However, White and economically advantaged students saw more rapid increases in graduation rates. Therefore closing the gap will require more rapid progress for disadvantaged and non-White students in coming years." Performance Gap Goal: Ohio will reduce performance gaps by 50 percent by 2015. "RttT schools increased performance particularly on math assessments between 2011 and 2012. However, to make the goal, schools will need to increase the rate at which disadvantaged and non-White students perform more rapidly than White or non-disadvantaged students." Achievement Gap Goal: Reduce the gap between Ohio and the best performing states in the nation by 50 percent by 2015. "Ohio has improved in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results for eighth grade math, reducing the gap between Ohio and higher performing states such as Massachusetts. At the fourth grade level, however, the gap between Ohio and Massachusetts is growing." College Enrollment Goal: More than double the increase in college enrollment for 18- to 19-year-olds by 2014. "Ohio has seen increases in the number of high school graduates enrolled in Ohio colleges and universities between 2008 and 2010. Data for 2011 that include private school enrollments are not yet available."  The report provides more details about the progress schools are making to achieve each of the goals, and highlights the progress being made in five specific schools: Bellefontaine City Schools; John R. Buchtel Community Learning Center, Akron Public Schools; Reading Middle School, Reading Community Local Schools; Green Local Schools; and Maysville High School. The report is available on the ODE web site.    State Board to Meet The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, will meet on May 13 and 14, 2013 at the Ohio Department of Education Conference Center, 25 South Front Street in Columbus, OH. On Monday, May 13, 2013 the Capacity, Urban Education, and Achievement committees will meet at 8:30 AM. The Capacity Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, will discuss score-setting recommendations for the new Pearson licensure assessments for Ohio educators; the proposed amendments to the operator contract and board of trustee bylaws for the SEED School of Cincinnati; the Career-Technical Education Report Card; and ESC/School District Expenditures. The Urban Education Committee, chaired by Angela Thi Bennett, will continue the discussion about recommendations for a comprehensive statewide plan to intervene directly in, and improve the performance of, persistently poor performing schools and school districts in compliance with HB555. The Achievement Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, will review a draft of career connections learning strategies; discuss proposed amendments to Rule 3301-51-15, Gifted Children Education Services, and the proposed amendment to Rule 3301-13-02, Administering Required State Assessments at the Designated Grades; and receive a presentation on a National Association of State Board of Education Grant. On Monday morning the State Board will also receive a presentation about Career-Technical Education Report Card at 11:30 AM. At 1:00 PM the State Board will hold a Chapter 119 Hearing on the following rules that are being amended:  Rules 3301-28-01 to 3301-28-06, Local Report Card Measures, Rules 3301-58-01 to 3301-58-03, Value-Added Progress Dimension Rule 3301-52-01, Appropriate Uses of Early Childhood Education Screening and Assessment Information Rules 3301-102-01 to -07, Community Schools Sponsor Rules Rule 3301-102-08, Sponsor Compliance Rule3301-102-10, Drop out Recovery-School Performance Measures The State Board will convene into executive session in the afternoon following the annual ethics training session. The Accountability Committee meeting, chaired by Tom Gunlock, will be held following the executive session. The committee will discuss recommendations for a K-3 literacy measure. On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 the Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by Bryan Williams, will meet at 8:30 AM to discuss Am. Sub. HB59. The full Board will meet at 9:30 AM and conduct a hearing on School Safety. Invited to participate at the hearing, will be the following individuals:  Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General Rick Baron, Executive Director, Ohio Homeland Security  Tom Charles, Director, Ohio Department of Public Safety  Kenneth R. Hinkle, Chief, Obetz Police Department and President, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police -Joseph Bergant II, Superintendent, Chardon Local Schools  Senator Frank LaRose, Ohio Senate  Angie Lee, Policy, Office of Ohio Governor John R. Kasich  Rick Amweg, Executive Director, Office of P-20 Safety and Security, Ohio Department of Education/Ohio Board of Regents Following lunch the Board will convene its business meeting and receive public participation on agenda and non agenda items (around 1:00 PM); receive reports from the committees; receive the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; vote on the recommendations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; consider old and new business, and adjourn. Recommendations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for May 2013 #8 Approve a Resolution to adopt Rule 3301-102-09 of the Administrative Code entitled Approving Applications for New Internet-or Computer-Based Community Schools. (Volume 3, Page 164) #9 Approve a Resolution of Appointment to the Educator Standards Board. (Volume 4, Page 4) #10 Approve a Resolution to adopt the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) Framework for Teachers Employed by State Agencies. (Volume 4, Page 137) #11 Approve a Resolution to approve a final list of states with teacher licensing standards that are inadequate to ensure that a person who was most recently licensed and taught in that state is qualified for a professional license in Ohio pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 3319.228.(Volume 4, Page 141) #12 Approve a Resolution approving a Report Card for Career-Technical Planning Districts, Including Joint Vocational School Districts, As Referenced in R.C. 3302.033, for the 2012/2013 School Year. (Volume 4, Page 143.) #13 Approve a Resolution to confirm the Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District Board of Education's Determination of Impractical Transportation of Certain Students Attending Immaculate Conception School in Bellevue, Huron County, OH (Volume 4, Page 145).    More Testimony on HB59 Several individuals and representatives of organizations testified last week on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget before the Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education chaired by Senator Gardner. On May 7, 2013 several superintendents and treasures representing the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian School Districts (CORAS), told Senators how some provisions of Am. Sub. HB59 could harm the fiscal and academic viability of their districts. Akron Superintendent David James also presented testimony on behalf of the Ohio 8, which includes the superintendents and union presidents from eight urban districts, including Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Canton, Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. Bill Phillis from the Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding also testified. The testimonies included data and observations that provide more detail about the fiscal and academic challenges that school districts are facing as a result of state education and tax policies and increased education mandates. Bill Phillis explained to the subcommittee that "The educational programming and the expectations regarding student outcomes must drive the funding system rather than the funding system determining the educational programming. Many of those who are involved in school finance formulae and distribution systems focus on the mechanics of the school funding scheme in isolation from the realities of schooling." Bill Phillis also provided the subcommittee with information about Ohio's economy and its capacity to increase funding for schools: "The trend in the Ohio economy since the FY 2010 and FY 2011 biennium indicates that Ohio has sufficient fiscal capacity to provide greater levels of public K-12 education funding in FY 2014 and FY 2015 than recommended. The Blue Book section titled Economic Overview and Forecast shows the actual, estimated and forecasted state revenues from FY 2009 through FY 2015. Under the current tax structure, the sales tax revenue will increase from $14.6 billion in the FY 2010 and FY 2011 biennium to $21.4 billion in the FY 2014 and FY 2015 biennium. Personal income tax will increase from $15.3 billion in the FY 2010 and FY 2011 biennium to $19 billion in FY 2014 and FY 2015. Most of the other GRF state tax revenues will increase between the two periods under discussion." Treasurer Paul Shaw of the Logan-Hocking Local School District told the subcommittee that his district will be forced to "unravel" successful education programs due to the lack of resources. He said that additional state revenue provided to his district as a result of the DeRolph decisions and local taxpayer support enabled the district to increase its ratings from academic watch to excellent by 2010, with an expenditure per pupil of $9,737, less than the statewide average. Now the district faces a $400,000 deficit even after reductions in personnel, pay freezes, increased employee contributions, and larger class sizes. The district would be on the guarantee under both the Executive and House versions of the budget. Tom Perkins, Superintendent of the Northern Local School District, speaking on behalf of the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools, told the subcommittee that the districts in the CORAS spend $1,100 less per pupil than the state average at the time of the DeRolph litigation. "Today, over 15 years later, we spend $1,400 dollars less per pupil. This is a depressing statistic when many of our districts do not offer more than a couple of AP courses, staffs have been reduced due to financial difficulties and elective opportunities are limited at best." Tom Gibbs, Superintendent of the Fort Frye and Warren Local School Districts in Washington County, said that losing Tangible Personal Property Tax, decreases in state aid, and the failure of six levies have contributed to the financial challenges facing the two school districts he represents. In order to cope with the loss of revenue the Warren School District has reduced employees by 90; closed two elementary schools; negotiated substantial changes to benefits for employees; eliminated high school busing, shares a superintendent and treasurer between two school districts; and spends less per pupil than in FY2005. As a result of budget reductions, "The effects to students in our district have been increased class sizes, at times with 30 students or more in elementary classrooms, decreased time in art and physical education for elementary students, decreased elective opportunities for middle and high school aged students, decreased Advance Placement offerings, decreased intervention services, decreased extra-curricular offerings, and decreased busing service." Ron Iarussi, Superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, told the subcommittee that he is also a doctoral candidate at Youngstown State University, doing research on school choice. Through this research he has found "voucher programs" provide no "significant" impact or statistical relevance on student achievement. David Branch, Superintendent of the Muskingham Educational Service Center, spoke about choice programs. He asked, "If 90% of the parents in Ohio have chosen public schools as the school of choice for their children, why do we spend so much time on the other 10% of the equation?" He also noted that Am. Sub. HB59 is $10 billion more than the biennial budget four years ago, yet education spending is less than the budget four years ago. "How can this be?" he asked. "Budgets are about priorities. The legislature and governor have balanced the biennial budget and plugged the hole of previous budgets, our tax revenue is up, and the rainy day fund will be overflowing, yet we struggle funding the 90% of public school choice students that are our future." He goes on to say, "However, the trend to fund the other 10% through privatization of our education system has seen continued growth. What is so wrong with making the 90%, our future, the priority of our budgets?"    Testimonies Repeat Common Themes Several themes emerged last week as educators presented testimony on Am. Sub. HB 59 before the Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Senator Gardner. The following is a summary of those themes and some recommendations to amend HB59. Adequacy: Many of those who testified last week thanked the House for increasing the formula amount, but agreed that it is not adequate and doesn't keep pace with inflation. They recommended that the legislature determine an adequate base funding amount to provide all students with a minimum level of educational opportunities, including AP courses, art, music, access to technology, and resources to support the administration of the new assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Lawmakers should also find better ways to fund special education and transportation, which, along with heath care and mandates, are increasing costs to school districts. Lawmakers should create in law a nonpartisan commission to conduct research to determine the formula amount for K-12 education every biennium. Guarantees: Witnesses agreed that there are too many school districts on the guarantee in the Executive and House versions of HB59, indicating that the formula is not working. Superintendent Tom Perkins said that in order for the Northern Local School District to get off of the guarantee, student enrollment would have to increase by 1,400 in the Executive version of HB59 and 1,015 in the House version; or his district's valuation would have to decrease by nearly $300 million dollars in the Executive version and by $234 million in the House version; or his district would have to pass a 17 mill levy. None of these options is viable. Charge Off: There was testimony about how the formulas in the Executive Budget and the House Budget assume higher revenue generation at the local level than ever possible. It was recommended that actual revenue calculations be used to determine the charge off amount rather than the methods proposed in either version of HB59. Transportation: Several witnesses requested that funding for transportation and supplemental transportation be counted outside of the formula and outside of the gain cap. The age of the bus fleet is also a concern. In one district some buses are 14 years old. The cost of a new bus is $85,000. Transportation is essential in high poverty and rural areas, and should be provided to high school students to ensure that they get to school and graduate. Funding for bus purchases as a separate item in the education budget was once available, and should be reinstated. The Ohio 8 school districts also requested the following other changes in Am. Sub. HB59 regarding transportation:  Increase funding for transportation to close the huge gap that exits between the cost of transporting students and state aid for transportation Increase the motor fuel excise tax reimbursement in the formula to reflect the reality of transporting students in 2013  Reimburse school districts for special education transportation based on meeting the needs of the student Convene a commission to review transportation costs and effective and efficient services for all types of schools in Ohio. Payment in Lieu of Transportation: Witnesses requested that the provision to change current law regarding "payment in lieu of transportation" be removed. In current law school districts work with parents when it is not practical to transport students, and parents receive a payment from the state. Am. Sub. HB59 establishes a new process which directs the Ohio Department of Education to work with the parent, rather than the school district, and increases the "payment in lieu of transportation", which is deducted from the school districts. Since state aid for transportation is already underfunded and must be supplemented with local district revenue, school districts will not be able to afford this change. Superintendents also requested that lawmakers maintain current law regarding the use of public transportation as an option (Section 3327.01). Some school districts rely on public transportation services, especially to transport special education students, and students in urban areas who want to attend a school of choice. Public transportation services often provide smaller buses equipped for handicapped passengers. Educational Service Centers: Several superintendents asked that funding be restored to ESCs including the supervisory subsidies, and that the state subsidy be restored to $37.00 / pupil amount. They mostly support the House version which restores most of current law regarding ESCs compared to the Executive version, which completely revamped funding and the governance structure of ESCs. Career Tech Education: Superintendent Lori Snyder-Lowe of Morgan County and other superintendents requested that career tech funding be counted outside of the formula for compact schools and comprehensive high schools so that it is not affected by the formula gain cap or guarantees. Including CT funding within the formula means that many schools will not receive sufficient funds to continue to offer these services. She also opposed allocating funds for career tech education to e-schools included in the House version of HB59. Career tech programs provide students with hands-on, direct skilled-based and teacher led instruction while e-schools provide instruction via a computer. Mandates: Several superintendents said that the legislative requirements for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee and implementing assessments for the Common Core have increased costs for their districts. Expanding Vouchers: Witnesses testified that many school districts in rural Ohio could have a large number of students qualify for the expanded EdChoice voucher program. These districts could be financially harmed if a large number of students left districts to attend private schools. Most of these districts are excellent or effective school districts. They also noted that if the expanded voucher program continued in future biennia, it could provide public funds to almost all students attending private schools in a few years, increasing the overall cost for K-12 education for the state. Several of the witnesses, including Bill Phillis, asked that the two provisions to expand vouchers be removed from Am. Sub. HB59. Charter Schools: Witnesses also described the impact of charter schools on their budgets and asked that a moratorium be placed on the expansion of charter schools. According to testimony from Bill Phillis, "From FY 2003 to FY 2013, the total foundation funding for public school districts increased from $5,640,649,972 billion to $6,216,038,425 or $575,388,553. The charter school deduction increased from $203,731,419 to $824,926,706 or $621,195,287 more. Also, voucher deductions increased from a few million dollars to $138.4 during the same period. Hence, the deduction for charter schools and vouchers outpaced the state increase to public school districts by a few hundred million dollars." He also explained that only a few districts receive more state funds per pupil than they pay out to charter schools, and so locally raised tax revenue must be used to complete the deduction, even though the public did not vote for local tax revenue to be used for charter schools. Preschool: A superintendent noted that in Am. Sub. HB59 funding for preschool units and preschool special education units (currently allocated directly to ESC's) will be included in each school district's per-pupil funding formula, so that the school district may choose their preschool provider. However, simulations do not show these funds. Contract-Out Provisions (Section 3317.40): Akron Superintendent David James, representing the Ohio 8, recommended that this provision be removed, because it is impractical to implement. The provision allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to require school districts that fail to show "consistent progress" serving certain populations (special education, economically disadvantaged, ELL and gifted), to develop a plan to partner with other organizations to provide services to these students. However, the state funding allocated to school districts for these students doesn't even meet their education needs. State aid only provides a portion of the full cost to provide services for these students, and school districts already contract out many of these services to other organizations anyway. Special Education: A superintendent told the committee that special education exceptional costs for the biennium exceeds the $80 million allocation from the state in Am. Sub. HB 59. Charter schools receive the full reimbursement for these costs, while traditional public schools only receive a portion. This should be changed.   School Psychologists Support House Provision Ann Brennan, executive director, Ohio School Psychologists Association (OSPA), told the Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, on May 9, 2013 that OSPA supports the House Finance Committee's restoration of the school psychologist and speech pathologist minimum standard ratios contained in ORC 3317.15 (F). The subcommittee also received written testimony from Frank Scarano, director, Psychological Services for the Geauga County Educational Service Center and from school psychologists in the Akron Public Schools. According to the testimonies, school psychologists are specially trained in education and psychology to assist teachers and administrators improve instruction through data analysis and behavioral interventions for at risk students. School psychologists are an essential part of the professional education team in schools and assist in the identification of gifted students, analysis of assessment data, and in the development of individual education plans for students with special needs. Unfortunately the work of school psychologists is not decreasing, as 20 percent of children entering school have already been diagnosed with mental health issues and will need the expertise of school psychologists to assist them in school. But, demographic data indicate that there will be shortages of school psychologists in the state as more retire within the next few years. Currently the ratio of school psychologists to students is around 1 to 1100 students, which is the ratio recommended by OSPA. The state minimum ratio is higher, 1 to 2500 students, but this ratio still ensures that there will be enough school psychology students in the nine Ohio approved training programs to meet future needs of students and schools. According to the testimony OSPA also supports other provisions in Am. Sub. HB 59 including funding for gifted education, educational service centers, and public early childhood education.     Lawmakers Need Courage to Fund Schools Adequately Former State Representative Stephen Dyer, an Education Policy Fellow at Innovation Ohio, presented testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Senator Gardner on May 9, 2013. He said that he was there to give lawmakers courage, because ".....many of them have voted for budgets in the past that committed a far greater share of the state budget to K-12" than the budget before them. He challenged lawmakers "...to do what your predecessors have done. Show as much commitment to my children as your predecessors showed to me." According to the testimony, the House's attempt to fix the school funding provisions included in Am. Sub. HB59 is flawed. The House school funding plan might be more equitable, but 130 districts receive less state aid than in FY13. The gain cap, for example, withholds about $1.6 billion that school districts could have received from the formula. The budget proposed for FY14-15 also "....represents the smallest state commitment to Primary and Secondary Education since FY96-97- right about when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled for the first of four times that the way Ohio Funded schools was unconstitutional." The testimony points-out, however, that at one time Ohio lawmakers did vote for increases in education funding. Ohio committed the largest percentage of its overall state budget to education in FY75 (39.7 percent of the budget). To reach that goal today the state would need to infuse $3.7 billion more in state aid to schools. (In FY13 the percent of the state budget for education is 28.9 percent.) Former Representative Dyer then went on to describe the process needed to create a state school funding formula, starting with determining the cost of a quality education based on the components: classroom teachers, specialist teachers (art, music, PE, etc.), and support personnel. He calculated that the formula amount would equal $6,141 per pupil when the component parts were totaled. He then recommended that lawmakers establish a permanent bipartisan school funding commission to review the school funding formula in even-numbered years, and, like the Workers Compensation Commission, do the research and calculations and present an education budget to the General Assembly every biennium and "stop playing politics" with the futures of our kids. On another topic, the testimony also identified the following issues regarding charter schools:  The way that charter schools are funded, as a deduction from school district state aid, decreases per pupil state aid to traditional public schools. In FY2012 school districts lost $774 million to charter schools, and, on average, students in traditional public schools lost $235 per student in state aid. "Over 40% of state funding for community schools in 2011-2012 ($326 million) was transferred from traditional public districts that performed better on both the State Report Card and Performance Index." The Ohio Department of Education data show that brick-and-mortar community schools cost $54 more per pupil overall than Traditional Public Schools. That includes all revenue sources for both school types. Charters pay their teachers about 40 percent less than school districts; do not have to bus students; and are exempt from about 200 sections of the Ohio Revised Code, putting into question why they would need the same expenditure per pupil as traditional public schools.  Former Representative Dyer recommended the following changes in law regarding charter schools;  Ohio needs strong accountability measures based on national standards for charter schools. Charter schools should be funded separately from school districts and not as a deduct. Charter schools spend 28 percent of funds on administrative costs, compared to traditional school districts which only spend 11 percent. Charter schools should cut-back on administrative costs and spend more on operational needs. Charter schools should be subject to gain caps just like traditional public schools. Charter schools in two states have been found not to be public schools. "If Charters are not public institutions, it holds significant consequences for civil rights and other protections afforded children who attend public schools. Ohio needs to heed these national trends as it looks to invest even more that the $828 million it's currently investing this year in Charter Schools."   OAAE Accepting Recommendations for Board of Directors The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education is seeking candidates to fill positions on the Board of Directors.  At this time the positions to be filled are: President-Elect, Treasurer, Representatives (7), and discipline specific positions: Dance (one seat); drama/theatre (one seat), visual art (two seats), and music (two seats). To serve on the OAAE Board of Directors is an honor and opportunity.  Board members are required to: Be a member of the organization at the Patron level ($60) Participate in the Board's four (quarterly) meetings in Columbus Participate on at least one committee (membership, awards, advocacy, development, etc.) Make a personal financial contribution of at least $240 annually Assist in membership retention and recruitment Participate in one or more fundraising activities, including the annual Arts Education Virtuoso Awards Work in good faith with staff and other Board members as partners towards achievement of OAAE mission and goals If you are interested, or know someone who may be interested in serving the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education in the coming term of office (October 1, 2013-September 30, 2015) please send us contact information for the individual along with the person's qualifications or interest in support the OAAE mission to ensure the arts are an integral part of the education of every Ohioan. Remember, the individual must be a member of the organization prior to being slated. Every person recommended will receive a personal call from a member of the Nominating Committee to discuss the organization, the role and responsibilities of Board members, and to answer questions. Please submit your recommendations by email to Donna Collins at dcollins@oaae.net.  Provide the name and contact information of the individual(s) being recommended and a sentence or two about the qualifications or interest the individual(s) has in regards to OAAE.  Only recommendations that include the name, contact information, and qualifications or interest will be considered.  Recommendations will be accepted now through May 31, 2013. Thank you for your time and recommendations. 2013 Nominating Committee: Mara Gross Balk Anne Cushing-Reid Jackie Quay    Bills Introduced HB154 (Gerberry) Lottery Profits-Education: Requires that a portion of lottery profits be distributed annually on a per pupil basis to public and chartered nonpublic schools. HB158 (Brenner/Patmon) Nonrefundable Tax Credits-Nonpublic Schools: Authorizes nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in nonpublic schools.     FYI Arts Student Art Reception: The Columbus Regional Airport Authority is holding a reception in honor of the student artists whose works are on display at Port Columbus International Airport. The reception will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2013 from 5:00 -6:30 PM at the Port Columbus International Airport, 4600 International Gateway, Columbus, OH 43219. The reception will recognize the talented artists representing the Columbus City Schools and the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. To RSVP please email or call Jennifer Gardner by May 20, 2013 at 614-239-3176 jgardner@columbusairports.com News from the Kennedy Center: The latest issue of the Kennedy Center Update includes information about the recent meeting of the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, news from ArtsEDGE, grant opportunities, conferences and seminars, and more. The following are a few highlights from the latest issue, available. New Arts Day App Released: ArtsEDGE released a free app called ARTS DAYS that provides users with a full year of events connected to the arts. The app also allows users to save calendar entries to bookmarks or iCal, share to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and view related videos. Arts Days is available only for iOS devices-- an iPad specific version. Versions for Android are in the works. It is available for download from iTunes. National Seminar for Teaching Artists: Registration is open for the National Seminar for Teaching Artists, which will take place August 13-15, 2013 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The National Seminar is open to 30 teaching artists and will be led be Kennedy Center Teaching Artist Sean Layne, founder of Focus 5, Inc., and Lynne Silverstein, Senior Education Consultant to the Kennedy Center. Participants will have opportunities to network with their peers throughout the three-day event. The experience will be supported by an optional three-month follow-up mentoring engagement, by phone and e-mail, with a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist. The National Seminar is designed to strengthen the quality and impact of teaching artists' work through the Kennedy Center's definition of arts integration and its approach to planning effective residencies for students. Information about the seminar and registration is available.    MOMENTUM Celebrates 10th Anniversary Momentum engages 800 elementary-aged boys and girls in movement, music, and choreography to develop confidence, self-discipline, focus, and an appreciation for the arts. Classes are held weekly during the school day at nine Columbus City Schools and one Hilliard City School throughout the school year. All Momentum participants perform in May at the Capitol Theatre in the Riffe Center. This year, nearly 800 students will present Moving Lives: A Year In the Life of a Momentum Dancer, which brings the dancers' year-long Momentum journey to life on the stage. The performances are at the Capitol Theatre on May 14 and May 17, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Admission is free and reservations are not required. Seating is general admission.    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

 

FROM: Ann Brennan
FYI: IMPORTANT UPDATE ON BUDGET BILL AND SB 21, THIRD GRADE READING GUARANTEE CHANGES.

 

 

Ohio Alliance for Arts Education

Arts on Line Education Update

May 20, 2013

Joan Platz

 

•School Districts to Receive Additional Funds:  Governor Kasich and Steve Buehrer, director of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC), announced last week that Ohio schools and local governments will receive a $112.8 million rebate from the BWC as part of a reform plan.  Schools would receive $42.5 million; cities $37 million; counties $16.5 million; and townships $7.6 million. 

 

•Legislation Supports Columbus Education Commission Recommendations:  The Columbus Education Commission, chaired by Eric Fingerhut, issued recommendations on April 30, 2013 regarding the future of the Columbus City Schools. (http://reimaginecolumbuseducation.org/) 

 

To implement the recommendations Representatives Tracy Maxwell Heard (D- Columbus) and Cheryl L. Grossman (R-Grove City) introduced on May 16, 2013 HB167 Community Schools.  The bill would place two issues on the ballot to create the position of an independent auditor for the Columbus school district and levy additional millage for the Columbus City Schools.  The bill would also grant the school board the authority to identify and share tax revenue with certain high performing charter schools, and authorize the mayor of Columbus to sponsor community schools.  The bill is available at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_HB_167. 

 

 

•Sequestration Update:  Education Week news blogger Alyson Klein reported on May 10, 2013 that the U.S. Department of Education is facing $2.5 billion in sequestration cuts.  The cuts will affect Title 1, special education, and career/technical education, and other programs as well as salaries, travel, contracts, etc. The U.S. DOE is not going to furlough workers, however.  Reductions will be made in programs, future competitive grants, new hires, salaries, travel, contracts, conferences, etc.  

 

According to the article, the reductions will not change maintenance of effort rules, supplement/not supplant rules, or required set-aside funds for programs such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

 

The article is at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2013/05/no_furloughs_at_department_of_.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

 

•Insiders Predict the Future of National Education Policies:  Whiteboard Advisors released on May 14, 2013 the results of a survey about federal education policy issues and likely outcomes. The survey was conducted with education “insiders”, including current and former White House and U.S. Department of Education leaders; current and former Congressional staff; state education leaders and former governors; and leaders of major education organizations and think tanks.

 

The May 2013 survey included the following survey results about the future of national education policies:

 

-87 percent of insiders predict that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will not be reauthorized until at least 2015.

-The disapproval rate for President Obama’s administration continues to rise from 54 percent in March 2013 to 67 percent in May 2013.

-Most believe that the Higher Education Act will not be reauthorized prior to 2015.

-78 percent of insiders say that PARCC is on the “wrong track”.  74 percent say that the Smarter Balanced Approach is on the wrong track.

-Most insiders see support for the Common Core State Standards unchanged among stakeholders.  However, between November 2012 and May 2013 there was a slight drop in support among local educators, Congress, the Administration, and state education officials.

-69 percent of insiders believe that there will be over 10 states in the PARCC testing consortia by 2015 and 58 percent believe that there will be over 10 states in the Smarter Balanced consortia by 2015.  

-63 percent of insiders think that states will call for some sort of moratorium on the Common Core State Standards.

-Insiders believe that the recent science standards could cause problems for the standards movement, because the standards include evolution and climate change. 

 

The survey is entitled “Tracking Measures, Growing Headwinds for Common Core, and Prospects for Administration Policy Proposals” by Whiteboard Advisors, May 2013 at http://www.whiteboardadvisors.com/files/May%202013%20%20-%20Education%20Insider%20(Tracking%20Measures,%20Common%20Core,%20Administration%20Policy%20Proposals).pdf

 

3) This Week at the Statehouse:  The Ohio House and Senate will hold hearings and sessions this week.

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

 

•The Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Senator Schaffer, will meet on May 21, 2013 at 2:30 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget regarding tax issues. 

 

•The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on May 21, 2013 at 5:00 PM in hearing room 313.  The committee will receive testimony on HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Community Schools, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools to levy property taxes and share the revenue with partnering community schools. 

 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

 

•The Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Senator Schaffer, will meet on May 22, 2013 at 10:00 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget regarding tax issues. 

 

•The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on May 22, 2013 at 2:00 PM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget.

 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

 

•The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager, will meet on May 23, 2013 at 9:00 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room.  The committee will receive testimony on Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. 

 

•The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, will meet on May 23, 2013 at 5:00 PM in hearing room 313.  The committee will receive testimony on the following bills:

 

-HB158 (Brenner/Patmon) Nonrefundable Tax Credits/Non-public Schools:  This bill would authorize a nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in nonpublic schools.  

 

-HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Community Schools, which would authorize the Columbus City Schools to levy property taxes and share the revenue with partnering community schools. 

 

1.   The Ohio House approved on May 15, 2013 by a vote of 98 to 0 changes to SB21 (Lehner) the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, which was enacted by the 129th General Assembly in SB316 and amended later in

 

SB21 addresses many concerns raised by educators after the law was approved last year, including a provision that severely limits the number of teachers who would be qualified in Ohio to provide intervention services to students who are not reading on grade level. 

 

The House Education Committee also amended the bill to include changes in law regarding the college preparatory boarding school, which is set to be established as the SEED School in Cincinnati. 

 

The bill will now return to the Ohio Senate for concurrence. 

 

The following is a summary of the provisions included in SB21 regarding the Third Grade Reading Guarantee:

 

-Requires that the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) determine the “equivalent level of achievement” on the third grade reading assessment for students to move on to the fourth grade, unless a student is exempt from taking the assessment.  

-Exempts students with significant cognitive disabilities or other disabilities, as determined by the ODE, on a case by case basis, rather than in general, from the annual diagnostic assessments.

-Exempts limited English proficient students who have been enrolled in United States schools for less than three years (instead of two years as under current law) and who have had less than three years (instead of two years as under current law) of instruction in an English as a second language program. 

-Replaces the requirement that reading teachers must have been actively engaged in the reading instruction of students for the previous three years with a provision that requires reading teachers to have one year teaching experience, (with some qualifications), and must be rated “most effective” in reading for the previous two years; or rated “above expected value-added” for the previous two years based on assessments of student growth determined by the ODE; or holds an educator license for grades P-3 or 4-9 on or after July 1, 2017. 

-Permits a teacher who qualifies under the bill who is not a student’s “teacher of record” to 

provide that student with reading guarantee services.  

-Permits a teacher who does not have one year of teaching experience or a qualification listed in 

R.C. 3313.608(H)(1)(a) to (f) but who holds an alternative credential, or who has successfully 

completed training that is based on principles of scientifically research-based reading instruction, either of which is approved by the Department, to provide a student, who enters third grade prior to July 1, 2016, with reading guarantee services. 

-Makes changes to the waiver from the third-grade reading guarantee teacher qualification criteria, including the addition of a staffing plan. 

-Requires the State Board of Education to adopt reading competencies with which all reading educator licenses, alternative credentials and training, and reading endorsement programs eventually must be aligned. 

-Requires the ODE not later than March 31, 2014, to conduct and submit a study of diagnostic assessments to the State Board, the Governor, and the General Assembly. 

-Requires the ODE to designate one or more staff members to provide guidance and assistance to districts and schools in regard to the third-grade guarantee and reading instruction and achievement. 

-Requires school districts and community schools that fail to meet a specified level of achievement on reading-related measures, as reported on the past two consecutive report cards, to implement a reading achievement improvement plan. Failing schools are defined as those that receive a grade of “D” or “F” on the K-3 literacy progress measure for the previous two years, and have less than 60 percent of students taking the third grade language arts assessment attain a score of proficient.

-Requires the ODE to annually collect, analyze, and publish data about reading achievement in schools, and to report to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Education the progress of public school students and of districts and community schools in regard to reading achievement. 

-Beginning on July 1, 2017, requires all new applicants seeking an educator license for either grades pre-kindergarten through three or grades four through nine, to pass an examination aligned with reading competencies adopted by the State Board.

-Not later than July 1, 2016, requires the Chancellor of the Board of Regents to revise the requirements for reading endorsement programs offered by institutions of higher education to align with reading competencies adopted by the State Board.

-Adds speech-language pathologists licensed by the Board of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, and by the State Board of Education for “professional pupil services” to the list of educators approved for reading guarantee interventions. 

 

The following are provisions related to the College-Preparatory Boarding School: 

-Requires a project agreement between the School Facilities Commission (SFC) and a college-preparatory boarding school to specify that if a boarding school ceases operations the classroom facilities may be used for an alternative public purpose, including primary, secondary, vocational, or higher education services. 

-Specifies that the agreement stipulate that if the school ceases operations due to a failure to comply with its contract with the State Board of Education or a default on a mortgage or leasehold, the state facility assistance funds must be returned to SFC, unless, within 24 months after ceasing operations, the school is used for an alternative public purpose as described above. 

-Specifies that no officer or trustee of a college-preparatory boarding school or member of its board of trustees incurs any personal liability by virtue of entering into any contract on behalf of the boarding school. 

-Specifies that a college-preparatory boarding school must be established as a public benefit corporation. 

 

 

Student Growth Measures:  The Ohio Department of Education reports that updated answers to questions about student growth measures are posted on the ODE website.  The new information includes a description of the changes House Bill 555 made to how valued-added data might be used in the student growth measures portion of Ohio’s teacher evaluation system.

 

The new teacher evaluation system allows for multiple means of determining student growth. Local administrators and teachers are creating student learning objectives to measure student progress for subjects in which value-added data and approved vendor assessments are not an option – such as in the arts.

 

The ODE website about Student Growth Measures and Student Learning Objectives is at 

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1230&ContentID=125742&Content=143171.

 

1.   The Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Senator Gardner, received last week more testimony from parents, teachers, superintendents, treasurers, and representatives of education organizations regarding the education provisions included in Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. The subcommittee is expected to report its recommendation next week to the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Oelslager. A substitute bill might be ready by May 23, 2013.

 

Last week a majority of superintendents and treasurers again asked the subcommittee to amend the bill to address many concerns, including the following:

 

-Remove the requirement that school districts take a monthly pupil count included in the House version of HB59.  Witnesses said that this provision is impractical to implement and would lead to significant planning problems.  Currently school districts take one count of all students in October, but it takes on average three months to verify the results.  

-Remove the expanded voucher programs from HB59.  

-Determine an adequate formula amount. Witnesses testified that the House version of HB59 establishes a foundation formula, which is positive, but the formula amount is not adequate and is not based on meeting the educational needs of students. 

-Adjust the six percent cap so that school districts can benefit from the formula. Many school districts believe that the cap is too high and prevents them from making-up funds lost when the state eliminated the tangible personal property tax and the reimbursements for the revenue lost.

-Restore original language and funding for the Straight A Fund. 

-Support the House version of HB59 regarding gifted education.  According to Sally Roberts, former president of the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, the House version, supports the return to units that link gifted funding to services for students identified as gifted; requires that qualified staff oversee gifted service models and delivery; implements accountability for academic growth of gifted students that is meaningful; and holds districts accountable for achievement results and ensures financial transparency regarding how gifted funds are spent serving gifted children.

-Support the House version of HB59, which restores funding for gifted education to educational service centers.

 

The following additional concerns surfaced in testimony last week:

 

•Maintain Historical Data:  Ernie Strawser, Treasurer/CFO of the Norwood City Schools, requested that while the ODE revamps its data parameters for EMIS, it should maintain its historical data and continue to collect and report it for up to five years, until the new data system is operational.

 

•Students Voting:  Stuart McIntyre, Ohio Student Association, and Gary Daniels of the ACLU of Ohio, requested that the provision in the House version of HB59 regarding where students choose to vote be removed from the bill.  The provision requires universities and colleges to charge students in-state tuition if they vote from their college/university address, thus creating a disincentive for colleges/universities to affirm students’ on campus addresses.

 

•Correct Changes to PSEO:  Anne Flick, a licensed gifted intervention specialist, and Alena Flick, a student at Mother of Mercy High School, requested that the Senate change a provision in HB59 that restricts post secondary enrollment options courses (PSEO) to those included in the Ohio Transfer Module (OTM) and the Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGS).  The courses included in OTM and TAGS, however, are foundational courses usually at the 100-200 college level, and exclude higher level courses that some high school students could successfully pass. 

 

•Child Care:  Robert Davis, representing AFSCME Ohio Council 8, which includes 2000 in-home Type A and Type B publicly funded child care providers, presented recommendations to support more stable and quality environments for Ohio’s young children. He asked that HB59 be amended to reflect these recommendations:

 

-Increase the state payments to subsidize childcare providers.  The current rate is 26 percent of private rates in the state. 

-Change the current definition of full-time childcare, which is between 25-60 hours per week.  Full time should max out at 40 hours per week, with any hours over 40 reimbursed at an enhanced rate. The current system forces child care providers to offer up to 60 hours of care per week, which is burdensome, and means that providers are overworked.

-Provide more flexibility for Type B family care providers to run their businesses.

-Allow Type B providers who qualify to participation in the revamped quality child care ratings system -- Step Up to Quality.

-Provide intermediate disciplinary procedures for rule violations so that providers do not lose their license for any infraction.

 

•Cost of GED Exams:  Robert Davis and Todd Dygert presented testimony on behalf of the Ohio Education Association, State Council of Professional Educators, who are employed by the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, the Department of Youth services, the Ohio School for the Blind, the Ohio School for the Deaf, and the State Library.  

 

The testimony addressed a number of education issues affecting prison populations, including the expected increase in the cost of the GED exam from $40 to $120.  Currently the GED exam is paid for by the DRC or the DYS, but the increase in the cost is not reflected in their HB59 budgets.  According to the testimony, “OEA/SCOPE recommends a review of funding sources for GED examinations to ensure that the significant cost increase does not cause undue delay or a reduction in opportunities for a student-inmate to take and pass the GED exam as soon as they are ready.”

 

 

The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, met on May 13 and 14, 2013 at the Ohio Department of Education Conference Center, 25 South Front Street in Columbus, OH.  

 

The State Board received a presentation about the new report card for career-technical schools; an update about the state report card for other schools; and held a panel discussion about school safety with representatives from state agencies and schools. 

 

The State Board also held a Chapter 119 hearing on the following rules, but no one from the public presented testimony.

• Rules 3301-28-01 to 3301-28-06, Local Report Card Measures 

• Recision of Rules 3301-58-01 to 3301-58-03, Value-Added Progress Dimension

• Rule 3301-52-01, Appropriate Uses of Early Childhood Education Screening and Assessment Information

• Rules 3301-102-01 to -07, Community Schools Sponsor Rules

• Rule 3301-102-08, Sponsor Compliance

• Rule 3301-102-10, Drop out Recovery-School Performance Measures

 

•Update on the Career Tech Education (CTE) School Report Card:  On May 14, 2013 the State Board approved the components and measures for the state’s new Career Technical Education School report card. Kathy Shibley, ODE Senior Executive Director, Student Services and Educational Options, and Emily Passias, ODE Data Manager, Office of Career-Technical Education, explained to the State Board on May 13, 2013 the components and measures included on the new career tech report card, which will be issued by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) starting in August/September 2013. 

 

According to the presenters, Ohio law requires that all high school students have an opportunity to prepare for technical education careers.  There are 91 career technical education planning districts in Ohio.  Forty nine of these planning districts are led by Joint Vocational School Districts and include 556 school districts.  The other 42 planning districts are either single districts, such as a city school district, or a group of districts that have formed a compact to provide career technical education.  

 

Lawmakers and the governor approved in the last legislative session two bills, SB316 and HB555, that directed the State Board of Education to develop and approve the components and measures to grade career technical education schools.  The laws also require that the new career technical education report card be developed in collaboration with several statewide organizations.

 

Over the past several months the Ohio Department of Education developed the components and measures that will acknowledge high performing career technical education schools in collaboration with the Ohio Association of Career and Technical Schools, the Ohio Association of Career Technical Superintendents, the Ohio Association for Career Technical Education, the Ohio Board of Regents, and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation.

 

Currently all states that are funded through the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act are required to collect and report data evaluating student results through the federally mandated Perkins Performance Report.  However, Ohio is the only state that has gone beyond that report to develop a separate report card for career technical education schools.  

 

The proposed Career-Tech Education Report Card includes the following five components and measures: 

-Achievement:  Measures include the proportion of students passing a Technical Skill Assessment and the passage rate of students in reading and math on state assessments. CTE schools will be graded on student achievement in reading and math on state assessments.

 

-Graduation:   Measures include the four and five year cohort graduation rates of students who have a concentration in career tech education, which means that a secondary student is enrolled in the second half of an CTE workforce development program. The CTE school will be graded on the two graduation rates.

 

-Prepared for Success: Measures include the proportion of students who earned credit in dual enrollment courses, AP courses, post secondary enrollment options (PSEO), and career tech education courses offering articulated credit with institutions of higher education. The results will only be reported, not graded.

 

-Post Program Outcomes.  Two measures are included:

Industry Credentials, which is the proportion of students who have earned industry certificate or credential within six months after leaving secondary education. 

 

Post-Program Placement, which is the proportion of students who were enrolled in postsecondary education or advanced training, in the military service, or employed six months after leaving secondary education. 

CTE Schools will be graded on the Post-Program Placement measure.

 

Career-tech providers are currently required under the federal Carl D. Perkins Act to follow-up with students 6 months after they have graduated, and determine if the students are earning industry credentials, enrolled in post secondary education, have joined the military, or are employed. Last year 94 percent of graduating students were contacted after six months and participated in this survey.

 

-Collective Federal Accountability Results:  These are additional measures included in the federal Perkins Performance Report.  Some of the measures are already being graded, such as academic attainment in reading and math, graduation, and post-program placement.  The other measures that will not be graded include technical skill attainment, nontraditional participation, and nontraditional completion. 

 

Information about the CTE report card is available at http://ohiocareertech.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/state-board-approves-ohios-first-career-tech-report-card/

 

•Committee Reports:  The following are reports from the State Board of Education's Capacity, Achievement, Urban Schools, Accountability, and Legislative and Budget committees:

 

Capacity Committee:  The Capacity Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, reviewed on May 13, 2013 the new scores for educator assessments; the SEED School contract; the career-technical education report card; and the investigation of the Medina City Schools/Medina County ESC.

 

-Score Setting Recommendations for Educators:  The committee voted to approve the passing scores for the new assessments for educators developed by Pearson, with an exception of one assessment, and stated that the scores be reviewed by the Achievement Committee in April 2014.  Individuals who want to qualify for a teaching license in Ohio will be required to pass these assessments starting in September 2013.  The new tests will replace the current Praxis II content area and pedagogy exams.

 

–Seed School of Cincinnati: The committee reviewed the proposed amendments to the operator contract and board of trustee bylaws for the SEED School of Cincinnati.  The committee will hold a special meeting on May 29, 2013 in Columbus to consider the operator contract for the SEED School of Cincinnati.  The State Board will consider the contract at their meeting in June 2013.

 

-ESC/Medina Schools:  The committee received information about an investigation being conducted by the State Auditor regarding the withholding of excess funds of the Medina City Schools by the Medina County Educational Service Center.

 

Urban Education Committee:  The Urban Education Committee, chaired by Angela Thi Bennett, discussed recommendations for a comprehensive statewide plan to intervene directly in, and improve the performance of, persistently poor performing schools and school districts in compliance with HB555. The committee is working with Deb Tully from the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Randy Flora from the Ohio Education Association, and community schools to convene focus groups of teachers to discuss feedback about the recommendations.  

 

The committee expressed its concern about the negative framework that is being used to discuss school performance, and discussed using an appreciative inquiry approach to identify the strengths and collaborative opportunities of these schools, the State Board, and the ODE, rather than the deficits. The committee will present its findings to the State Board in June 2013.   

 

Achievement Committee: The Achievement Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones, considered five topics: career connections, gifted education rules, alternative assessments, a NASBE grant, and college and career readiness.

 

-Career Connections:  The committee reviewed a draft of career connections learning strategies developed jointly by the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, the Board of Regents, and the ODE.  The strategies are required by 129-SB316 to be embedded in the model curricula so that students have opportunities to connect their education with future careers.  ODE staff has worked with regional working groups consisting of teachers, curriculum experts, and school counselors to develop the strategies that infuse career-based learning experiences with academic content. The committee will review a final draft and adopt it in June 2013. 

 

-Update NASBE Grant:  The State Board received a grant of $15,000 from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) in 2012 to develop a model wellness policy with a nutrition focus; a model physical activity policy; and recommendations regarding the adoption of health education guidance and policy. ODE is partnering with the Ohio Department of Health and Adolescent Health to form the Health Advisory Council, which is working on this grant. 

 

-Gifted Education Rules:  The rules for gifted education, 3301-51-15, were approved by the State Board of Education in 2008 and are due for review based on the five year review cycle. The rules address the identification, placement, written education plans, continuum of services, coordinators, funding, and accountability for gifted education.  

 

The following revisions have been proposed:  

-require two whole grade screenings for gifted identification

-require a district to employ a gifted coordinator when providing gifted services

-specify that the Standards apply regardless of funding

 

The committee will receive an update in July 2013, and consider adoption of the rules in December 2013.

 

-Amendment to Rule 3301-13-02, Alternate Assessments of Cognitive Abilities: The committee received an overview of the rule, which is being revised.  So far the revisions include taking out specific times for the assessment to be administered, and adding references to other rules.  The committee will consider an intent to adopt in June, with final adoption in November, 2013.

 

-College and Career Readiness: The committee provided feedback to the ODE regarding the definition of college and career ready. The committee considered a definition that college and career ready means that high school graduates have the necessary knowledge and skills to qualify for and succeed in entry level credit bearing college level courses, and postsecondary job training and/or education for a chosen career.  

 

Legislative and Budget Committee:  The Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by Bryan Williams, received a presentation Kelly Weir, Executive Director, and Emily Gephart, Assistant Director. Office of Legislative Services and Budgetary Planning, regarding Am. Sub. HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget. 

 

The committee reviewed the changes between the Executive and the House versions of the budget bill and also discussed the status of the amendments that the Ohio Department of Education had requested. The House version did address seven of ten amendments requested by the ODE, but some of the changes still need to be clarified.  The requested amendments which are not included in the House version are multiple age grouping in Montessori schools; consolidating waivers; and some technical amendments regarding 129-HB555.  The ODE is also requesting that funds be restored to the Teacher/Principal Evaluation Preparation line item and the Straight A grant program. 

 

Accountability Committee:  The Accountability Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock, received an update from Tina Thomas-Manning, ODE Associate Superintendent Division of Accountability and Quality Schools, about the report card components and measures.  She requested that the committee establish the measures that will be included on the 2012-13 report card so that ODE staff can prepare for its release in August 2013.  Other measures for future report cards could be vetted later. The committee postponed a discussion about the K-3 literacy measure until May 29, 2013.

 

•Update on the Local Report Card Design: Chris Woolard, Interim Director of Accountability, and Michael Carmack, Director of the Office of Enterprise Applications, presented information to the State Board about Ohio’s new interactive-web-based local report card for schools and districts.  The latest mock-up reflects some of the changes recommended by focus groups of parents regarding the amount and types of information that should be provided on the report cards.

 

The new report card will be phased in over several years and eventually (in 2015) schools and districts will receive an overall grade of A, B, C, D, or F. The overall grade will be based on several measures, which will be combined into six broad categories, called components. The components are Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, K-3 Literacy, and Prepared for Success. Report cards will be available for a school, a district, a career-technical educational school, or a dropout recovery school. 

According to the presentation, parents in the focus groups liked the fact that resources about the school/district were centralized on the front page of the report card web site, although some felt that the text was too technical.  The ODE design team working on the report card is making adjustments to simplify text and enable more information through click-on tabs.  There will also be a printable version of the report card. 

 

The final 2013 design of the new report card must be complete in about two weeks, so that the new report card can be ready for August. The State Board is scheduled to approve an intent to adopt the report card in July. 

 

•Public Participation on Non-agenda Items:  Rob and Katie Porter addressed the State Board during the business meeting regarding the education of their child attending the Ohio School for the Deaf.  They are disappointed with the quality of the Kindergarten program; the quality of the process for developing the individual education plan for their son; and especially the lack of safety for their son, who was bullied and hurt by another student.  They requested that the State Board monitor the safety of the school and work to revise laws to require that a local board of education be established to manage the Ohio School for the Deaf and the Ohio School for the Blind. The schools also needs more resources to support the teachers. 

 

•Recommendations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for May 2013. 

 

The State Board approve the following resolutions at the May 14, 2013 meeting:

 

#1.5 Approved a Resolution to place Rule 3301-102-08 in re-filed status.  JCARR identified a potential conflict regarding the implementation of the rule and related statutes.  

#8  Approved a Resolution to adopt Rule 3301-102-09 of the Administrative Code entitled Approving Applications for New Internet-or Computer-Based Community Schools. (Volume 3, Page 164)

#9  Approved a Resolution of Appointment to the Educator Standards Board. (Volume 4, Page 4). The State Board appointed three and reappointed eight members: Cynthia Lombardo, Jennifer Denny, Dustin Miller, Karie McCrate, Danielle Sheritt, Karen Carney, Amy Poole, Jeffry Cooney, Sandra Orth, Venezuela Robinson, and Kathy Goins. 

#10 Approved a Resolution to adopt the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) Framework for Teachers Employed by State Agencies. (Volume 4, Page 137)

#11 Approved a Resolution to approve a final list of states with teacher licensing standards that are inadequate to ensure that a person who was most recently licensed and taught in that state is qualified for a professional license in Ohio pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 3319.228.(Volume 4, Page 141) The states identified with inadequate teacher licensing standards are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

#12 Approved a Resolution approving a Report Card for Career-Technical Planning Districts, including Joint Vocational School Districts, as Referenced in R.C. 3302.033, for the 2012/2013 School Year. (Volume 4, Page 143.) Emergency consideration was granted.

#13 Approved a Resolution to confirm the Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District Board of Education’s Determination of Impractical Transportation of Certain Students Attending Immaculate Conception School in Bellevue, Huron County, OH (Volume 4, Page 145).

#14 Approved a Motion to cancel the July retreat and hold a regular committee meeting. Emergency consideration was granted.

 

Under new business State Board member Stephanie Dodd notified the Board that she would ask the State Board at the June 2013 meeting to consider two changes in Administrative Rules. 

 

The first change affects Rule 3301-35-05. She proposes that sexual orientation be added to the list of protected classes under section A. According to Ms. Dodd’s remarks, this rule change would provide the same level of protection afforded to state employees under Governor Kasich’s Executive Order of 2011.

 

The second change is proposed for Rule 3301-35-12 sections a-b. The language would be amended to allow religious organizations to make determinations of hiring that are consistent with their religious views.

 

President Terhar assigned the proposed rule changes to the Capacity Committee for consideration.

 

   

•SB127 (Jordan) Property Tax Reduction-Home Schooled Children:  Creates a property tax and a 

manufactured home tax reduction for parents of home schooled children equal to the taxes levied by the school district on the homestead of the parent.

 

•HB167 (Heard/Grossman) Community Schools: Authorizes school districts with an average daily membership greater than 60,000 and located in a city with a population greater than 700,000 to levy property taxes, the revenue from which may be shared with partnering community schools. 

 

FYI ARTS

 

1) New Resource to Support Arts Education:  The Arts Education Partnership (AEP), Sandra Ruppert Director, released on May 13, 2013 a research bulletin entitled Preparing Students for the Next America: The Benefits of an Arts Education.  

 

According to the press release, “The bulletin offers an evidenced-based snapshot of how the arts support achievement in school, bolster skills demanded of a 21st century workforce, and enrich the lives of young people and communities. It draws upon the vast body of research in AEP’s new ArtsEdSearch.org, while reinforcing the relevancy to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics.”

 

The bulletin provides research-based evidence to support the following qualities that students gain through an education in the arts:

 

•The arts prepare students for success in school

-Boost literacy and English Language Arts skills

-Advance math achievement

-Engage students in school and motivate them to learn

-Develop critical thinking

-Improve school culture

 

•The arts prepare students for success in work

-Equip students to be creative

-Strengthen problem solving abilities

-Build collaboration and communication skills

-Increase capacity for leadership

 

•The arts prepare students for success in life and engage meaningfully in their communities

-Strengthen perseverance

-Facilitate cross-cultural understandings

-Build community and support civic engagement

-Foster a creative community

 

The Arts Education Partnership, a division of the Council of Chief State School Officers, is dedicated to securing a high quality arts education for every young person in America. A national coalition of more than 100 education, arts, cultural, government, business, and philanthropic organizations, AEP was created in 1995 by the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education and is administered by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

 

The research bulletin is available at 

http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Preparing-Students-for-the-Next-America-FINAL.pdf?utm_source=Arts+Education+Partnership+%28AEP%29&utm_campaign=864bca7d85-Arts_Education_and_the_Next_America12_19_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a1cd8710f-864bca7d85-130268810

 

1.   Even though school districts in Ohio are cutting funding for arts education because of budget deficits (see Funding Cuts for the Arts below), there is good news nationally about increased funding and support for arts education programs in other

 

•The Chicago Tribune reported on May 17, 2013 that the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will receive another $500,000 from Mayor Rahm Emanuel to support the CPS Arts Education Plan.  The plan will ensure that weekly arts classes are available in elementary grades taught by a certified arts teacher.  The additional money brings the total funding for this plan to $1 million.

“CPS gets $1 million for arts education” May 17, 2013 by Heather Gillers, Chicago Tribune reporter at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-17/entertainment/chi-cps-arts-emanuel-20130515_1_chicago-cultural-plan-certified-arts-teacher-elementary-schools

 

•The West Seattle Herald reported on May 14, 2013 that Mayor Mike McGinn of Seattle will invest $500,000 to ensure that every student in the Central Pathways of the Seattle Public Schools receive a minimum of two hours per week of arts education programming and support to purchase instruments and other arts supplies for classrooms. 

 

According to the press release, “This investment will allow us to deepen our existing partnership with Seattle Public Schools to improve access to arts education for all students in our community,” McGinn said. “Arts education has been consistently shown to improve educational outcomes, increase attendance rates and decrease discipline rates.”

 

“Mayor McGinn joins with SPS to invest in arts education”,  West Seattle Herald 05/14/2013 at http://www.westseattleherald.com/2013/05/14/news/mayor-mcginn-joins-sps-invest-arts-education.

 

-The PRNewswire-USNewswire reported on May 18, 2013 that a ceremony was recently held celebrating the opening of a new facility for the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.  The renown high school was established in 1985, but has shared facilities with the Cal State LA campus.  The new $31 million state of the art facility provides classroom and performance spaces to support the arts curricula for all students.

 

According to the article, the new building will serve, “.....as a beacon of hope for the future of arts education in our public schools,” said Arturo Delgado, Superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Educations, which operates the school in partnership with Cal State L.A.”

 

“Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Cuts Ribbon on $31 Million Facility” P.R. Newswire, May 18, 2013 at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/los-angeles-county-high-school-for-the-arts-cuts-ribbon-on-31-million-facility-208012071.html

 

Funding Cuts for the Arts:  The following information about cuts in funding for the arts is compiled from testimony on HB59 (Amstutz) Biennial Budget, presented to the House and Senate Finance Committees in March and May 2013:

 

•Tom Gibbs, Superintendent of the Fort Frye and Warren Local School Districts in Washington County, presenting testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Education Subcommittee chaired by Senator Gardner on May 7, 2013:

 

“The effects to students in our district have been increased class sizes, at times with 30 students or more in elementary classrooms, decreased time in art and physical education for elementary students, decreased elective opportunities for middle and high school aged students, decreased Advance Placement offerings, decreased intervention services, decreased extra-curricular offerings, and decreased busing service.”  

http://www.ohiosenate.gov/committee/education-finance-subcommittee#

 

•Cindy J. Rhonemus, Treasurer/CFO Trimble Local School District, presenting testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Education Subcommittee chaired by Senator Gardner on May 14, 2013:

 

“Since 2001 our district has cut 32 positions and therefore programs/opportunities for our students.  Because of those positions cut, we no longer have a single librarian in the district; we have lost our high school music position; not one counselor at our elementary/middle school; no consumer sciences at either the high school or middle school; we eliminated our Occupational Work Adjustment classes; we no longer offer accounting at our high school; nine regular education teachers and four special education teachers have been eliminated; nine classified/exempt staff have been reduced; and most recently we eliminated our elementary principal.” http://www.ohiosenate.gov/committee/education-finance-subcommittee#

 

•Mike Hebenthal, Superintendent of Centerburg Local School District in Knox County, presenting testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Education Subcommittee chaired by Senator Gardner on May 14, 2013:

 

“We have one foreign language teacher in grades K-12, one art teacher in grades 6-12.”

 

“We have no luxuries in our district. I would argue that art, physical education, and music are a basic right of students in American education even though these courses are considered optional in the Ohio School Operating standard. The next round of cuts will be discontinuing one or all of these programs.”

 

Superintendent Hebenthal went on to explain that he served in the Air Force and was stationed in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, where he worked in a nearby school. During the last week of school the students prepared a presentation. 

 

He stated, “During one of the songs they rolled out a sign that they had created which had written in English “let the sun shine always.” You see they didn’t have much in that school but they did have music and art. The United States is still the richest county in the world but today in Ohio many small rural schools are debating if we can maintain music and art. I know we are in a new economic reality but I can’t settle in my heart that we are going to ask students in poorer districts to go without these opportunities.” 

http://www.ohiosenate.gov/committee/education-finance-subcommittee#  

 

•Mario Basora, Superintendent of Yellow Springs School, presenting testimony to the House Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Representative Hayes, on March 13, 2013:

 

“The losses in state dollars have had a crippling effect on student learning for us. We had to

reduce our music staff by 33% and high school/middle school social studies by 25%, cut our

gifted services in half, and removed several aide positions for our elementary students. Because we recently passed a new 7.4 mill levy, we will do our best to resist further cuts...for

now.” 

http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/primary-and-secondary-education-subcommittee