To:     LWVO

From:   Joan Platz

Education Update for January 23, 2006

1)  126th General Assembly: 
The Ohio House and Senate will be in session and hold committee hearings this week.  The House is scheduled to vote on HB276 (Stewart) - school policies prohibiting bullying and HB254 (Collier) - required hours of  instruction per year for certain schools.  Governor Taft will present the annual "State of the State Address" on Wednesday, January 25, 2005 at noon in the chamber of the Ohio House.

Representative Chris Redfern officially resigned this past week from the position of Democrat minority leader in the Ohio House, and was replaced by Representative Joyce Beatty, who was sworn in as  minority leader.  Representative Todd Book was also sworn in as assistant minority leader.

Members of the conference committee on HB 3 (DeWine) - Election Reform were named this past week.  The Senate members of the committee are Senators Coughlin, Jacobson, and Prentiss, and the House members are Representatives DeWine, Hughes, and Driehaus. 

2)  House Education Hears Testimony on Voucher Bill: 
Members of the House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer, heard testimony on several bills last week, including HB 431 (Peterson), a bill that would provide vouchers, called Special Education Scholarships, to students with disabilities to attend alternative public or private schools or programs of their choice.  The bill, sponsored by Representative Peterson, is also supported at his time by Representatives McGregor, Ujvagi, Reidelbach, Schaffer, Flowers, Webster, and Allen.

According to testimony presented by Representative Peterson, the purpose of the bill is to expand educational choices for vulnerable students with disabilities, and provide these students with access to programs focused not only on academics but also on behavior.  It would allow students to "choose the setting where they receive their education", find more effective programs, and address a problem - the victimization and bullying of students with special needs.  A similar program in Florida reports high satisfaction from parents.

The bill would provide an eligible student a voucher to pay for services identified on the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) provided by alternative public or private providers "registered" with the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  Registered providers must meet minimum standards set by the State Board of Education for special education programs, and meet other criteria outlined in the bill.  The State Board may also establish other registration requirements not outlined in the bill.

The amount of the voucher would be the lesser of (1) the total fees charged by the alternative provider of special education services to the child or (2) the amount that otherwise would be calculated for state and local funding for the school district's provision of special education and related services to the child. 

The resident school district of a student using the voucher would not be required to comply with Chapter 3323 of the Ohio Revised Code, which requires school districts to provide students with a free appropriate public education.  The bill does not specifically include academic or fiscal accountability requirements for the private special education providers to meet, such as, showing student progress, ensuring the student's Individualized Education Plan is implemented, or fiscal accountability requirements.

The committee also heard sponsor testimony on HB411 (Wolpert) - changes in Ohio's performance rating system for schools; HB435 (De Wine) - school district athletic trainers; and reported out favorably HB322 (Raussen) - School district income taxes.

3)  This Week at the Statehouse:
*The House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Calvert (466-8140), will meet on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 1:30 PM in room 313.  The committee will hear testimony on HB438 (Wolpert) - calculation of school district funding; HB473 (Trakas) - merit pay and teacher qualifications; and HB478 (Wagoner) - consolidation of the University of Toledo and the Medical University at Toledo.

*The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer (644-8051), will meet on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 3:30 PM in room 018.  The committee will hear testimony on HB460 (Hood) - firearm safety, and HB411 (Wolpert) - changes in Ohio's performance rating system for schools.

*The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 4:00 PM in the north hearing room.  The committee will hear testimony on HB115 (Setzer) -  establish the Educational Regional Service System; HB184 (Faber) - display donated mottoes in schools; SCR 20 (Dann) - Ohio join lawsuit regarding mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind Act; SB239 (Dann) - anti-harassment policies; and SB164 (Schuring) - use of epinephrine by students in school.

*The House Economic Development and Environment Committee, chaired by Representative Collier, will meet on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 3:00 PM in room 017.  The committee will hear testimony on HB404 (Wolpert) - create urban homestead zones.

4)  Regents Issues Annual Report:  The Ohio Board of Regents, Edmund Adams chairman and Rod Chu chancellor, issued on January 19, 2006 its annual report on the state of higher education in Ohio called, "The Performance Report for Ohio's Colleges and Universities, 2005."   The report includes information about student diversity, income, preparation, mobility, and graduation rates, and information about institutions, such as research, development, tuition costs, faculty, and financial aid.  The full report is available at http://www.regents.state.oh.us/perfrpt/2005index.html. 

The following are statements from the report:

"Ohio has made progress in increasing higher educational attainment and research activity, but we are still behind the rest of the nation.  As a consequence of being behind in education and research, Ohio's per capita income is lower than the national level."

"Enrollment is increasing and the student body reflects the diversify of the Ohio population."

"Thirty-eight percent of first-time freshmen in pubic institutions take remedial courses in their first year of college."

"A high proportion of students attend more than one institution.  Many students who begin in the two-year sector eventually attend four-year institutions and earn bachelor's degrees, but there is some evidence that the transfer process is not seamless across community colleges to universities."

"Ohio has been graduating more students over the last five years, instate retention of graduates is high, and growth in graduates' earnings is high."

"Ohio's combined government appropriations and net tuition per student are close to the national level and Ohio expenditures per student have fallen in recent years."

"Sticker-price tuition tends to be high in Ohio, but financial aid exists that can reduce the net price for those who qualify."

5)  News from the ODE: 
The Ohio Department of Education issued this week the "Ides of ODE" a monthly update on curriculum and assessment prepared by Jane Ensign and Judy Feil, ODE Offices of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. 

According to this month's report, the ODE will be publishing a monthly newsletter for social studies teachers.  The newsletter will provide information regarding ODE initiatives, professional development, and classroom resources, and will be available at  http://www.ode.state.oh.us/academic_content_standards/acssocialstudies.asp, or via email at: http://lyris.ode.state.oh.us/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=socialstudies. 

The annual Ohio Foreign Language Association Conference will be held in Toledo, OH on March 30-April 1, 2006.  Foreign language teachers are encouraged to attend this professional development event, which will include workshops and sessions on a variety of topics.  Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Susan Tave Zelman, will address the conference on March 31, 2006 and speak about the need for districts to teach languages in Ohio's schools.  For more information please visit  www.ofla-online.org.

The Ohio Music Education Association will hold its annual convention on January 26-28, 2006 in Cleveland, OH at the Convention Center, Marriott Hotel, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza.  On site registration is available.  For a schedule of the conference, please visit the Ohio Music Education Association web site at http://www.omea-ohio.org/06conf.html

6)  Michigan Debating High School Graduation Requirements:  Education policy leaders in several states, including Ohio, are discussing high school reform and ways to strengthen the rigor of the high school curriculum.  The Detroit News published on January 16, 2006 an article by Christine MacDonald entitled "Michigan to begin debating how to toughen school standards.  Meetings on state board proposal to require more math, science classes to continue this week."  According to the article, the Michigan House Education Committee will consider a proposal by the Michigan state school board to increase graduation requirements for high school students.  Hearings will also be conducted throughout the state to gather public input on the recommendations.  The proposed state graduation requirements include the following:

Four years of math, including algebra, algebra II and geometry.
Four years of language arts.
Three years of science.
Three years of social studies.
Two credits of foreign language.
One credit of health and physical education.
One credit of visual or performing arts.

7)  Bills Introduced the Week of January 16, 2006:
*HB473 (Trakas) - Requires school district boards of education to establish through collective bargaining merit pay systems for classroom teachers and certain educational assistants, eliminates continuing contracts for teachers and certain educational assistants employed by school districts, and prohibits the State Board of Education from requiring a degree higher than a bachelor's degree or continuing education to obtain or renew an educator license for being a classroom teacher.

*HB478  (Wagoner) Combines the University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo.

*HB 474 (Wagoner) - Permits the Ohio School Facilities Commission to enter agreements with school districts that have not received state assistance for classroom facilities under which the districts will receive payments in lieu of participating in other state programs for classroom facilities assistance.

8)  Education Commission of the States: 
The Education Commission of the States' (ECS) Governor's Commission on the Arts in Education, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee chair, met on January 18, 2006. The Governor's Commission was formed as part of Governor Mike Huckabee's two-year chairmanship of ECS.  The Commission discussed the initiative, "The Arts-A Lifetime of Learning," the status of the arts in education, and recommendations for state policy makers and other leaders to support arts education in schools.  The Commission will release a report on the arts in education at the 2006 ECS National Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota this summer.   For information about Governor's Initiative, please visit www.ecs.org/huckabee.

9) Economic Impact of the Arts:  
Americans for the Arts has released the "2006 Creative Industries Report", which provides data on the number of arts related businesses and employees in the United States and in individual states.  According to the report there are 547,600 arts related businesses in the United States that employ 2.8 million people.  Information about arts related businesses for each state, county, or state legislative district are also available for purchase.  For information about the report please visit the following web site:

http://www.artsusa.org/information_resources/research_information/services/creative_industries/002.asp