To:     LWVO
From:   Joan Platz
Education Update for February 13, 2006

1)  President Bush Recommends $2.77 trillion Federal  Budget:
President Bush sent to the U.S. House of Representatives on February
6, 2006 a FY07 budget package of $2.77 trillion.  The annual federal
budget outlines the spending priorities for federal government for
the fiscal year which begins on October 1, 2006.  After the budget is
approved, Congress must also approve appropriations measures to
allocate the funds for specific departments and programs.  Hearings
on the budget are held in the U.S. House of Representatives Budget
Committee, chaired by Representative Jim Nussle.

The proposed FY 07 budget shows an expected deficit of more than $400
billion this year.   Approximately $300 billion in tax cuts are made
over the next five years and extend to $1.5 trillion over the next 10
years.

The budget proposal includes $54.41 billion in discretionary spending
and $8.9 billion in mandatory spending for education programs through
the U.S. Department of Education.  This represents a 5.5 percent
reduction in discretionary spending for education from the FY06
budget of $55.92 billion.  The FY06 budget was $624 million less than
the FY05 education budget.  The following are highlights of spending
recommendations included in the budget for major education categories:

*Education for the Disadvantaged:  $16.4 billion - $1.98 billion increase.
Title 1:  $12.7 billion (no increase).  Approximately fifty percent
of Title 1 funding supports No Child Left Behind initiatives,
including $25 million for grants to states.  Funding for No Child
Left Behind initiatives are included in several programs throughout
the education budget and total $39.4 billion.  This is a 4.6 percent
increase ($1 billion), and includes a $200 million increase for
School Improvement Grants.
*School Improvement Programs:  $4.97 billion - $282.3 million decrease.
*Innovation and Improvement:  $850.9 million - $85.5 million decrease.
*Safe Schools and Citizenship Education:  $266.6 million - $462.8
million decrease.
*Special Education (IDEIA):  $11.67 billion - $44.4 million increase.
The federal government's share for special education costs is 17.7
percent of the average per pupil expenditure for special education.
*Vocational and Adult Education:  $579.5 million - $1.41 billion decrease.
*Student Financial Assistance:  $14.4 billion - $4.7 billion decrease.
*Federal Direct Student Loan Program Account:  $40 million - $4.9
billion decrease.
*Higher Education:  $1.108 billion - $842.3 million decrease.

Other programs not included in the budget for the Department of Education:
*Head Start:  $6.8 billion (no increase).
*National Endowment for the Arts: $124 million (no increase).
*National Endowment for the Humanities: $141 million (no increase).

The budget includes new initiatives in math and science education, an
American Competitiveness Initiative, and expands vouchers and funding
for charter schools. But the budget proposal also eliminates some
funding for technology, vocational education, and higher education
programs.  The following are highlights of the voucher and charter
school programs:

*America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids:  $100 million.  This
program complements the voucher program in the District of Columbia,
which costs $15 million in FY07.
*$26 million for Voluntary Public School Choice grants.
*$215 million for Charter School Grants to support 1200 new and
existing charter schools, including $15 million for charter schools
facilities.
*$37 million for the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program.

The proposed budget also eliminates 42 education programs for a
savings of $3.4 billion.  Many of these programs have been targeted
for elimination by President Bush in previous budgets, but have been
continued by Congress.  The following are programs that are proposed
to be eliminated in the President's FY07 Budget:

Educational Technology State Grants - $272 million
Even Start - $99 million

High School Programs Terminations:
Vocational Education State Grants - $1.182 billion
Vocational Education National Programs - $9 million
Upward Bound - $311 million
GEAR UP - $303 million
Talent Search - $145 million
Tech Prep State Grants - $105 million
Smaller Learning Communities - $94 million
Safe and Drug-Free Schools State Grants - $347 million

Small Elementary and Secondary Education Programs:
Parental Information and Resource Centers - $40 million
Arts in Education - $35 million
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling - $35 million
Alcohol Abuse Reduction - $32 million
Civic Education - $29 million
National Writing Project - $22 million
Star Schools - $15 million
School Leadership - $15 million
Ready to Teach - $11 million
Javits Gifted and Talented Education - $10 million
Exchanges with Historic Whaling and Trading Partners - $9 million
Comprehensive School Reform - $8 million
School Dropout Prevention - $5 million
Mental Health Integration in Schools - $5 million
Women's Educational Equity - $3 million
Academies for American History and Civics - $2 million
Close-Up Fellowships - $1 million
Foundations for Learning - $1 million
Excellence in Economic Education - $1 million

Small Higher Education Programs:
Higher Education Demos for Students with Disabilities - $7 million
Underground Railroad Program - $2 million
State Grants for Incarcerated Youth Offenders - $23 million

Small Postsecondary Student Financial Assistance Programs:
Perkins Loan Cancellations - $65 million
Leveraging Educational Assistance Programs - $65 million
Byrd Scholarships - $41 million
Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity - $3 million
B.J. Stupak Olympic Scholarships - $1 million

Small Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs:
Supported Employment - $30 million
Projects with Industry - $20 million
VR Recreational Programs - $3 million
VR Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers - $2 million
Teacher Quality Enhancement - $60 million
Total, Education Terminations - $3.468 billion

For information about the FY07 education budget, please visit
http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget07/summary/index.html

2)  February 7, 2006 Election Results: 
The unofficial results for school district ballot issues on the
February 7, 2006 ballot are available on the web site of the ODE at
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/school_finance/Finance_and_Mgmt_Svcs/election_results/default.asp.


Voters approved 10 of 18 school issues on the February 7, 2006
ballot, which is a 55.5 percent rate of passage.  In 2005 voters
approved 38.10 percent, and 63 issues were on the ballot.

3)  126th General Assembly: 
The Ohio House and Senate will meet in session and hold committee
hearings this week.  The House Finance and Appropriations Committee,
chaired by Representative Calvert, reported out favorably two bills on
February 8, 2006:  Am. HB 438 (Wolpert), establishes a council to study
the cost of doing business factor, and Am.  HB 478 (Wagoner), permits the
University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo to combine.

4) Senate Education Committee Hears Testimony on SB 129 (Schuring) -Community School Accountability: 
The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett,
heard testimony on HB276 (Stewart), school policies prohibiting
bullying, and SB 129 (Schuring), Community School Accountability.

Jay Moody from Stark County Educational Service Center and Darold
Johnson from the Ohio Federation of Teachers provided proponent
testimony on SB129 (Schuring).  SB 129 calls for a cap on the number
of community schools that can open, creates a joint study council to
report on community schools, and imposes penalties for community
schools that fail to comply with EMIS data reporting requirements.

Mr. Moody recommended that the joint council included in SB 129
partner with universities, businesses, and community leaders to
identify best practices for online community schools.

Mr. Johnson urged committee members to support the bill, and provided
examples of ways in which community schools are less accountable to
students, parents, and tax payers.  He also recommended ways to hold
all community schools more accountable for student achievement and
testing; teacher quality; operations and management; reporting data;
compliance with rules; and fiscal accountability.

5)  This Week at the Statehouse:

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet
on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at 4:00 PM in the North Hearing room.
The committee will hear testimony on HB254 (Collier), regarding hours
of school instruction per year, and SB129 (Schuring) - Community
School Accountability.

6)  State Board of Education to Meet: 
The State Board of Education, Sue Westendorf president, will meet
February 13-14, 2006 at the Ohio School for the Deaf, 500 Morse Road,
Columbus, OH.  The State Board of Education's Quality High Schools
Subcommittee, chaired by Carl Wick and Deborah Owens Fink, will meet
on February 12, 2006 at 5:00 PM at the Embassy Suites, 2700 Corporate
Exchange Drive in Columbus. The committee will review literacy initiatives;
discuss teacher certification, standards, and e-training; discuss the education
continuum framework, and discuss proposed budget/legislative issues.

On Monday, February 13, 2006 the Executive Committee, chaired by Sue
Westendorf, will meet at 8:00 AM to review an update from the
Policies and Procedures Subcommittee and Quality High Schools
Subcommittee.

The full Board will meet at 8:30 AM for a policy discussion on school
choice let by Mitch Chester, Associate Superintendent for Policy and
Accountability and Steve Burigana, Chief Operating Officer, and Todd
Hanes, Executive Director, Community Schools.

The Achievement Committee, chaired by Jim Craig and Mike Cochran, and
the Capacity Committee, chaired by Carl Wick and Jennifer Sheets,
will meet at 10:30 AM.

The Achievement Committee will review the model policy on grade
acceleration and receive an update from the Quality High Schools
Subcommittee.

The Capacity Committee will approve the revised substance abuse and
violence prevention policy; approve Rules 3301-12-01 through
3301-12-06, superintendent's spending orders; 3301-102-02 through
3301-102-05, sponsorship, 3301-104-01 through 3301-104-03, internet
or computer-based expenditures, 3301-102-08, expected gains in
student achievement; discuss community school legislative
recommendations: minimum enrollment and mandatory evaluation; and
discuss community school evaluation framework.

At noon the State Board will welcome Eric Combs, the 2006 Ohio
Teacher of the Year, and recognize him for his achievements.

Following lunch at 1:15 PM the Board will discuss state and federal
legislative topics, review rules that the Board will consider for
approval, and hear an update regarding  the School Readiness
Solutions Group, chaired by Steve Millett and Eric Okerson.  The
Board will conduct a Chapter 119 Hearing at 4:00 PM on Ohio
Administrative Code Rule 3301-23-44 regarding temporary licenses.

The Board will conclude the day with reports from committees, and a
review of written reports, including a status report on the Dayton
Kids Count application to be a sponsor of community schools.

The State Board will meet on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 starting at
8:00 AM, and hear an update on School Substance Abuse and Violence
Prevention Policy, and conduct a policy discussion on Quality Middle
and High Schools led by Dr. Susan Tave Zelman and Mitch Chester,
Associate Superintendent, Center for Policy and Accountability.

The Board will then move into its business meeting, and immediately
convene into executive session.  After reconvening its public
meeting, the Board will hear a report from the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Dr. Susan Tave Zelman; public participation on
agenda Items; and consider action on two territory transfers, nine
personnel items, and the following resolutions:

*Adopt the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-11-01 through
3301-11-15, The Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program.
*Approve a resolution of intent to adopt OAC Rules 3301-12-01 through
3301-12-06, Spending orders for the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
*Amend OAC Rules 3301-24-05, Licensure.
*Adopt OAC Rule 3301-24-12, Alternate Superintendent License and
Alternate Administrative Specialist License.
*Adopt OAC Rule 3301-24-13, Relinquishment of License or Teaching Field.
*Rescind OAC Rules 3301-30-01 through 3301-30-04, Department of Youth
Services Program Standards and adopt Rule 3301-30-01 Ohio Department
of Youth Services' Schools.
*Amend OAC Rules 3301-35-01 through 3301-35-07 and Rule 3301-35-09
through 3301-35-14, Operating Standards for Ohio Schools.
*Amend OAC Rules 3301-44-01, 3301-44-02 and 3301-44-05 through
3301-44-09, Postsecondary Enrollment Options.
*Approve a resolution of intent to amend OAC Rule 3301-83-01,
calculation of pupil transportation operation payments.
*Approve a resolution to rescind and adopt OAC Rule 3301-85-01,
Distribution of payment for the purchase of school buses.
*Amend OAC Rule 3301-98-01, Reimbursement of Background Checks for
Individuals Participating in an OhioReads Program.
*Approve a resolution of intent to amend OAC Rules 3301-102-02
through 3301-102-05, sponsorship of community schools.
*Approve a resolution of intent to amend OAC Rules 3301-104-01
through 3301-104-03, internet or computer-based expenditures.
*Approve a resolution of intent to amend OAC Rules 3301-102-08,
expected gains in student achievement and graduation rate for
community schools.
*Approve a resolution to adopt the Substance Abuse and Violence
Prevention Policy.
*Approve a motion regarding changes to the State Board's policy manual.

The Board will then consider old business, new business,
miscellaneous business, and hear public participation on non-agenda
items.  The Board will then adjourn.

For more information about the meeting of the State Board of
Education, please visit www.ode.state.oh.us and follow the links to
the State Board of Education meetings.

7) Children in Poverty: 
Research conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP),
Dr. Jane Knitzer director, shows that "...on average, families need an
income of twice the federal poverty level to meet their basic needs for
food, shelter, health care, transportation, and child care. The 2006 poverty
level is $20,000 for a family of four."  The number of children living in
low-income families has increased 12 percent to 13 million since 2000.

According to the NCCP's "National and State Data Trends", there are
1,592,154 families in Ohio, with 2,855,635 children.  35 percent
(1,002,471) of children in Ohio live in low-income families, defined
as families with an income below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level.  The profile for Ohio also includes information about
education level, employment, marital status, family structure, home
ownership, and more.  For more information about children in poverty,
please visit http://nccp.org/rel_11.html.

8)  Grant Opportunities: 
The U.S. Department of Education announced that grants were available
through a competitive process for Model Program Development and
Dissemination for programs that integrate and strengthen music and
other arts into the elementary and middle school curricula. The grants,
which are awarded to local education agencies or to groups of organizations
that must include a local education agency, average $250,000 per year
(often for three years). The application notice will be formally published on
February 10, 2006, and grant applications will be due on April 10, 2006. 
For more information please visit
http://www.ed.gov/programs/artsedmodel/index.html