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

1)  126th General Assembly: 
The Ohio House and Senate will hold hearings and sessions this week.  Representative Michael Skindell (D-Lakewood) was appointed last week as ranking minority member on the House Finance and Appropriations Committee.  Representative Skindell replaces Dale Miller, who was appointed to the Ohio Senate.

2) 109th Congress Budget Update: 
The U.S Senate Budget Committee chaired by Senator Judd Gregg approved on March 10, 2006 its own budget proposal for FY07, S.Con.Res. 83.  According to a press release, the proposed budget restrains discretionary spending, addresses the issue of supplemental budgets, curbs entitlement spending, and cuts the deficit in half by 2009, reducing the projected deficit from $521 billion in 2004 (4.5% of GDP) to $250 billion, (1.7% of GDP) in 2008.  Opponents of the plan say that it leaves out expenses and would add more than $3 trillion of debt over the next five years.

The Senate budget proposal provides $1.5 billion more for education than President Bush's proposed budget.  President Bush's FY07 budget includes a total of $54.3 billion for education, and the U.S. Senate committee's budget proposes $55.8 billion for education.  The Senate budget increases funding for programs aimed at assisting lower income and students with disabilities, and increases funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) by $2 billion from 2008 - 2011. Federal funds for special education will increase to $14.2 billion in 2008.

The Senate version also includes the President's request for $412 million in 2007 for new math and science education initiatives, and programs to ensure students have access to highly qualified teachers.

The Senate is expected to begin debate on its budget starting March 13, 2006.  To view a summary of the Senate budget proposal and the response from opponents visit: http://budget.senate.gov/republican/pressarchive/MarkSummary.pdf

3)  This Week at the Statehouse:

*The Ohio House and Senate Education Committees will not be meeting this week.

*The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey, will meet on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 2:30 PM in the Finance hearing room. The committee will hear testimony on HB478 (Wagoner), which allows for the combination of the University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio.

*The Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee chaired by Senator Amstutz will meet on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 4:00 PM in
the South Hearing room.  The committee will hear testimony on SB276 (Cates), which exempts eligible homes of elderly persons from new property taxes.

*The House Civil and Commercial Law Committee, chaired by Representative Oelslager, will meet on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 9:30 AM in room 114 (Hayes).  The committee will hear testimony on the following two bills related to education:  HB486 (Faber), which confers immunity from civil liability upon school districts,
community schools, nonpublic schools, and school employees for an alleged injury to a student caused by school discipline, provided that such discipline does not result in student endangerment; and HB9 (Oelslager), which amends sections 149.011, 149.43, and enacts section 109.43 of the Revised Code to revise the Public Records Law.

*The Higher Education Funding Study Council, chaired by Representative Webster, will meet on Thursday, March 16, 2006 at 9:00
AM at the Riffe Center 12th floor.

4)  State Board of Education to Meet: 
The State Board of Education, Sue Westendorf president, will meet March 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 March 12, 2006 at 6:00 PM at the Embassy Suites, 2700 Corporate Exchange Drive in Columbus. The committee will discuss the Ohio Core, the Honors Diploma, PSEO, and the Partnership for Continued Learning.

On Monday, March 13, 2006 the Executive Committee, chaired by Sue Westendorf, will meet at 8:30 AM, to review updates from the Policies and Procedures Subcommittee and Quality High Schools Subcommittee.

The Achievement Committee, chaired by Jim Craig and Mike Cochran, and the Capacity Committee, chaired by Carl Wick and Jennifer Sheets, will meet at 9:00 AM.

The Achievement Committee will discuss the intent resolutions - model policy on grade acceleration and excuses from school absences; receive an update from the Quality High Schools Subcommittee; and discuss the implications of Resolution #31, which the Board adopted on February 14, 2006.  That resolution eliminated the lesson "Critical Analysis of Evolution," from the Instructional Management System, and language in the benchmarks and indicators of the academic content standards in science that referred to the critical analysis of evolution.

The Capacity Committee will discuss the community school sponsor evaluation framework and consider four legislative recommendations; and review HB 431 (Peterson), Special Education Scholarship Program.

The full Board will hear a presentation on the flow of federal dollars at 10:30 AM presented by Stephen Barr, Associate Superintendent, Center for School Improvement.

The Board will recognize the following Milken Educators at 11:30 AM: Marie Wenzke, South-Western City Schools; Diane Callahan, Fairfield City Schools; and Lisa M. Suarez-Caraballo, Cleveland Municipal Schools.

At 11:45 AM Governor Bob Taft, U.S. Representative Ralph Regula, Senator Joy Padgett, and Representative Arlene Setzer will participate in a ceremony recognizing the 50th anniversary of the State Board of Education. A proclamation from the Governor and congratulatory resolutions from the U.S. House of Representatives,
the Ohio House, and the Ohio Senate will be presented to State Board of Education President Sue Westendorf.

Following lunch at 1:30 PM the Board will discuss state and federal legislative topics, review the rules that the Board will consider for adoption, hear reports from committees, review written reports, 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 the Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3301-24-14 regarding supplemental teaching license.  The Board will then retire for the evening.

The State Board will meet on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 starting at 8:00 AM, and participate in a policy discussion on Resource Management, presented by Dr. Susan Tave Zelman and Paolo DeMaria, Associate Superintendent, Center for School Finance, and Stephen Barr, Associate Superintendent, Center for School Improvement.

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 seven personnel items, and the
following resolutions:

*Adopt the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-23-44, temporary licenses.
*Approve a resolution of intent to adopt the modified plan of the Stark County Area Vocational Planning Districts, and approve the modified plan of the Canton Local Compact Career-Technical Planning District, regarding Perry Local School District.
*Adopt the School Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention Policy.
*Approve a resolution of intent to adopt a model student grade acceleration policy for advanced students.
*Approve a motion regarding HB431, Special Education Scholarship Program.

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 meetings of the State Board of Education, please visit www.ode.state.oh.us and follow the links to the State Board of Education meetings.

5)  What is the role of public schools in a democracy? 
An article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Professor Walter Parker of the University of Washington, "Public schools are hotbeds of democracy" 3/9/06, opines that public schools are ideal places to cultivate citizenship to sustain a democracy.  Unlike private schools or homeschooling, in which students are often separated from main stream society and the student body is homogeneous, public schools have a diverse student body from a variety of social backgrounds, which provides the context for future citizens to develop the skills that promote and sustain a democratic form of government.  According to the article,

"Democracies don't materialize out of thin air. They are created - and maintained and deepened - by citizens."

Diversity aids in decision making by bringing different problems and understandings of the problem to the discussion table, and widens the range of alternatives and solutions.  Public schools are the ideal place for students to prepare for citizenship in a democracy.

"When aimed at democratic ends and supported by democratic means, schools can help children enter the public consciousness needed for citizenship, or what the ancient Greeks called puberty.  This includes the habits of reasoning and caring necessary for public life: the cosmopolitan respect, the insistence on fair play, and the
knack for forging public policy with others whether one likes them or not. The opposite is what the Greeks called idiocy - absorption in one's private affairs."

"Public schools are good places to help young people grow from idiocy to puberty. Schools can't do it alone, to be sure; families and faith communities must do their part. But schools have the key ingredients that make them the most fertile sites in society for this work." The article is available at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/262189_democracy09.html

6)  Report on White Hat Management, Inc.: 
The Food and Allied Service Trades Division of the AFL-CIO, in cooperation with the Ohio Federation of Teachers, released on March 7, 2006 an investigative report called "Education Empire: David Brennan's White Hat Management Inc. A Comprehensive Report on the Origins, Evolution and Business Model of Ohio's Largest Charter School Company."

Researchers compiled information about Akron businessman David Brennan and his education related businesses, including White Hat Ventures LLC,  White Hat Management, Inc., White Hat Realty, NCLB Tutors, Brilliant Campus, etc.  The report details the history of the businesses and the voucher and charter school movements in Ohio.  The researchers used corporate records from the Ohio Secretary of State's office, audit reports from the Ohio Auditor's office, county property
records, IRS form 990 filings, court records, campaign finance forms, internet searches, and newspaper articles to prepare the report. Some of the findings are included below:

*White Hat Management, formed in 1998, and affiliated companies operate 49 charter schools in seven states, including 13 Hope-Academies, 20 Life Skills Centers, an online distance learning school, and tutoring centers in Ohio. Total state aid to all White Hat affiliated schools is estimated to be $94.6 million this year.
* The Walton Family Foundation (Wal-Mart) provided $1.825 million for the original Brennan foundation called Hope For Cleveland's Children Foundation to support the "Hope" voucher schools.
*State eligibility rules for the Cleveland Scholarship Program (voucher program), which restricted the eligibility of vouchers to students at or below the poverty level, were changed so that more economically and academically diverse students could take advantage of the program.
*The Interfaith Elementary voucher school, a Brennan school,  was converted into a charter school, even though Ohio law prohibited such transitions.  The school became the Hope Academy University Campus.
* White Hat Ventures, LLC (first incorporated in Nevada and then in Delaware) through various companies and trustees essentially owns the charter schools that it operates, even though charter schools are required by law to be nonprofit entities governed by independent boards.
* Financial statements show that many Hope charter schools are indebted to White Hat Management company.  Some school buildings are being used as collateral to secure a $5 million loan.  These schools were first acquired by White Hat using state money.
*Similar names appear as trustees of Hope Academies and Life Skills schools throughout the state, even though charter schools were originally created as locally run, independent schools.

The full report is available on the Ohio Federation of Teachers' web
site at http://oh.aft.org.

7)  New Hampshire School Funding System Ruled Unconstitutional:
Justice William Groff of the New Hampshire superior court ruled on March 9, 2006 that New Hampshire's school funding plan is still unconstitutional.  The 16 plaintiff school districts alleged that the new school funding plan enacted by the New Hampshire legislature failed to fulfill the requirements set by the New Hampshire Supreme
Court in the Claremont cases, which required lawmakers to define a constitutionally adequate education and determine its cost.  The ruling is expected to be appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

8)  TARGET STORES PROVIDE EDUCATION GRANTS
Visit your local Target stores for information about how to apply for education grants for your school.  Local Target stores have guidelines and applications, or visit:
http://target.com/target_group/community_giving/index.jhtml.