To:
LWVO
From: Joan Platz
Education Update for April 17,
2006
1) 126th General Assembly:
No
sessions of the Ohio House and Senate are planned until after the May 2006
Primary Election.
2) State Board of Education
Meets:
The State Board of Education, Sue Westendorf
president, met on April 10 - 11, 2006 at the Ohio School for the Deaf in
Columbus.
The Achievement Committee, chaired by Jim Craig and Mike
Cochran, discussed the following: the model policy on grade acceleration; the
policy on excuses from school attendance; performance level cut scores for
achievement tests in mathematics grades 4-6 and reading grades 6-7; and
resolution 31, which 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, chaired by Carl
Wick and Jennifer Sheets, discussed the community school sponsor evaluation
framework and legislative recommendations regarding community schools. The
ODE is requesting the legislative authority to evaluate all community school
sponsors; clarify the State Board's authority with all community school
sponsors; and identify progressive sanctions to use when sponsors fail to comply
with their contract.
In the afternoon the Board heard updates about the
Third Frontier Network, which will create a high-speed fiber optic network
linking K-12 schools with higher education, business, and industry, and promote
research and economic development. The Board also heard an update on the
Data Driven Decisions for Academic Achievement Initiative (D3A2), and changes
for the ODE web site, which will be launched in mid May 2006. The updated
ODE web site will be topic driven, and include a state of the art research
tool.
The Board also conducted a Chapter 119 hearing on the following
administrative rules:
*Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) - Rules 3301-12-01
through 3301-12-06, Spending Orders of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
*OAC Rule 3301-83-01, Calculation of Pupil Transportation
Operation Payments.
*OAC Rule 3301-85-01, Distribution of Payment for the
Purchase of School Buses.
*OAC Rules 3301-102-02 through 3301-102-05,
Sponsorship of Community Schools.
*OAC Rules 3301-104-01 through 3301-104-03,
Internet or Computer-based Expenditures.
*OAC Rules 3301-102-08, Expected
Gains in Student Achievement and Graduation Rate for Community
Schools.
Brian Adams, an accountant for several community schools,
testified on the sponsorship rules for community schools. He requested
that the State Board of Education amend the rules to include an ethics clause to
prevent sponsors from having a financial interest in the schools that they
sponsor, or employ individuals who have a financial relationship with the
sponsor. Mr. Adams stated that in his experience there is a conflict of
interest involving sponsors, management companies, and financing community
schools. Several Board members requested that legal counsel follow-up on
Mr. Adams' testimony.
On Monday evening Susan Tavakolian, Executive
Director, Office of Budget and Planning, and Kelly Weir, Associate Director,
Office of Budget and Planning, presented an overview of the School Foundation
Program - SF3 to members of the State Board of Education. The State Board
will soon be developing its budget and policy recommendations for FY08-09, and
will be participating in study sessions to learn more about the status of
specific education programs and legislative and funding issues. Mike
Armstrong and Kathy Shibley also presented information on Special Education,
Gifted Education, Students with Limited English Proficiency, and Ohio Career and
Technical Education and Adult Education (CTAE).
The State Board held its
business meeting on Tuesday, April 11, 2006.
The Board took action on eleven
personnel items, and the following resolutions:
*Adopted the Ohio
Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-24-14, supplemental teaching
license.
*Approved a resolution of intent to rescind OAC Rules 3301-51-13 and
adopt Rules 3301-69-02, Excuses from School Attendance.
*Approved 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.
*Approved a model
student grade acceleration policy for advanced students.
*Approved a
resolution of intent to adopt standard scores indicative of advanced,
accelerated, proficient, basic and limited skill levels on the achievement tests
in Grade 4 Mathematics, Grade 5 Mathematics, Grade 6 Reading and Mathematics,
and Grade 7 Reading.
*Directed the Ohio Department of Education to place into
"To Be Refiled" status proposed OAC Rule 3301-102-08 regarding reasonable
standards for expected gains for the assessments and graduation rate for
community schools
*Approved a motion to recommend changes to the Board's
Policy Manual.
*Expressed appreciation for the life and service of State
Board member John W. Griffin, who passed away on March 23, 2006.
The next
meeting of the State Board is scheduled for Monday and
Tuesday, May 8-9, 2006
at the Ohio School for the Deaf, 500 Morse Road, Columbus, Ohio.
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.
4) More about TEL:
The Ohio
Education Association hosted a news conference on April 11, 2006 to release data
on the potential impact of the proposed Tax Expenditure Limit (TEL)
onstitutional amendment on school district budgets. Attending the press
conference were representatives of several organizations that oppose TEL,
including the League of Women Voters of Ohio. Gary Allen from the Ohio
Education Association, Fred Pausch from the Ohio School Boards Association, and
John Corlett, campaign manager of the Coalition for Ohio's Future, described how
the TEL amendment, which is set to be on the November 7, 2006 ballot, would
cause more financial hardships for school districts and other local taxing
districts trying to pass levies. An analysis prepared by the Center for
Community Solutions showed that 114 school district levy requests were approved
in 2004, but only 12 would have been approved if the TEL amendment had been in
effect.
According to a legal opinion provided by the law firm Benesch,
Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, the TEL amendment requires local
political
subdivisions to obtain the approval of a majority of electors (registered
voters), rather than a majority of those who
voted in the election, to
approve tax increases that exceed the TEL cap. At the state level,
however, the amendment requires just a
majority of voters voting in the
election to approve tax increases that exceed the cap. Local political
subdivisions include school
districts, parks, libraries, cities, counties,
sewer districts, townships, and other local government
entities.
5) Council of Great City Schools
Report:
The Council of Great Cities Schools, Michael Casserly
executive director, released their annual report card called "Beating the Odds
VI" on March 21, 2006. This report shows that students in urban districts
are making progress in math and reading on state mandated tests and the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The following are some
highlights of the report:
*93.8 percent of urban districts increased
their math scores on state tests in grade four between 2000 and 2005, and 93.3
percent of districts saw scores increase in grade 8.
*Between 2002-2005 4th
graders scoring at or above proficiency in math increased from 44.5 percent to
58.5 percent.
*Between 2002-2005 4th graders scoring at or above proficiency
in reading increased from 43.3 percent to 54.4 percent.
*Between 2002-2005
8th graders scoring at or above proficiency in math increased from 37.3 percent
to 45.7 percent.
*Between 2002-2005 8th graders scoring at or above
proficiency in reading increased 36.1 percent to 39.7 percent in
2005.
The report is available at http://www.cgcs.org/. Profiles for 66 large city school districts are also
available.
6) Update from the ODE:
The
April "Ides of ODE", published by the Ohio Department of Education's, Center for
Curriculum and Assessment, Offices of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment,
includes up to date information on content standards, lessons, professional
development, and assessment. This month the Ides of ODE includes
information about the following:
*The Ohio Department of Education
sponsors several professional development institutes for school districts in
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts Writing Academy (ELAA), Social Studies World
Studies Institute, and Social Studies U.S. Studies Institute (SSIO). For
more information please call Sasheen Phillips at 614-387-2206 for the ELAA
information or Virginia Ressa 614-728-6920 for the SSIO information.
*The
36th Annual Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition opened on April 9, 2006 in
Columbus and will run until May 19, 2006. 300 outstanding works of arts
are now on display in Columbus at the Rhodes State Office Tower, the Ohio
Department of Education, and the office of Governor Taft. The 36th Annual
Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition recognizes the creativity of high school
students in Ohio, art educators, and education programs supporting the
arts. More than 12,200 entries were submitted for this exhibition, but
only 300 were chosen by a panel of art professions representing 15 regions
across the state. For information about the exhibition, please visit the Ohio
Governor's Youth Art Exhibition Web site at www.govart.org, or contact Nancy
Pistone at nancy.pistone@ode.state.oh.us.
*The INFOhio-LearningExpress
Library provides a variety of practice tests and tutorial courses for students
online. Practice tests are available for Advanced Placement, college
entrance exams, civil service exams, and improving skills. The service
provides immediate scoring, explains answers, and analyses test results.
Students can setup their own account for the LearningExpress Library site at
school, and then access the Library from home. The LearningExpress Library
is available at http://www.infohio.org/ER/ERcore.asp
*The ODE also has available information about how districts can apply
for a site visit from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Susan
Tave Zelman, in 2006-2007. The ODE will select up to ten districts for
visits next year. The application form is available at
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/superintendent/School_Visits_RFP.pdf
7) More About NCLB:
The New York
Times published a "Letter to the Editor" on April 2, 2006 by Governor Mike
Huckabee of Arkansas, who is the chairman of both the Education Commission of
the States and the National Governors Association. The letter was in
response to an article, "Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math"
published in the NY Times on March 26, 2006. In response to the article
Governor Huckabee lamented how arts education programs were being cut across the
nation in the name of the No Child Left Behind Act. Governor Huckabee
writes, "In the name of No Child Left Behind, we are going to leave some of our
brightest students totally behind by never touching their talents to sing,
paint, act, dance or play an instrument. While experts and futurists warn that
the future economy
will be driven by the "creative class," there are
determined efforts to diminish the value of the
arts."