To:     LWVO
From:   Joan Platz
Education Update for May 15, 2006

1)  126th General Assembly: 
The Ohio House and Senate will hold sessions and committee meetings this week.  Last week the Ohio House passed HB422 (Hughes) - School Safety Plans, and HB576 (McGregor) - Tuition waivers for spouses of armed forces members killed in line of duty.  The Ohio Senate approved SB164 (Schuring), which permits students to carry epinephrine medication to school, and the FY07-08 Tobacco Budget.

*Tobacco Budget:  The Ohio Senate approved last week SB 321 (Carey) the Tobacco Budget for FY 07-08.  The $763.7 million budget includes funding for several trust funds outlined in 123-SB192 as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies.  Funds are included for tobacco prevention, education technology, biomedical research, public health, and agricultural and economic development. Approximately $648.5 million is allocated for the Education Facilities Trust Fund, which will be distributed through the Ohio School Facilities Commission for the construction and renovation of school facilities.  The bill will be heard in the House Finance and Appropriations Committee this week.

2) 109th Congress: 
The U.S. House took up action again last week on the FY07 federal budget, H. Con. Res. 376, but opposition to the $7 billion reduction in education, child care, health care, and nutrition programs included in the resolution is slowing its progress.  Appropriations subcommittees in the House and Senate are now meeting, and may start to approve appropriations without the approved budget resolution.

3)  Joint Hearing on the Ohio Core Legislation: 
Representative Arleen Setzer and Senator Joy Padgett, chairs of the House and Senate Education committees, held a joint session of those committees on May 9, 2006 to hear sponsor testimony on SB 311 (Gardner) and HB 565 (Setzer), which include Governor Taft's Ohio Core curriculum for high school graduation.  Joining the sponsors to testify in support of the bills were Mike Morris, CEO of AEP and representing the Ohio Roundtable; Mike Cohen, president of Achieve, Inc., and Katie
Haycock, executive director of the Education Trust in Washington D.C.

The Ohio Core requires high school students starting in 2011 to complete a curriculum that includes four years of math, including Algebra II; three years of science, including biology, chemistry and/or physics; four years of English; three years of social studies; two years of a foreign language, and three electives in business/technology or fine arts. (The minimum number of required graduation credits by the state for public schools is 20 credits, but school districts can require more.)

Representative Setzer, in her sponsor testimony to the Joint Committee, noted that 22 states are currently evaluating their graduation requirements to better prepare students for the jobs of the 21st century.  Eight states, including Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky, already have adopted more rigorous graduation requirements.

Senator Randy Gardner, who is sponsoring SB 311, explained that discussions are continuing regarding amendments to the bill to address special education concerns, school district capacity, and graduation credits in fine arts and technology.

According to Michael Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., 19 of 100 Ohio ninth-grade students will complete a college degree on time, and 35 percent of first-year college students in Ohio require remedial coursework in math and English.  The intent of the Ohio Core is to eliminate the need for remediation, and prepare students for any job in the future.

After the presentations legislators on the House and Senate committees had an opportunity to question the panel on the components of the Ohio Core.  Overall lawmakers seemed to agree that, in principle, a more rigorous high school curriculum was desirable, but asked a variety of questions concerning how the Ohio Core would be implemented.  For example, Senator Fedor noted that 10,000 teachers had been laid off in Ohio, and suggested that some school districts would now find it difficult to offer the courses to students required
for graduation.  Other lawmakers noted that Ohio was a "home-rule" state, and local school districts needed more flexibility to enact the Ohio Core requirements.  Senator Miller questioned how the state can implement more rigorous requirements when there is such disparity among school districts in Ohio in school funding.  Katie Haycock of the Education Trust suggested that technology and distance learning could be used to overcome capacity issues, and provide learning opportunities for students in districts with these capacity issues.

Hearings on HB565 and SB311 will continue this week in the House and Senate Education Committees.

*Tapping Ohio's Potential:  Governor Taft and members of the business, education, and community leaders announced last week the formation of a coalition to support The Ohio Core Curriculum called "Tapping Ohio's Potential". This independent coalition supports passage of legislation that would enact the Ohio Core, SB 311 (Gardner) and HB 565 (Setzer) now before the Ohio General Assembly. Tapping Ohio's Potential will work to ensure that Ohio students are prepared for college, work, and citizenship, and more students graduate from college with degrees in science, math, and engineering.

4)  This Week at the Statehouse:

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006
The  House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Calvert, will meet on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 3:00 PM or after session in room 313. The committee will hear testimony on HB293  (Kilbane) - property tax payments-senior citizens/disabled; HB250 (Trakas) 2/more schools create taxing district-funding behavioral health; and SB321 (Carey) - Tobacco Budget.

The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer, will meet on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 3:30 PM in room 018, and hear testimony on HB565 (Setzer) The Ohio Core Curriculum.

The Senate Education committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 4:00 PM in the North Hearing Room. The committee will hear testimony on HB422 (Hughes) School Safety Plans, and SB311 (Gardner), the Ohio Core Curriculum, and HCR40 (Schneider), recognize Co-op Education Week May 14-20, 2006.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2006
The  House Finance and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Calvert, will meet on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 9:30 AM in room 313. The committee will continue to hear testimony on HB293 (Kilbane) - property tax payments-senior citizens/disabled; HB250 (Trakas) schools create taxing district to fund behavioral health; and SB321 (Carey) - Tobacco Budget.

The House Rules and Reference Committee, chaired by Representative Husted, will meet Wednesday, May 17, 2006, after session in room 313. The committee will hear testimony on HJR13 (Dewine) - a redistricting proposal on the November ballot.

5)  ETPI Report on the TEL Amendment: 
The Education Tax Policy Institute (ETPI) released a report last week called "Analysis of Proposed Constitutional Limitation on State and Local Spending in Ohio" prepared by William Driscoll and the firm Levin, Driscoll & Fleeter.  ETPI includes the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Buckeye School Administrators, and the Ohio School Boards Association.

The report includes an analysis of the components of the proposed Tax Expenditure Limitations (TEL) constitutional amendment sponsored by Citizens for Tax Reform, and an analysis of how the TEL amendment would have affected selected school districts in Ohio, if it was currently in effect.

The TEL amendment may be on the November 7, 2006 ballot, and if approved by Ohio voters, would add Section 14 in Article XII regarding government revenue and expenditures to the Ohio Constitution.  The report provides information about the components of the TEL amendment, including its scope; the state expenditure limit; the state budget reserve fund; state mandates; local government fund; tax and spending limitations on schools and local governments; and enforcement.

According to the report, the language of the amendment is ambiguous and unclear, and will have unintended consequences if it passes.  For example, the amendment refers to "mandates", "state expenditures", "unencumbered funds", "pro rata", "proportionally to each county", "electors" etc., but does not adequately define these terms and others.  If enacted, the amendment will cause "chaos" in state and local government, including school districts, as the courts try to enforce the amendment without a clear understanding of its terms.

The report also confirms a recent analysis prepared by the Center for Community Solutions, which showed that school districts would have difficulty passing additional levies if the TEL amendment is approved.  For example, in an analysis of 114 school district levy requests that were approved in 2004, only 12 would have been approved if the TEL amendment had been in effect.  The ETPI report agrees that the term majority of "electors" found in the TEL amendment, would mean that a majority of registered voters in a school district, and not just a majority of those voting in an election, would be required to approve a school district tax or bond issue.

The summary of the report includes eight conclusions about the TEL amendment's impact and unintended consequences.  These are included in an abbreviated version here:

*"The amendment is so sweeping in it scope that it will have many unintended consequences."

*"On its own terms, the amendment would supercede any other clause of the Constitution."  (This includes the "thorough and efficient" clause regarding school funding.)

*"The amendment is structured so as to characterize any attempt at its modification as an abandonment of limits on taxes and expenditures."  "The hubris associated with such an assertion of perfection appears especially ludicrous in light of the proposed amendment's amateurish draftsmanship."

*"The amendment would allow virtually anyone to challenge the constitutionality of State and local expenditures, the existence of an unfunded State mandate, the implementation of the proposed "local government fund", and virtually any other public finance decision related to the unbounded reach of the amendment."

*"The proposal's abysmal use of language, failure to define critical terminology, and disregard for well-established accounting principles guarantees that its adoption will generate confusion and litigation in every aspect of government finance."

*"The amendment's various features create a number of perverse behavioral incentives for the general assembly and local officials."

*"The proposed amendment has such a vast scope of operation that no single analysis of its provisions can encompass all of the ramifications of the proposed changes."

*"The proposal would compound the harshness of its limitations on spending for public services with rigid procedures to limit any discretion for exceptions."

The ETPI report on the TEL amendment is available on the web site of the Ohio School Boards Association at http://www.osba-ohio.org/

6)  State Board of Education: 
The State Board of Education, Sue Westendorf president, met on May 8-9, 2006 at the Ohio School for the Deaf.  The Quality High Schools and the School Funding subcommittees also met on May 7, 2006 at the Embassy Suites in Columbus, and a review of programs operated by the Ohio Department of Education was also presented at the Embassy Suites on the evening of May 8, 2006.

The Achievement Committee, chaired by Jim Craig and Mike Cochran, approved the performance level cut scores for achievement tests in mathematics grades 4-6 and reading grades 6-7, and discussed 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.

Paolo DeMaria, Association Superintendent for the Center of School Finance, shared with the Capacity Committee, chaired by Jennifer Sheets, newly drafted policy guidelines for school net indebtedness limits (ORC Section 133.06), to align Board policy adopted in 2002 with changes made through Am. Sub. HB66 (Calvert), the FY06-07 state budget.  This is a comprehensive policy rewrite, and looks very much like rules.  The draft will be shared with stakeholders over the next few weeks, and will be brought back to the Board in July for adoption.

The committee also approved some small changes in the rules for the Ohio Education Choice Scholarship Program per HB 530 (Calvert) - the
budget corrections bill.  The changes include adding the eligibility of students from districts in academic watch to this voucher program.

Marilyn Troyer, Associate Superintendent for the Center on the Teaching Profession, also explained to the committee some changes that needed to be made in two rules regarding teacher licensure programs to align those rules with recent changes in law.  The changes will ensure that teacher preparation programs in higher education institutions, either those that follow TEAC or NCATE accreditation standards, align with HB 107 (Setzer) and changes as a result of the adoption of new standards for teachers and principals. HB 107 was approved last year, and requires teacher preparation programs to instruct new teachers in Ohio's Academic Content Standards.  It is recommended that Rule 3301-24-03 be updated to require that a minimum of 10 weeks of student teaching and 100 hours of pre-student teaching field experiences be included in the standards, and that Rule 3301-24-02 be rescinded.

The full Board then heard a presentation on the Community School Sponsor Evaluation Framework presented by Todd Hanes, Executive Director, Office of Community Schools.  The presentation also included a request for Board action on two resolutions:  Legislative recommendations regarding the evaluation of all community school sponsors, and the enactment of progressive sanctions for community school sponsors.

Stan Heffner, Associate Superintendent for the Center on Curriculum and Assessment, announced that new lessons in fine arts will be posted on the Instructional Management Information System, and reviewed with the full Board the standard settings process and recommendations for the performance level cut scores for achievement tests in mathematics grades 4-6 and reading grades 6-7.  The conclusion of his presentation included the following information:

*With the adoption of the performance level cut scores for these achievement tests, schools in Ohio now have performance level descriptors for grades three - eight in reading and mathematics.

*Schools are responding to the standards-based system.  There was a slight increase in the scores for math at the 7th and 8th grades this year.

*The cut scores represent the floor and not the ceiling for student performance.

*Achievement gaps still persist.

*It is recommended that these cut scores be reviewed in three years.

Susan Tavakolian and Kelly Weir, Office of Budget and Planning, also presented an update on current (FY07) program support for the Ohio Department of Education.  The presentation provided background information for Board members to consider in preparation of the development and adoption of the FY08 - 09 State Board of Education's budget recommendations, which will be presented to the Governor and the General Assembly in the fall.  The proposed budget and legislative recommendations are now being developed by the Superintendent for Public Instruction, Dr. Susan Tave Zelman, and are expected to be mailed to Board members in June.

The State Board also met on Tuesday, May 9, 2006.  Board member Eric Okerson and Jane Weichel, Associate Superintendent for the Center on Students, Families and Communities, presented information regarding the work of the State Board of Education's School Readiness Solutions Group, chaired by Steve Millett and Eric Okerson.  The Readiness Solutions Group has developed a comprehensive and inclusive process for evaluating early learning experiences for children birth through Kindergarten in Ohio, and has prepared 13 "Big Ideas" for policy consideration.  These policy recommendations are expected to be available in June 2006 for further Board discussion.  For more information about the work of the School Readiness Solutions Group, please visit http://www.schoolreadiness.ohio.gov/

During the business meeting of the State Board of Education, representatives of the Education Tax Policy Institute (ETPI) presented information about the impact of the Tax Expenditure Limitation (TEL) on schools and local governments during public participation of board items.  (Please see # 5 above for details.) The Board then took action on eight personnel items, and the following resolutions:

*Approved a resolution of intent to amend Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Rules 3301-11-01 to 3301-11-03, Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program.

*Adopted OAC Rules 3301-12-01 through 3301-12-06, spending orders for the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

*Amended OAC Rules 3301-83-01, Calculation of Pupil Transportation Operation Payments.

*Rescinded and adopted OAC Rule 3301-85-01, Distribution of payment for the purchase of school buses.

*Amended OAC Rules 3301-102-02 through 3301-102-05, sponsorship of community schools.

*Adopted OAC Rules 3301-104-01 through 3301-104-03, qualifying expenditures for pupil instruction for internet- or computer-based community schools.

*Adopted 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.  These scores will be reviewed after three years.

*Appointed the following individuals to the Educator Standards Board: Jerry Oberhaus, William Shriver, Mary Sebenoler, Julia Simmerer, Julia Henderson, David Axner, Anne Lippert, David Anderson, and Deb Ciecka

*Approved legislative recommendations regarding the evaluation of community school sponsors and the enactment of progressive sanctions for community school sponsors.

*Approved eligibility requirements for awarding Academic Competitiveness Grants for the 2006-07 academic year.  These are new grants recently approved by Congress through the reauthorization of the Higher Education Funding Act for freshman and sophomore college students who qualify for Pell Grants.  States are required to define a rigorous curriculum for high school graduates to be eligible for these grants.  The deadline given to states was June 1, 2006, and so the U.S. Department of Education pre-approved curriculum for states, and pre-approved the diploma of honors requirements or students who have taken at least two Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, and passed the tests in both subjects for Ohio's students to meet the June 2006 deadline.

*Adopted a motion to oppose the proposed Tax Expenditure Limitation (TEL) constitutional amendment.

*Referred to the Capacity Committee the question of whether the State Board of Education should present to the General Assembly a legislative recommendation to reduce state transportation operating funding for school districts that have suspended pupil transportation.

The State Board of Education will hold its annual retreat on June 11-13, 2006, at the Salt Fork Resort and Conference Center, U.S. Route 22, Cambridge, 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.