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To: LWVO
From: Joan Platz
Education Update for November 6, 2006

1)  What to Expect After the Election:  
The 126th General Assembly ends on December 31, 2006.  The Ohio House and Senate have scheduled sessions for the months of November and December to complete work on several bills before this General Assembly ends.  The November session starts on November 14, 2006, just a week after the general election.  Lawmakers are expected to take action on several education related bills, some of which have already had hearings or have been approved by one or more of the legislative chambers.  Lawmakers are also expected to consider a biennial capital appropriation bill, which is usually approved in even-numbered years.  The following is an overview of just some of the education related bills that may be considered by lawmakers during the upcoming lame duck session:

-FY 2007-2008 Capital Budget.  The biennial state capital budget provides funds, typically from the sale of bonds but may also include General Revenue Funds, for the acquisition or construction of major capital items, including land, buildings, structures, and equipment for state agencies, institutions, and public projects.  This appropriation bill is expected to be introduced over the next few weeks.  The 126th General Assembly has already approved some new capital appropriations through a reappropriation bill, HB 530 (Calvert), which the General Assembly approved in March 2006.  That bill included funds for school construction projects in Ohio allocated through the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

-HB79 (Raga) - Professional Conduct:  Requires that information about professional misconduct or child abuse or neglect committed by a person licensed by the State Board of Education be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and requires the State Board to request a criminal records check prior to renewing an educator license.  This bill was approved by the Ohio House in June 2005, but was amended by the Ohio Senate October 2005.  The House refused to concur with the Senate changes, and so the bill has remained in limbo.  There is wide support for this bill, and so it is expected that the House and Senate will work out a compromise and approve this bill before the session ends.

-HB213 (Oelslager) Extends the statewide cap on the number of community schools sponsored by entities other than the school districts in which they would be located, creates the Joint Study Committee on Ohio's Community Schools, and makes changes to the Community Schools Law.  Hearings on this bill were held in the House Alternative Education Subcommittee.  This is one of several bills that have been introduced in the 126th General Assembly that address charter school laws.  Other bills that have been introduced related to charter school law include SB 129 (Schuring); SB 344 (Fedor); SB 176 (Fedor); SB 110 (Fedor); HB 295 (Williams); HB 572 (Healy); HB 335 (Williams); and HB 321 (Healy).  The bill that is most likely to go forward is SB 129 (Schuring), which has already had hearings before the Senate Education Committee.

-Sub. HB250 (Trakas) School Taxing Authority: Authorizes two or more school boards to create a taxing district for the joint funding of behavioral health, autism, and related services to students.  This bill was reported favorably by the House Education Committee in May 2006, but has not been approved by the full Ohio House.

-HB276 (Stewart) School Policy Regarding Bullying:  Requires policies that prohibit harassment, bullying, or intimidation in public schools.  This bill was approved by the Ohio House in January 2006, and has had hearings in the Ohio Senate Education Committee.

-HB411 (Wolpert) School Performance Ratings:  Eliminates the requirement that a school district or building that fails to make 'adequate yearly progress' for more than two consecutive years be rated no higher than 'in need of continuous improvement' on the annual state academic performance ratings.  This bill has had several hearings before the House Education Committee.

-HB431 (Peterson) Special Education Vouchers:  Establishes the Special Education Scholarship Program to provide scholarships for handicapped children to attend alternative public and nonpublic special education programs.  This bill is expected to be considered during the lame duck session.  It has had three hearings in the House Education Committee, and a companion bill in the Ohio Senate, SB 65 (Coughlin), has had three hearings in the Senate Education Committee.

-Sub. HB438 (Wolpert) Cost of Doing Business Factor:  Establishes a study council to examine the current cost-of-doing business factor used in calculating funding for school districts and community schools, and makes recommendations whether and in what form the factor should be modified.  This bill was approved by the House Finance Committee in February 2006.

-HB565 (Setzer) Ohio Core Graduation Requirements:  Establishes the Ohio Core curriculum supported by Governor Taft, and implements other initiatives to enhance secondary and post-secondary education in Ohio.  This bill and a companion bill, SB 311 (Gardner), have had several hearings in the House and Senate, and are expected to be considered by lawmakers during the lame duck session.  A substitute bill that changes the proposed Ohio Core requirements is expected to be introduced in November 2006.

-SB65 (Coughlin) Special Education Vouchers - Establishes the Special Education Scholarship Program to provide scholarships for handicapped children to attend alternative public and nonpublic special education programs.  This bill has had hearings before the Senate Education Committee in January 2006.  It is similar to HB 431 (Peterson).

-SB129 (Schuring) Extends the statewide cap on the number of community schools sponsored by entities other than the school districts in which they would be located, creates the Joint Study Committee on Ohio's Community Schools, and makes changes to Community Schools Law.  This bill has had several hearings before the Senate Education Committee.  A substitute bill is expected to be introduced in November.

-SB137 (Goodman) Child Abuse Penalty:   Increases the penalty for a failure to report abuse or neglect of a child from a misdemeanor of the fourth degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.  This bill has been approved by the Ohio Senate, and has had one hearing before the House Criminal Justice Committee in May 2006.

-SB311 (Gardner) Ohio Core Graduation Requirements: Establishes the Ohio Core curriculum supported by Governor Taft, restructures admission requirements and remedial courses in state universities, and implements other initiatives to enhance secondary and post-secondary education in Ohio.  This bill and a companion bill, HB 565 (Setzer), have had several hearings in the House and Senate, and are expected to be considered by lawmakers during the lame duck session.  A substitute bill that changes the proposed Ohio Core graduation requirements is expected to be introduced in November 2006.

-SB354 (Stivers) School Performance Ratings:  Eliminates the requirement that a school district or building that fails to make 'adequate yearly progress' for more than two consecutive years be rated no higher than 'in need of continuous improvement' on the annual state academic performance ratings.  This bill is similar to HB411 (Wolpert).

2)  Recommendations for the No Child Left Behind Act: 
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University issued on October 10, 2006 a policy brief called "School Accountability under NCLB: Aid or Obstacle for Measuring Racial Equity?" by Ann Owens and Gail L. Sunderman.  Researchers reviewed the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data from Arizona, California, New York, Illinois, Georgia, and Virginia between 2003-2006, and found that "...many schools, once identified as needing improvement, are not moving out of improvement status and new schools continue to be added to the list of schools needing improvement."

AYP is the mechanism used in the federal No Child Left Behind Act to identify schools where students are not reaching proficient levels in reading and mathematics.  According to the researchers, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is not working effectively to encourage improvement in schools where students are not performing at the state proficient level in reading and mathematics.  The researchers also noted the following in the brief:

*The number of schools not achieving AYP for more than one year is increasing.

*More new schools are being identified each year as not reaching AYP.

*AYP does not show if students are improving.

*The AYP requirements and "school improvement" label concentrate sanctions on schools serving minority, low income, and special education students.

*The performance of one sub group can cause an entire school to fail even when those schools are making progress.

*The changes states are making in their accountability plans and which have been approved by the US Department of Education have made comparisons of AYP trends from year to year meaningless.

*The models to measure student academic growth or value added from year to year include significant technical challenges and demand a high level of statistical sophistication.  "In two states, North Carolina and Tennessee where the Administration has approved the use of growth models under a pilot program, the growth model did little to change a school's improvement status (Olson, 2006)."

*Expanding the number and kinds of measures schools can use to show student AYP could enhance the validity of test scores.

*Policy makers need to acknowledge that reaching the 100 percent proficiency target for all students by 2014 is highly unlikely.

*Sanctions for not reaching AYP are concentrated on schools serving disadvantaged and minority students.  "It is unclear whether these sanctions, based on market theories of school improvement, will help schools improve.  Instead of concentrating sanctions on schools serving at-risk students, the Administration should consider legislation more in line with the original goal of the Title I program: providing these schools with support, rather than sanctions, to ensure more equitable performance by all students."

*An alternative accountability model should be considered as policy makers consider the reauthorization of NCLB in 2007.  "But, tweaking portions of NCLB are not going to address the fundamental flaws or the negative consequences that come with a high-stakes accountability system. It is time to begin the research needed to develop better systems for holding school systems accountable."

The mission of the Harvard Civil Rights Project is to "...help renew the civil rights movement by bridging the worlds of ideas and action, and by becoming a preeminent source of intellectual capital and a forum for building consensus within that movement."  This report is available at http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/esea/esea_gen.php

3)  Secretary of Education Releases Plan for Higher Education: 
U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, announced on September 26, 2006 her plans to implement the recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Higher Education included in a report called "A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education", which was released on September 19, 2006.   The 19-member Commission on the Future of Higher Education was appointed by Secretary Spellings in 2005 to examine America's postsecondary education system, and develop recommendations to make higher education more accessible, affordable, and accountable.  The recommendations were developed through a series of public meetings held throughout the nation.

According to the report, 34 percent of white adults, 17 percent of black adults, and 11 percent of Hispanic adults have obtained bachelor's degrees by ages 25-29, and  between 1995-2005 average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities rose 51 percent after adjusting for inflation and 36 percent for private institutions.  "The U.S. position among major industrialized countries has fallen to 12th place with regard to higher education attainment."  The following are the action steps proposed by Secretary Spellings in response to the recommendations from the Commission on Higher Education:

ACTION ONE - Increase the rigor of the high school diploma to ensure that all students are prepared to succeed, by expanding the effective principles of No Child Left Behind and holding high schools accountable for results, and aligning high school standards with college work by increasing access to college-prep classes such as Advanced Placement.

ACTION TWO - Reform the entire financial aid system for higher education with a more user-friendly and effective system.  Streamline the process, cut the application time in half, and notify students of their aid eligibility earlier than Spring of their senior year to help families plan.

ACTION THREE - Create an accountability system to evaluate and compare the performance of higher education institutions using privacy-protected student-level data systems, similar to the systems developed for K through 12 education.

ACTION FOUR - Provide matching funds to colleges, universities, and states that collect and publicly report student learning outcomes.

ACTION FIVE -  Convene members of the accrediting community this November to develop measures that place more emphasis on student learning and outcomes at institutions of higher education.  Convene in the Spring 2007 a Summit to discuss the full slate of the Commission's recommendations, progress, and specific responsibilities.

The report from the Commission is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/pre-pub-report-highlights.
Secretary Spellings' action plan is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2006/09/09262006.html

4)  Survey Shows Support for Music Education: 
A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for NAMM, the International Music Product's Association and MENC, the National Association for Music Education, finds that 96 percent of public school principals who were interviewed believe that participating in music education encourages and motivates students to stay in school longer, and 89 percent agree that music education contributes to higher graduation rates.  This information was included in a press release issued by NAMM and MENC on October 30, 2006.  According to the press release, the survey also found the following:

-Less than 10 percent of a high school's instructional budget is allocated to its music program;

-More than 20 percent of a school's music budget is supported through outside fund raising efforts;

-50 percent of public high schools include music as a core academic subject, and two thirds of these schools require participation in music or the arts for graduation.

-20 percent of principals who participated in the survey feel that the No Child Left Behind Act has had an effect on the quality and scope of their schools' music programs, and approximately one half of those administrators believe that the effect has been negative.

-80 percent of school administrators report that their music education programs are aligned with state or national standards, and require teachers to be credentialed.

The press release is available at http://www.namm.com/pressroom/pressreleases/2006Oct30.html

5)  Bills Introduced the Week of October 30-November 3, 2006:

SB390 (Kearney) Tuition Tax Credit:  Grants a tax credit for tuition paid to an eligible institution of higher education.
Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road
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