Education Update for January 7, 2008

1) 127th General Assembly:  The Ohio House and Senate will hold
sessions and committee meetings this week.  The House and Senate and
Education Committees are not scheduled to meet.

The House State Government and Elections Committee, chaired by
Representative Daniels, will meet on January 10, 2008 at 11:00 AM in
hearing room 122.  The Committee will hear testimony on HB350
(Wolpert) Precinct Election Officers, which permits a higher
education student to serve as a precinct election official in a
county where they attend school, and permits up to two high school
seniors to serve as precinct officers at polling places with six or
more precinct officers.  The committee will also hear testimony on
HJR3 (Stewart) Initiatives/Referendums, which requires an initiative
or referendum be placed on the ballot at the first regular or general
election conducted more than one hundred twenty-five days after the
petition is filed, and revises deadlines relative to filing petitions.

*Ohio Senator Randy Gardner (2nd Senate District) has been selected
by a screening committee of House Republicans to complete the term of
former Representative Bob Latta (6th Ohio House District), who was
recently elected to Congress.  The selection must be approved by the
House.  A process has been outlined by the Ohio Senate to select a
replacement for Senator Gardner.

2)  110th Congress:  The U.S. Senate held a pro forma session on
January 3, 2008 to convene the second session of the 110th Congress.
The U.S. House of Representatives also convened on January 3, 2008,
and dispensed with organizational and legislative business.  The
House will be back in session on January 15, 2008, and the Senate on
January 7, 2008.

3)  State Board of Education to Meet: The State Board of Education
(SBE), Jennifer Sheets president, will meet on January 6-8, 2008 in
Columbus, Ohio.

The State Board of Education's Quality Middle and High Schools and
School Funding subcommittees met on January 6, 2008 at the Embassy
Suites Hotel in Columbus.

The State Board of Education will hold its meetings on January 7-8,
2008 at the Ohio School for the Deaf, 500 Morse Road, Columbus, OH.
On January 7, 2008 the SBE's Coordination Committee, chaired by Eric
Okerson and Carl Wick, will meet at 8:00 AM to discuss the
committee's time table and goals.

Following this discussion at 10:15 AM, members of the Achievement
Committee, Michael Cochran and Ann Womer Benjamin co-chairs, and
members of the Capacity Committee, Rob Hovis and Jane Sonenshein
co-chairs, will meet.

The Capacity Committee will discuss the recommendations from the Safe
Schools Summit; educator license fees; Educator Code of Conduct
draft; licensure grade bands; legislative recommendations for
performance standards for dropout recovery schools; Ohio
Administrative Code Rules (OAC) 3301-83-04, 09, 10, and 16 - Pupil
Transportation; and OAC Rule 3301-8-01, Payment of Debt Service
Charges.

The Achievement Committee will discuss the five year federal Perkins IV Plan.

After lunch at 1:00 PM the Achievement Committee will present
information about rules for the accurate reporting of data, Chapter
3301-17, and the Capacity Committee will discuss Rules 3301-102-02
through 06, Community School Sponsorship, and Rule 3301-104-02
Internet or Computer Based Community School Definitions.

At 2:00 PM the full Board will discuss educator licensure fees and
the draft recommendations for the Educator Code of Conduct.

Three reports are included in this month's Board packet:  The
2006-2007 Community Schools Annual Report, which is available online;
The Ohio School for the Deaf and Ohio School for the Blind Quarterly
Status Report; and the Quarterly Budget Report.

At 3:45 PM the Board will review the agenda for the business meeting
on Tuesday, and hear reports from subcommittees.  At 4:00 PM the
Board will hold a Chapter 119 Hearing on the following rules:

-Resolution to Amend Rule 3301-23-44 - Temporary Licenses
-Resolution to Rescind and Adopt Rule 3301-24-10 - Performance-Based
Licensure for Administrators
-Resolution to adopt Rules 3301-48-01 and 02 - Regarding Open Enrollment.

The Board will adjourn at 4:45 PM.  The State Board of Education's
Subcommittee for Education in the New Global Economy (EDGE) will meet
from 5:00 - 6:30 PM.

On January 8, 2008 the State Board of Education's meeting will begin
at 8:30 AM with a policy discussion about value added and community
schools.

At 10:45 AM the Board will hear reports on state and federal
legislative activities, led by John Bender and Carl Wick.  The Board
will convene its business meeting at 11:30 AM and immediately proceed
into executive session.  Following lunch at 1:30 PM the Board will
reconvene its business meeting, which will include reports from Board
subcommittees.

The Board will continue its business meeting starting at 2:00 PM with
the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and public
participation on agenda items.  The Board will take action on 7
personnel items and the resolutions included below.  The Board will
then accept public participation on non-agenda items and adjourn.
The next State Board of Education meeting is February 11-12, 2008.

Agenda of the State Board of Education for January 8, 2008:

-Resolution of Intent to adopt new Ohio Administrative Code (OAC)
Rules 3301-17-01 through 3301-17-09 (Data Integrity)
-Resolution of Intent to amend OAC Rules 3301-102-02 through 06
(Community School Sponsorship)
-Resolution of Intent to amend OAC Rules 3301-104-02 (Internet or
Computer-Based Community School Definitions)
-Resolution to amend OAC Rules 3301-02-01; 02; 03; 05; 09; and 11
(Personal Information Systems), and adopt Rule 3301-02-13 (Contact if
unauthorized access of personal information occurs)
-Resolution to amend OAC Rule 3301-04-01 (Notice of Meeting)
-Resolution to amend OAC Rules 3301-24-05 (Licensure)
-Resolution to decline confirmation of the Brookfield Local School
District Board of Education's determination that it is impractical to
transport students to John F. Kennedy High School, a chartered
nonpublic school in Trumbull County, OH pursuant to Section 3327.01
of the Revised Code.

For more information about the State Board of Education's meetings,
please visit http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE
ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=574

4)  NAS Book Releases Book on Evolution:  The U.S. National Academy
of Sciences (NAS) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a book on
January 3, 2008 called "Science, Evolution, and Creationism".
According to the web site the book is "....designed to give the
public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current
scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the
science classroom.  NAS and IOM strongly maintain that only
scientifically based explanations for life should be included in
public school science class."   The book states that "intelligent
design" and creationism are not science and should not be part of a
science classroom.  The book also states, "As SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND
CREATIONISM makes clear, the evidence for evolution can be fully
compatible with religious faith.  Science and religion are different
ways of understanding the world. Needlessly placing them in
opposition reduces the potential of each to contribute to a better
future."

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine
advise policy makers the government on science, technology, and
medical issues.  This book updates a publication issued in 1984 and
1999, and was written by a committee headed by biology professor
Francisco Ayala of UC Irvine.  The book is available at
http://www.nationalacademies.org/

5)  Study from NE Ohio Released:  The North East Ohio Universities
Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission (NOUCISC), chaired by
Ted Boyd, released on January 4, 2008 a report called "Collaborate.
Innovate. Educate." The nineteen member commission was established
through 126-HB699 to review opportunities for collaboration among
state colleges and universities, and recommend strategies to promote
economic efficiencies and economic development in northeast Ohio.
The report includes eighteen recommendations that provide a model for
northeast Ohio and other regions in the state to improve student
access, affordability and success; educational quality and
collaboration; and resource efficiency.

The recommendations in this report align with the work of Ohio
Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, who is currently preparing a ten year
Master Plan for Higher Education that will focus on greater
efficiency, cooperation, and excellence among the state's colleges
and universities. This plan is scheduled to be presented the Ohio
General Assembly in March 2008.  According to a press release by the
Chancellor, "The fact that the commission has recommended its public
higher education institutions collaborate more, compete with each
other less, establish centers of excellence, and pool resources to
save money-among other recommendations-shows that the conversation on
higher education and the economy has fundamentally changed in the
region and state."

The report is available at http://www.neostudycommission.org/FinalReport.htm.

6)  Report on Early Childhood Education Released:  A new report from
ZERO TO THREE and Pre-K Now called "Common Vision, Different Paths"
provides an overview of how five states have implemented
comprehensive prenatal to five education systems.  The state systems
profiled are California, North Carolina, Illinois, Oklahoma, and
Pennsylvania.  According to the Introduction, "This report looks at
strategies for effectively building the systems and providing the
high quality programs infants, toddlers, and young children need to
thrive and succeed. It builds on the work of other initiatives, early
childhood professionals, and institutions. Yet, by distilling the
wisdom and experience of some of our country's most innovative early
childhood leaders, this report intends to offer a fresh point of view
and to encourage more states to commit to this difficult but critical
work. Through proven, real-world strategies, elements of a
prenatal-to five system can be tackled incrementally without
sacrificing a commitment to the broader vision."  The report is
available at
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Common_Vision__Different_Paths_Final.pdf?docID=4521

7)  Bills Introduced:
SB269 (Schuler) Live Musical Performances - Prohibits
advertising/conducting a live musical performance or production
through use of a false, deceptive or misleading affiliation,
connection, or association between a performing group and a recording
group.

8)  Project Success Motivates Students to Learn:  A January 1, 2008
editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune called "Want to motivate
students?  Try theatre" describes Project SUCCESS, a nonprofit
organization that serves 8,000 young people from middle to high
school in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.  Project
Success was founded by Adrienne Diercks fifteen years ago, and is
comprised of school-based workshops, theater experiences, one-on-one
assistance, and additional programming designed to help students gain
confidence in creative thinking, decision making, goal setting, and
resourcefulness, while developing the skills to plan their future.
Experiences in drama/theater are an important component of Project
SUCCESS, because they help students engage in self-discovery and
career planning, and motivate students to stay in school and develop
the discipline to tackle other academic subjects such as STEM.  To
read the article please visit
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/12960211.html.  For
more information about Project Success, please visit
http://www.projectsuccess.org.