1)  127th General Assembly:  The Ohio House and Senate are not
scheduled to meet until January 2008.

*Last week Governor Strickland signed into law several bills,
including HB142 (Batchelder), which allows the Highway Patrol to
provide emergency assistance to a school confronted with a bomb
threat.

*Also last week two committees, which will influence state education
policy, were scheduled to meet in Columbus.  They are the Partnership
for Continued Learning and the Public-Private Collaborative
Commission.

The Partnership for Continued Learning (PCL), Governor Strickland
chair, was scheduled to meet on December 21, 2007. The PCL is a
statewide council of representatives from government, economic
development, education, business, and industry, which was formed to
facilitate collaboration among providers of preschool through
postsecondary education, and maintain a high-quality work force in
the state.  Dr. Julie Schaid is the executive director.

According to the agenda, which was posted on the PCL's web site, the
PCL was scheduled to discuss the following: legislative charges for
the PCL; and draft recommendations regarding the dual enrollment;
conditions for admitting high school students, who have not taken the
Ohio Core, to colleges and universities; and college and work
readiness assessment.  Information regarding the work of the STEM
subcommittee and a request for qualifications to conduct a study on
community schools and the educational choice scholarship programs
were also on the agenda.  For more information please visit
http://www.pcl.ohio.gov.

The Public-Private Collaborative Commission was scheduled to meet on
December 20, 2007.  This commission was established through 126-SB
311 (December, 2006), and is charged with making recommendations to
promote student success regarding the Ohio Core, and prepare
recommendations by June 30, 2008 to present to the Governor, the
Senate and House, State Board of Education, Board of Regents, and the
Partnership for Continued Learning.  Information about this
commission is available at http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/news.php

2)  110th Congress:  Congress completed work on HR 2764 - the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 - on December 19, 2007, and
recessed until 2008.  HR 2764 is a $555 billion spending bill, which
includes appropriations for fifteen government agencies and
departments, and $70 billion for the war in Iraq.  Division G of the
Act includes approximately $68 billion in funds, including $59
billion in discretionary funds, for the departments of Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education.  Although President Bush is
expected to sign this bill into law, Congress also approved another
extension of current funding levels until December 31, 2007.
The following information about funding levels was prepared from two
sources:  an overview of the major amendment from the Rules Committee
available at http://www.rules.house.gov/110_fy08_omni.htm, and
funding levels compiled by the U.S. Department of Education and made
available on their website,
http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/news.html.  This information
reflects funding levels after a 1.74 percent across the board
reduction was implemented.

Highlights of Appropriations for Head Start and Education (Division G
of the bill)

*Head Start: $6.9 billion
*Education for the Disadvantaged:   Total $15.4 billion
-Even Start:  $66 million
*Impact Aid:  Total  $1.2 billion
*School Improvement Programs:  Total $5.3 billion over FY08-09
-Improving Teacher Quality, Mathematics and Science Partnerships:
$178.9 million
-Foreign Language Assistance:  $25.6 million, including $2.4 million
for five year grants to local education agencies.
-State Assessments: $408.7 million for enhanced assessments and
instructions to improve implementation of NCLB
-Javitts Gifted and Talented Education: $7.4 million
*Innovation and Improvement: $985 million
-Troops to Teachers:  $14 million; Teaching of Traditional American
History: $117 million; School Choice and Flexibility: $341 million
-Advanced Placement $43 million and $10 million for test fee program.
-Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) - $121.9 million.
Included are the following earmarks:  Canton Symphony Orchestra
Association and NE Ohio Arts Education Collaborative - $97,000; Akron
Public Schools, Middle School Technology Community Learning Center -
$243,000; Cuyahoga County Board of Education Early Childhood
Initiative - $438,000; I Know I Can Columbus - $97,000; Tri County
ESC in Wooster, Olweus Bullying Prevention Program - $146,000;
Trumbull Count ESC robotics program - $180,000; University of Akron
to promote a STEM regional network - $146,000; Youngstown City
Schools/Warren City Schools, Pathway to Building Trades $219,000; and
Youngstown State University, K-12 Learning Project - $97,000.
-Arts in Education:  $37.5 million, which includes $8.095 million for
Very Special Arts; $6.293 million for John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts; $13.158 million for model arts programs; $7.96
million model professional development programs for music drama,
dance, and visual arts educators; $494,000 for evaluation activities;
and $2.2 million for the Fast Response Survey System, administered by
the National Center for Education Statistics, to collect data for the
report of Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
for 2008-2009
-Parental Information and Resource Centers $38.9 million
*Safe Schools and Citizenship Education: $693 million. This includes
funds to support Civic Education: $31 million, which includes funding
for We the People; and Character Education:  $23.8 million
*English Language Acquisition:  $700 million
*Special Education $11.9 billion over FY08-09
*Career, Technical, and Adult Education $1.94 billion over FY08-09.
This includes $80 million in grants for Smaller Learning Communities
*Student Financial Assistance: $16 billion in discretionary and $2
billion mandated (including rescissions) including $14 billion for
Pell Grants
*Higher Education:   $2.39 billion
-Federal Trio:  $828 million
-GEAR Up: $303 million
-Byrd Honors Scholarships: $40 million
-Funds for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education - $120 million
including the following earmarks for Ohio: Kent State University (New
Philadelphia) $148,000 - upgrade technology; Lorain County Community
College -$341,000 in Elyria for the Library; Owens Community College
$148,000 for first responder training; Paul and Anthony Rich Center
for the Study and Treatment of Autism, Youngstown - $429,000 for
distance learning; and Wittenberg University, $390,000 for teacher
training.

Appropriations for the Department of the Interior/Environment
(Division F of the bill):  $26.6 billion
National Endowment for the Arts: $144.7 million
National Endowment for the Humanities: $144.7 million
Corporation for Public Broadcasting:  $420 million
Institute of Museums and Library Services: $268.19 million including
$31.27 for the Office of Museum Services, and $243,000 for the
Cincinnati Museum Center.

3)  State Budgeting Matters:  The latest issue (November/December
2007) of the Center for Community Solution's publication State
Budgeting Matters by Richard Sheridan entitled "A Compilation of
Budget Issues for November and December" examines the budgetary
problems that several states are facing, and opines what may happen
in Ohio over the next few months.

According to this report, California, Virginia, Florida, Michigan,
Maryland, and Arizona, are all facing shortfalls in revenue and are
experiencing or projecting budget deficits.  Ohio's budget is also
"at risk of going out of balance for a number of reasons," but is not
in as bad a shape as some states.  Economists have predicted a
national recession in 2008 as a result of several factors, including
the cost of the war in Iraq, the cost of energy, the housing crisis,
rising health care costs, and credit crisis.  But Ohio's FY08-09
budget included an end of year cash surplus as a contingency, and
Ohio's Budget Stabilization Fund (rainy day fund) will provide a $1
billion cushion if the state's budget becomes unbalanced.  However,
recently the Ohio Office of Budget and Management has reported that
there has been an increase in Medicaid case loads, and Ohio's tax
structure, which relies on tax revenue from sources that are very
susceptible to recessions, may not be able to recover from an
extended recession.  This means that Governor Strickland and members
of the Ohio General Assembly will be facing some tough decisions over
the next few months, and may need to take additional legislative
actions to ensure a balanced state budget.  To read the full report
please visit:
http://www.communitysolutions.com/images/upload/resources/sbmv3n33.pdf

4)  Pew Charitable Trust Examines Retirement Systems:  On December
18, 2007 the Pew Charitable Trust's Center on States released a
report called "Promises with a Price" by Katherine Barret and Richard
Greene.  This study, a first of its kind, examined 50 state pension
systems, health care coverage, and other retirement benefits.
Overall the study found "..states already have set aside about $2
trillion to meet their long-term obligations.  But they still need to
come up with about $731 billion -- a conservative figure that does
not include all costs for teachers and local government employees."

According to the Fact Sheet for Ohio, "Ohio has done a very good job
keeping up with required contributions for its public employee
pension system."  However, Ohio's system has not kept up with health
care and other nonpension benefits, which is estimated to cost about
$32 billion.  "But the state is a national leader in setting aside
money to cover these costs.  It started saving back in the 1970s, and
today it is one of only six states on track to fully fund its
non-pension obligations."  The full report is available on the Pew
website at
http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_ektid32368.aspx


5)  Bills Introduced:
SB267 (Faber) PERS - Regarding the Public Employees Retirement System
law enforcement division.

HB420 (Brinkman) State Spending - Promotes transparency with respect
to state spending by requiring that certain information on state
awards and earmarks, state real property management, state agency
management, and state program effectiveness be collected and made
available on-line.


6)  Changes for NCLB???:  An article published in the Washington Post
on December 16, 2007 called "Calls Grow for a Broader Yardstick for
Schools" by Maria Glod, describes some of the "multiple measures"
that are being proposed to define school success in a reauthorized No
Child Left Behind Act.  Currently the federal law has defined school
success based on student scores on state reading and math tests.  But
some educators, policy makers, and lawmakers believe that student
learning is too complex to be measured in just two areas.  The focus
on math and reading has limited instruction in other content areas as
well.  Some want to assess learning in science, history, and the
arts, or count how well students are doing on Advanced Placement
exams and in physical education.  The use of local plus state
assessments could provide a more comprehensive overview of student
performance in a school.

According to the article,
"'There ought to be more in determining students' success than just
one test score," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education
Association, the largest teachers union. "Preparing a child for the
21st century means reading and math. But it also means science; it
means civics; it means art.'"

"The fear is you have this narrowing of the breadth and depth" of the
curriculum, said Elizabeth Burmaster, Wisconsin's state
superintendent. Burmaster, president of the Council of Chief State
School Officers and a former music and drama teacher, supports using
local assessments together with state tests. "It's much more
complicated," she said. "But it's more accurate."

The article is available at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/15/AR2007121501747.html