1)  127th General Assembly:  The Ohio House and Senate are in recess
until the end of March.

*The Ohio Educator Standards Board (ESB) will meet at 6:00 PM on
March 24, 2008 and at 8:30 AM on March 25, 2008 at Embassy Suites
Hotel, 2700 Corporate Exchange Drive, Columbus, OH.  On March 24,
2008 the ESB will hear a presentation from Adrian Allison, Executive
Director - ODE Urban Policy.  The Higher Education Committee and the
Standards Committee will also meet.

On March 25, 2008 the ESB will hear presentations regarding Regional
LPDCs; OLAC; Entry Year; Licensure Grand Bands; and Licensure Code of
Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators-Roll out Communication.  The
Business meeting will begin at 12:30 PM.  For more information please
visit http://esb.ode.state.oh.us/.

2)  Federal Update on Education:

*Congress approved on March 12, 2008 an extension of the Higher
Education Act to April 30, 2008 (S 2733).  Both the House (HR 4137)
and Senate (S1642) have approved versions to reauthorize this Act,
but a conference committee has not completed its work.

*Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced on March 18, 2008 a
new pilot program called the Differentiated Accountability Pilot
Project.  This project would allow up to ten states to implement
their own sanctions and remedies for schools that fail to meet the
adequate yearly progress goals under the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB).  Providing more flexibility to states for sanctions is
expected to ease criticism of NCLB, which requires schools to meet
performance targets for groups of students in addition to average
performance targets for schools in math and reading language arts.
For more information please visit
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/differentiated/factsheet.html.

3)  PCL Meets:  The Ohio Partnership for Continued Learning (PCL) met
on March 18, 2008 to update members about the Partnership's Strategic
Plan; Dual Enrollment Policy Recommendations; STEM Subcommittee;
Regional P-16 RFPs; the Community School RFQ; and the P2C2.  This
meeting of the Partnership was chaired by Chancellor Eric Fingerhut
for Dr. John Stanford, the education policy assistant for Governor
Strickland.

The Partnership was established in 2005 by the Ohio General Assembly,
and is chaired by the governor.  Dr. Julie Schaid is the Executive
Director.  The Partnership's membership includes leaders from
education, business and industry, economic development, and
government and local communities. The Partnership is charged in
statute to make policy recommendations for improving P-16 alignment,
to support regional P-16 efforts, and the following:
-Make policy recommendations for dual enrollment that will increase
opportunities for students to earn credit toward a degree from an
institution of higher education while still in high school.
-Identify criteria by which State universities may waive the
requirement that a student complete the Ohio Core curriculum to be
admitted as an undergraduate under certain conditions.
-Recommend one or more college and work readiness assessments.
-Make recommendations for funding PSEO programs - Due 10/31/07.
-Support the Public-Private Collaborative Initiative - Due 12/31/07.
-Conduct an evaluation of Community Schools and the Ed Choice
Scholarships - Due 3/28/08.

STRATEGIC PLAN DISCUSSION
The Partnership, led by Dr. Don Van Meter, reviewed a draft of the
Strategic Plan.   The Partnership is proposing four goals:
-By 1212 the percent of students graduating from high school who are
college/workforce ready will increases to a rate that exceeds the
national average.
-By 2014 thirty percent of Ohio high school students will participate
in a program that provides the opportunity to earn college credit.
-By 2011 Ohio families will have increased access to high quality
early care and education.
-By the end of 2008 the PCL will have begun development of a network
of Regional STEM Centers, facilitated the start-up of up to five STEM
high schools and K-8 STEM Programs of Excellence, and served as the
central communication mechanisms for Ohio's STEM vision.

Partnership members made the following suggestions regarding the
strategic plan and goals:
-A representative of school superintendents should be a member of the
Partnership and included in the dialogue in order to achieve the
goals of the Partnership.
-Educational opportunities for adults must also be included in the
goals.
-Metrics to measure the goals should be included.
-Community involvement should be strengthened.  There should be more
action items in the goals.  Segments of communities need to connect
through the P16 Councils.
-Transition issues between K-12 and higher education regarding
content, performances standards, and alignment need to be resolved.
-A communication plan needs to be developed to ensure that all
schools, administrators, and communities are involved and committed
to this work.  Everyone must buy-into it for it to work.
-The staff should develop action steps that reflect the priorities
identified.

DUAL ENROLLMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
The Partnership approved in "concept" the Dual Enrollment
Recommendations after reviewing the recommendations and making
several suggestions that were incorporated into the draft document.

The Partnership was directed by the Ohio General Assembly to develop
by May 31, 2007 legislative recommendations that would increase
opportunities for students to earn credit toward a degree from an
institution of higher education while enrolled in high school,
including expanded opportunities for students to earn that credit on
their high school campuses.

The draft recommendations reflect the work of a subcommittee of over
25 stakeholders, including members of the Ohio General Assembly, the
State Board of Education, and representatives from education,
business, and citizen groups.  Recommendations were made in the
following areas:  definitions of dual enrollment, accelerated
learning, and "in good standing"; increased opportunities for high
school students to earn college credit, including opportunities on
high school campuses; legislative changes to improve the operation of
the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program and other dual
enrollment programs.

The following are highlights of the draft recommendations:
-Create a statewide vision and plan for college credit opportunities,
including setting clear goals and benchmarks for student
participation levels and credits earned.
-Create a statewide communication plan that informs all stakeholders,
particularly low income and disadvantaged students and parents, about
the various types of college credit opportunities.
-Encourage efficiencies through regional implementation strategies,
such as regional P-16 councils or the 16 Educational Service Center
Regions.
-Establish state level funding support for the development and
implementation of a comprehensive Advanced Placement (AP) system or a
combined AP/PSEO system.
-Ensure consistent awarding & transferability of credits at both the
high school and college level.
-Require the Board of Regents to submit a plan to evaluate
return-on-investment for various dual enrollment opportunities, and
require students to participate in a privacy protected, state-level
linked data system that would allow such an evaluation.
-Establish consistent participation criteria for students. Develop a
timeline to implement the proposed statewide placement policy, and
require that students score college ready using this placement
threshold in order to participate in PSEO, Seniors to Sophomores, or
other dual enrollment agreements.
-Ensure that all dual enrollment and PSEO instructors are qualified
as defined by The Higher Learning Commission's statement titled,
Commission Guidance on Determining Qualified Faculty.
-Create a state-level PSEO authority to provide consistent guidance,
oversight, and annually report progress.
-Require that all PSEO and other dual enrollment courses honor
college content and pre-requisites - use the same syllabi,
assessments, and texts.
-Encourage nonpublic higher education institutions interested in
participating in accelerated learning/dual enrollment to adhere to
the same guidelines, policy and regulations as public institutions;
and encourage reporting of aggregated student data consistent with
data reported by public institutions.
-Evaluate the funding models developed by Early Adopters in the
Seniors to Sophomores program to identify potential revisions to the
existing PSEO funding model.
-Require the Partnership for Continued Learning to review the state's
progress/policies on accelerated learning/dual enrollment at least
bi-annually and provide additional policy recommendations, as
necessary based on that review. Progress reviews should include a
particular focus on the participation rates of disadvantaged student
populations and suggest additional ways to increase participation.

UPDATES ON OTHER INITIATIVES
*Seniors to Sophomores Program:  Deborah Gavlick reported that 100
people participated in a recent conference call to learn more about
the Seniors to Sophomores initiative, and 47 applications have been
submitted from those interested in participating as early adopters.
According to Chancellor Fingerhut, early adopters will provide models
for how partnerships between higher education and schools can
overcome obstacles and develop innovative solutions to implement and
financially support the Seniors to Sophomores Initiative and dual
enrollment programs, such as the Post Secondary Enrollment Options
Program.

*STEM:  The STEM Subcommittee of the Partnership for Continued
Learning has completed the following:  Selected Battelle Memorial
Institute as an Ohio-based nonprofit enterprise to assist in
supporting the strategic and operational coordination of the public
and private STEM education initiatives; awarded two grants to
establish STEM high schools; and awarded nine grants to support the
operation of STEM programs of excellence.  The STEM committee is also
working with Battelle to assist the Akron Public Schools, STRIVE in
Cincinnati, and the Educational Council in Columbus to revise and
resubmit their request for proposals to establish STEM high schools.

*Regional P16 Councils:  According to 126-SB6 the Partnership is
charged with promoting systemic approaches to education by supporting
regional efforts to foster collaboration among providers of preschool
through postsecondary education and identifying workforce needs.  In
the Fall of 2006, the KnowledgeWorks Foundation supported the
formation of five Regional P-16 Councils in Ohio by offering a
competitive request for proposals (RFP) for a P-16 planning grant.
In 2007 the Partnership expanded Ohio's regional P-16 Councils by
offering a second competitive planning grant RFP for five additional
regional councils.

A new request for proposal is available to support new P16 Councils
or expand existing councils.  This RFP seeks to serve two purposes:
to continue to support the formation of regional P-16 councils in
economic development regions of the state that do not currently have
P-16 councils; and in economic development regions where councils
already exist, to encourage expansion of coverage, and/or
collaboration between Regional P-16 Councils within these regions.

*Community Schools Study:  A request for qualifications was released
to conduct an evaluation of community schools and the Education
Choice Scholarship Program.  There were no responses to the RFQ.  Dr.
John Stanford is taking the lead on this project.

*Public Private Collaborative Commission (P2C2):  The P2C2 is
directed to submit policy and program recommendations to the
Governor, Ohio General Assembly, the Partnership for Continued
Learning, the State Board of Education, and Ohio Board of Regents by
June 30, 2008 regarding the following questions:

-What can we do to increase students' and families' awareness of the
standards reflected in the Ohio Core Curriculum and build their
understanding that these expectations, as well as learning beyond
high school, are needed for success in the classroom, on the job, and
in life? How can we raise expectations for what all high school
graduates should know and be able to do?
-What changes in state education policy and local education practice
are needed to motivate and support students to meet higher
expectations, successfully complete the requirements of the Ohio Core
Curriculum, and challenge them to be creative and innovative?
-What incentives can be created and what new school models can be
used to promote higher levels of student achievement, keep all
students in the education pipeline until they have graduated from
high school (that is, dropout prevention and recovery services) and
improve levels of performance?
-What services - including internships, mentorships, career planning,
guidance counseling and college readiness assistance - are needed to
promote greater success for all students?
-How can we ensure that all students' unique academic and
non-academic needs are met, and what steps should be taken to ensure
that schools, other government agencies, non-profit organizations,
businesses and communities work collaboratively for this purpose?

OTHER NEWS
It was also announced that Julie Schaid would be resigning as the
Partnership's Executive Director.  Deborah Gavlick from the Ohio
Board of Regents has been appointed interim executive director.  The
next meeting of the Partnership is scheduled for May 2008.

4)  Policy Matters Releases Report on Autism:  Policy Matters Ohio
released on March 19, 2008 a 64 page report entitled "Analyzing
Autism Vouchers in Ohio, A Report From Policy Matters Ohio" by Piet
van Lier.  The report provides a summary, analysis, findings, and
recommendations regarding Ohio's Autism Scholarship Program.  The
purpose of the report is to determine who is using the program, what
kind of services are provided, who is providing the services, and how
the program affects school districts and the education they provide.
The report does not include an evaluation of the quality of autism
programs or services.

This Autism Scholarship Program was established by the Ohio General
Assembly in 2004 as a pilot program to provide parents of children
with autism public funds (currently up to $20,000 a year) to purchase
education or services from approved private/public schools or other
providers.  According to the report, 734 children aged 3-21 were
enrolled in the program in FY07.  The vouchers cost in FY07
$10,872,770, which was deducted from the state foundation payments of
209 school districts.

The report analyzes several components of the program, such as the
selection criteria of the private programs; demographics and median
income of participants; the types of services provided;
accountability and oversight; funding levels for programs; and
parental satisfaction.  From this analysis the report identifies
several "findings".  For example, due to selection criteria and
additional costs imposed by the private service providers, and the
location of the private programs, the report finds that the Autism
Scholarship program is not truly accessible to the public.

Regarding accountability, the report finds, "The voucher program's
overall lack of oversight and accountability is cause for concern,
and does not appear to be compatible with the current emphasis on
evaluation, oversight and accountability that predominates in
education policy." p. 30.

The report also notes that school districts are required to revise
individual education plans (IEPs) for the voucher students who no
longer attend the public school.  This becomes problematic when it
takes up to 25 hours to "....chase down reports from providers and
write one IEP, according to one district estimate." p.32.

The report makes the following recommendations:
*Create incentives to serve autistic children through collaboration
among schools, other public agencies, regional service centers,
higher education institutions and private providers;
*Create new opportunities for job-embedded professional development
for teachers and aides who regularly work with children on the autism
spectrum;
*Establish incentives for institutions of higher education to develop
programs and curricula that lead to certification in the teaching of
children with autism;
*Establish criteria for data collection and reporting by private
providers.

According to the summary of the report, "We recommend these concrete
reforms to improve education for children with autism.  Broader
reforms include: ensuring that Ohio's special education funding
formula for school-age children and unit funding for preschoolers are
up-to-date and fully funded; and passing the bill currently before
the Ohio legislature to prohibit health insurers from excluding
coverage for autism spectrum disorders, as 19 other states have done
with similar legislation."

The report is available at www.policymattersohio.org.

5)  EPRU and EPIC Release New Reports:  The Arizona State University
Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU) and the Colorado
University-Boulder Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC)
recently issued two new reports.  EPRU and EPIC provide the public,
policy makers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews
of selected publications on education issues.

*On March 17, 2008 the Think Tank Project (EPRU and EPIC) released a
report called "Same Flaws: ALEC's Recycled 'Report Card'" by Kevin
Welner.  This report reviews the "2007 Report Card on Education"
issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and
identified the same flaws that were included in the 2006 ALEC report.
According to the analysis by Professor Gene Glass (Arizona State
University), the 2007 report is "neither valid or useful research",
because of its "ineptness and naivete' in measurement and data
analysis."  The researcher failed to show, for example, that
identified increases in spending on education by certain states
actually paid for more student instruction rather than for the
increased costs due to increased testing, special education programs,
or higher health care or energy costs.  The analysis by Professor
Glass is available at
http://epicpolicy.org/files/EPSL-0701-224-EPRU.pdf.

The 2007 ALEC Report Card is at
http://www.alec.org/fileadmin/newPDF/2007%20ALEC%20Education%20Report%20
Card.pdf

*On March 20, 2008 researchers at the Education Policy Research Unit
(EPRU) at Arizona State University, the Education and the Public
Interest Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and
the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice released
"School Choice:  Evidence and Recommendations", a collection of ten
policy briefs on "choice options for education" edited by Gary Miron,
Kevin G. Welner, Patricia H. Hinchey, and Alex Molnar.  This series
examines in depth education choice options such as charter schools;
home schooling and "virtual" schooling; voucher plans that allow
students to use taxpayer funds to attend private schools; tuition tax
credit plans that provide a public subsidy for private school
tuition; and public school intra- and interdistrict choice, such as
magnet schools.  The following topics and web links are covered in
this series:

-Negotiating Public and Private: Philosophical Frameworks for School
Choice, by Terri Wilson.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/negotiating-public-and-private
-How Legislation and Litigation Shape School Choice, by Julie Mead.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/how-legislation-and-litigation
-The Impact of Advocacy Funding on the School Choice Debate, by Wendy
Chi. http://epicpolicy.org/publication/the-impact-advocacy-funding
-School Choice and Accountability, by Gregg Garn and Casey Cobb.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/school-choice-and-accountability
-Funding Formulas, School Choice, and Inherent Incentives, by Clive
Belfield.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/funding-formulas-school-choice
-Teacher Qualifications and Work Environments Across School Types, by
Marisa Cannata.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/teacher-qualifications
-Educational Innovation and Diversification in School Choice Plans,
by Chris Lubienksi.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/educational-innovation-and-diversifica
tion
-Segregation by Race, Class, and Achievement by Roslyn Mickelson,
Stephanie Southworth, and Martha Bottia.
http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/documents/EPSL-0803-260-EPRU.pdf
-The Competitive Effect of School Choice Policies on Performance in
Traditional Public Schools, David Arsen and Yongmei Ni.
http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/epru_2008_Research_Writing.htm
-The Impact of School Choice Reforms on Student Achievement, by Gary
Miron, Stephanie Evergreen, and Jessica Urschel.
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/school-choice-student-achievement

6) February OBM Report Released:  The Ohio Office of Budget and
Management, J. Pari Sabety director, issued on March 10, 2008 the
Monthly Financial Report for February 2008.  According to the report,
economic indicators point to a deteriorating national economy,
although employment in Ohio was better than previously reported in
2007, and the number of jobs increased in January slightly.

Ohio General Revenue Fund (GRF) tax receipts are $151.7 million below
estimates through February 2008, even though tax receipts increased
$131.8 million over FY2007.  The greatest shortfall of receipts was
in the personal income tax.  Only the non-auto sales and use tax
brought in higher than estimated receipts.  Total GFR from all
sources is $184.2 million below estimates.  GRF spending is below
estimates by $310.3 million year to date.

The OBM Monthly Financial Report is available at
http://www.obm.ohio.gov/finrep/monthly/031008mfr.pdf

7) More on Creativity:   An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
on March 16, 2008 entitled "Jazz improv helping to unlock brain's
secrets" by Lauren Neergaard (Associated Press) describes how neuro
scientists are using MRI brain scans to see how the brain responds
when jazz musicians improvise.  Researchers are working to identify
the parts of the brain that are active during the creative process,
and have already found that creativity uses the same brain circuits
as dreaming.  According to Allen Braun from the National Institutes
of Health and Charles Limb from Johns Hopkins University, the
self-monitoring part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex is shut down and the self-expression medial prefrontal cortex
is activated when musicians improvise.  In addition, regions of the
brain involving the senses were also activated when musicians
improvise.
The results of this research support the belief that an education in
the arts can help nurture creativity and innovation in students.
Creativity, innovation, and critical thinking skills have been
identified by most national organizations as skills and qualities
that students need to be successful in the 21st Century.
The article is available at
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=728177&format=print

8)  Bills Introduced

*HB507 (Sayer) Allows teachers to pay license renewal fees in annual
installments, and allows refundable credit against income tax for
educator licensing fees and criminal records check fees.
*HB510 (Brady) Requires state institutions of higher education to
designate law enforcement/medical services units/threat assessment
teams as "school officials" to receive student education records
under federal law.