1)  127th Ohio General Assembly:  The Ohio House and Senate will hold
committee hearings and sessions this week.  Lawmakers are focusing on
several issues, including energy policies/electric price regulation
(SB 221 - Schuler); gambling (HB 177 - Blessing); foreclosures and
consumer credit (SB 6 - Niehaus); and access to public records.

*The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer,
will meet on October 23, 2007 at 3:00 PM and October 24, 2007 at 2:00
PM (or after session) in the Finance Committee Hearing Room - 313.
The committee will hold hearings on how Ohio laws and rules address
teacher misconduct, and what provisions are needed, through the
enactment of new laws or through better implementation of current
rules and law, to ensure that all teachers meet conduct standards.
These hearings are in response to a series of articles published last
week by the Columbus Dispatch.

*The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will not
meet this week.

*The Senate Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee, chaired by
Senator Coughlin, will meet on October 24, 2007 at 2:30 PM in the
South Hearing Room.  The committee will hear testimony on SB232
(Stivers) Child Care - Revises the law governing child care.

2)  Update on Legislative Hearings:
*The Senate and House Education committees met last week.  The Senate
Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, had two bills on
their agenda, SCR 18 (Padgett) Academic Accountability, and HB 190
(Hite) Administrative Dates for the Elementary Achievement Tests.  No
testimony was presented on either bill.

SCR 18 (Padgett) includes a recommendation of the Ohio Department of
Education to change Ohio's accountability system for public schools.
It allows districts and schools to apply a growth model of targeted
proficiency to the standards for meeting federal adequate yearly
progress (AYP), and establishes a standard minimum subgroup of 30
students for calculating the proficiency rate component of AYP.

HB 190 (Hite) changes dates for the administration of achievement
tests at the elementary level.  A substitute bill is being drafted.
Discussions continue on two issues:  tuition payments for all-day
kindergarten, and changes in how schools are rated under Ohio's
accountability system.

*The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer,
heard sponsor testimony on the following three bills:

-HB348 (Peterson) Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program:  HB
348 creates the Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program, which
would allow students in special education programs (those students
with an established IEP) to receive special education services
through another school district or entity using scholarships or
vouchers funded with public dollars.  The scholarships would be
capped at $20,000.  This program was included in Am. Sub. HB 119
(Dolan), but was vetoed by Governor Strickland.

-HB347 (Setzer) Professional Educators' License:  HB 347 changes the
requirements for those seeking an educator's license in Ohio, by
replacing the Praxis III assessment of teaching skills with a
district/school developed, two - year structured entry year and
mentoring program, aligned with the standards for the teaching
profession recommended by the Ohio Education Standards Board.
Currently only two states, Ohio and Arkansas, use the Praxis III to
assess classroom teaching skills.  The bill includes up to $4.2
million in FY09 from the Educator Training appropriation line item in
the ODE budget to support the new program for entry year teachers.

-HB326 (Gerberry) Higher Education:  HB 326 requires students
attending public colleges and universities in Ohio to successfully
complete at least six semester hours or the equivalent in government
and political science courses, with an emphasis on the U.S.
Constitution, in order to graduate.  The bill is in response to
studies that show how college and university graduates lack knowledge
in civic literacy, including American history, government, economics,
and international studies.

3)  110th Congress:

*Appropriations:  The deadline for Congress to approve appropriations
for FY08 was September 30, 2007.  Congress approved and President
Bush signed a temporary continuing resolution to fund government
departments and agencies at current levels until November 16, 2007.
The U.S. House has approved all of the twelve appropriations measures
for FY08, but the Senate has approved only five.  Work on the Senate
version of appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education (LHHSE) continued last week in committee, and a vote is
possible this week.  The Senate LHHSE bill (S. 1710), provides less
funding overall for education than the House version (H.R. 3043).

*SCHIP Veto Holds:  The U.S. House of Representatives failed on
October 18, 2007 to override President Bush's veto of H.R. 976 - the
reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP).  286 votes, two-thirds, were needed to override President
Bush's veto, but the override failed by 13 votes.  President Bush
vetoed H.R. 976 on October 3, 2007, saying that the legislation
expanded its original intent.  SCHIP was created ten years ago as a
bi-partisan state-federal partnership to provide health care coverage
for children from low-income families not poor enough to qualify for
Medicaid.  6.6 million children are currently being served.  The
SCHIP reauthorization, as approved by the U.S. House and Senate,
would have increased annual funding for SCHIP from about $5 billion
to $12 billion for the next five years, by increasing taxes on
cigarettes.  This increase would help the program serve four million
more children.  Funding for the program at the current level will
continue until the reauthorization legislation is approved and signed
by the President.  Lawmakers are now working on compromise
legislation.

4)  News from the ODE:  The October issue of "The Ides of ODE"
published by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Offices of
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Judy Feil and Debbie Roshto,
includes the following information:

*The Ohio Department of Education, Office of Curriculum and
Instruction is publishing a series of short articles that offer tips
for preparing students to perform well on the OAT and OGT.  These
articles will include information about alignment of the exams with
Ohio's Academic Content Standards, test taking strategies,
understanding key concepts, and effective ways to use released test
items for test preparation.  The first article is entitled "Focusing
instruction on key concepts in the benchmarks is critical to student
success".  It is available at
https://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/OATToolkit/default.asp

*State Arts Committee to Meet:  The Committee for the Arts and
Innovative Thinking (CAIT) will meet on October 23, 2007 at the
Columbus Museum of Art, 480 East Broad Street, Columbus from 9:30 AM
to 2:30 PM.  The purpose of the CAIT is to promote and advance the
arts in the lives of all Ohio students through strategic actions,
communications, and policy recommendations.  The meeting will include
a welcome from Karen Gallagher, the Arts Education Partnership; a
presentation from Mary Sheridan on building communities through the
arts; a presentation on the state level focus on the arts; and a
presentation on the global focus on the arts presented by Val
Marmillion.

*The Foreign Language Advisory Council was created through SB 311 to
propose a statewide P-16 foreign language implementation plan for the
2014-2015 school year.  Input is being sought on the draft
recommendations that have been developed.  The proposed
recommendations can be found at:
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=337&Content
ID=37515&Content=37641

Please send comments by October 31, 2007, to Deborah Robinson at
(614) 995-0232 or debbie.robinson@ode.state.oh.us or Ryan Wertz at
(614) 728-4630 or ryan.wertz@ode.state.oh.us.

*Professional Development Opportunities in Fine Arts:   Professional
development opportunities are available for visual and performing
arts teachers through full- and half-day workshops, that are designed
to respond to educational priorities and various time structures.
For more information please contact Nancy Pistone, 614-466-7908,
nancy.pistone@ode.state.oh.us or Amy Chivington, 614-387-0544,
amy.chivington@ode.state.oh.us.

5) New EPRU Study Examines Buckeye Institute Report:  The Think Tank
Review Project, a collaboration of the Education Policy Research Unit
(EPRU) at Arizona State University and the Education and Public
Interest Center (EPIC) at University of Colorado at Boulder, released
on October 17, 2007 a review of a study conducted by the Buckeye
Institute called "Shortchanging Disadvantaged Students:  An Analysis
of Intra-district Spending Patterns in Ohio" by Matthew Carr, Nathan
Gray and Marc Holley. (Released on October 10, 2007 and available at
http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/Shortchanging_Disadvantaged_Students.pdf.)


According to the press release, the review, which was conducted by
Bruce D. Baker and Kevin Welner, found no basis for the central
assumption made in the report that school districts in Ohio are
adequately funded, and that "....district-level policies are
responsible for continued spending and achievement gaps."

The review also found that the authors of the Buckeye Institute
report ignored existing research on the subject; failed to take into
account the cost associated with education programs at different
grade levels, such as elementary, middle, and high school; made
conclusions based on small sample sizes; and ignored research
regarding the problems with a weighted system for allocating funds,
which the Buckeye Institute report cites as a solution to the problem.

The review also includes an analysis by Dr. Bruce Baker of Ohio data,
which demonstrates that the state's funding approach provides only
modest poverty-based support across districts, and
"...within-district equity and poverty supports to be no worse and no
better than state efforts across districts."

To read this review please visit
http://epsl.asu.edu/epru/ttreviews/EPSL-0710-245-EPRU.pdf.

6)  State Budgeting Matters:  The most recent issue of State
Budgeting Matters by Richard Sheridan, Financial Consultant, The
Center for Community Solutions, is entitled "Paying for K-12
Education, FY2008-FY2009 (October 15, 2007).  The report examines
appropriations for K-12 allocated through HB 119 (Dolan), the FY08-09
budget, including base cost; property tax reimbursements; early
childhood education; nonpublic school support; decreased spending;
state response to Ohio Supreme Court rulings, 1997-2007; and the
impact of the No Child Left Behind.  The report is available at
http://www.CommunitySolutions.com.

7)  Update from the SEHCB:  The School Employees Health Care Board
released on October 17, 2007 a plan and timeline for developing
"value-based best practices" for purchasing health care based on
access, cost-containment, and quality.  Stakeholder input and
regional meetings are being planned to discuss the recommendations,
which will be finalized in June 2008.   The twelve member board was
created to study the feasibility of pooling health care coverage for
public school employees.  However, after studying the data and
issues, the Board recommended establishing best practice standards to
improve health benefits for school employees and save money for
school districts.  The Board works with an advisory committee, the
Public Schools Health Care Advisory Committee, which includes experts
and stakeholders.  For more information about the mission and work of
the Board please visit http://sehcb.ohio.gov/

8)  Plans for New Statehouse Museum Released:  Last week the Capitol
Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB), William Carleton Executive
Director, approved the plans for a new Ohio Statehouse Museum.  The
plan calls for the museum exhibits to be updated with DVD and flat
screen projection systems, and include interactive hands-on exhibits
that will recreate historical events.  Plans are also being made to
complete the Ladies' Gallery, a room honoring Ohio's first female
legislators, and the George Washington Williams Memorial Room, a room
to pay tribute to Ohio's first African-American legislators.  The new
Ohio Statehouse Museum is scheduled to open on March 1, 2009, Ohio
Statehood Day.  For more information please visit
http://www.ohiochannel.org/your_state/ohio_statehouse/education/ohio_statehouse_museum.cfm

9)  Changes in IRS Tax Exempt Status:  Changes will soon occur in IRS
Form 990 regarding tax exempt status.  The IRS Exempt Organizations
office will be presenting a series of one-day workshops on basic tax
compliance issues for small and mid-sized exempt organizations in
selected cities around the country in late 2007 and early 2008.
These workshops are designed for board members, officers, and staff
of small and mid-sized tax-exempt organizations and the practitioners
who work with them.  They will cover the procedures tax-exempt
organizations must follow to maintain their tax-exempt status and
comply with their tax obligations.  The events, held on three
separate days at each location, will be conducted in the following
cities:

Salt Lake City (11/13-11/15);
Columbia, SC (12/4-12/6);
Sacramento, CA (12/18-12/20); Arlington, VA (4/1-4/3);
Austin, TX (5/6-5/8); and
Columbus, OH (5/20-5/22). 

For more information please visit http://www.irsworkshops.eventsdesigner.com/