***November 6, 2007 Election Day:  According to the web site of
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, voters will decide on November
6, 2007 38 bond issues, 154 tax issues, and 36 income tax issues for
schools, including repeals of current income taxes for schools.  To
view the school issues on the November ballot please visit
http://www.sos.state.oh.us:80/SOS/ElectionsVoter/Results2007.aspx?Section=2952


1) 127th General Assembly:  The Ohio House will hold session on
November 7, 2007.  The other "as needed" House sessions in November
have been canceled.  The Ohio Senate has canceled its November 6 & 7,
2007 "as needed" sessions.  The House and Senate Education Committees
are not meeting this week.

*Governor Ted Strickland announced on October 29, 2007 that the State
of Ohio had received net proceeds of $5.05 billion from the sale of
tobacco bonds.  The bond sale allows the state to provide
approximately 566,000 additional homeowners tax cuts through the
Homestead Tax Exemption program, and allows Ohio to build 250 more
schools by October 2010.  According to the Governor's press release,
"This investment will also move Ohio from the 40th percentile to the
60th percentile on the school equity list, allowing 438,359 students
to attend school in new, state-of-the-art facilities." The sale will
also lower the state's debt burden and create a more stable financial
future for Ohio.

*The Ohio Senate approved the following bills last week:

-SB 221 (Schuler) Revises energy policy in Ohio to address electric
service price regulation and provides for new bonding authority for
advanced energy projects, advanced (including sustainable resource)
energy portfolio standards, energy efficiency standards, and
greenhouse gas emission reporting and carbon control planning
requirements.

-HB 166 (Schindel) Creates an Office of Internal Auditing within the
Office of Budget and Management, establishes the State Audit
Committee, and prescribes their respective and interrelated functions.

-Am. Sub. 190 (Hite) was amended to address several issues, and was
approved as emergency legislation by the Senate.  As introduced the
bill revises the scheduling of the spring administration of the
elementary achievement tests from no earlier than the week containing
May 1, as under current law, to no earlier than the week containing
April 24; provides for the elementary achievement tests to be
administered over a two-week period, instead of five consecutive
days; and clarifies that the elementary achievement tests must be
submitted to the scoring company after all of the tests have been
administered for the designated testing period.

The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Joy Padgett,
amended the bill on October 30, 2007 to address other issues that
have recently been brought to the attention of lawmakers.  According
to the analysis prepared by the Legislative Service Commission (LSC),
HB 190 was amended to permit school districts that are not eligible
for state payments for all-day kindergarten to charge tuition on a
sliding scale for all-day kindergarten classes; requires the
Department of Education (ODE) to issue an annual report on tuition
charged by school districts for all-day kindergarten; requires the
ODE by April 30, 2008 to issue a report on fees charged by school
districts for (1) classes or programs that are offered during the
regular school day or after school and for which students earn credit
or are assigned grades, (2) instructional materials, and (3) summer
school.

Several amendments were also added by the Senate Education Committee
to address teacher misconduct, in response to recent reports in the
Columbus Dispatch.  These include the following, also from the LSC
analysis:
-requires school districts, educational service centers, community
schools, STEM schools, and chartered nonpublic schools to request
criminal records checks for all job applicants and employees, not
merely those whose duties entail the care of children;
-requires private contractors hired by those employers to request
criminal records checks for job applicants and employees who will
work in schools;
-requires subsequent criminal records checks every five years for all
school employees who are not subject to periodic post-employment
records checks under other laws;
-requires that the initial and periodic criminal records checks of
school employees, including State Board of Education licensees,
include checks of FBI records as well as state records;
-permits the State Board of Education to revoke an expired educator
license for misconduct;
-requires the Educator Standards Board to make recommendations for a
code of conduct for educators; and
-directs the ODE by December 31, 2007 to recommend penalties for
failure to report to the Department or the State Board of Education
information about educators who have committed an act unbecoming to
the teaching profession or that makes them a threat to students'
safety;

The bill also permits the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
waive the minimum number of school days in the 2006-2007 school year
for a certain joint vocational school district that experienced
delays in a state-assisted construction project; extends to July 1,
2008, the deadline for issuance of recommendations by the
public-private collaborative commission studying the promotion of
student success in conjunction with the Ohio Core curriculum; and
removes the Directors of Natural Resources and Job and Family
Services from the Ohio Community Service Council, and adds two
members appointed by the Governor.

The bill now goes to the Ohio House for concurrence.

*The Senate Judiciary - Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by
Senator Grendell, met on October 31, 2007 and reported out favorably
HB142 (Batchelder), which authorizes the state highway patrol to
provide emergency assistance to a school district confronted with a
bomb threat or a similar threat of imminent and catastrophic harm,
and increases the penalty for inducing panic to a felony of the
second degree when a school is involved.

*The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Setzer, met
on October 30, 2007 and heard testimony on teacher misconduct (no
bill); HB 347 (Setzer) eliminate Praxis III; and HB 348 (Peterson)
Special Education Scholarship Program.

-HB 347 (Setzer) replaces the Praxis III assessment as a condition
for a professional educator license with assessment systems developed
by school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and chartered
nonpublic schools.  Interim Dean Ann Converse Shelly from Ashland
University spoke on behalf of the Ohio Association of Private
Colleges for Teacher Education as an opponent of the bill.  She said
that the Praxis III was closely aligned to the Ohio Standards for
Teachers, and eliminating the Praxis III would place a burden on
school districts. The Praxis III is currently administered by an
experienced teacher engaged and trained by the Ohio Department of
Education.

Colleen Grady, a member of the State Board of Education, presented to
the committee her personal views of HB 347 and not the position of
the State Board of Education, which has not taken a position on the
bill.  Mrs. Grady presented testimony in support of the bill, which
she said aligns teacher assessment with the seven standards outlined
in the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, which were adopted
by the State Board of Education.

-HB348 (Peterson) Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program:
Several parents and a student testified in favor of the bill, saying
that HB348 would allow parents to have choices regarding the
education of their children with special needs.   These parents
shared their frustrations about working with some school districts
that refuse to implement IEPs, and explained how they were able to
find private schools that could better serve their children.

Providing joint testimony in opposition to HB 348 were Michelle
Francis of the Ohio School Boards Association, Barbara Shaner of the
Ohio Association of School Business Officials, Robert Davis of the
Ohio Education Association, Ann Brennan of the Ohio School
Psychologists Association, Sandy Nekoloff of the Ohio Parent Teacher
Association, Darold Johnson of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Joan
Platz of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, and Randy Weston of the
Ohio Association of Public School Employees.

According to their testimony, approving HB 348 would have negative
consequences for students, parents, and schools.  HB 348 would
eliminate certain rights of special education students and parents
(least restrictive environment and due process); provide less
accountability for services delivered to students with special needs
and tax payers; eliminate the accountability requirements of NCLB for
students using vouchers (highly qualified teachers and adequate
yearly progress); and, undermine current contracts that school
districts have negotiated to provide services to students with
special needs in their school district.

A memo submitted by Ann Brennan accompanied the testimony.  This memo
outlined the procedures available to parents to resolve disputes
regarding special education services and education.  It also included
statistics on special education services from 2005-2006 and
complaints filed by parents.  The total number of students with IEPs
in Ohio was 220,051 in traditional public schools; 7,917 in community
schools, and 22,000 in preschools. "Of that total number of students
served, in the 2005-2006 school year ODE received only 300
complaints, which represents .0012% of the total students served."
Of those complaints, 85 percent were resolved amicably through a
variety of ways, and very few of the remaining 15 percent were
resolved through litigation.

Also testifying against the bill were Greg Goodlander, Ann Gibson,
and Rebecca Meske, teachers from the Columbus City Schools.

*The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, reported
out favorably on October 30, 2007 SCR18 (Padgett), which approves the
Department of Education's proposed changes to the state academic
accountability system for public schools; reported out favorably an
amended substitute bill for HB 190 (Hite), Elementary Achievement
Test; and heard testimony on SB151 (Roberts), textbook pricing at
state institutions of higher education.

2)  110th Congress:

*New SCHIP Approved by the U.S. Senate:  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).  A "compromise" version of SCHIP
legislation, H.R. 3963, was approved by the U.S. House on October 25,
2007, but was not approved by a veto-proof majority.  The U. S.
Senate approved H.R. 3963 last week.  President Bush has announced
that this new version still does not meet the requirements that he
supports, and has threatened a veto.

*Appropriations:  The U.S. House Rules Committee will review a
conference report on H.R. 3043 this week.  H.R. 3043 includes FY08
appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health, Human Services,
and Education (LHHSE).  The U.S. Senate approved its FY08
appropriations for LHHSE S. 1710 in October 2007.  Both bills exceed
President Bush's budget recommendations, and face a veto if passed.
Congress passed a continuing resolution after failing to approve FY08
appropriations by an October 1, 2007 deadline.  That resolution
expires November 16, 2007.  Lawmakers are expected to work on the
conference report this week.

*Higher Education Reauthorization:  The U.S. House approved H.R. 3927
on October 23, 2007, another extension of the Higher Ed Act.  This
Act first came up for reauthorization in 2003, and has been extended
several times.  The U.S. Senate has already approved its
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (S. 1642).  This House
action will temporarily extend the program, which expires on October
31, 2007, until April 30, 2008.  The Senate is expected to approve an
extension also.

3)  SBE School Funding Subcommittee:  The State Board of Education's
School Funding Subcommittee, Virgil Brown chair, met on October 30,
2007 in Medina, OH.  The subcommittee has identified six components
of a state school funding system, and has been reviewing data and
information based on the components.  The six components are 1)  How
much is needed? For what? By Whom? 2)  How should the fiscal
responsibility be divided? 3)  What tools should local districts have
available to them to raise the local share of funding and what rules
apply? 4)  What are the tools and rules to generate the state
contribution? 5)  What incentives (rewards and consequences) should
there be? 6)  How do we ensure that all money is being used to
achieve the best results?

Components five and six were the topics for the October 30th meeting.
Paolo A. DeMaria, Associate Superintendent - Ohio Department of
Education's Center for School Options and Finance, led the discussion
on incentives (rewards or consequences) that could be built into a
comprehensive school funding system to promote best practices and
results, and the collection and use of financial data to promote more
effective and efficient practices in schools to improve student
achievement.

The subcommittee discussed the following options as they apply to
incentives (rewards or consequences):

A. No changes: Leave the current system alone and not develop more
explicit financial incentives or consequences.
B. Identify district-level financial rewards/penalties: Provide
either financial rewards or penalties based on some district-level
measures, such as value-added measures, effective/efficient use of
resources measures, or other measures. This could also be targeted at
certain groups of districts for which there was a greater need to
motivate change.
C. Identify building-level financial rewards/penalties.
D. Identify individual level financial rewards/penalties:  Compensate
individual teachers, principals, superintendents, school staff, etc.
for performance.
E. Flow any funding increases based on performance improvements:
Structure a system that allows districts to earn increased funding in
some set of increments tied to performance benchmarks.
F. Determine criteria for which the state would stop funding for
certain failing or non-improving buildings.
G. Restrict funding uses as a financial lever to focus resources on
solving certain problems.
H. Explore more non-financial incentives, such as competition,
accountability (individual, building, district), etc.

The subcommittee also reviewed a paper entitled "Project Proposal:
Improving the Collection and Use of Financial Data by School
Districts" (August 20, 2007).  The Ohio Department of Education was
directed in HB 119 (Dolan), the FY08-09 budget, to "....develop and
deploy analytical tools that allow districts and other stakeholders
to analyze more thoroughly district spending patterns to promote more
effective and efficient use of resources."

This paper outlines a plan for improving the collection and use of
financial data by school districts to promote "....effective and
efficient use of resources in the pursuit of improving student
achievement."  Ultimately, Ohio would become a national leader in the
use of resources to drive education improvement.

Phase I of the project includes an analysis of the current state of
fiscal data reporting and utilization, and will be completed by
December 31, 2007.  This information will be shared with stakeholders
through outreach forums.  Phase II of the project will identify gaps
in the current system and propose recommendations by June 30, 2008.
It is also possible that certain measures and evaluation tools will
be developed.

The paper identifies five components that would be needed to make an
effective and efficient school funding system:

*Improve financial reporting including better and more accurate data
at the building level that attempts to, as much as possible, focus on
those activities and functions that are important for achieving
academic success;
*Develop measures for identifying varying levels of effectiveness and
efficiency in the use of funds;
*Develop decision support and evaluation tools for understanding the
impact of different resource choices to improve the effective and
efficient use of funds;
*Develop strategies for assisting districts and schools with
improving effective and efficient use of funds.
*Provide information for Ohio's policymakers and taxpayers to better
understand what our education system is paying for, and whether it is
working to achieve certain goals.

Currently several initiatives are underway at the ODE that relate to
this project.  These include the following:

*The development of a measure to help districts improve the
efficiency of their transportation system;
*The development of a School Improvement Diagnostic Tool to assess
certain qualitative information about a district's capacity for
school improvement and assess resource management capacity;
*Integrating finance and school improvement data, such as the
superintendent's spending order rules, expenditure patterns for
Poverty Based Assistance, the guide for learning supports, and future
information from the Academic Distress Commissions;
*The development of standards for professional development and
learning support and assessment tools to guide districts in
evaluating their practices.
*A pilot project called District Resource Allocation Modeler (DREAM)
Tool, which has been developed to help school districts find
alternative ways to allocate resources based on research-based
practices to improve schools.
*The development of Staffing and Financial Analyses Services for
school districts.
*School District Performance Audits conducted by the Auditor of
State, that focus on operational aspects of the school district and
include cost-saving recommendations.
*School Employees Health Care Board, which is engaged in analyzing
health care benefits costs for school employees and making
recommendations to reduce costs.

The SBE's School Funding Subcommittee will meet next at the November
2007 meeting of the SBE in Columbus.  The project paper and other
information related to the work of the SBE's School Funding
Subcommittee are available on the ODE's website at
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=574&ContentID=39201&Content=39596

Information about the State Board of Education's Education in the
Global Economy Subcommittee is also on the ODE available at
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=574&ContentID=37927&Content=39576

4)  GAO Report on the D.C. Voucher Program:  The Government
Accounting Office (GAO) released on November 1, 2007 a report called
"District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program, Additional
Policies and Procedures Would Improve Internal Controls and Program
Operations."  The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship
Program was approved by Congress in 2004, and is operated by the
Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF).  The program provides low-income
families the option of using $7,500 toward private school tuition.

According to the report the GAO was directed by Congress to review
and make recommendations regarding the program.  After assessing
financial, program, and evaluation data, the GAO found a general lack
of accountability for the use of the funds, and concluded that the
WSF:

-lacked accountability mechanisms to oversee the use of funds;
-lacked sufficient time to design and implement the needed
accountability systems, procedures and internal controls to manage
its operations;
-had a high rate of turnover in staff;
-lacked fiscal policies which weakened accountability;
-did not adhere to its own procedures for making scholarship payments;
-payed tuition to schools that did not charge tuition;
-did not document appropriately the use of before and after school
care funds for academic support;
-faced challenges regarding the recruitment of students, ensuring
private school quality, and providing parents with accurate
information about private schools; and
-failed to ensure that participating schools met basic requirements
outlined in law.

The report makes the following recommendations:
-Directs the WSF to improve internal controls, continue to integrate
its financial systems, improve monitoring, and provide accurate
information to parents.
-Directs the Secretary of Education and the Mayor of the District of
Columbia to ensure that participating schools are in compliance with
District requirements.
-Directs the Secretary of Education to ensure that programs are
implemented in accordance with any required evaluation.

The report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d089.pdf

5)  The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study:  The National Center for
Education Statistics, released on October 30, 2007 the Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a national study
of a representative sample of children born in 2001.  This report,
which looks at the children when they were about four years old,
provides a variety of information about the children who participated
in the study.  Some of the information reported include language
skills, literacy, mathematics literacy, fine motor skills, care,
experiences, and socioeconomic status and family characteristics.
For example, according to the report, 40 percent of children from low
SES families were proficient in the recognition of certain numbers
and shapes compared to 87 percent of children from high SES families.
The study is available at
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008025

6)  ETS Study on Families:  Education Testing Services released in
September 2007 a report called "The Family:  America's Smallest
School" by Paul Barton and Richard Coley.  The report examines
factors that influence child development and learning, such as
parent-pupil ratio; family finance; literacy development; child care
disparities; the home as an educational resource; and the
parent-school relationship.

According to the highlights of the report, single-parent families,
parents reading to children, hours spent watching television, and
school absences account for about two-thirds of the large differences
among states in the National Assessment of Educational Progress
reading scores. Creating home and community environments that support
education are critical to increasing student achievement.  The report
is available at
http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/5678_PERCReport_School.pdf

7)  Family-School Summit:   The Ohio Parent Information and Resource
Center (PIRC) in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education
and the Ohio PTA, invite parents and educators to form a team and
attend the Family-School Partnership Link and Learn Summit.  This
summit will be held on December 8, 2007 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at
the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), 333 West Broad Street,
Columbus, OH 43215.

The purpose of this FREE summit is to provide school teams with
information and strategies to create and sustain effective
family-school partnerships that support student learning. School
Teams may consist of parents and a school principal or other
administrative person, such as an assistant principal or resource
coordinator, etc.  School teams will receive ongoing technical
support as well as resources to help implement their school action
plans throughout the year.
Karen Mapp, Ed.D, Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate
School of Education, and nationally known for her research and
practice in educational partnerships among schools, families, and
community members, will assist school teams in building effective
family-school partnerships focused on increasing student achievement.

Participating agencies in this Summit include the United Way of
Greater Cincinnati, United Way 211, the Columbus Urban League,
Parents for Public Schools, and many other organizations.
Participants will leave with tools to implement a year-long action
plan to address a major need in their respective schools as well as
an Ohio PIRC resource bag with a number of additional resources.
The deadline to submit an application for your School Team is
November 16, 2007.  For more information, or to apply, please call
1-888-OHPIRC9 or email:  www.ohiopirc.org.  Contact Deby Davis at
513-762-7146 for more information.

8)  Bill Introduced:

HCR32 (Setzer)  Approves the Department of Education's proposed
changes to the state academic accountability system for public
schools.

9)  Americans for the Arts invites advocates for the arts and arts
education to attend the National Arts Action Summit, which will be
held March 31-April 1, 2008 at the Capital Hilton Hotel in
Washington, D.C.  This annual event includes an Arts Advocacy
Training, Congressional Arts Breakfast on Capitol Hill, and an
opportunity to meet with members of Congress.  The annual Nancy Hanks
Lecture on Arts and Public Policy will be held on March 31, 2008 at
the Concert Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Daniel Pink, author of "A Whole New Mind", is the guest lecturer.
For more information please visit
http://www.artsusa.org/events/2008/aad/default.asp