Education News 6-11-07

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Education News 6-11-07
1) 127th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate are scheduled to hold sessions and committee hearings this week. The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey, accepted an omnibus amendment to Am. Sub. HB 119 on June 5, 2007, and heard testimony on the bill throughout the week. The Finance Committee is expected to consider other amendments on June 12, 2007, and then report the bill out of committee. The full Senate is scheduled to vote on Am. Sub. HB 119 on June 13, 2007. According to statements made by committee members, some of the issues that may still be addressed by the Senate include the school transportation formula, funding for fast growing school districts, and clarification about funding for Early Childhood Education Programs. Hearings this Week: TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2007 The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey (614-466-8156), will meet at 10:00 AM in the Finance Hearing Room to consider amendments to Am. Sub. HB 119 (Dolan), which makes operating appropriations for FY08-09. A vote on the bill is possible. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007 The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey (614-466-8156) will meet IF NEEDED at 9:30 AM in the Finance Hearing Room to consider Am. Sub. HB 119 (Dolan), which makes operating appropriations for FY08-09. 2) Senate Budget Takes Shape: The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey, met on June 5, 2007, and accepted an omnibus amendment to Am. Sub. HB 119 (Dolan), the proposed $52.375 billion FY08-09 budget for Ohio. The omnibus amendment increased the proposed General Revenue Fund budget by $133 million in FY08 and $112 million in FY09 over the House version of HB 119. The increases were made possible through a $100 million transfer in unobligated revenues to FY08; $36 million available through the elimination an exemption from a use tax on tobacco imports; $17.9 million available through excess revenue from the Commercial Activity Tax; and approximately $12 million available through reductions in other line items. The total increase of the Senate Committee version of the budget for all funds is $259.2 million for FY08-09. Spending increases were included for the Department of Development ($9.8 million), Ohio Department of Education ($23 million), the Ohio Board of Regents ($161.3 million), the Ohio Arts Council ($1 million), social services, School Facilities Commission ($31.2 million), after school programs, and more. The debt service lines items that were removed in the House version of the budget bill were also restored. The omnibus amendment includes a total of 42 amendments related to primary and secondary education; 16 for higher education; 23 for taxation; eight for securitization; and other amendments related to state departments and agencies. Highlights of the changes are listed below. A more detailed list of changes in HB 119 will be available after the bill has been approved by the Senate. Changes in Am. Sub. HB 119 (Dolan) the FY08-09 Budget - Senate Finance Committee version. This summary was prepared from the Legislative Service Commission Comparison Document, which is available at http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/ Primary and Secondary Education Formula Changes -CHANGE. Eliminates the second formula ADM count currently the 2nd week in February. Clarifies that the ODE many adjust a school district's formula ADM to account for community school students only for a portion of a school year. -CHANGE. Modifies the calculation of the new subsidy for assistance in closing the achievement gap for districts that have a poverty index and an academic distress index of at least 10. -CHANGE. Reinstates certain current law regarding the spending requirements for Poverty Based Assistance. -CHANGE. Replaces the executive provision regarding the calculation of transitional aid payments and clarifies language regarding transitional aid payment for joint vocational school districts. -NEW. Replaces unit funding with grant awards for vocational education programs operated by state institutions. Transportation -CHANGE. Removes the provision in the executive and House versions that replaced current method for calculating transportation funding with a new formula developed by the ODE. -NEW. Requires the ODE to make recommendations by December 31, 2008 for enhancing regional collaboration for transportation of students. After School Programs NEW. Requires that up to $10 million in each fiscal year of appropriation item 600-689, TANF Block Grant (Fund 3V6), be used to support summer and after-school programs and services for TANF eligible youth served through community based organizations, faith-based organizations, and schools to provide academic support not available during the regular school day, nutrition, transportation, youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, technology education, and character education programs. Early Childhood Education -CHANGE. Increases the appropriation for early childhood education by $7 million over the executive budget proposal, making the total $31 million in FY08 and $36.5 million in FY09. -CHANGE. Reinstates executive provisions for staff qualifications for early childhood education programs. Nonpublic Schools, Vouchers, and Charter Schools -CHANGE. Removes the Special Education Scholarship Program. -NEW. Requires the ODE by December 31, 2008 to report ways to expand the current Autism Scholarship Program to students with disabilities. -CHANGE. Removes the House provision that requires a school district to offer schools that are not being used 75 percent of the time for academic instruction to community schools. -CHANGE. Removes the House provision that prohibits ODE from withholding payment to a community school in certain enrollment disputes with school districts. -NEW. Restricts payments to community schools for certain students who have unexcused absences. -CHANGE. Clarifies that sanctions for not reporting EMIS data apply to school districts, community schools, educational service centers, vocational school districts, etc. -NEW. Adds social work to the list of services that may be provided to students of chartered nonpublic schools with state Auxiliary Services Funds. -NEW. Increases from $275 to $300 per pupil, the cap on reimbursement payments to chartered nonpublic schools for mandated administrative expenses. The bill appropriates $59.8 million in FY 2008 and $61.6 million in FY 2009 for these payments. Physical Education Standards -CHANGE. Reinstates the executive provision requiring the SBE to adopt standards for physical education, but states that the standards can be developed by the SBE, rather than using the national standards; removes the requirement that the standards be approved by the General Assembly; requires each school district, community school, and chartered nonpublic school to report to the ODE the number of minutes per week and the number of classes per week of physical education provided to students in each of grades K-8 in 2006-2007, and scheduled to be provided to students in 2007-2008; requires the ODE to hire a physical education coordinator. The ODE can use funds from the line item academic standards to fund the position. Ohio CORE -NEW. Requires the state report cards in 2008 through 2013 to designate as "Ohio Core Certified" school districts and community schools that both (1) offer all components of the Ohio Core curriculum to their high school students, and (2) apply the requirement to complete two semesters of fine arts between grades 7 and 12. Requires ODE to list the Ohio Core Certified school districts and community schools on its web site. -CHANGE. Specifies that if a school district erroneously reported a zero percent graduation rate for the 2005-2006 school year for the district or any building in the district, and the district notified ODE of the error by June 30, 2007, the ODE must allow the district to correct the graduation rate, and include the corrected rate on the August 2007 report card issued for the district and any affected building. STEM -NEW. Requires ODE in collaboration with the Board of Regents and the Chancellor, and in accordance with criteria prescribed by the Partnership for Continued Learning, to award start-up grants for new STEM schools serving students above grade 6, and grants to support STEM programs of excellence serving students in any of grades K to 8. Start-up grants for new STEM schools may be awarded only to school districts (including joint vocational school districts), educational service centers, community schools, and consortiums of districts, service centers, or community schools. Grants for STEM programs of excellence may be awarded only to school districts, district operated schools, educational service centers, or community schools. The bill provides $2,783,000 in each fiscal year for start-up grants for new STEM schools and $3,500,000 in each fiscal year for STEM Programs of Excellence. -NEW. Makes the following earmarks of GRF appropriation item 200-457, STEM Initiatives: Earmarks $2,783,000 in each fiscal year for start-up grants for new STEM schools. Earmarks $3,500,000 in each fiscal year to support STEM Programs of Excellence. Earmarks $350,000 in each fiscal year to support the Young Buckeye STEM Scholars After School and Summer Program. Earmarks $2,600,000 in each fiscal year for mathematics initiatives including intensive teacher professional development institutes that focus on classroom implementation of the mathematics standards. Earmarks $200,000 in each fiscal year for the Ohio Resource Center for Math and Science. Earmarks $282,000 in each fiscal year for the Jason Expedition project. Earmarks $285,000 in each fiscal year for science initiatives including the Ohio Science Institute (OSCI). Alternative Education Program -CHANGE. Decreases the earmark for alternative education programs to $322,281 in each fiscal year for program administration, monitoring, etc. Removes the earmark for Center for Learning Excellence at OSU; increases the earmark for the Toledo Tech Academy to $100,000 in each year, and requires $25,000 to be used For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology; earmarks from School Improvement Initiatives $250,000 for Amer-I-Can. Earmarks -CHANGE. Earmarks from the line item - Academic Standards the following: increases earmarks for continuous improvement plans to $10,387,835 each year; decreases earmark for early college high schools to $3,053,985 in FY08 and $3,803,985 in FY09. -CHANGE. Changes some earmarks for literacy improvement professional development. -CHANGE. Earmarks $207,364 in FY08 and $212,486 in FY09 for kindergarten readiness assessment. -CHANGE. Removes the House provision that earmarked $6 million in FY09 for school districts rated excellent. -CHANGE. Reduces earmark for post-secondary enrollment options to $5,675,000 in FY09. -NEW. Earmarks $750,000 in FY09 for Advance Placement Summer Institutes. -NEW. Earmarks $650,000 in each fiscal year for Project More. -CHANGE. Removes the House earmark in Foundation Funding of $2.4 million in FY09 and $2.7 million in FY08 for Early Childhood Education. -NEW. Earmarks $3,312,165 in each fiscal year for providing additional support to districts in the development and implementation of their continuous improvement plans. -CHANGE. Removes the requirement to fund the Columbiana County Educational Service Center, Ohio Wyami Appalachian Teacher Cohorts Program. School Facilities -NEW. Prevents a school district's percentile wealth ranking from being raised to a higher percentile for purposes of scheduling assistance under the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program after (1) the district has entered into an agreement with the School Facilities Commission (SFC) under the Expedited Local Partnership Program and (2) the district's voters have approved a bond issue to pay the district's portion of the basic project cost. Requires that the SFC use this "capped" percentile ranking only for determining when a district is eligible for assistance under the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program, and not for calculating the district's portion of the basic project cost. Requires the SFC to annually notify the Department of Education of all school districts whose percentile rankings have been capped since the Department completed its most recent ranking list. -NEW. Adds a city, local, or exempted village school district's net gain in interdistrict open enrollment students to its "valuation per pupil," for purposes of determining the district's adjusted valuation per pupil for its school facilities funding ranking, if its open enrollment net gain is at least 10 percent of its formula ADM. -CHANGE. Same as the House, but replaces the Public School Building Fund (Fund 021) with the GRF as the recipient of the $40 million cash transfer from the Education Facilities Endowment Fund (Fund P87) in fiscal year 2008, and eliminates the appropriation of these funds to CAP-622, Public School Buildings. Commercial Activity Tax Earmark -NEW. Dedicates 70 percent of annual CAT revenue in FY 2019 and thereafter to school funding, changing current law which dedicates CAT revenue after 2019 to the GRF. HB 66 in the 126th General Assembly revamped Ohio's tax structure, and began to phase-out the corporate franchise tax and the tangible personal property tax. A new tax was created, the commercial activity tax, and revenue raised through this tax was dedicated to replace revenue lost by school districts and local governments due to the phaseout of the tangible personal property tax. Income Tax for Schools -NEW. Provides that, beginning with the August 7, 2007 election, up to three elections may be held during a calendar year on the question, or any combination of the questions, of levying school district income taxes and school district property taxes. Current law provides that school district income tax levy questions may be submitted to the electors up to twice a calendar year, and that school district property tax levy questions may be submitted up to three times a calendar year. -NEW. Authorizes two or more school boards in a county with a population greater than 1,200,000 to create a taxing district for the joint funding of special education and behavioral health services for students and their immediate families. Based on the 2000 Census, this change currently would apply only to Cuyahoga County. Miscellaneous -CHANGE. Removes the provision that makes it permissive instead of mandatory for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish an academic distress commission. -CHANGE. Permits adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) programs to be transferred to the Board of Regents, requires that a plan for the transfer be developed by July 1, 2008, and moves the date of the transfer back six months to January 1, 2009. -CHANGE. Earmarks $1,715,000 to the Auditor of State to perform audits of districts in fiscal distress. -CHANGE. Changes the application deadline for the Homestead Exemption expansion. -CHANGE. Assigns the House earmark for abstinence-only education to its own line item. -CHANGE. Makes several changes to the tobacco securitization plan, including a limit on bond purposes and prior Controlling Board approval of appropriation changes. Higher Education -CHANGE. Makes several changes in provisions regarding co-located technical colleges. -NEW. Requires the Chancellor of BOR to create the Ohio Innovation Partnership, consisting of two competitive grant programs: the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program and the Ohio Research Scholars Program. The Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program, would provide an award to any of the 13 state universities and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine for initiatives that recruit Ohio residents as students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEM) or STEM education. The Ohio Research Scholars Program would provide awards to endow any of the 13 state universities and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine for initiatives to recruit scientists to their faculties. Provides the same amount of funding ($50 million per year) as provided in the House budget for the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program. The Senate budget provides $30 million in GRF money in FY 2008 in the BOR budget and $20 million in the Third Frontier bond money in FY 2009 in the Department of Development budget for the Ohio Research Scholars Program. -CHANGE. Removes a House provision that requires the BOR to study the effectiveness of the Jobs Challenge, Access Challenge, Success Challenge, and Economic Growth Challenge programs. -CHANGE. Replaces the House provision with a provision that freezes in-state undergraduate instructional and general fees in both FY 2008 and FY 2009. Earmarks $58 million in FY 2008 and $60 million in FY 2009 to be distributed based on each campus's share of total in-state undergraduate tuition amount for FY 2007. The overall appropriations (including the earmarked funding) for SSI increase by 5.6 percent in FY 2008 and 9.8 percent in FY 2009. -CHANGE. Renumbers the Choose Ohio First Scholarship line item from 235-569 to 235-438 and replaces the House intent language with codified language that establishes the Ohio Innovation Partnership, consisting of two competitive grant programs: the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program and the Ohio Research Scholars Program. -NEW. Specifies that GRF appropriation item 235-571, James A. Rhodes Scholarship, be disbursed as matching funds upon receiving certification that the James A. Rhodes Foundation has raised at least $10 million from nonstate resources. -NEW. Earmarks $200,000 each fiscal year to support the Cleveland Institute of Art. 3) Testimony on HB 119 Continues in the Senate: Proponents and opponents of Am. Sub. HB 119 appeared before the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee last week as the Senate panel continued to hear testimony on various provisions included in the proposed FY08-09 budget. The following is a summary of some of the testimony presented: School Funding Provisions Jonathan Boyd, treasurer and CFO for the Cincinnati Public Schools, shared with the committee the impact of the school funding formula on the Cincinnati Public Schools. He addressed his remarks to issues regarding the school funding guarantees, the use of the state aid ratio to determine funding for other state programs, the elimination of the cost of doing business factor, and the phase-out of the tangible personal property tax. Mr. Boyd asked the Senate Committee to restore the cost of doing business factor; provide a permanent hold harmless for lost tax revenue as a result of the elimination of the tangible personal property tax; provide the same level of funding for special education and vocational education for all school districts; and restore the four guarantees, reappraisal, foundation, formula, and transitional, in the school funding formula. HB 119 includes just one guarantee, the transitional aid guarantee. Historically these guarantees have provided school districts with a way to gradually adjust their budgets to reflect changes in tax policies or state policies, which reduce tax revenue for school districts. According to his testimony, "If the foundational aid and formula aid guarantees are not maintained, then most school districts across the state will receive less state funding in the future than they would have received otherwise as a result of the impacts of changes in school funding." Transportation: Susan Haverkos led off testimony about the state's transportation formula accompanied by several parents from the Milford Exempted Village School District. Susan Haverkos is an elected member of the State Board of Education, but was not speaking on behalf of the State Board. She requested that the Senate Committee implement a new formula for transportation recommended by the State Board of Education. According to the testimony, some school districts have reduced transportation services for some students, but are still receiving state transportation support at the same level. This is because the current method used to distribute transportation funds to school districts, and continued in HB 119, provides an increase in funding even if the district reduces the number of students transported. Fast growing districts also suffer because they are not reimbursed when enrollments increase. "This is not student centered funding." Higher Education Dr. Louis M. Proenza, President of The University of Akron, testified in support of the STEM focused Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program, and the Ohio Research Scholars Program, which was included in the omnibus amendment to HB 119. Dan DiBiasio, President of Wilmington College, asked the Senate Committee to fully fund the Ohio Student Choice Grant program (SCG). "Since the start of the program, the percentage of Ohio residents attending independent colleges increased from 47 percent to 72 percent. Hence the SCG is a financial aid programs that works." The current version of HB 119 reduces this allocation by one third. Patrick Osmer, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at Ohio State University, testified in support of the Innovation Incentive Program, and asked the Senate Committee to provide matching funds for the program. This program is designed to encourage universities to reallocate their own funding away from weaker doctoral programs. According to the testimony, the General Assembly created the program in the last biennial budget. If matching funds can not be provided, the law should be changed to freeze the program, because without matching funds the cost of the program is prohibitive. Early Learning Sallie Westhemer, 4C..for Children; Benjamin W. Kearney, Bera Children's Home and Family Services; Gerry Weller, Cincinnati Association for the Education of Young Children; Sylvia Hatch, Kinship Caregiver Coalition; and Thomas Maurer, Sheriff of Wayne County, Ohio spoke in support of funding for Early Learning in HB 119. They asked the Senate committee to support the House version that increases funding for TEACH Early Childhood Ohio and Step Up to Quality; support for the House version that increases the reimbursement level for child care to the 65th percentile of the market rate; dedicate additional funding to early childhood behavioral health treatment; and support a pilot project to implement a fiscal model for early childhood education at rural, suburban, and urban locations. Limited English Learners, STEM, and School Improvement Funds Dr. George Tombaugh, Superintendent of the Westerville City Schools, testified in support of a weighted subsidy for Limited English Proficient students, support for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs, and requested that the Senate committee restore $12.9 million in funding for school improvement. Dr. Tombaugh requested that the Senate committee eliminate the poverty index qualifier of 1.0 in order to provide additional funding to school districts with high concentrations of students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). According to the testimony, school districts like Westerville receive no additional funding to provide needed support services for students with Limited English Proficiency, but are held accountable for the academic performance of these students. School districts with high concentrations of LEP students should become eligible for a weighted subsidy. Dr. Tombaugh recommended a .3 weight be established, which would mean an increase in the per pupil amount of $1,670 per pupil in FY08 and $1,720 in FY09 for school districts with LEP students. Information was attached that highlights the legal issues concerning the civil rights of LEP students, and recent court attention to these civil rights issues. On another issue, the proposal to fund STEM initiatives in Ohio will be "...one of the drivers to move Ohio into the global economy of the 21st Century." According to the testimony, STEM includes educating the 'whole child' through the Arts, Humanities, and Social Studies, and should serve all students across Ohio. Dr. Tombaugh also asked the Senate committee to restore $12.9 to the school improvement line item. This money was shifted to the new Achievement Gap initiative within Poverty Based Assistance line item. Nearly 60 percent of school districts in Ohio have benefited from this program. Accountability Tom McGuire, former school board member from Federal Hocking Local School District, addressed the Senate committee regarding charter school accountability, cost effectiveness of schools, and the academic performance of charter schools. According to the testimony, charter schools need more oversight, and there must be more transparency so that public funds can be monitored. Public funds flowing through for profit community school management companies are not easy to follow. The Senate Finance Committee should "..apply the same rules of accountability and auditing to charter and voucher schools that apply to traditional public schools." A moratorium on expanding new charter schools is appropriate until the effectiveness of charter schools has been determined. Also, Ohio should be more involved in efforts to identify cost effective practices in schools, and develop models and tools to help districts align spending with proven ways to improve student achievement. 4) State Board of Education to Meet: The State Board of Education, Jennifer Sheets president, will hold their annual retreat on June 10 - 12, 2007 at Maumee Bay Resort in Oregon, OH. The objectives of the retreat are to provide the State Board an opportunity to interact and develop a long-term vision in support of sound educational policies for the state of Ohio; review progress on the 2006-2007 Board Approved Priorities; and identify the 2007-2008 Board Approved Priorities and their long-term context. The only action item on the board's business meeting agenda is the evaluation and determination of compensation for the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The board will return to its regular business meeting format in July. 5) News from the ODE: The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) announced last week that it is sponsoring five regional Safe Schools Summits in the month of June. The public is welcome to attend these summits and testify on local efforts that create safe and supportive school environments. The information gathered from these events will be used to help shape policy recommendations of the State Board of Education. The ODE will schedule as many oral presentations for the summits as time permits. In addition, written testimony may be submitted to the ODE web site through June 30, 2007. Guidelines for presenting testimony are available at the ODE website, www.ode.state.oh.us, keyword search - regional safe schools. For more information about the summits, please contact (800) 788-7254. The summits are tentatively scheduled for 1:00 - 4:00 PM on the following dates and locations: June 14 - Dayton City Council, 101 W. Third St., Dayton, Ohio 45402 June 20 - Cambridge City Council, 1131 Steubenville Ave., Cambridge, Ohio 43725 June 21- Youngstown City Council, 26 South Phelps Street, Youngstown, Ohio 44503 June 27- Cleveland City Council , 601 Lakeside Ave., 2nd floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114 June 28- Toledo City Hall, 600 Jackson, Toledo, Ohio 43604 The Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators and the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators, in collaboration with ODE, have worked together to design one, unified entry year principal program of instructional leadership. The new program intensifies the professional development of entry year principals (EYP) while aligning program content to the standards for Ohio's principals. Principals and assistant principals holding a two-year provisional license can register for the Ohio Entry Year Principal Program through ODE's CORE system. ODE CORE registration will be open from June 1 through Aug. 3. For full program details, requirements, and registration instructions please visit http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx? Page=3&TopicRelationID=1222&ContentID=4284&Content=30452 The State Board of Education is expected in July 2007 to adopt guidelines that will help districts meet or exceed legal requirements for parent and family involvement policies, diagnostic assessment procedures, intervention services, and data collection for intervention evaluations. For more information about the Parent and Family Involvement Policy and Learning Supports Guidelines, please visit http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx? page=3&TopicRelationID=1234&ContentID=29857&Content=30182 6) Bills Introduced the Week of June 4, 2007 HB254 Nutrition Standards (Peterson) - Establishes the Ohio Child Wellness Advisory Council, to establish nutritional standards for certain foods and beverages sold in public and chartered nonpublic schools.
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