WASHINGTON — Ohio will get up to $70 million from the federal government as one of nine states awarded ”Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge” grants.

The winners will share $500 million to better prepare disadvantaged youngsters for kindergarten.

“This is a huge win for the children of Ohio and it is a major step towards achieving the goal of having all students enter school ready to learn,” said State Superintendent Stan Heffner in a prepared statement.

Thirty-five states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico competed for the money.

In 2010, Ohio won $400 million for school improvement initiatives in the main Race to the Top competition.

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The Columbus Dispatch Sunday November 27, 2011 front page

More than 23,000 central Ohio students chose charters last school year, including more than 10,300 from suburban and rural districts.

And all 49 of the region’s school districts have some students in charters, a fact that defies the early view that charter schools were an escape for poor kids trapped in troubled schools — something that the Columbus City Schools had to contend with.

“We’re moving into the second generation of school choice. The first generation was about helping kids in failing schools and giving them a safety valve. The second generation of school choice is now actually about middle-class parents,” said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The institute, based in Dayton, oversees several Ohio charter schools.

School districts traditionally have said that charters, which are publicly funded but often privately run, are a financial drain.

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Click here to review charter enrollment by school district.

The Columbus Dispatch Friday September 30, 2011 8:12 AM

Ohio will be among 20 states leading the development of new standards for what students should learn about natural science and engineering from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Next Generation Science Standards will focus on analytical and conceptual thinking and aim to ensure students graduate ready for college and careers. Ohio will work with other states to write the standards, gather feedback and work through any issues. The standards are expected to be completed by next fall.

The multistate effort is being coordinated by Achieve, a nonpartisan, nonprofit education group based in Washington, D.C.

Ohio and the other states agreed to commit staff time to the initiative and to strongly consider following the guidelines once they are completed.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.

CURRENT EDUCATION LEGISLATION      

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

• At the fourth Ohio Economic-Education Summit, Bob Sommers, director of Gov. John Kasich’s new Office of 21st Century Education, previewed the administration’s approach on schools, noting a focus on “educational productivity” and the inevitability of some cuts. “If you think education is going to be immune, as it has in the past, you would be wrong,” he said. He outlined four principles that will guide the administration: “what’s fair for the students, not for the adults”; “all students will learn”; “cost really does matter”; and “free enterprise.”

• The Ohio School Facilities Commission hired Richard Hickman as commission director, restoring him to a position he held in the Taft administration. The commission also rescinded the Strickland-era “responsible bidder” policy that Republicans criticized as too union-friendly.

• The Republican-led General Assembly is moving forward with plans to introduce Teach for America instructors to Ohio’s K-12 landscape, though House members offered a partial concession to traditional certification this week when they required participants to complete the four-year residency program mandated for all other teachers holding a “professional” license.

• A new Fordham Foundation report, “State of State U.S. History Standards,” declared that “few states and school systems take U.S. history seriously.” In its first U.S. history survey since 2003, a total of 11 states earn a “D” and another 18 states earn an “F.” Twelve states pull a “mediocre” “C” and three a “B,” leaving only seven states to make it into the “A” range. Ohio received a “D.” “Ohio’s standards claim to outline the ‘essential knowledge’ that students should acquire through the social studies curriculum. Unfortunately, the state does not seem to consider substantive historical content to be ‘essential,’ since very little is included,” the report says.

• The future of the acting State Board of Education president’s urban schools initiative hangs in the balance as board members await a redo of January leadership elections. District 5 member Rob Hovis, who retains the state board mantle at least until new elections scheduled for March 14, has made the sub-par performance of urban Big 8 school districts one of his primary issues on the board. He placed it among a handful of priorities after the January election and chaired the first gathering of the Urban Schools Committee this month.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut said this week he is resigning his position effective March 13 — the end of his fourth full year in the position. He had another year left in his term which reportedly will be filled by former state auditor and attorney general Jim Petro. In his letter to Gov. John Kasich, Fingerhut noted the accomplishments during his term to align higher education with economic development and workforce needs in the state. “Higher education is in Ohio’s DNA,” he said.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

An estimated crowd of 5,200 union members and their supporters descended on the Statehouse Tuesday as hearings continued in the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee on SB5 (Jones). Protests, however, soon turned from the collective bargaining bill to the Statehouse security because access to the building was limited on a day that saw freezing temperatures and snow. Eventually more were allowed into the Statehouse proper while the Riffe Theatre was also opened up to accommodate additional protestors after Democratic lawmakers had said they would file for an injunction to force Statehouse managers to let people in.

Following three days of hearings over the last two weeks, 22 hours of testimony and more than 100 witnesses, Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) said Wednesday his chamber would change SB5 (Jones) to restore state employees’ right to collectively bargain, but only for wages. Union leaders said the move was a positive step but added that they still find the bill unacceptable. House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said he hopes his chamber gets the bill quickly so he can send it to Gov. John Kasich’s desk before the budget debuts.

Public Safety Director Tom Charles’ presentation to lawmakers on his department’s budget in House Finance and his confirmation hearing in a Senate committee came one day after thousands protesting SB5 (Jones) complained they were locked out of the building by the State Highway Patrol, a division of Charles’ department. That timing left him facing a bevy of questions and concerns, with Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) noting it was the first time since his 1983 entrance to the Legislature that he felt “uncomfortable with the Highway Patrol.” Charles assured the committee that no one instructed him to close down the building, but said capacity numbers from the fire marshal and an initial estimate that the crowd would reach 20,000 led the patrol to limit those allowed in for safety reasons. He noted he himself was on site and that “adjustments” were made to let more people in later in the day.

Democratic lawmakers, continuing their opposition to the collective bargaining measure SB5, brought in former Sen. Gene Branstool, sponsor of the original legislation granting public workers collective bargaining rights. Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro (D-Hubbard) complained that Democrats aren’t being included in the process.

Gov. John Kasich has mostly declined to wade into specifics of what he wants to change in the state’s collective bargaining laws, repeating his mantra of controlling costs and giving local government greater management flexibility. Asked about President Barack Obama’s criticism of Wisconsin Republicans’ approach to collective bargaining, he commented, “What I can tell you is, frankly, the more he weighs in, the stronger our people get, because they understand that he has different agenda than we have.”

GOVERNOR

Gov. John Kasich’s first State of the State address is scheduled for March 8, one week before his first budget is due to the Legislature.

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

The Board of Education announced an upcoming re-do of its January officer elections following advice from the attorney general’s office that questioned the validity of its secret leadership vote in January amid a battle between new board member Angela Thi Bennett and the woman she replaced, Martha Harris, Board President Rob Hovis said at Tuesday’s meeting. Questions about the vote’s validity were especially important to address because both the president and vice president positions were decided by one vote. Hovis said he’ll stand for president again, noting his seven-year experience on the board. Meanwhile, a U.S. District Court granted jurisdiction over a lawsuit Harris filed seeking to retain her seat, which Gov. John Kasich gave to Bennett following revelations former Gov. Ted Strickland had never filed confirmation paperwork for Harris with the Ohio Senate.

Rep. Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus) was appointed to the eTech Ohio Commission.

The House passed on a party line vote HB30, Rep. Randy Gardner’s (R-Bowling Green) bill to roll back many parts of Gov. Ted Strickland’s Evidence-Based Model (EBM) of education, including a requirement for all-day kindergarten. Democrats decried the move as taking education backwards. Republicans said EBM was always “a cruel hoax” because it was never backed up with funding and said stripping away mandates will better enable local school leaders to manage in tough budget times.

House Republicans unveiled legislation to remove caps on school vouchers statewide, regardless of local school performance, effectively replacing existing EdChoice and Cleveland vouchers and opening accredited private schools to a possible major surge in public enrollment.

The Ohio Department of Education submitted the state’s updated State Performance Plan and 2009-2010 Annual Performance Report (APR) on special education to the U.S. Department of Education.

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.

CURRENT EDUCATION LEGISLATION

HB21	INTERNET-BASED COMMUNITY SCHOOLS (COMBS, C) To allow new Internet- or computer-based community schools to open under certain conditions, to require the use of student performance data in evaluating teachers and principals for licensure, and to qualify Teach for America participate for a professional educator license.
	Current Status:	2/9/2011 – House Education, (Third Hearing)
HB30	SCHOOL FUNDING (GARDNER, R) To eliminate spending and reporting requirements related to the school funding system, to abolish the School Funding Advisory Council, to eliminate the requirement that school districts offer all-day kindergarten, to eliminate the requirement that schools establish family and civic engagement teams, and to reduce to three years the period covered by financial forecasts of school districts, community schools, and STEM schools.
	Current Status:	2/9/2011 – House Education, (Third Hearing)
HB36	SCHOOL CALAMITY DAYS (KOZLOWSKI, C) To excuse up to five, instead of three, calamity days for the 2010-2011 school year, to broaden schools’ authority to make up calamity days by lengthening remaining days in the school year, and to declare an emergency.
	Current Status:	2/9/2011 – House Education, (Second Hearing)
HB38	ASSAULT OF SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD (LUCKIE II, C) To impose the same criminal penalties for assaulting a school security guard as are imposed for assaulting a school teacher.
	Current Status:	1/26/2011 – Referred to Committee House Criminal Justice
HB39	PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS (LUCKIE II, C) To make changes to the laws regarding proprietary schools.
	Current Status:	1/26/2011 – Referred to Committee House Education

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
State Superintendent Deborah Delisle announced Friday that Ohio had received its $400 million in federal Race to the Top (RttT) funds, which will be used over the next four years to support RttT activities either directly through Ohio schools and districts or through state-supported initiatives.

State Superintendent Deborah Delisle exercised her authority this week, suspending all school funding requirements, except for changes to gifted education, in the evidence-based model (EBM), citing moves in HB30 (Gardner) to eliminate the vast majority of funding requirements in Strickland’s education reform package and the uncertainty of the FY12-13 budget. She clarified later that this action did not “pull the plug” on all-day kindergarten, explaining that a temporary suspension of EBM did not eliminate the early learning mandate.

A reconstituted Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) named its longtime chief financial officer, Eric Bode, interim director in its first meeting of 2011. New commission members include Tim Keen, director of the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), and Robert Blair, director of the Department of Administrative Services. State Superintendent Deborah Delisle continues as a voting member.

School voucher enrollment began this week, with participation in the EdChoice scholarship likely to reach the statutory limit of 14,000 in the 2011-12 academic year. Based on existing enrollment in 28 chronically underperforming school districts, approximately 84,000 children will be eligible for school vouchers worth up to $5,000 per child.

eTech Commission member and previously the state’s chief information officer Sam Orth is taking over as chief technology officer for the Management Council for the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN).

State Superintendent Deborah Delisle issued a report on the impact of the length of the school day and school year on learning, as directed in 128-HB1, saying that “it is impossible to arrive at one response to the complex question ….” She said enhanced learning is more qualitative than quantitative and should be data-driven.

Superintendent Deborah Delisle gave presentations before the education committees in the House and Senate, focusing on the Department of Education’s roll-out of model curricula in the spring, saying they will move away from content repetition across grades in favor of greater depth and rigor in academic content.

The annual Ohio Economic-Education Summit has been scheduled for Feb. 21-23, with a planned emphasis on the industry clusters targeted by the University System of Ohio’s Centers of Excellence program.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut told an overflowing crowd at the three-day Educational Technology Conference Tuesday that the mission of eTech Ohio and its partnering agencies is not to make techno-geeks out of teachers, students and administrators, but rather effective users of the latest communication tools in support of 21st Century learning and the knowledge economy. He also characterized higher education as a supremely bipartisan issue that has historically united Democrats and Republicans around the goal of workforce readiness.

Kent State University announced it has opened an office in Delhi, India, and signed memoranda of understanding with several Indian universities.

Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center achieved the highest rating, “exceptional,” from the National Cancer Institute.

PEOPLE

The State Library of Ohio announced that the State Board of Education had recently appointed John Myles of Wauseon to its board.

Governer Kasich named Bob Sommers the director of his Office of 21^st Century Education.

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Gov. John Kasich filled the five vacancies on the State Board of Education before the board met on Tuesday to, among other items, elect its leadership for 2011. The appointment of C. Todd Jones, New Albany; Tess Elshoff, New Knoxville; Joseph L. Farmer, Baltimore; Thomas W. Gunlock, Centerville; and Dennis Shelton, Delaware gave Republicans a majority on the board, which then, on split 10-9 votes, elected long-time board member Robin Hovis president and Gunlock, vice president.

In other state board-related news, the Senate clerk’s office said the Strickland administration had never submitted the paperwork for Martha Harris’ appointment to the state board, meaning her appointment has not been acted on by the Senate despite the fact she has been serving on the board of education for two years. Legal counsel is currently investigating the situation.

State Superintendent Deborah Delisle pointed out that Ohio’s drop in the national “Quality Counts” school rankings was the result of a slight drop in score from 81.2 to 79.8 and that the state still received an overall ”B-” ranking.

PEOPLE

Cleveland City Schools picked Peter Raskin, former CEO of National City Bank, to take over as interim leader when Superintendent Eugene Sanders retires at month’s end.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio (LWV-Ohio) named Joanna Helon interim executive director. She will oversee the day-to-day operations of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and the League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund over the next several months.

EDUCATION LEGISLATION

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

The State Board of Education delayed its monthly meeting by a week until Jan. 18 and 19 due to uncertainty over the status of new board appointments. Before adjourning for the year, the Senate had rejected five of Gov. Ted Strickland’s appointments, citing a desire to have Gov.-elect John Kasich fill those slots although Strickland turned around and named five more individuals who must face Senate review this year.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Ohio State University received $100 million from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through a competitive grant program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 for a $1 billion construction project at the OSU Medical Center.

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut launched the final year of his appointment as cabinet-level head of the University System of Ohio Wednesday with a 2011 update of his 10-Year Strategic Plan for Higher Education, releasing the document in connection with the opening meeting of the Ohio Board of Regents.

PENSION FUNDS

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, and the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund are among the lead plaintiffs in a securities class action suit against British Petroleum PLC (BP) that alleges BP “issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the company’s safety protocols and record, as well as its ability to respond to a major oil spill.”

PEOPLE

Columbus City Schools Tuesday announced the appointment of Gov. Ted Strickland’s chief policy advisor for education, John Stanford, Ph.D., as new chief operating officer (COO) for the district. Stanford replaces interim COO Stephen M. Vargo.

Attorney General-elect Mike DeWine announced the appointment of Frederick D. Nelson, a former associate White House counsel under President George H.W. Bush, as director of major litigation and a senior adviser to the attorney general; Pamela Vest Boratyn as DeWine’s general counsel; Kimberly A. Murnieks as chief operating officer; and Lisa Peterson Hackley as communications director.

STATE BUDGET

Ohio’s budget for FY11 continues to run in the black, according to preliminary revenue figures for December released Thursday by the Office of Budget and Management (OBM). Compared to a year ago, spending for the month is down 45.6 percent or $770.6 million. For the year, spending is running $222.1 million or 1.7 percent ahead of this time in FY10.

2011 — Provided by The Hannah Report – A Publication of Hannah News Service, Inc.