Senate Strips Education Reform from HB1

On Friday, May 29, 2009, a substitute version of House Bill 1 was unveiled in the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate's version of the bill represents a significant step backwards on a number of issues critical to OEA's membership. The Senate version offers no plan to fix Ohio's unconstitutional school funding system. Instead it removes Governor Strickland's proposed model for school funding contained in the House passed version of the bill--a plan that when fully implemented would reduce the reliance on local property taxes and fund the components of a high quality education. Abandoning these reforms would waste the rare opportunity to transform public education.

In addition, OEA opposes changes in the Senate version of HB 1 that:

Remove language regarding 21st century learning skills and other important education reforms
Restore "pass-through" funding and weaken accountability measures for charter schools
Reinstate reductions in force for financial reasons and privatization of transportation language
Create a new special education voucher program
Lengthen the period for tenure eligibility to nine years
Further reduce the dismissal standard for teachers on continuing contract
Require a "value-added" standard to determine teacher performance based on student success
Close public schools in academic emergency status for three consecutive years

The Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate are expected to vote on this version of HB 1 early next week. The bill will then proceed to a six-member conference committee to address differences between the version passed by the Senate and the version passed by the House. Delegates to the OEA Spring Representative Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support the version of HB 1 passed by the House.

Action needed: Contact your State Senator today and urge them to restore critical aspects of school funding and education reform in HB 1.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Restore Education Reform in HB1

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I'm writing to urge you to restore key school funding and education reform measures in House Bill 1. I care deeply about education and truly believe that now is the time to invest in our schools. This will help to revitalize Ohio's economy and provide students with the skills they need to compete in the global economy.

House Bill 1, as passed by the House, presented a real plan for fixing Ohio's unconstitutional school funding system. When fully implemented, the plan would reduce the reliance on local property taxes as well as cost out and fund the components of a high quality education. The plan would fund things we know help to improve student performance such as all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and professional development. Much of this has been stripped away in the Senate's substitute version of the bill. Abandoning these improvements wastes the opportunity to transform public education. A retreat to the current broken school funding model is unacceptable.

Additionally, I oppose changes in the bill that:

* Remove language regarding 21st Century learning skills and multiple measures for high school graduation

* Restore 'pass-through' funding and weaken accountability measures for charter schools

* Reinstate RIF for financial reasons and privatization of transportation language

* Create a new special education voucher program

* Lengthen the period for tenure eligibility to nine years

* Further reduce the dismissal standard for teachers on continuing contract

* Require a 'value-added' standard to determine teacher performance based on student success

* Close public schools if in academic emergency for three consecutive years

Again, I urge you to restore many of the school funding and education reforms stripped out of HB 1. This reform package represents a commitment to invest in our students and our future. This is an opportunity that should not be squandered.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 29, 2009

Background Information

Talking Points

The Ohio Senate has produced a budget that fails to fix Ohio's inadequate and unfair school funding, which was ruled unconstitutional four times by the Ohio Supreme Court.
It won't transform our schools, unlike the visionary version of the budget advocated by Governor Strickland and the Ohio House of Representatives.
This is a missed opportunity to invest in education and in turn revitalize Ohio's economy by preparing students for the jobs of the future

OEA urges the Senate to support the key concepts behind HB 1 as supported by Governor Strickland and passed by the Ohio House of Representatives:

Focusing on innovation and creativity by integrating 21st century skills – like critical thinking, problem-solving, technology and more – into Ohio classrooms
A stronger role for teachers, including time to collaborate on academic improvement strategies and truly meaningful professional development
All-day Kindergarten for all Ohio children – not just the school districts the Senate picks for funding
Raising the state's share of support for public schools over the next 10 years to reduce over-reliance on local property taxes
Channeling more state aid to districts with high rates of student poverty, low property wealth and low college attainment

In addition, OEA opposes changes in the Senate version of HB 1 dealing with the following issues:

Reduction in Force - The OEA opposes reinstating "financial reasons" to the list of statutory grounds for which a district or service center board may make reductions in force (RIF), as well as language providing that the statutory grounds for RIF prevail over conflicting collective bargaining agreements. RIFs are a local control issue that should be bargained at the school district level.

Use of Value-Added - The OEA opposes the use of a "value-added" component to determine teacher performance based on student success. Value-added measures are not designed to be valid and reliable indicators of the impact a single educator has on a student.

Tenure - The OEA opposes increasing tenure eligibility to nine years of service. Nine years is an arbitrary figure and it should not take nearly a decade to determine whether a teacher is qualified to earn the due process protections of tenure.

Dismissal Standard - The OEA opposes any change to the current statutory dismissal standard for teachers, which has served as a clear and reasonable standard for decades.

Special Education Vouchers - The OEA opposes the creation of a new voucher program for special education. Scarce state resources should be focused on supporting and strengthening the public schools that serve the vast majority of students.

Privatization of Transportation Services - The outsourcing of school transportation services undermines student safety and reduces accountability for quality services and the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.