Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Education Update May 21, 2012
Joan Platz
1) 129th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will hold sessions and hearings this week.
*HB194 Repealed: Governor Kasich signed into law on May 15, 2012 SB295 (Coley), which repeals HB194 (Blessing/Mecklenborg), a controversial elections reform bill signed into law July 1, 2011. A referendum on HB194 is currently on the November 2012 ballot, sponsored by Fair Elections Ohio. Last week Secretary of State Jon Husted issued a statement saying that the referendum was no longer needed. However, SB295 does not return election law to pre-HB194 status, because other changes were made through another law HB224 (Dovilla/Stinziano), and so Fair Elections Ohio is considering its options. Stay tuned for further developments.
For more information please visit:
The Secretary of State's website at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/mediaCenter/2012/2012-05-08-a.aspx
Fair Elections Ohio at http://www.fairelectionsohio.com/
*Update on HB487 (Amstutz) MBR: The Ohio Senate approved on May 16, 2012 by a vote of 25 to 8 Am. Sub. HB487 (Amstutz) Mid-Biennial Review (MBR). A number of provisions were removed/added before the bill was approved. The following are some of the changes:
-Removed a controversial testing plan for participants in the Ohio Works First program.
-Removed a provision that would have required General Assembly approval of transfers by the Office of Budget and Management of funds from the General Revenue Fund to the Budget Stabilization Fund (rainy day fund).
-Changed the deadline for a report of the Legislative Task Force on Redistricting from June 30, 2012 to December 15, 2012.
-Deletes House changes that abolished the eTech Commission and increases the appropriation authority of line item 935402 by $300,000 in FY13.
-Creates a STEM agriculture schools and directs the ODE to find $600,000 to support it from unencumbered and un-obligated funds.
-Clarifies that the net tuition amount of the Cleveland Scholarship Pilot Program factors-into any financial aid, discounts, and adjustments.
-Deletes changes to the Ohio School Facilities Commission's Expedited Local Partnership Program.
The Ohio House rejected on May 16, 2012 Senate amendments to Am. Sub. HB487, which sets up a conference committee on the bill. The members of the conference committee are Representatives Ron Amstutz , Jeffrey McClain, and Vern Sykes, and Senators Chris Widener, Shannon Jones, and Tom Sawyer.
*Pension Bills Pass Senate: The Ohio Senate approved changes to Ohio's pension systems on May 16, 2012. The changes have been debated over several years by the pension systems' governing boards.
The changes address contributions, retirement eligibility, the benefit calculation, final average salary, cost of living adjustments, credit for part time work, purchase of service credit, deferred retirement option plans, disability benefits, health care coverage, and inter-system transfers. The changes are included in the following bills:
-SB340 (Niehaus/Kearney) Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund;
-SB341 (Niehaus/Kearney) School Employees Retirement System;
-SB342 (Niehaus/Kearney) State Teachers Retirement System
-SB343 (Niehaus/Kearney) Public Employees Retirement System
*Film Tax Credit Added to Tax MBR: The Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee, chaired by Senator Schaffer, reported HB508 (Beck) Mid Biennium Review -- Tax Changes on May 17, 2012. The bill was amended to include SB331 (Patton) film tax credit. Two separate bills dealing with the film tax credit, SB331 (Patton) and HB521 (Dovilla), have been approved by their respective chambers.
The Committee also removed from HB508 a provision that would have changed how the Ohio School Facilities Commission calculated a school district's local share to participate in the Expedited Local Partnership Program, if the district's tangible personal property valuation (not including public utility personal property) made up 18 percent or more of its total taxable value for tax year 2005.
2) News from Washington, D.C.
*RESPECT Project: Several documents have been posted on the U.S. Department of Education website outlining the vision and goals of The RESPECT Project: Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching.
The project's goal is to transform the teaching profession by recruiting top students; increasing the potential earnings of teachers; creating career and leadership opportunities; linking compensation to the quality and the scope of professional responsibilities of teachers; and ensuring that teachers are supported by principals and work in a positive school culture that values their expertise.
To accomplish the goal, the U.S. DOE has been engaging educators-teachers, school and district leaders, teachers' associations and unions, and state and national education organizations in conversations about how to transform teaching for the 21st century.
For information about the project please visit http://www.ed.gov/teaching/national-conversation/vision.
*Science Standards Draft Released: The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has posted on its website a draft of the new science standards, referred to as the Next Generation Science Standards. Twenty-six states have participated in the development of the standards guided by Achieve, Inc. The standards are based on "A Framework for K-12 Science Education", issued by the National Research Council last year. The framework defines major practices, concepts, and core ideas that all students should be familiar with by the time they finish high school. According to NSTA, "A Framework for K-12 Science Education offers a new vision for K-12 education in science and engineering, and represents a significant shift in how these subjects are viewed and taught."
For more information and to comment about the draft standards, please visit http://www.nsta.org/about/standardsupdate/default.aspx.
3) This Week at the Statehouse
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
*House Education Committee, Representative Stebelton chair.
The House Education Committee will meet at 1:00 PM in Hearing Room 313. The committee will receive testimony on HB525 (Williams/Amstutz) Municipal School Districts-Community Schools and SB316 (Lehner) MBR-Mid Biennium Review - Education. A vote is possible on both bills.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012
*House State Government and Elections Committee, chaired by Representative Maag
The House State Government and Elections Committee will meet at 9:00 AM in Hearing Room 017, and receive testimony on SCR14 (Jones) World Choir Games, which would recognize the 2012 World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a global event of cultural significance to Ohio and the U.S. and expressing support by designating the month of July 2012 as "World Choir Games Month."
*If Needed: House Education Committee, Representative Stebelton chair.
The House Education Committee will meet at 9:30 AM in Hearing Room 313. The committee will receive testimony on HB525 (Williams/Amstutz) Municipal School Districts-Community Schools and SB316 (Lehner) MBR-Mid Biennium Review - Education. A vote is possible on both bills.
*Senate Education Committee, Senator Lehner chair.
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 9:30 AM in the South Hearing Room. There will be an informal hearing on HB525 (Amstutz/Williams) Cleveland Plan/Municipal School District, and the committee will receive testimony on HB437 (Roegner) School Board Vehicles-Out of State Travel.
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012
*Senate Education Committee, Senator Lehner chair.
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 11:30 AM in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The committee will receive testimony on HB525 (Amstutz/Williams) Cleveland Plan/Municipal School District. A vote is possible.
4) More Changes in Store for SB316 (Lehner) MBR: The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Stebelton, met three times last week to receive testimony on SB316 (Lehner) Mid Biennium Review - Education. The committee also accepted on May 16, 2012, a substitute bill that removed a number of provisions added or amended by the Senate Education Committee a week earlier.
State Board of Education member C. Todd Jones testified before the House Education Committee on May 17, 2012 about the changes that have been made in the SB316 concerning Ohio's Local Report Card for schools/districts, and how those changes affect a waiver proposal submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) in February 2012 by the Ohio Department of Education.
The waiver proposal requests flexibility regarding certain provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In return, the ODE proposed more rigorous accountability standards for schools/districts and a new ranking system for the Local Report Cards using letter grades, A-D, and F.
As introduced, SB316 included provisions that reflected the changes for the accountability system proposed by the DOE, but the Senate passed version of SB316 created a task force to make legislative recommendations for a new accountability and rating system by October 2012. The new system would be implemented in 2012-13.
The House Education Committee's substitute version of SB316 removes the Senate changes for the Local Report Card and rating system, with the intent that a new rating system will be worked-out in separate legislation.
This action means that a significant provision in Ohio's ESEA waiver request will not be implemented this school year. Mr. Jones said in his testimony that Ohio could still obtain a "conditional" one year waiver from the U.S. DOE even without the proposed changes for the school/district rating system, as long as the General Assembly and the governor indicate that a more rigorous A-F system will be adopted.
The Committee will meet this week to hear more testimony on the SB316. To read C. Todd Jones' testimony please visit http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&;TopicRelationID=1871&ContentID=102836&Content=125839
5) The State Board of Education, Debe Terhar president, met on May 14 and 15, 2012 at the Ohio School for the Deaf.
State Board of Education Meeting on MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee, chaired by Debe Terhar, discussed the July 2012 Retreat and the annual evaluation of the State Superintendent. The committee agreed to invite Kathy LaSota, director of School Board Services at the Ohio School Boards Association, to facilitate the meeting. The retreat will be held at the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio.
*Achievement Committee, chaired by Angela Thi Bennett,
The Achievement Committee received an update from Tom Rutan, Associate Director Office of Curriculum and Instruction, about the revised standards for the fine arts and world languages, and the development of standards for financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and non career-tech business education, as mandated by 128-Am. Sub. HB1.
According to Mr. Rutan, the standards for fine arts and world languages have undergone a comprehensive review and revision by the writing teams and through public comment and feedback over the past year and a half. He reported that in response to a question at the April meeting about the inclusion of Media Arts in the fine arts standards as a fifth arts discipline, Nancy Pistone, ODE fine arts consultant, had contacted the group developing the national standards. They reported that there are some "second thoughts" about writing separate standards for media arts.
Writing teams were assembled to create the standards for financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and non career-tech business education. These teams and advisory groups included content area specialists and representatives from the public and private sectors, and higher education professionals. The new standards have been posted online for public comments and feedback.
Final adoption of all of these standards is scheduled for June 2012.
During the discussion about the standards, State Board member Jeff Hardin again raised a question that he asked in April: why the creative and cognitive processes for fine arts standards include "perceiving" rather than "creating", especially for music? He acknowledged that the creative and cognitive process for drama/theater had changed "perceiving" to "creating", but he stated that he couldn't support an intent resolution until some changes were made in response to the comments that he has received from music educators. After some explanation and discussion, the committee, including Mr. Hardin, agreed to add "creating/perceiving" to the creative and cognitive processes for music. The committee then approved an "Intent to Adopt" resolution for each of the content areas.
Stephanie Siddons, Director, Office of Early Learning & School Readiness Ohio Department of Education and Linda Norton Smith, consultant, Office of Early Learning, presented information to the committee about the revisions for the Early Learning Standards. As part of its Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant, the ODE is required to expand its Early Learning Standards from birth to Kindergarten in five areas: Language and Literacy, Cognitive Development, Approaches Toward Learning, Social and Emotional Development, and Physical Well-Being and Motor Development.
Ms. Siddons said that a draft of the revised standards had been posted online for public comment. After reviewing the comments and incorporating the feedback, the Achievement Committee will be asked to consider a resolution of intent to adopt the revised standards at their June 2012 meeting, with final adoption scheduled for September 2012.
Tom Rutan shared with the committee a document comparing the new requirements for social studies through SB165 and existing legislation and rules. The new law and rules require the teaching of American history and American government based on the Founding Documents in grades 4-12; one half credit of American history and one half credit of American government, including the study of the U.S. and Ohio Constitutions, and allows students to demonstrate "mastery" of the content.
To conform with the new law, changes will need to be made in the current social studies requirements and in the graduation requirements for the diploma with honors. The three required units of social studies for graduation will need to change to two social studies units and one half unit of American History and one half unit of American Government. No changes will be needed in teacher licensure, since social studies teachers can also teach history. The Ohio Graduation Test in social studies is being phased out, and new end of course exams in American History and American Government will be developed. Twenty percent of the assessment for American Government will be based on the Founding Documents. Mr. Rutan also reported that as part of Ohio's participation in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), several schools in Ohio will be participating in an online assessment pilot project for 8th grade social studies in May.
*Capacity Committee, chaired by Tom Gunlock
The Capacity Committee discussed the College-Preparatory Boarding Schools-Recommendation for Selection of School Operator under Chapter 3328 of the Revised Code. Bill Zelei, ODE Associate Superintendent for the Division of Accountability and Quality Schools and P.R. Casey, ODE Chief Legal Counsel, provided an overview of the requirements in law to select an operator for the new boarding school. The SEED Foundation has been recommended by the ODE, contingent upon certain conditions being met. The committee approved the ODE's authority to negotiate a contract with the SEED Foundation to operate the school, and requested that any other issues be reviewed by the Committee at their June meeting.
The Committee also discussed the changes to the ODE's Anti-Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) Model Policy made through HB116, the Jessica Logan Act. ODE's HIB Model Policy was adopted in 2007 and changes were made to it again in 2010. The policy changes to be made by November 4, 2012 include adding language that addresses violence within a dating relationship; prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying incidents on a school bus, requiring districts to provide a means to make anonymous reports of incidents, and establishing a process to notify and educate students and parents about these policies. Discussions about the policies will continue in June.
The committee then discussed the process the ODE is using to update OAC Rule 3301-24-05, Licensure, to bring it up to date with current statutes for initial teacher licenses and the resident educator license. Similar rules regarding the principal license are also being updated. The committee approved the proposed rule changes.
The committee also received information about the policies in other states regarding compulsory attendance and truancy laws.
*Select Committee chaired by Joe Farmer
The Select Committee on Urban Education received an overview about special education services and the needs of students with disabilities in Ohio's urban areas presented by Mary Ey, chief officer of Student Support Services for the Columbus City Schools, Margaret Burley, Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities, and Sue Zake, Director of the Office of Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).
Ms. Zake presented a number of alarming statistics about the number of children with learning and other disabilities in Ohio and in Ohio's urban 21 school districts. According to her presentation,
-21.3 percent of students in the urban 21 school districts have been identified with disabilities and that number has been increasing
-14.8 percent of students statewide are identified as needing special education services, but the percentage is as high as 20 percent in some schools/districts
-Ohio is slightly ahead of the nation in the percent of students identified with disabilities
-Most students are identified in the "Specific Learning Disabilities" (SLD) category of disabilities
-African Americans are three times more likely to be identified with disabilities than their peers
-Where students with disabilities attend school makes a difference in their academic achievement. (Based on 4th grade achievement in math and reading.) 42 percent of students with disabilities in urban areas are achieving the proficient level in reading compared to 60 percent of students with disabilities in non-urban districts.
-There is a significant learning gap between students with disabilities and those without disabilities
Ms. Zake shared some observations about serving students with disabilities from her experiences working in the Toledo area and Toledo Public Schools. She said that some of the concerns and issues for special education students in the urban 21 districts are around how the problem is framed. She believes that the students are not the problem. The challenge is how adults and educators honor the culture, ethnicity, and diversity of students with disabilities while challenging them, providing them with rigorous curriculum, instruction, and raising expectations.
Another challenge is how to help teachers understand that there are different ways to deliver instruction and it is up to all adults to ensure that students have hope for a future and experience success.
In looking at the resources available Ms. Zake said that educators should be asking if the resources that they have are getting the best results.
Another challenge is how to design and implement high quality professional development to make it systematic and systemic.
She also noted that the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs is looking at changing how they monitor states, which will have an impact within Ohio. The monitoring will move from a focus on meeting compliance indicators to a focus on impact and results.
*Recognition of Title 1 Schools
The State Board of Education recognized Lincoln Elementary (Seneca County) and Maplewood Middle School (Trumbull County) as 2011 National Title 1 Distinguished Schools.
*Legislative and Budget Committee, chaired by C. Todd Jones
Kelly Weir, Jennifer Hogue, and Emily Gephart led the Legislative and Budget Committee in discussions about the timeline for the State Board to approve its budget and legislative recommendations and pending legislation, including the Mid-Biennium Budget Review Bills and legislation to implement the Cleveland Plan: HB525 (Amstutz/Williams) and SB335 (Lehner/Turner).
The committee discussed the timeline for the State Board to receive information about the Superintendent's budget and policy recommendations for FY14-15. Packets about the proposed budget will be sent to Board members in early June. The Board will have opportunities to discuss the budget in June and at the July retreat, and additional meetings in August could be planned if necessary. The proposal will not include the funding recommendations for basic aid, but will include principles that could guide the development of a new state school funding system for schools/districts. The timeline calls for the Board to adopt the budget recommendations in September to conform with the Office of Budget and Management's timetable for state departments and agencies to submit their budget requests. Governor Kasich will introduce his FY14-15 budget in late January 2013.
The committee also discussed the changes that affect education included in Am. Sub. HB487 (Amstutz) Mid-Biennium Review and SB316 (Lehner) Mid-Biennium Review -- Education.
Most of the discussion with Board members focused on the Senate changes to SB316 regarding the third grade reading guarantee and the A-D, F rating system for schools/districts, and the impact of the changes for the rating system on ODE's ESEA waiver request.
The committee approved a motion directing Mr. Jones to present testimony to the House Education Committee stating that the State Board of Education supports the new accountability system proposed by SB316 as introduced, and opposes any provision that might undermine the Superintendent's ability to achieve some flexibility from ESEA and implement a new A to F accountability system. Without the waiver, 90 percent of Ohio's schools will be identified as failing next school year and face costly consequences.
During discussions about the changes in the third grade guarantee most committee members expressed support for students to read at the proficient level in third grade. The Senate version of SB316 had reduced the level at which third grade students would be subject to retention to "limited".
Senator Lehner, who attended the meeting as an ex-officio member, said that many legislators are disappointed about lowering the reading level to "limited", but if the minimum standard for reading is set at the proficient level then 65 percent of students could fail the reading assessment in 2014, compared to 20 percent of students who could fail at the limited level.
Superintendent Heffner reminded the committee that the reading levels that Ohio uses now, limited, basic, proficient, etc. will likely change anyway, because Ohio is participating in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) with several other states, and the reading levels will be calibrated to the new assessments developed by PARCC.
Committee members agreed that to really address the reading crisis, students need to be enrolled in quality preK programs and all teachers need to be trained to teach reading.
State Board of Education Meeting on TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012
James Herrholz, Assistant Superintendent, and Sasheen Phillips, Executive director of Curriculum and Assessment presented information about the communication plan and implementation plan for the Common Core standards entitled "Start Ready, Leave Ready, Ohio's College and Career Reading Standards Implementation Plan."
The first phase of the plan will build support and capacity for educators and begin outreach to the public. Phase 2 will continue development and support for educators and expand outreach and engagement with non-educators.
Methods of outreach include Tools for Teachers, Ed Connections, IDES of ODE, Social Media, Webinars/Webcasts, App/E-Reader, ODE-delivered presentations at educational organizations and conferences, Future Ready Project, Regional ESC meetings, and Regional SBOE meetings.
Different types of social media outreach will also be used, such as Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, etc.
A train the trainer model will be used to expand outreach with educators. Professional development opportunities for 2012-2013 include PARCC Educator Leader Cadres, regional targeted and differentiated professional development for teachers of SWD, ELL and Gifted, Online modules on Students with Disabilities, and Formative Instruction Content-Specific Modules.
Board members were asked to identify stakeholders and groups that should also be included in the communication plan and ways for Board members to assist the ODE to communicate the Common Core to various stakeholder groups.
A handout was distributed entitled "Are You Ready for 2014-2015?" with tips for how teachers, administrators, and school board members can become more knowledgeable about the Common Core standards.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING
The Board reconvened its business meeting and took action on the resolutions included below.
The Board then discussed old business, new business, and miscellaneous business. Three individuals presented during public participation on non-agenda items: Charlotte Andrist, President of the Central Office Branch of International Dyslexia Association and Sean Stevens spoke about dyslexia, and Eric Price, spoke to the Board about the importance of civics education.
Dr. Andrist's presentation explained the relationship between literacy and dyslexia. According to the presentation, dyslexia is the principal cause of reading difficulties and illiteracy in the U.S. "80-85 percent of students with an identified specific learning disability have a primary problem with reading and/or language consistent with dyslexia."
Dyslexia is often assumed to mean that students see letters backward when they are reading, but it actually is the inability to recognize, decode, and/or spell written words accurately and quickly, and difficulty with the phonological component of language. Dyslexia is a Greek word meaning "difficulty with letters". Between 5-15 percent of students or approximately 1 of every 10 students has dyslexia.
Dr. Andrist said that for many years students with dyslexia were not diagnosed and teachers are still not trained to identify or help students with dyslexia.
Students with dyslexia need systematic intensive instruction to become better readers. Several initiatives are underway in Ohio to address the dyslexia problem. In the fall pre-service teachers will be required to learn about dyslexia through several options, and some teachers will be able to receive a certificate as a dyslexia specialist.
The Board then adjourned.
Resolutions Considered by the State Board of Education on May 15, 2012:
#6 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Adopt Academic Content Standards for the Fine Arts and World Languages. The standards were amended by the Achievement Committee to include "creating" in the creative and cognitive processes for music.
#7 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Adopt Academic Content Standards in Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Business.
#11 Approved a Resolution to Appoint the following individuals to the Educator Standards Board: The following eight educators were elected to the Educator Standards Board:
Michael Tefs
Cynthia Ritter
Debra McDonald
Karen Winston
Thomas Rounds
Jerry Oberhaus
Heather N. Henkel
Bradford Dillman
#12 Approved a Resolution of Intent to Adopt the State Board of Education's Diversity Strategies for Successful Schools Policy.
#13 Approved a Resolution to Select the SEED Foundation as the Operator for the SEED School of Cincinnati, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3328.11.
Pulled #14 A Resolution to Delegate to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the Responsibility for Negotiating and Entering into an Operator Contract with the SEED Foundation for the Operation of the SEED School of Cincinnati.
#15 Approved a Resolution to Approve the Plan of the Governing Board for the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center to Appoint Additional Members to the Board, pursuant to Section 3311.056 of the Ohio Revised Code.
#16 Approved a motion to enter into a contract with Kathy LaSota, Director of Board Services for the Ohio School Boards Association, to facilitate the July Retreat of the State Board of Education.
#17 Approved a motion presented by Rose Mary Oakar to allow the State Board of Education to occasionally pass non-binding resolutions about significant issues, to inform the state legislature and governors office about the views of the State Board of Education.
#18 Approved a motion to direct C. Todd Jones to present testimony to the House Education Committee concerning the ODE's waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education for flexibility regarding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the impact of the changes in Ohio's rating system for schools included in SB316 on the waiver request.
#19 Approved a motion in support of legislation to establish a minimum school year based on hours rather than days.
#20 Mrs. Cain requested that the State Board of Education send a letter congratulating former Superintendent of Public Instruction Deb Delisle on her new position as Assistant Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education.
To view the State Board of Education's schedule, please visit http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&;TopicRelationID=576&ContentID=117915
6) Gifted Education: An article in Education Week on May 15, 2012 states that support for gifted education is lacking at the same time that the Obama administration is calling for more innovation to keep the U.S. globally competitive and turn the economy around. ("Gifted Programs Fight to Regain Their Toehold in the Federal Budget Efforts lack Obama administration's backing" by Nirvi Shah).
According to the article, funding for the 24-year old Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program, which is focused on serving underrepresented students in gifted and talented programs, was eliminated in FY11 leaving several ongoing research projects unfunded. The House approved "Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act" also eliminates funding for the Javits program.
In a letter dated March 29, 2012 Senators Grassley, Blumenthal, Lieberman, Casey, and Mikulski requested that the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, chaired by Senator Harkins, work to restore funding for the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act in FY13, or require the Institute for Education Sciences to support research and development that directly supports gifted and talented students and a National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. A similar letter has been sent to the House committee overseeing education.
The U.S. Department of Education points to President Obama's College Pathways and Accelerated Learning program as a way to expand more opportunities for gifted and talented students. This program would provide college level courses in high-poverty middle and high schools, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. However, advocates for gifted education note that President's plan does not mandate funds to serve gifted students.
Another proposal, the TALENT Act, would expand federal funding for gifted education through Title 1 programs for disadvantaged students. The TALENT Act was introduced in the House (H.R. 1674) and Senate (S.857) by Representatives Elton Gallegly and Donald Payne and Senators Chuck Grassley and Bob Casey. The Act, supported by the National Association for Gifted Children, would require states to make changes in assessment and accountability systems, classroom practices, focus on underserved populations, and emphasize research about gifted education. The intent of advocates for gifted education is to include the TALENT Act in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Overall advocates for gifted education want a national commitment to develop the talents and gifts of students.
The article is available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/31gifted.h31.html?print=1.
7) Bills Introduced
*HB553 (Phillips/Driehaus) Kids and Communities First Grant Program: Create Kids and Communities First Grant Program and makes an appropriation.
*HCR47 (Phillips/Stinziano) Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act: Urges the Congress of the United States to pass S. 2343, the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012.
FYI ARTS
1) New Growth Theory Connects the Arts and Economic Development: The Brookings Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) hosted on May 10, 2012 a symposium to discuss how the new growth theory could be used as a tool for assessing the impact of art and culture on the U.S. economy. The symposium featured papers jointly commissioned by the NEA Office of Research and Analysis and Michael Rushton, the co-editor of the Journal of Cultural Economics.
According to the highlights of the symposium, a new growth theory is now being used to explain how in advanced economies, "...economic growth stems less from the acquisition of additional capital and more from innovation and new ideas."
The symposium included five panels that discussed Creative Clustering, Economic Growth and Innovation, Capital Investment and Cultural Consumption, Case Studies on the Arts and Economic Development, and Arts and Economic Well-Being.
Ed Glaeser, Harvard economist and author of "Triumph of the City" (Penguin Press, 2011), gave the keynote remarks. Other speakers included Rocco Landesman, National Endowment for the Arts, Bruce Katz, vice president and co-director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, and economists and researchers from across the country.
The symposium's panels are available online at http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/05/10-arts-development#ref-id=20120510_NEA_Panel_1
2) Juilliard launches E-Learning music program: The Juilliard Schools in New York City and Baltimore's Connections Education announced on May 16, 2012 a partnership to provide online music education to K-12 students called Juilliard eLearning. The partnership will begin in 2012-13 to develop online courses for K-12 educators and students, with distribution and implementation through Connections Education, which is a part of Pearson.
Juilliard eLearning will link Juilliard's expertise in performing arts education and Connections Education's expertise in high-quality online learning. The program will begin at Connections Academy virtual public schools, which nationally educates 40,000+ students in grades K-12, and will also be marketed to educational institutions and directly to K-12 students and adults.
The first courses to be offered by Juilliard eLearning in the 2012-2013 school year will include elementary, middle and high school music, aligned to the National Standards. In subsequent years, courses such as music theory, music history, drama history, or dance history, are being considered.
Juilliard eLearning courses and learning materials will feature exclusive music, video, animations, and other immersive content, plus synchronous and a-synchronous learning opportunities from both Juilliard's experts and Connections Education's certified teachers.
For more information about Juilliard eLearning, call 888-440-2890. A public website with more information will be available soon.
3) Program Takes Students to the Arts: An article published in the Huffington Post on May 15, 2012 describes the non-profit program "The Time In Children's Arts Initiative", a new program in New York City that provides young children with experiences in the arts. ("Innovative Educational Program 'HiArt!' Immerses Little Kids In High Art" by Priscilla Frank, The Huffington Post.)
The "Time In" program is an off-shoot of "HiArt!", a fifteen year old program in New York City founded and directed by Cyndie Bellen-Berthezene. The "Time In" program provides students in underserved schools in the New York City school district in grades preK-1 with a half day per week of instruction in dance, opera, theater, visual art, etc. at the program's studio, and at galleries, museums, etc.
According to the web site, "Time In" is about opening doors for kids in underserved schools and letting them know that the whole incredible world out there also belongs to them. That there is a way - through the arts - in which imagination and reality can work together - for them! So that before you know it, we will have created a whole a new generation of wonderful thinkers, arts lovers and young artists, each of whom will be poised to enrich the world around them with their unique insights and talents."
To read the article please visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/12/hi-art-art-education_n_1500671.html.
To learn more about "Time In" please visit http://www.hiartkids.com/fr_timein.htm.
Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
Education Update May 7, 2012
Joan Platz
Special Alert: Update on the Revised Academic
Content Standards for the Fine Arts
Edited drafts of Ohio's Academic Content
Standards for Fine Arts are expected to be posted
on the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) web
site soon, as the State Board of Education is
scheduled to consider an intent to adopt these
standards at their meeting on May 15, 2012.
As of this writing, the draft standards from
November 2011 are still posted on the ODE web
site.
The OAAE will alert members when the "edited"
standards are posted. If you would like to
comment about the standards, please contact your
representative on the State Board of Education at
http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&;TopicRelationID=575&ContentID=58806
To learn more about the draft revised standards
please visit
http://www.education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&;TopicRelationID=1700&ContentID=98202&Content=123780
1) 129th Ohio General Assembly: The Ohio House
and Senate will hold committee hearings and
sessions this week.
*Legislative Update
-The House Ways and Means Committee reported out
on May 2, 2012 HB521 (Dovilla) Ohio Motion
Picture Tax Credit. The bill would increase the
maximum total amount of tax credits allowed per
year for completion of motion pictures certified
as tax credit-eligible productions.
-The Ohio Senate approved on May 3, 2012 SB331
(Patton) Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit (Patton),
which would extend the motion picture tax credit
program.
-The Ohio Senate approved on May 3, 2012 SCR14
(Jones), which recognizes the 2012 World Choir
Games in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a global event of
cultural significance to Ohio and the U.S. and
expressing support by designating the month of
July 2012 as "World Choir Games Month."
*WebSite Launched: The Constitutional
Modernization Commission has started a web site
at http://ocmc.ohio.gov/ocmc/. The site includes
information about the commission's meetings and
membership.
2) News from Washington, D.C.
*Career Tech Revamp: Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan announced on April 19, 2012 the Obama
administration's plans to revamp the Career
Technical Education (CTE) program through
reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Act of 2006. The plan would
make CTE more relevant to the employment needs of
the 21st century and emphasizes learning as a
life-long process.
According to a press release, the blueprint to
revamp CTE is based on the following principles:
-Effective alignment between CTE and labor market
needs to equip students with twenty-first-century
skills and prepare them for in-demand occupations
in high-growth industry sectors.
-Strong collaboration among secondary and
post-secondary institutions, employers, and
industry partners to improve the quality of CTE
programs.
-Meaningful accountability for improving academic
outcomes and building technical and employability
skills in CTE programs, based upon common
definitions and clear metrics for performance.
-Increased emphasis on innovation supported by
systemic reform of state policies and practices
to support CTE implementation of effective
practices at the local level.
The proposed plan supports a structured sequence
of CTE courses spanning secondary through
post-secondary education, leading to an industry
certification or license and a post-secondary
certificate or degree. Secondary school teachers
would be encouraged to work with college faculty
to teach integrated academic, career, and
technical content, and potential employers would
provide more opportunities for students to
participate in work-based learning experiences
and receive credits.
For more information about the CTE plan, please
visit
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-blueprint-transform-career-and-technical-educat
*Groups Urge ESEA Reauthorization: Leaders of
several organizations have signed a letter dated
May 3, 2012 urging Congress to take action on
bills that would reauthorize the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) before the 112th
Congress adjourns. The organizations include the
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO),
the National Governor's Association, the National
Conference of State Legislatures, the National
Association of Counties, the National League of
Cities, the National Association of State Boards
of Education, and the National School Boards
Association.
The letter states that the last reauthorization,
the No Child Left Behind Act, had "commendable
intent" but was flawed and shifted "....too much
control away from state and local elected
officials, diluted the impact of federal
resources, and relied on a method of identifying
academic progress that focused on failure instead
of rewarding excellence. Ten years later, it is
past time to rewrite the law and correct its
mistakes."
The organizations believe that the flexibility
offered states by the U.S. Department of
Education through the waiver process provides
temporary relief, but also imposes additional
challenges for states/schools to meet, and not
all states will be able to take advantage of the
waivers. "Federal policy must not set up a
system that disadvantages some states and some
students," the letter states.
The letter is available at
http://www.governing.com/news/federal/gov-state-and-local-leaders-urge-congress-to-reauthorize-esea.html
*Budget and Appropriations Update: The U.S.
Senate is supporting the $1.047 trillion budget
for U.S. government departments and agencies
negotiated in the Budget Control Act (BCA), a law
passed by Congress and signed by President Obama
on August 2, 2011. The U.S. House adopted on
March 29, 2012 House Concurrent Resolution 112
(HCR112), establishing a $1.028 trillion FY13
budget and budgetary levels for FY14-22. The
House budget plan is entitled "the Path to
Prosperity" and was developed by Representative
Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin). It would reduce the
size of government to 20 percent of the economy
by 2015, and abandons the bipartisan Budget
Control Act of 2011, which already includes
non-discretionary spending caps.
The $19 billion difference between the House and
Senate budgets means that lawmakers will need to
compromise by October 1, 2012 on appropriation
levels in order to avoid a government shut-down.
In addition, if Congress does not approve
appropriations for FY13, under the Budget Control
Act of 2011, mandatory budget cuts of up to 7.8
percent will be made on January 2, 2013. In
testimony before the House Appropriations
Committee in March 2012, U.S Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan said that "It would be
impossible for us to manage cuts of that
magnitude and still achieve our fundamental
mission to prepare our students from the earliest
ages for college and careers."
The House and Senate are now working on
allocations for government departments and
agencies, referred to as FY13 302(b) allocations
through House and Senate Appropriations
Committees. So far the House has allocated
$150.002 billion for Labor, Health and Human
Services and Education, while the Senate set the
level for Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education at $157.7 billion, an increase of $1.5
billion over the current level.
3) This Week at the Statehouse
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012
*Senate Education, Senator Lehner chair
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 9:30
AM in the South Hearing Room. The committee will
receive testimony on the following bills:
-HB375 (Butler) Property Sale by School
Districts, which would allow school districts to
sell real property to private, nonprofit
institutions of higher education.
-SB316 (Lehner) Mid Biennium Review - Education
-SB335 (Turner/Lehner) Municipal School
Districts/Community Schools, which would revise
the management of school districts and community
schools located within municipal school districts.
*House Finance and Appropriations Committee, Representative Amstutz chair.
The House Finance and Appropriations Committee,
will meet at 1:30 PM in Hearing Room 313. Paolo
DeMaria, a principal at Education First, will
present information about local revenues for
funding schools.
*Senate Finance, Senator Widener chair
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 2:30 PM
in the Senate Finance Hearing Room to receive
testimony on HB487 (Amstutz) Mid Biennium Review,
which makes operating and other appropriations,
levies taxes and provides for implementation of
those levies, and provides authorization and
conditions for the operation of state programs.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012
*Senate Finance, Senator Widener chair
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 2:30 PM
in the Senate Finance Hearing Room to receive
testimony on HB487 (Amstutz) Mid Biennium Review,
which makes operating and other appropriations,
levies taxes, and provides for implementation of
those levies, and provides authorization and
conditions for the operation of state programs.
House Education Committee, Representative Stebelton chair.
The House Education Committee will meet at 5:00
PM in Hearing Room 313. The committee will
receive testimony on HB525 (Williams/Amstutz)
Municipal School Districts-Community Schools.
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012
*Senate Finance, Senator Widener chair
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 3:30 PM
in the Senate Finance Hearing Room to receive
testimony on HB487 (Amstutz) Mid Biennium Review,
which makes operating and other appropriations,
levies taxes, and provides for implementation of
those levies, and provides authorization and
conditions for the operation of state programs.
4) School Funding Hearings Begin: Paolo
DeMaria, a principal of Education First,
presented information to the House Finance and
Appropriations Committee, chaired by
Representative Amstutz, on May 1, and 2, 2012.
(Please note: The following summary is made
possible in part thanks to Susan Schwarz, who
attended the first hearing and made available her
notes.)
The presentations are part of an effort by the
Ohio House to jump-start discussions about
developing a new school funding formula for
Ohio's schools. Representative Ron Amstutz, chair
of the House Finance and Appropriations
Committee, announced in January 2012 that the
House Finance Committee/Primary and Secondary
Subcommittee would hold hearings and regional
meetings about Ohio's school funding system
starting in May 2012. The subcommittee will
gather information this year and align their
findings with the recommendations of the
Governor's office to create a new state school
funding formula for FY14-15. Membership on the
subcommittee will be increased for this purpose.
The members of the Extended Subcommittee for
Primary and Secondary Education include
Representatives Amstutz, McClain, Hayes, Maag,
Stebelton, Sykes, Lundy, and Phillips.
Currently schools/districts in Ohio are funded
through a temporary "bridge formula", which was
enacted in HB153, the FY 12-13 budget. Total
State General Revenue Fund (GRF) for K-12
education is $7.5 billion for FY12 and $7.6
billion for FY13. This amount is comparable to
the total GRF funding for K-12 education in
FY08-09 of $15.8 billion. According to a Policy
Matters Ohio analysis, state funding for schools
is $1.8 billion less than the previous two years.
("The State Budget and Ohio's Schools Big Cuts,
Hard Choices, Local Impacts" by Wendy Patton,
Piet van Lier, and Elizabeth Ginther, January 19,
2012 at
http://www.policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SchoolFinanceJan2012.pdf.)
The temporary formula included in HB153 replaced
the "Evidence Based Model" (EBM) proposed by
Governor Strickland and enacted by the 128th Ohio
General Assembly through House Bill 1 (Sykes).
In Part 1 of the presentation on school funding,
Mr. DeMaria reviewed the number and types of
schools in Ohio and some basic statistics.
According to the presentation, 90.1 percent of
the 1.8 million students in grades K-12 are
educated in traditional public schools; 6.3
percent in community schools; 2.3 percent in
vocational schools; and 1.1 percent in private
schools using a voucher.
K-12 education is a big business in Ohio. The
largest share of the state's General Revenue Fund
is allocated for K-12 education (41.7 percent).
Using data from the 2010-11 school year, overall
funding for K-12 education equals $20.5 billion
and includes revenue from local sources (44.6
percent); state sources (45.5 percent); and
federal sources (9.9 percent). As a part of state
aid, the Ohio Lottery provides about $650 million
each year. To increase state funding by just 5
percent would require $1 billion.
School districts receive more or less state aid
based on their local wealth, determined by
property value and sometimes income value.
Information from 2010-11 shows that the average
amount of state aid that school districts in the
lowest quintile based on wealth received is 60.8
percent, while school districts in the highest
quintile based on wealth received on average 28.6
percent of funding from the state.
According to a map showing the amount of state
aid a school district received as a share of
total district revenue, most of the school
districts receiving over 57.86 percent of their
revenue from state aid are located in the
southern counties of Ohio.
The per-pupil cost of education also varies in
Ohio's districts from a low of $7,000 to a high
of $21,000 per pupil. Compared to other states
Ohio ranks 25th in adjusted expenditure per pupil
at $11,382.
Part 2 of Mr. DeMaria's presentation on Ohio's
system of funding schools included information
about school district expenditures, teacher
salary levels, teacher experience, and more.
According to the presentation, about 77 percent
of school district budgets support salaries and
fringe benefits when examined by object. When
the budget is examined by function, then about 55
percent of a school's budget goes toward
instructional costs that include personnel; 18.7
percent to building operations, 12.3 percent
supports administrative costs; and 9.9 percent
for pupil support. The average teacher salary in
Ohio in FY10 was $55,958. Ohio ranked 14th in
average teacher salary compared to other states.
In response to questions about increasing student
achievement, Mr. DeMaria said that researchers
have had a hard time showing a strong
correlations between per pupil state spending and
increased student academic achievement.
Part 3 of the presentation focused on the
components of a state school funding formula,
which Mr. DeMaria described as the "assured
available amount" minus the local contribution,
with adjustments for guarantees, caps, and
protection mechanisms.
The "assured available amount" is also based on
components, such as a base amount, which has been
determined in Ohio in several ways, plus factors
such as the number of pupils enrolled and
categorical funding to meet the needs of
students, including special, gifted, career
technical, English Language learners, and
students from poverty backgrounds.
If you are interested in receiving copies of the
presentations, please email
jplatz@chemistry.ohio-state.edu">jplatz@chemistry.ohio-state.edu. A web site is
being created to make available copies of the
presentations and research.
5) How Should Principals Be Evaluated? The
American Institutes for Research (AIR) released
on May 1, 2012 a new report entitled "The Ripple
Effect" by Matt Clifford. The report finds that
principals and other school-based leaders are
being left out of discussions about education
reform and that principal evaluation systems
should be based on the quality of school-level
leadership and performance, rather than student
assessment results.
The report notes that principals have an indirect
influence on student learning, and so principal
evaluations should be based on measuring outcomes
that principals directly influence, such as work
quality, school climate, and instructional
quality. Work quality includes time management,
modeling ethical and professional behaviors,
showing initiative and persistence, engaging in
ongoing reflection and learning, using data to
inform strategies, allocating human and financial
resources, and ensuring compliance with district,
state, and federal policies.
The report also describes how the work of
principals has changed and that the new demands
include more emphasis on instructional leadership
and monitoring student achievement, rather than
the management of the school.
The report is available at
http://www.air.org/news/index.cfm?fa=viewContent&;content_id=1879.
6) What do Charter Schools Spend? The National
Education Policy Center released on May 5, 2012 a
policy brief entitled "Spending by the Major
Charter Management Organizations: Comparing
Charter School and Local Public District
Financial Resources in New York, Ohio, and
Texas," by Bruce D. Baker, Ken Libby, and Kathryn
Wiley. The brief examines the claim that charter
schools deliver higher student performance at a
lower cost, by evaluating the per-pupil spending
of charter schools operated by major charter
management organizations (CMOs) in New York City,
Texas, and Ohio (2008-2010), and comparing
charter school expenditures to the expenditures
of district schools of similar size, serving the
same grade levels, and serving similar student
populations.
The researchers found that spending varies
greatly in charter schools and in traditional
schools, and comparative spending is mixed. Many
high profile charter networks outspend similar
district schools in New York City and Texas, but
in Ohio some network schools are spending less
than similar district schools.
For example, in New York City, KIPP, Achievement
First, and Uncommon Schools spend "substantially
more" ($2000 to $4300 per pupil) than similar
district schools. (Average per pupil spending is
$12,000-14,000). In Ohio charter schools spend
less than district schools in the same city.
The researchers suggest that charter schools such
as KIPP, Achievement First, and Uncommon Schools,
are using strategies that increase their marginal
costs, including such strategies as after school
tutoring, lower class size, wrap-around services,
etc.
The researchers also noted, however, that they
are not sure that all expenditures for charter
schools are accounted for, even in New York City,
where the annual financial reports of charter
schools matched the best with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) non-profit financial
filings (IRS 990) used by researchers to gather
the expenditure data. In Ohio the researchers
found that the IRS estimates on expenditures were
"strikingly different" than the expenditure data
reported by the state.
The report is available at
http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/spending-major-charter.
7) Strengthening Public Education? Education
Week's "Transforming Education Blog" published on
May 3, 2012, included an article entitled "Ten
Steps in the Right Direction: How the Feds Can
Strengthen Public Education" by Dan Domenech,
Executive Director of the American Association of
School Administrators (AASA). The article
includes the following recommendations that the
federal government could make to invigorate
schools and create an environment for positive
change:
*Provide regulatory relief from No Child Left Behind.
The waiver process that the administration has
implemented is no more than an exchange of old
regulations for new ones. It replaces the
depleted stimulus dollars with regulatory relief
as the means to get states and districts to
implement the administration's policy. We
certainly support accountability and the
continued disaggregation of data for sub-groups
of students, one of the few positive
contributions of NCLB. We strongly support
improving the lowest achieving schools, but at
the same time we believe we must acknowledge the
accomplishments of the vast majority of schools
in America.
*Allocate funds via formulas based on percentage of poverty.
We continue to object to the use of ESEA dollars
for competitive grants. The intent of ESEA is to
level the playing field relative to poverty.
Since the beginning of the current recession,
school systems have seen dramatic increases in
the number of children eligible for free and
reduced lunches. All eligible children should
benefit from all available funds, not just those
in "winner" states and districts.
*Set goals, hold districts accountable for them,
but allow the localities the freedom to determine
how to implement them.
We are concerned about the growing intrusion of
the federal government into state and local
education issues. Any reduction in federal funds
should be accompanied by a similar reduction in
federal mandates. School systems should not be
required to spend local and state funds to
implement federal mandates. Accountability for
effectiveness is a state and local
responsibility, as are compensation decisions.
The required use of the very standardized tests
that have been labeled as not valid and reliable
by the administration in order to evaluate
teachers and principals is creating chaos in
states and school systems throughout the country.
Yes, student performance must be a key factor in
the evaluation of teachers and administrators,
but it must be left up to the states and
localities to determine how, not forced upon them
as a requirement for obtaining competitive
federal dollars.
*Fully fund and reauthorize the Rural Education
Achievement Program Reauthorization Act (REAP) to
maintain direct-to-district funding.
AASA played a pivotal role in the original
adoption of this program. The needs of our rural
schools are often overlooked and, due to a lack
of capacity and staffing, they tend to fair
poorly in a competitive grant environment. REAP
is a dedicated source of funds that they sorely
need.
*Continue to support the Common Core and state-developed standards.
In a globally competitive world we cannot go
against countries that have a set of national
standards while we have a set of fifty standards.
It is also difficult to assess our progress as a
nation with fifty sets of tests whose results do
not align well with the closest instrument we
have to a national test, the National Assessment
for Educational Progress.
*Separate assessment for purposes of
accountability from assessment for the purpose of
informing instruction.
A random sample of the nation, a la NAEP, would
do for purposes of accountability with reduced
costs and less intrusion on instruction and the
number of children and subjects tested.
*State interventions should concentrate on
building capacity and focus on a broad range of
evidence and practice- based turn-around models.
Current requirements take judgment out of the
hands of local administrators and force them to
engage in the whole-scale removal of teachers and
principals. We must stop the negative rhetoric
that blankets all public schools and focus on the
schools that need fixing.
*Provide full funding of IDEA.
AASA continues to advocate for full funding at
the forty percent of the national average
per-pupil expenditure and for allowing school
districts to reduce local effort by up to one
hundred percent of federal funding decreases.
*Provide federal funding to address non-school barriers to student achievement.
Wrap around programs continue to be essential to
the education of the total child, and we support
high quality childcare programs and tax
incentives for employers to provide support for
child care and after-school care. The Children's
Health Insurance Program (CHIP) should be
continued and schools should be permitted to
claim reimbursement from Medicaid.
*The funding cap for E-Rate should be raised to meet demand.
The author also noted that AASA opposes vouchers
and federal funding for non-public schools, and
that AASA will continue to be strong advocates
for our public schools. AASA will continue to
work with both houses of Congress to reauthorize
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and
supports much of what is contained in the
reauthorization bills that have emerged in the
House and Senate.
The article is available at
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/transforming_learning/
8) Bills Introduced
SB339 (Schaffer) Fiscal Accountability
Requirements: Establishes education programs and
continuing education requirements for the fiscal
officers of townships and municipal corporation,
establishes procedures for removing those fiscal
officers, county treasurers, and county auditors
from office, and creates fiscal accountability
requirements for public schools, counties,
municipal corporations, and townships.
SCR30 (Widener) Central State University:
Designates Central State University as Ohio's
1890 land grant university and requests that the
United States Congress pass legislation and the
United States Department of Agriculture take
steps to recognize that designation and provide
the institution with all of the benefits of the
designation.
FYI ARTS
1) Schools in PA Losing Arts and Music: An
article published on April 30, 2012 in the
Philadelphia Inquirer reports that many
Pennsylvania elementary schools are eliminating
instruction in art and music as school district
budgets tighten. ("Music and art may soon join
languages on the endangered list at Pennsylvania
elementary schools" by Dan Hardy, April 30, 2012)
Some districts report that "pressure to allocate
more money and more classroom time to core
academic subjects could trigger the elimination
of elementary school music and art classes,
physical-education teachers, and librarians this
fall."
In a survey conducted last summer 44 percent of
school districts reported that they had reduced
course offerings not required for graduation,
including foreign languages, arts, music,
physical education, and some electives. Some
districts reported that they had cut every thing,
and were "running out of options". They are now
forced to cut the arts and music programs in
their schools. Some plan to integrate the arts
in other classes, or provide enrichment on
Saturdays at a minimum cost for parents.
Some advocates for the arts are using Facebook to
mount a campaign to urge citizens to contact
members of the boards of education of their
school districts, to urge them to maintain the
arts, while other advocates are focusing on the
state legislature.
The article is available at
http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-30/news/31498586_1_music-classes-art-and-music-elementary-schools.
2) Governors Look to the Arts to Boost Economic
Growth: The National Governor's Association (NGA)
released on April 30, 2012 a report that
describes how governors are focusing on the role
that the arts, culture, and design can play to
create jobs in an innovation-based economy. ("New
Engines of Growth: Five Roles for Arts, Culture,
and Design," prepared by Erin Sparks and Mary Jo
Waits in collaboration with Bill Fulton of
Solomar Research Group. National Governor's
Association, April 2012.)
Because state/national economies are so fragile,
governors are examining all approaches to support
economic development, and some are working with
their state arts agency to advance strategies
that support high-growth industries, innovation,
entrepreneurial activity, building human capital,
and reviving distressed areas.
The report suggests that the arts, culture, and
design can boost economic growth because they can:
*Provide a fast-growth, dynamic industry cluster.
-Examining the economic importance of the
creative industry cluster within the state by
looking at the geographic proximity of creative
enterprises, creative occupations, and associated
institutions;
-Finding that the creative cluster is a vital
source of jobs and income, as well as a way to
distinguish the state in the highly competitive
21st-century economy;
-Crafting strategies to promote the growth and
profitability of creative enterprises, as part of
the state's economic development strategy;
-Including state arts councils and similar
organizations as part of the state's economic
development infrastructure; and
-Reviewing the business incentives, financing
programs, and entrepreneurial assistance
available in the state and refining guidelines to
make them more available to the state's artists
and creative businesses.
*Help mature industries become more competitive
-Exploring the links between the creative talent
in the state-artists, designers, new media
entrepreneurs-and other important clusters to
deepen those connections and improve the
competitiveness of traditional industries, such
as manufacturing;
-Creating dedicated units and expertise within
community colleges, manufacturing extension
centers, and agricultural extension services that
focus on design; that is, they are adding design
capabilities in firm assessments and providing
access to technical assistance in the design of
products, packaging, and branding; and
-Boosting tourism by leveraging and marketing the
unique culture and food of regions.
*Provide the critical ingredients for innovative places
-Considering their universities and medical
research institutions ("eds and meds") and the
spaces around them as places that can be designed
to offer the ingredients for innovation-smart
people, research institutions, professional
networks, favorable intellectual property
agreements, and other conditions that can help
companies spur innovation;
-Finding that cities, through their zoning and
land use authority and their vibrant arts and
cultural organizations, can catalyze or rein-
force high-quality places as a competitive
advantage for states in a global economy;
-Using tax credits and other kinds of incentives
to encourage cities and developers to create
cultural districts, creative corridors,
innovation hubs, and other places that will
attract a critical mass of creative talent and
facilitate co-location, or geographic clustering,
of complementary businesses; and
-Starting to measure the effectiveness and
communicate the progress of these zones and
districts by tracking change in population,
employment, property tax base, and taxable sales.
*Catalyze community revitalization
-Supporting the use of arts and design-combined
with historic preservation efforts-to turn around
distressed neighborhoods;
-Using tax incentives and grants to encourage
private rehabilitation of historic buildings and
the creation of arts districts where creative
people and enterprises are encouraged to live,
work, and collaborate; and
-Using public art programs to activate public
locations in a way that engages all people in the
creative process.
*Deliver a better-prepared workforce.
To boost economic growth, states areŠ
-Maintaining the inclusion of arts in state curriculum requirements
-Integrating arts and design into technical and
business programs in community colleges and
universities
-Mapping career paths in creative enterprises and occupations
-Creating centers of excellence in higher
education to recruit recognized faculty who can
attract talented students and link the arts to
technology to inspire innovation.
The report provides examples from communities
across the country about how the arts have been
used to reinvent, transform, revitalize
communities, thus improving the economic
conditions of states and communities.
The report is available at
http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2012/col2-content/governors-look-to-arts-culture-a.html
3) Impact Creativity to Support Theatre
Education: The National Corporate Theatre Fund
(NCTF) announced on May 2, 2012 a new campaign
called "Impact Creativity" to benefit theatre
education programs. The campaign starts with a
$200,000 gift from Ernst & Young LLP and its
Partner Group, and will seek up to $5 million to
support theatre education programs in 19 American
cities.
Impact Creativity will raise corporate,
foundation, and individual funds to preserve and
sustain theater programs for students. According
to the Impact Creativity web site, "Government
and arts education groups, as well as the
theatres themselves, have documented a nationwide
decline in arts education programs of 15-25
percent over the last ten years; in minority
communities, the decline approaches 40 percent."
Corporate America recognizes that an education in
theater and the arts provides students with
opportunities to learn skills valued by
employers, such as communication,
problem-solving, and creativity. James S. Turley,
chairman and CEO of the global Ernst & Young
organization, recently said that "Tomorrow's
workforce must act confidently, communicate
effectively and think creatively - all qualities
that can be enhanced through arts and theatre
education."
For more information please visit http://impactcreativity.org.
