So House Bill 1 (full text here) has passed and is pending on Governor Strickland's desk. The bill itself is massive - 3120 pages and 12MB as a pdf, something like 100,000 lines long - and I'll admit that I wouldn't have the foggiest idea where to start on reading through a document of that size. So I have, instead, turned to news agencies to offer me some sort of summary of the parts that particularly interest me - especially the educational parts.
I couldn't find much on The Enquirer's website in the way of a summary - I did find a page offering to show how much funding each district will lose or gain. (More on that later...)
So I headed to the Ohio Department of Education's budget page and found it about as equally helpful (though it was through that page that I found the link to the bill's full text).
And then onward to the Ohio Education Association's budget summary page where I found the above-posted YouTube video offering their summary of the bill. The OEA is, admittedly, thrilled with the budget's educational issues, so I'm not sure every conclusion that they reach is unbiased, but their summary leaves me with tons and tons of questions...
- Wait, Jarod's Law is gone? When? Do I have to worry about it this year? Can I unlock my dish detergent today?
- The OGT is gone, too? Again, when? When does the ACT come on board? Will there be a minimum ACT score needed for each student?
- Why'd you get rid of the community service requirement?
- What the heck is going to be involved in the senior project required for graduation? When will that come on board?
- Really, all-day kindergarten? How're you going to fund that? Is it required for all students or just required to be offered by the district?
- Just three calamity (snow) days in 10-11? How likely is year-round school at this point? If it comes, will teacher pay be increased?
- When will these 'end of course examinations' be written? I thought the ODE didn't like the idea of breaking curriculum down by courses but rather just wanted to leave a group of standards for us to cover in the 7-10 grades and for us to arrange them as we chose. Does this mean a student won't get credit for bio (for example) unless they pass the end of course exam?
- Do the teacher licensure changes affect me?
- What's a 'non-civil service school district' in terms of the privatization of transportation? Will un-privatizing the transportation really save districts money?
- What does it mean that teacher dismissal standards are now - over-ruling any collective bargaining agreements - 'good and just cause'?
- What the heck standards will be applied to the 'semi-annual inspections' that will be replacing Jarod's Law? Will that be a county by county decision?
- Yeah! to putting in some sort of accountability for charter schools.
- What the heck is Eastern Gateway Community College?
Nobody reading that happens to know any of those answers, do they?
6 comments:
No, but this comic is really good:
http://www.postitnotestories.com/2009/05/14/man-not-superman/
The key here is that it is still called "House Bill." It has yet to pass the senate. It's not a law yet - at least I don't think so. I've asked my history/government teaching husband for the clarification like 40 times this summer and he's pretty sure HB 1 hasn't gone to the state senate for a vote yet.
Until that happens, and the senate inflicts their ideas and changes, I'm not getting over-excited.
If I've learned anything after teaching for 20 years, it's that government dictated changes in education never happen as swiftly as this seems to be coming at us.
The OGT and OAT will go away. The biggest problem is that the state can't afford the testing. Which is why there's a two year hiatus on the 4th and 7th grade writing test and the 5th and 8th grade social studies test. (Which my 8th grader is pissed about bc he's actually GOOD at social studies)
The way I'm looking at it right now is that I've only got 10 years left before I can fade into the sunset and work at Starbuck's...or Jungle Jim's...or anyplace where I don't have to think about what I do at work before I get there or after I leave.
I'll check back with IDTMI at that point and see how many of your bullet points actually come to fruition.
Yeah, it's not law yet. Aside from that...it's a recession bill. Cut corners where you can, while you can. And Calen, you should try my job. Simple desk work tedium, and I definitely don't think about it while I'm not at my desk.
couple of comments from an area in the country that has year round schools.
year round school is alive and well in raleigh (wake county schools)and Durham (durham county schools). year round only exists in grades K-8, not high school (primarily due to logistics with extra curriculars) and not in every school. anyway, I digress. teachers in year round still only teach 180 days so there is no corresponding change in salary. teachers "track out" with their kids. (see http://www.wcpss.net/Calendars/2009-10/09-10-year-round.pdf) The only problem with year round is what happens on calamity days. Due to the restrictions of the calendar, most make up days will be on Saturdays or holidays in the 9 week term.
some people complain about year round when they have kids in different schools with different schedules. but all of my friends with kids in year round absolutely love it.
Howdy there sir, here's the primary changes for us. But as you read half way down, there are no deadlines or timelines anywhere about phasing out the OGT.
I'm off to my wedding, I'll see you August 12th ~Burkhart
Sec. 3301.0712. (A) The state board of education, the superintendent of
public instruction, and the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall
develop a system of college and work ready assessments as described in
divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section to assess whether each student upon
graduating from high school is ready to enter college or the workforce. The
system shall replace the Ohio graduation tests prescribed in division (B)(1)
of section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code as a measure of student academic
performance and a prerequisite for eligibility for a high school diploma in
the manner prescribed by rule of the state board adopted under division (E)
of this section.
(B) The college and work ready assessment system shall consist of the
following:
Am. Sub. H. B. No. 1 128th G.A.
1001
(1) A nationally standardized assessment that measures competencies in
science, mathematics, and English language arts selected jointly by the state
superintendent and the chancellor.
(2) A series of end-of-course examinations in the areas of science,
mathematics, English language arts, and social studies selected jointly by
the state superintendent and the chancellor in consultation with faculty in the
appropriate subject areas at institutions of higher education of the university
system of Ohio.
(3) A senior project completed by a student or a group of students. The
purpose of the senior project is to assess the student's:
(a) Mastery of core knowledge in a subject area chosen by the student;
(b) Written and verbal communication skills;
(c) Critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
(d) Real-world and interdisciplinary learning;
(e) Creative and innovative thinking;
(f) Acquired technology, information, and media skills;
(g) Personal management skills such as self-direction, time
management, work ethic, enthusiasm, and the desire to produce a high
quality product.
The state superintendent and the chancellor jointly shall develop
standards for the senior project for students participating in dual enrollment
programs.
(C)(1) The state superintendent and the chancellor jointly shall
designate the scoring rubrics and the required overall composite score for
the assessment system to assess whether each student is college or work
ready.
(2) Each senior project shall be judged by the student's high school in
accordance with rubrics designated by the state superintendent and the
chancellor.
It goes on and on with no deadlines.
ReJecht - not really a surprise that Lois would carry a torch for Superman. The fact that he's a big weenie, though, is a bit of a surprise.
Calen - it's law. Passed and signed.
DanEcht - I agree that much of these changes are $$-driven. Which is sad but realistic.
THort - The addition of 20 days is not suggesting year-round school in the way that you guys do it. You're thinking about 180 days just spread differently. This is five extra weeks of school, so take that year-round and shorten every break by a week and a half. That's a major change.
Or take our current, traditional calendar with its ten week summer break and make it a five week break. Big dif.
Mr B - I'd skimmed the relevant parts, and it's useless to read. Thanks for copying it. Very illuminating.
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