OEA to continue fighting for pension security in wake of STRS election
“The Ohio Education Association thanks Arthur Lard for his unwavering commitment to our pension security and the long-term health of the system for all active, retired and future teachers during his time on the STRS Board.
As the Board moves forward, it is more important than ever that every teacher in Ohio takes an active interest in the work of the STRS Board. STRS must make good on its promise to ensure that every teacher receives a guaranteed pension they can’t outlive, not just for active and retired teachers today but to make sure we can continue to bring excellent educators into the profession in the future to serve Ohio’s students. Risky investment schemes that undermine the future of the pension cannot be tolerated.
STRS faces difficult challenges in the years ahead, including market instability and growing inflation, and the work of the STRS Board will be critical if our pension system is to weather those storms. We wish Pat Davidson the best as he assumes his new responsibilities on the Board. We also look forward to working with all members of the STRS Board to ensure that all members, current and future, have a pension they can count on for the rest of their lives.”
OEA applauds public education investments in House-passed budget
“The Ohio Education Association applauds the Ohio House for prioritizing the students of our state in the budget bill passed in that chamber this week. This budget includes significant investments in public schools—including a plan to increase the minimum teacher salary to address growing teacher shortage issues—and it promotes a number of sound public education policies, like repealing the punitive mandatory retention provision of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee while maintaining an emphasis on the importance of literacy for our children. Additionally, this budget proposal makes school breakfast and lunch accessible to more children by having the state cover the difference in the cost between free and reduced-price meals.
More importantly, the House has demonstrated its commitment to working to fully and fairly fund the public schools that serve 90 percent of students in our state. This budget measure increases state funding to public schools by nearly $1 billion over the biennium by ensuring updated data is used in the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) formula to determine the actual costs of providing an excellent education to every child while continuing to provide more of the funding necessary to fulfill that promise, when the FSFP is fully implemented. OEA thanks the House for taking this important step forward.
The budget bill now moves to the Senate for consideration, and OEA urges our state Senators to build on the positive momentum of the House’s work and pull back on the proposed expansion of voucher schemes that would amount to near universal eligibility in our state. The Senate must do the right thing for Ohio’s 1.6 million public school students, and OEA looks forward to working with lawmakers from both parties to ensure the best budget bill possible is adopted for the next biennium.
OEA would like to thank House Speaker Jason Stephens, Leader Allison Russo, House Finance Committee Chair Jay Edwards, and Ranking Member Bride Rose Sweeney for their bipartisan efforts to bring the budget to this point. The budget proposal they produced puts Ohio students first and shows that the House supports what Ohioans believe so strongly, that public education matters in our state.”
Hunger-Free Schools Ohio calls for immediate relief for child hunger crisis
“Every child in Ohio, regardless of where they’re from, what they look like, or how much money their parents make, needs to be able to eat full, nutritionally complete meals at school. Therefore, allowing them to focus on what they’re learning, not on the hunger pangs they’re feeling,” said Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro, who hosted Monday’s discussion on behalf of the Hunger-Free Schools Ohio coalition. “Although the pandemic-era federal programs that ensured every Ohio child could receive free meals at school have ended, there is more than enough money in Ohio right now to ensure no student goes without the meals they need.”
“Having meals provided for my child when universal meal programs were in place in Ohio made a huge difference in our lives. Now, every dollar we’re spending on meals is a dollar we can’t spend on the other things we need,” said Megan Thompson, a parent in the Wellington Exempted School District in Lorain County who shared her family’s story during the Hunger-Free Schools Ohio discussion this week.
“Our students are keenly aware of the difference having nutritious school meals makes in their days along with the struggles some of their peers face in trying to pay for those meals,” said Bluffton Middle School Principal Josh Kauffman, whose Allen County students hosted a bake sale to pay off the lunch debts of their classmates. “Unfortunately, there is a stigma around accepting necessary help to access school meals. But that stigma disappears when systems are in place to provide healthy school meals for all.”
“One in six children, and as many as one in four children in certain counties, lives in a household that faces hunger—that’s 413,000 kids across Ohio. School meals play an essential role in alleviating child hunger and improving child wellbeing. We hope lawmakers will prioritize our kids and school nutrition programs in this biennial budget by expanding critical access to school meals,” said Katherine Ungar, a Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio Policy Associate who wrote the “School Meals Support Ohio Student Health and Learning” white paper.
“It has been heartbreaking to see students who are unable to pay for their school lunches turned away from the nutritious food they need. Our dedicated cafeteria staff should never have to serve as both caring food service professionals and hard-hearted debt collectors,” said Daryn Guarino, Director of Food and Nutrition for Alexander Local Schools in Athens County.
“School meals are a basic need for every student to be able to learn and reach their full potential in our classrooms,” agreed Lindy Douglas, Special Programs Coordinator for Alexander Local Schools. “Especially here in rural Appalachia, where our kids already struggle to have a level playing field in so many ways, our kids can’t afford to have our state leaders fail to act on this urgent issue. Ohio lawmakers must act now to make sure every child is fed.”
ABOUT HUNGER-FREE SCHOOLS OHIO
We are a passionate collective representing more than 40 local and statewide anti-hunger, education, food, and nutrition organizations and associations who are working to take hunger off the table, committed to ensuring that every student in Ohio has access to healthy school meals. Learn more at hungerfreeschoolsoh.org
OEA lays out bold vision for 135th General Assembly
“This legislative session presents a tremendous opportunity to address school funding, the educator shortage, the well-being of our students and staff, and other issues that affect our members and the learners we serve,” OEA President Scott DiMauro wrote in a letter to state lawmakers and the governor laying out OEA’s legislative priorities for the 135th General Assembly.
“OEA looks forward to working collaboratively with lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle to achieve these important goals for our students and the dedicated teachers, support professionals, and faculty members who work with them every day,” DiMauro said.
Priority education issues for this General Assembly to address include the following:
- Fully funding the Fair School Funding Plan
- Alleviating school staffing shortages
- Ending the expansion of private school voucher programs
- Repealing mandatory student retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee
- Supporting student and staff wellbeing
- Protecting the voice of educators by supporting unions and defending collective bargaining rights
More information about each of these legislative priorities can be downloaded here
All in for Ohio Kids responds to Gov. DeWine’s proposed budget
OOC Co-Executive Director Molly Shack, PMO Executive Director Hannah Halbert, OFT President Melissa Cropper, and OEA President Scott DiMauro released the following joint statement:
“No matter where they live or what they look like, all of Ohio’s kids deserve a public school that inspires their creativity, unlocks their potential, and nurtures their dreams. But according to the EdWeek Research Center, Ohio is among the least equitable states for education resource distribution in the country. While we recognize Governor DeWine’s commitment to continuing implementation of the Cupp-Patterson school funding formula, also known as the Fair School Funding Plan, we are calling on Ohio’s lawmakers to take bold action and implement full funding for that plan.
Fully and fairly funding Ohio’s public schools will give school districts a permanent, adequate, stable funding stream that will allow them to make necessary investments to meet the needs of students and address education staffing shortages. Legislators should also avoid competing funding obligations, such as an expansion of private school vouchers or charter schools, that would hinder our ability to fully fund the public schools that 90% of Ohio students attend.
For decades, Ohio policymakers had allowed unconstitutional funding guidelines to determine how resources flow to our public schools. The Fair School Funding Plan created a student-centered school funding formula which put us on the path toward finally meeting our constitutional obligation to Ohio’s students. However, without fully phasing in the necessary funding levels we are still falling short of what our children deserve.
Ohio’s students can’t wait any longer for lawmakers to deliver on the promise of world-class opportunities for all. We urge legislative leaders to finish what they started, refine the components of the school funding formula, and finally dedicate the resources needed for each and every Ohio student to succeed.”
All in for Ohio Kids represents a broad group of concerned organizations and individuals who are working together to fully and fairly fund our schools.
OEA reflects on final days of Lame Duck
Senate Bill 178 would have moved most of the oversight of education in Ohio away from the State Board of Education and into a newly created cabinet-level department under the Governor. Late Wednesday night, the Senate amended SB 178 into House Bill 151, which was originally intended to improve the state’s resident educator program and summative assessment. Harmful and unnecessary language to ban transgender girls from playing high school sports was also added to that bill by the House earlier this year. Early Thursday morning, in the final hours of the session, Ohio House members voted against concurring with the Senate’s Lame Duck changes. A new version of SB 178 will likely be reintroduced in the new year.
“OEA believes it is worth taking a hard look at how Ohio’s schools are governed and supported at the state level. However, collaboration is key,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Stakeholders need to be at the table. The voices of Ohio’s educators need to be heard, valued and central to any change. That is how we will get the best results for Ohio’s students.”
OEA appreciates the work of legislators in the 134th General Assembly who adopted educator’s recommendations on Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA), the funding component that supports economically disadvantaged students, resulting in an increase of approximately $56 million in additional state funding in FY ‘23. Additionally, lawmakers increased allocations of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds for our public schools and provided an additional $112 million in federal funds for school building security and safety grants.
OEA remains hopeful that the next General Assembly will once again take up the cause of ending mandatory retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, after the Senate failed to act on the House-passed House Bill 497 this session.
OEA also looks forward to collaborating with Ohio’s elected leaders to ensure the Fair School Funding Plan is fully implemented in the new state budget. That plan, which represents the first constitutional school funding system in the state in decades, was adopted in the last budget but only funded through the end of this biennium.
“Certainly, there is more work to be done, especially around issues like addressing growing educator shortages and supporting student and educator mental health and wellness,” DiMauro said, “but OEA is proud of what our members have been able to accomplish through their diligent advocacy work this session. We all look forward to working collaboratively with members of the 135th General Assembly to ensure their important public education priorities are front and center as new legislation is introduced.”
OEA calls for end of mandatory retention under Third Grade Reading Guarantee
[October 10, 2022] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) joined together Monday with state leaders, educators, and education policy experts to advocate for action in the General Assembly to end mandatory retention tied to third-grade standardized testing.
A full recording of Monday’s virtual event can be viewed and downloaded here.
“Mandatory retention under the so-called ‘Third Grade Reading Guarantee’ takes decisions about students’ futures out of the hands of parents, administrators, and teachers who know them best, allowing politicians in Columbus to determine their fates based on arbitrary cut-scores on high-stakes English language arts tests,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro, who moderated Monday’s event. “OEA commends the State Board of Education for its attention to this issue as it considers a resolution to call on the General Assembly to change this misguided law.”
“Grade retention distorts test data, disproportionately impacts and punishes vulnerable populations of students, and creates a distraction from reading reform’s ultimate goal of increased student reading proficiency,” noted Furman University Professor Dr. Paul Thomas in his recent white paper, “A Critical Examination of Grade Retention as Reading Policy.”
“It’s rare that policymakers stop and measure mandated education initiatives for their effectiveness, but that’s exactly what we have done for third grade retention. Through data provided by the Ohio Department of Education, we now know retention has failed as an initiative and has, in fact, hurt children more than helped,” said Dr. Christina Collins, Ohio State Board of Education member for District 7, who put forth the resolution that the State Board of Education is considering this week.
“In my experiences as a third-grade teacher, I have observed students put tremendous stress on themselves, become discouraged, think of themselves as losers, and develop behavioral problems because of this punitive, socially inappropriate, and educationally ineffective practice,” agreed Karen Carney, a teacher at Campbell Elementary & Middle School in Campbell, Ohio. “What a huge burden for a young child to carry—this truly broke my heart. As an educator, my primary job is to teach my students to be life-long learners, not test takers.”
“Ending mandatory retention has broad bipartisan support because it’s the right thing to do for kids,” said State Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), who sponsored House Bill 497, a measure to end mandatory retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. “These decisions should be made by parents and educators, not dictated by a score on a test.”
House Bill 497 passed in the Ohio House in June. The Ohio Senate must take up the bill and pass it when lawmakers return to session later this fall.
OEA members offer solutions to state’s growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis
[September 29, 2022] As Ohio continues to contend with an alarming decrease in staffing in its K-12 public schools, educators from around Ohio have come together to take on the problem and offer potential solutions. The Ohio Education Association (OEA) convened the cadre of diverse educators, as part of the National Education Association’s Educator Voice Academy (EVA) program, beginning in January, 2022. The EVA team’s full report, which includes numerous suggestions for Ohio’s elected leaders and OEA, is available here.
“Ohio’s growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis is one of the largest issues of our time,” OEA President Scott DiMauro pointed out. “When excellent educators are feeling that they have no choice but to leave the profession or young people are left feeling that teaching is not a sustainable career option – for a variety of reasons noted in the EVA’s report – Ohio students lose out on crucial opportunities and supports. Ohio’s students can no longer wait for meaningful solutions to this problem.”
Recommendations in the EVA report include:
- Immediately increase Ohio state minimum teacher’s salary to $40,000, and pending approval of a change in OEA Legislative Policy by the OEA Representative Assembly, increase the state minimum salary to $50,000.
- Fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan in the 2023-2025 state biennial budget and provide state support to local school districts with the resources to help fund necessary salary increases.
- Extend Public Service Loan Forgiveness deadlines and expand student loan forgiveness, grants, and scholarship programs to provide meaningful financial relief for those who commit to serving students in our public schools.
- Strengthen educators’ retirement security by supporting a fully funded State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
- Remove financial barriers for completion of pre-service requirements for teacher licensure.
- Require the state to complete a comprehensive assessment of the alignment of Ohio’s teacher preparation programs with the realities of PK-12 schools.
- Seek feedback from educators on their working conditions and create systems for school leaders to act on that feedback to make necessary changes to policies, practices, and culture in schools.
- Create and maintain an accessible statewide database of education job openings to facilitate the matching of educators seeking employment with available positions and to provide a reliable source of information for the public to monitor trends in education employment in Ohio.
“It is important to note that the recommendations from the Educator Voice Academy are focused exclusively on issues related to the recruitment and retention of teachers; issues related to the recruitment and retention of education support professionals, including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and paraprofessionals, among others, is an equally important topic deserving serious consideration as soon as possible,” DiMauro said. “Ohio’s policymakers and school leaders need to take immediate, significant action to ensure our students have all their needs met so they can learn, grow, and thrive in our classrooms. The time to act is now.”
OEA celebrates advocacy wins in new state report card system
[September 15, 2022] As families and education stakeholders around the state continue to examine the newly released state report card data, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) is celebrating the hard work of Ohio’s dedicated educators to support the state’s students as they continue to overcome the challenges of pandemic-era learning. Further, OEA expresses its sincere gratitude to the lawmakers who answered OEA’s calls for report card reform, resulting in the fairer assessments that were made public today.
“OEA has long fought against the overreliance on high stakes standardized tests in determining the value and success of Ohio’s public schools and students. The adoption of House Bill 82 in 2021 and other recently enacted laws that resulted in the significant changes in this year’s state report cards represent an incredibly important win in that regard,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Gone are the misleading A-F grades, which gave an incomplete picture of a district’s performance at best. Gone are the draconian punishments for districts that failed to measure up to the cookie cutter standards of out-of-touch bureaucrats who clung to the report card letter grades to trigger state takeovers and wrest control from local parents and voters. Here to stay is a commitment to a more accurate and transparent assessment system for Ohio’s public schools.”
Among the trends highlighted by this accountability system, it is clear that Ohio’s traditional public schools continue to best serve the students in their communities. This year’s data demonstrates that the average achievement component score for the state’s traditional public school districts is 3.5 stars compared to the 1.7 star rating achieved, on average, by charter schools in the state on that same metric.
While more work is needed to further improve the state’s report card system, including major changes to improve accountability standards for Ohio’s charter schools and the private schools that take taxpayer-funded vouchers, OEA celebrates the move to a more informative star-rating system in this year’s report cards, complete with explanations about what the stars mean to provide the public with critical context. Further, OEA welcomes the inclusion of Student Opportunity Profiles in the 2022-2023 data that will be released next September. Those profiles will provide detailed information regarding what students have been offered to enhance their success. Academic and non-academic supports are essential for our students, especially as pandemic recovery continues.
Social Links
ACTION ALERT – Urge your State Representative to Oppose SB 83
RESOURCES
Resources from NEA
- Resources for Teaching About Indigenous Peoples
- Student and Educator Mental Health
- Safe School Communities
- School Gun Violence Prevention and Response Guide
- Context for Teaching Students with Autism
Read Across America
- Video recordings – Watch OEA-R and OEA members celebrate Read Across America by reading books
- Or watch any of the recordings on Facebook: Read Across America Playlist
- Create and Celebrate a Nation of Diverse Readers – resources from NEA
Ohio Schools Magazine digital editions
- October/ November 2024
- 2024-2025 Member Resource Guide
- June/ July 2024
- February/ March 2024
- December 2023/ January 2024
- October/ November 2023
- Ohio Schools archive
PRESS RELEASES
- November 14, 2024 – OEA applauds leadership of STRS Board over the last decade that enabled move to reduce retirement eligibility age for a three-year period
- September 20, 2024 – OEA thanks Ohio Congress members from both parties for their work to move bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act forward
- September 13, 2024 – OEA Encouraged by Improved Student Outcomes for 2023-2024, but Notes More Work is Needed to Make State Report Cards a Useful Tool for Parents
- August 29, 2024 – OEA congratulates the 2025 OTOY
- July 1, 2024 – OEA congratulates CNP on ballot signature success
- June 20, 2024 – As teacher license fee hike looms, OEA calls for Controlling Board action
- June 3, 2024 – OEA distributes thousands of free diverse books
- May 15, 2024 – OEA Applauds Cell Phone Law
- Press Release archive
LEGISLATIVE WATCH RELEASES
- November 15, 2024 – Important Victory! U.S. House Passes GPO-WEP Repeal; Honesty Partners Host Webinar on Intellectual Freedom and Ohio Libraries; Bill to Increases Teacher Minimum Salary to $50,000 Receives First Hearing; Trans-Bathroom Bill Restrictions Go to Governor for Signature; School Bus Safety Bill Receives Amendments in House Transportation Committee; Career-Technical Licensure Bill Receives Hearings in Senate Committee; Religious Release Time Bills Get Committee Hearings
- November 8, 2024 – U.S. House to Vote on Repeal of GPO-WEP; Lame Duck Session for the 135th General Assembly begins Next Week; Release Time for Religious Instruction Bill Set for House Education Committee Hearing next week
- September 12, 2024 – This is our chance to end GPO-WEP
- August 23, 2024 – OEA Applauds State Controlling Board Decision to Approve Full Funding for the State Board of Education
- August 9, 2024 – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Calls for Vote on Repeal of GPO/WEP
- July 2, 2024 – Senate Bill 83 Stalls Out Before Legislative Recess; Take Action to Stop Teacher License Fee Increase; House Bill 214 – Professional Conduct Policies; Senate Bill 104 – Transgender Bathroom Restrictions Amended into CCP Bill; Senate Bill 168 – Various Education Regulation Provisions
- Legislative Watch archive
- Legislative Scorecard – An interactive Legislative scorecard for each member of the Ohio General Assembly
EVENTS – or visit the Master Calendar
- December 10 – CBJ vs Philadelphia Flyers
- December 12 – CBJ vs Washington Capitals
- December 14 – CBJ vs Anaheim Ducks
- January 21 – OEA New President Power Hour: Helpful tips for successful negotiations
- January 22 – Wellness Wednesday: Slow Cooker Simple Creations
- January 25 – Cleveland CAVs vs Houston Rockets
- January 25-26 – AE ONE Annual Conference
- February 2 – Cleveland CAVs vs Dallas Mavericks
- February 18 – OEA New President Power Hour: Best practices in communicating with your members and the community
- February 21 – Cleveland CAVs vs New York Knicks
- February 22 – Wellness Wednesday: Virtual Paint and Sip
- March 2 – Cleveland CAVs vs Portland Trail Blazers
- March 7-9 – NEA Leadership Summit
- March 18 – OEA New President Power Hour: Your voice in the OEA Democratic Structure and resources available to you and your members
- April 15 – OEA New President Power Hour: “What If” Sharing problem-solving strategies
- May 28 – Wellness Wednesday: End of Year Let It Go Party!!
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