Big wins for pro-public education candidates should give state lawmakers marching orders
“Certain politicians tried to hijack this election season and turn community members against schools and teachers to keep us from coming together to demand that every school get the resources needed to provide every child with a quality education, but Ohioans overwhelmingly rejected that scheme,” Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Scott DiMauro said. “Ohio’s lawmakers have received clear marching orders from the people to support public education by fully implementing the Fair School Funding Plan, blocking the so-called Backpack Bill that would weaken Ohio’s public schools, and championing honesty in education to keep Big Government out of Ohio’s classrooms and ensure the anti-freedom House Bills 327 & 322 never pass.”
Statewide, pro-public education candidates, including a large number of educators, came out on top in their respective school board races, winning more than 80 percent of the contests in Ohio that OEA tracked. “That is a monumental success rate,” DiMauro said. “To put that in perspective, renewal levies – which are essentially the only slam dunk issues on Ohio’s ballots – pass at about that same rate.”
From Columbus to Kings to Centerville, Worthington, Copley-Fairlawn, and Sycamore, among others, whole slates of pro-public education candidates won seats. Slates of anti-honesty in education candidates failed to gain control of school boards across the state, regardless of the makeup of the districts or region.
“Ohio’s voters saw right through all the nonsense and manufactured controversy around masks, vaccines, and curriculum this election season, and Ohio’s lawmakers should take notice: Attacking local public schools is fast becoming the third-rail of Ohio politics,” DiMauro said. “Voters want Ohio policymakers to fulfill their constitutional obligations to provide great schools for all of Ohio’s children regardless of where they’re from or what they look like. The election results should serve as a cold bucket of water to those who are trying to pursue divisive political agendas that have nothing to do with educating kids.”
OEA & NEA Recommend Tim Ryan for U.S. Senate
“The Ohio Education Association is proud to recommend a champion of students, public educators, and everyday Ohioans, Congressman Tim Ryan,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “We know that Congressman Ryan cares about making sure students at schools like Conesville Elementary in Warsaw, Arbor Hills Middle School in Sylvania, the David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center in Dayton, and their peers across the state have the resources and support they need to grow up and become successful at whatever they want to do in life. Congressman Ryan fought for us in Congress when we needed support during the peak of COVID-19, delivering much-needed federal support, and we know he will continue to fight for Ohio’s students when he gets to the U.S. Senate.”
“Simply put, Rep. Tim Ryan is a champion for America’s students and Ohio’s working families. He is someone who knows how critical it is to ensure that every student – Black and white, Native and newcomer, Hispanic and Asian alike – has access to quality public schools. Tim Ryan understands that educators – those who know the names of the students in the classroom – must have a seat at the table when making education policy. He recognizes that expanding the use of community schools – bringing academic coursework, health and social services, and community engagement under one roof – is the most effective way to address the gaps our students face, improve learning, and build stronger communities. And In Congress, he has a proven record of working to level the playing field for working families, while getting things done to help students, educators, and communities across Ohio. That is why the National Education Association is proud to recommend Rep. Tim Ryan in his campaign for U.S. Senate,” said National Education Association President Becky Pringle.
“As the proud husband of a public school teacher, I’m honored to have the support of educators across Ohio,” said Tim Ryan. “I know the challenges our students, parents, teachers and school support staff have faced over the last year and a half, and I’ve been endlessly inspired by the resilience and creativity our educators have brought to their work day after day. In the Senate, I’ll continue to listen to our teachers, invest in our schools, and expand access to training and wraparound services, so that they have the tools and resources to give all our kids the education and support they need to thrive.”
Tim has been endorsed by every Democrat in Ohio’s congressional delegation, along with more than twenty labor unions and the Ohio AFL-CIO, and more than 200 state and local elected officials and Democratic leaders and activists in every corner of Ohio. Tim’s grassroots momentum has also translated into record-breaking fundraising, including raising more than $2.5 million in the third quarter of 2021.
OEA Condemns Substitute House Bill 327
“Ohio’s students deserve an honest and reflective education to prepare them to engage with and shape the future of our interconnected society and economy. Ohioans believe students and educators should have the freedom to teach and learn without fear of state censorship, intimidation, and punishment. But, if the Big Government mandates of HB 327 become law, our children will be grievously deprived of the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and learn from our mistakes by creating an oppressive and fear-based learning environment, and the growing teacher shortage will become exponentially worse,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said.
“Ohio’s kids need caring, qualified educators in their classrooms to help them become tomorrow’s doctors, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders. Unfortunately, the provisions of HB 327 – which have come about as part of a carefully coordinated national campaign by disingenuous organizations resulting in divisive and dishonest attacks on educators, our communities, and public schools – will drive teachers from their classrooms who can’t afford to lose their homes to sue-happy parents with a vendetta against the truth. The chilling effect on a profession already struggling to attract new entrants would be devastating,” DiMauro explained.
The substitute version of HB 327 seeks to muzzle educators and prevent them from having age-appropriate discussions with their students about any subjects deemed ‘divisive’ by certain politicians doing the bidding of a national network of extremists who want to whitewash our history so they can control a political narrative. Attempts to clear up the confusion created by the language of the earlier version of this bill have led to even further confusion about what can and cannot be taught and do nothing to address the serious underlying problems in the legislation. A similar bill in Texas has forced teachers to consider teaching Holocaust denials alongside the real history of World War II.
“Right now, no students are being taught to be ashamed of who they are or who their ancestors were; they are being empowered to be proud of who they are, regardless of where they come from,” DiMauro said. “But, by threatening to withhold vital school funding, revoke teachers’ licenses, and make educators civilly liable – with no cap on that liability, HB 327 would make teaching such a risky career path that few would choose to do it. And in the end, it’s Ohio’s 1.7 million public school students who will suffer.”
OEA will fight vigorously to stop the murky prohibitions and extreme penalties of HB 327 from becoming law. “Ohio’s educators must be trusted to do the jobs they were trained to do, following state learning standards and district curriculum in ways that use honest, accurate, and diverse learning experiences without state censorship or intimidation,” DiMauro said. “Our organization sees HB 327, and its companion bill HB 322, as a full-frontal assault on academic freedom and honesty, and we will not stand for it.”
OEA & OFT Oppose Bill That Endangers Students
“HB 454 directs professionals to go against the current standards set by their licensing boards regarding student privacy, and forces counselors and teachers to out transgender and non-binary students against their will.
This is a violation of Title IX protections and will jeopardize the health and safety of at-risk students. More than half of transgender and non-binary youth who participated in a recent survey by the Trevor Project have seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. The same survey showed that LGBTQ youth who had access to spaces that affirmed their sexual orientation and gender identity reported lower rates of attempting suicide.
We oppose HB 454 because politicians shouldn’t be making decisions that put our students in danger.”
State report cards should spur districts to spend ARP funds
The state report cards show Ohio’s public school districts saw about a 10% drop in their Performance Index (PI) scores from the 2018-19 schoolyear to the 2020-2021 one. Over that same period, charter schools in the state saw a 25% drop – a 2.5 times greater degree of loss. Breakthrough Schools, which are often touted by charter advocates as shining examples of success, saw the seven worst performance drops in the state, with PI scores plummeting 77 percent. The PI drop for KIPP, a charter school in Columbus, was 66% – more than double the decline seen in Columbus City Schools. The online charter school OHVA’s PI score fell 25%.
More troubling, the state report card data shows chronic absenteeism in Ohio charter schools jumped from 22 percent to 45 percent last year, while those rates increased from 7.5% to 17% in traditional public schools.
“Seeing that nearly half of charter school students were chronically absent in the last school year is completely unacceptable, and truly speaks to the effectiveness of those institutions in educating our children. And we don’t even have recent data on Ohio’s private schools to compare this with since they are not subject to any of the same accountability standards as public districts,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said.
“This should all serve as a serious wakeup call for proponents of the ongoing efforts explode the state’s charter and vouchers schemes and take critical public tax dollars from the 90 percent of Ohio’s kids who attend demonstrably better traditional public schools,” DiMauro added. “Last year, 606 out of 612 public school districts in the state lost funding to charters. Follies like the so-called “Backpack Bill” that was recently introduced in the Ohio House would make this situation exponentially worse.”
“Ohio’s public school students deserve every resource they need to succeed, especially considering the disrupted learning opportunities they’ve endured over the last year and a half. Thankfully, federal money has also been set aside expressly for that purpose, with hundreds of millions of dollars coming to Ohio’s schools through the American Rescue Plan package,” DiMauro said. “It is essential that school districts spend that money as soon as possible on the programs and services that will help bring students back up to their pre-pandemic performance levels. Our kids can’t afford to have districts stockpile that money for a rainy day; they need that support right now.”
OEA, citing data, calls for school districts to issue temporary mask mandates
“We are now seeing a record numbers of kids with COVID-19 and hospitalized in ICUs throughout Ohio and the nation,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “It is clear from the data we have gathered that the Delta variant poses far greater risk for our students, especially those who have not been vaccinated,” he continued, adding that more than half of all Ohio students aren’t even eligible for vaccinations.
Across the state, there are a growing number of districts in which large numbers of students, teachers, and staff – even entire grades have had to stay home from school because they have contracted COVID-19 or must quarantine due to their close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. However, Ohio Department of Health guidance allows for unvaccinated individuals to remain in school if they have consistently worn a mask and maintained social distancing. Therefore, had there been a mask wearing policy been in-place at the time of these exposures, it is likely that many of these quarantines could have been avoided.
On September 2, the state reported 4,446 new COVID-19 cases among Ohio school students, and 873 cases among school staff. So far this school year, there have been 7,705 cases involving students and 2,254 cases among school employees. The number of cases is increasing daily.
“We want in-person learning to continue unabated,” DiMauro said. “However, without widespread student vaccinations, the only way for that to happen safely for students is temporarily requiring masking in schools.”
COVID-related school disruption data compiled by OEA show that 16 of the 17 disruptions OEA has tracked were in districts that made masks optional. Delta has hit districts of all shapes and sizes from Huber Heights in Montgomery County to Shelby City in Richland County to Bethel-Tate in Clermont County. Typically, when these spikes do happen, districts immediately call for masking. Unfortunately, that may be too late to slow the spread of the incredibly contagious Delta variant.
“No one. And I mean no one wants to be back to normal more than our educators, students and parents,” DiMauro said. “But this pandemic is not over yet. Temporarily requiring masks in school buildings will allow in-person learning to continue.
“Our focus is to ensure students remain learning in school the whole year,” DiMauro said. “We believe the data show that mask requirements give us the best chance to see that happen. Without them, we fear we’d be looking at another school year of disrupted learning for an entire generation of Ohio students. And no one wants that.”
Ohio Education Association urges all Ohioans to participate in public redistricting reform hearings
“OEA urges members of the Commission to live up to the spirit of these reforms with a transparent and bipartisan process,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “Fair districts are vitally important and Ohio citizens should be provided with ample opportunities for meaningful input in the process.”
“Earlier this year, OEA sponsored a contest for K-12 students to develop fair maps and we had dozens of children who were able to do so on a tight deadline. Certainly, state leaders can do the same. For too long, partisan gerrymandering has subverted our democracy. OEA urges our members, contest participants, and all concerned Ohioans to participate in these public hearings.”
OEA Statement on Latest Mask Wearing Guidance
As a result, our educators, students, parents, school districts and communities are being forced to grapple with how best to limit the potential lethality of these new variants.
“Educators want nothing more than to return to full, in-person instruction this fall,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “But we want to make sure that when we do, we do so safely for our kids and communities.”
OEA urges communities and school districts to use every tool at their disposal to ensure the safe return to in-person instruction this fall. The recent spike in COVID infections, driven by the highly infectious Delta variant, is especially concerning because the variant is more deadly to students and a youth vaccine has not yet been approved for students younger than 12. This means that most students will remain unvaccinated, for at least the first half of the coming school year.
However, that doesn’t mean our schools have no protection from these new variants. The science is clear that masking, appropriate ventilation, social distancing, handwashing, and vaccinations — all in combination — is the best way to keep students, families, and educators safe and keep community transmission rates low.
“Our members’ primary concern is for the health and safety of their students and the potential danger the fast-spreading Delta variant could pose for their communities and families,” DiMauro said. “We know that mask wearing has been scientifically proven to be effective in slowing the spread of COVID infections and should remain a key tool for avoiding further, unnecessary learning disruptions.”
DiMauro urged leaders to follow science, not political rhetoric when making these decisions.
“Local decisions about mask wearing need to be made based on science and not politics,” DiMauro said. “These decisions should made solely in the best interest of protecting the health of educators, students, and their families.”
DiMauro is especially concerned about politicians limiting the ability of school districts and communities to protect their kids from these new, more lethal COVID-19 strains.
“The best way to ensure a safe return to in-person learning this fall is to follow the science and listen to the medical experts.’ DiMauro said. “We can’t let politicians substitute their political ambitions for public safety when our kids’ health and safety are at stake.”
Ohio Education Association praises decision to implement Fair School Funding Plan in state budget; Concerned about future funding commitment
In addition, OEA welcomes the provision in the budget to allow districts to get out from under the failed Academic Distress Commission law, though OEA remains troubled by the massive, unprecedented boost to taxpayer funded, private school tuition vouchers and the creation of tuition tax credits to further use taxpayer money to subsidize private school tuition.
“We are extremely pleased that the Fair School Funding Plan will be our school funding system during this biennium and appreciate the House negotiators for providing a convincing argument that our kids are worth the investment,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “It will provide the framework for the state of Ohio to finally meet its constitutional mandate of providing a world-class education to every Ohio public school student, regardless of location or station. But in order to do so, the state must fulfill this plan’s great promise beyond these next two years. So the work continues. But the good news is advocacy from our members, communities, parents and students made a difference. And it will continue to do so.”
OEA is especially concerned that the committee report does not make future commitments to the Fair School Funding Plan because Ohio Director of the Office of Budget and Management Kimberly Murnieks told conference committee members Thursday that state revenue would be more than $3 billion above original projections for this fiscal year.
“The state had more than enough money to fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan as originally calculated, rather than delay its full implementation,” DiMauro said. “The plan only required about half of the additional revenue to fully fund it in this budget without delay. It’s disappointing the Senate wouldn’t allow the state’s strong revenues to benefit students more quickly.”
OEA is also pleased that the Senate’s approach allowing all three school districts currently forced to operate under the failed Academic Distress Commission law to seek dismissal from the commission’s oversight.
“For too long, districts have been forced to adhere to this failed law that takes local communities out of the decision-making process for their schools,” DiMauro said. “We are glad that the budget allows districts to get out from under this unnecessarily punitive law.”
Of vouchers and tuition tax credits, DiMauro said, “We remain concerned with the legislature’s blind loyalty to a program that provides taxpayer funded private school tuition subsidies to folks who never intended to send their children to public schools in the first place and does not generally improve student outcomes. Add the new tuition tax credit to the vouchers and it appears that the priority is the 8 percent of students in private schools, not the 92 percent of students who are in Ohio’s public schools.”
OEA: ‘No excuses. Pass the Fair School Funding Plan now.’
“Every single student in Ohio deserves a world-class education, no matter where they live, what they look like, or how much money their families or their neighbors make. Ohio’s lawmakers have the once-in-a-generation chance right now to deliver on that promise, and the state has the resources to make it happen,” Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Scott DiMauro said. “The lawmakers who continue to push for a continuation of the status quo under the partisan Senate school funding plan were put on notice today: There is zero excuse not to fix our school funding system right now.”
The Fair School Funding Plan was developed over the last three and a half years through scores of public meetings and with input from school finance experts, educators, and community members. It has twice passed the Ohio House with wide bipartisan support and would provide a permanent, predictable formula to ensure all public school students in Ohio can get the resources they need to succeed while ending the state’s unconstitutional overreliance on local property taxes to fund our schools.
While critics of the Fair School Funding Plan have made misleading claims about the sustainability of the Fair School Funding Plan, confirmation from the Office of Budget and Management about the amount of funding available for the Fair School Funding Plan today makes those claims moot.
“Not only is there plenty of money in the state coffers to fully implement the Fair School Funding Plan for Ohio’s kids, there is enough to phase it in fully in this biennium, rather than over the next six years, removing just about any potential question marks about fully-phased in costs,” DiMauro said. “Even if they wait to fully fund it until next biennium, knowing what they know about the state’s flush finances, Ohio’s lawmakers should set aside the additional phase-in funding for future legislatures so there will be zero question in the next budget cycle about whether the revenue will be there to deliver for Ohio’s kids. They’ve waited too long for a school funding system that meets their needs; now, there is no reason they can’t have the fairly and fully funded schools they deserve.”