Ohio Education Association Urges Senate to Quickly Pass SB 376 After Companion Legislation was Approved in House
“OEA believes that Ohio should enact a student-centered formula that is equitable, adequate, predictable, and that ensures that all students have the resources to succeed regardless of where they live or their family’s income,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said in testimony before the House Finance Committee on Tuesday. “The FSFP formula represents the best hope for necessary structural change in the way Ohio funds the education of 1.7 million students.” DiMauro’s full testimony is attached to this message.
Ohio’s current school funding system was deemed unconstitutional in 1997 by the Ohio Supreme Court’s DeRolph v. State of Ohio ruling. OEA extends its deepest gratitude to Speaker Cupp, Representative Patterson, Senators Lehner and Sykes, other legislators, and education leaders for their hard work to deliver the fair school funding system our children and communities deserve more than 20 years later. “Ohio’s students have waited decades to get what they need. The Ohio Senate must act now to pass SB 376 and finally make our children their priority,” DiMauro said.
The funding plan would provide an additional $1.99 billion in state aid when fully phased in and provides about 70% of the increased funds to the poorest urban, small town, and rural districts in the
State, substantially reducing the need for property tax levies especially in our poorest communities. It recognizes the increased per-pupil costs of educating economically disadvantaged students and transporting students with disabilities, while calling for studies to determine the real costs of serving gifted children, students with special education needs, English learners, e-schools, and Educational Service Centers. FSFP also ends the practice of tying each district’s local share to fluctuations in the property value of other districts, determining the local share by using local property values (60%) and income of district residents (40%).
The plan would also end the use of gain caps and would reduce the number of districts from the state’s funding guarantee to fewer than ten of Ohio’s 613 districts. Caps and guarantees are artificial constraints a legislature has to put on school funding because districts receive either too much or too little funding under the formula. The more districts on caps and guarantees, the worse the state’s formula is at calculating educational need. Ohio’s current system is so bad at accurately calculating student need that every district in the state is either capped or guaranteed. “Accurately calculating what students need this is quite a welcome shift,” DiMauro said.
OEA applauds the FSFP provisions that directly fund charters and vouchers, replacing the current pass-through funding system and creating a system that is fair to public school districts and charters, as well as local taxpayers. As Ohio braces for the voucher expansion that is coming with Senate Bill 89, these changes will prevent public school districts from having to raise property taxes to continue to subsidize tuition to private, mostly religious schools that perform worse than their public counterparts, according to a recent analysis by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“No school funding model is perfect, but the FSFP formula focuses on what students need to receive a high-quality education,” DiMauro said. “The Senate must do its part and pass its version of the bill now. After nearly 30 years waiting for the state to fix school funding, Ohio’s children can’t wait any longer.”
* The vote was held open past the actual floor vote to accommodate any members who were not present during it, so the vote tally may change
Ohio Education Association Urges Governor to Reject Senate Bill 89’s Harmful Voucher Expansion
“Vouchers drain needed resources from the 90 percent of students who attend Ohio’s public schools. This drain forces too many communities into raising their property taxes, which then subsidize tuition for many students who never stepped foot in the public schools that are now financing their private school education. Diverting resources from public schools has real consequences for students who don’t take vouchers, including larger class sizes and reduced opportunities that would have set them up for future success,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “By grandfathering in previously voucher-eligible students, whether they had used the vouchers or not, SB 89 fails to curb the destructive explosion of the voucher program, contrary to proponents’ claims. There was no compromise and no consultation with the education community to strike the deal that was passed out by the conference committee. It’s a voucher expansion, plain and simple.”
Previously, the House-passed version of SB 89 contained many positive provisions, including moving away from pass-through funding of vouchers and dissolution of existing academic distress commissions in Youngstown, Lorain and East Cleveland. These provisions were removed in conference committee. Instead, new voucher eligibility criteria was put in place that expands EdChoice beyond its current levels.
“The ill-conceived plan to extend EdChoice voucher eligibility to families making more than the median income undermines the stated aims of that program and punishes lower-income families, particularly in communities of color, that are losing critical funding to send wealthier children to private, mostly religious schools, which often perform worse than their public school counterparts, on the taxpayer’s dime.”
A recent analysis by the Cincinnati Enquirer shows that in nearly 9 of 10 cases, students in public school districts outperform private school voucher students in the same zip codes on comparable state tests that both groups of students take. Further, SB 89 does nothing to address the problem of pass-through funding that deducts voucher amounts from state aid to school districts.
“Absent a veto from the governor on SB 89, it is more critical than ever that the General Assembly pass House Bill 305 to directly fund charters and vouchers, reducing the damage to local district caused by the voucher expansion of SB 89,” DiMauro said. “HB 305’s funding mechanism would go a long way toward protecting public school districts’ budgets and preventing them from having to raise property taxes to subsidize private school tuition.”
OEA Optimistic About SB 376’s School Funding Proposals
“Ohio’s current school funding system falls far short of meeting the needs of students and the school districts that educate them, and OEA has long advocated for state lawmakers to address the failures of Ohio’s school funding system,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Ohio must end the band-aid approach to the school funding formula and enact a student-centered formula that is equitable, adequate, predictable, and that ensures that all students have the resources to succeed regardless of where they live or their family’s income.”
The Senate plan builds upon earlier proposals to reform the state’s unconstitutional funding formula. OEA urged revisions to the 2019 version of HB 305 to improve the overall equity of the formula through changes to the local capacity percentage range, among other suggested modifications.
“OEA appreciates the work of Senate Sponsors Lehner and Sykes, as well as HB 305 co-sponsors Reps. Patterson and Cupp to improve upon prior drafts of this bill,” DiMauro said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for Ohio to adopt a new school funding formula to meet the needs of all 1.7 million kids served by Ohio’s public schools. Now is the time to act.”
“For more than 20 years, Ohio lawmakers have failed to remedy the state’s harmful school funding system, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court in 1997’s landmark DeRolph v. State of Ohio ruling,” DiMauro added. “Senate Bill 376 and House Bill 305 represent an important pathway to finally address some of the greatest issues raised by that decision.”
OEA Calls for State, Federal Leadership as COVID-19 Numbers Rise
“Ohio’s educators want nothing more than to be in their classrooms with their students, but only when it is safe, and our members are doing everything in their power to meet the educational and health and safety needs of all of their students, both in-person and remotely,” said OEA President Scott DiMauro. “Unfortunately, the scope of what local district leaders and educators can do is quite limited, especially given the budget crisis currently facing our state’s school districts. Only the state and federal governments can provide the direction and funding needed to implement the measures necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 right now.”
OEA is urging Governor Mike DeWine to begin releasing money from the state’s $2.7 billion rainy day fund immediately to aid all schools in their efforts to follow all CDC guidelines. “Because of Ohio’s unconstitutional, inequitable school funding system that has created huge state and local funding disparities, some districts are able to keep their communities safer than others,” DiMauro pointed out. “Where Ohio’s students and educators live and work should not determine their relative health and safety.”
OEA continues to call on the state to require schools to follow best safety practices prescribed by public health experts for any in-person instruction in counties in the lower tiers of Ohio’s public health advisory system. Schools in counties where COVID-19 infection rates are highest should remain open only for remote instruction as long as that is necessary. The OEA Board of Directors’ Position Statement can be viewed here: OEA Board Position Statment on Safe and Equitable School Reopening (.pdf file).
“Statewide guidance is critical to ensuring the safety of all of Ohio’s students,” DiMauro said. “While OEA appreciates the importance of local control in many educational decisions, the current piecemeal district-by-district approach fails to protect some students and educators from unacceptably dangerous conditions in their classrooms, truly putting lives at risk. Ohio must do better.”
While a coordinated response from Ohio’s governor, lawmakers, public health experts, and the Ohio Department of Education would represent a critical measure in addressing the new COVID-19 spike for our schools, OEA recognizes how important federal assistance is in implementing any plans to keep the state’s children and educators safe.
“We need the U.S. Senate to pass a COVID-19 stimulus package for our communities. Ohioans need to call Senator Portman to demand action,” DiMauro said. “Ohioans have waited too long already for relief from the federal government, and playing politics by delaying stimulus until after the election only further hurts Ohioans and Ohio schools that need help now.”
Ohio Education Association Calls for Full Remote Learning in Counties in Highest Tiers of State’s Public Health Advisory Alert System
A poll of OEA members in mid-July found that 69 percent of education professionals statewide do not believe that schools and campuses will be able to reopen safely in the fall.
“OEA stands with its members, parents, and community partners in recognizing the critical role schools play in academic and non-academic success of our students,” the OEA Board of Directors, which consists of more than 50 educators, education support professionals and higher education faculty statewide, said in a unanimously adopted Position Statement on Safe and Equitable Reopening Plans for Schools and Campus Buildings. “Given the dangers posed by the spread of COVID-19, however, OEA believes that reopening for in-person instruction prematurely poses unacceptable risks to the lives and health of students, adults who work in schools, and the people they care for.”
In early July, Governor Mike DeWine issued a set of guidelines to shape school reopening plans. Most of that guidance was in the form of recommendations, rather than requirements, for things like masks, sanitization, and social distancing protocols. OEA has been calling for greater accountability and enforcement of those measures. Ample testing must also be available to ensure individuals afflicted with COVID-19 are negative prior to returning to school, and evidence-based protocols for contact tracing must also be in place.
Under Ohio’s Public Health Advisory Alert System, OEA believes that any school or campus building located in a county designated as Level 4 (purple) or Level 3 (red) must remain closed to in-person instruction. Until a vaccine or cure for COVID-19 is widely available, schools in all counties, including Level 2 (orange) and Level 1 (yellow) should be permitted to open for in-person instruction only if all CDC requirements can be fully met.
Any safe reopening plan will require adequate resources, including funding for a sufficient number of educators, support staff, nurses, and custodial workers to meet the needs of students in the classrooms. Adequate funding will also be needed for technology devices and high-speed internet access to ensure all students have reliable, quality access to remote learning platforms, regardless of where they live.
“No education employee in any setting should be forced to choose between their livelihood and their health or safety,” the OEA Board of Directors said. “OEA will continue to organize and engage members to effectively advocate for healthy and safe learning and working conditions, essential legal protections for members, and equitable learning opportunities for all students.”
The OEA Board of Directors’ Position Statement can be viewed here: OEA Board Position Statment on Safe and Equitable School Reopening (.pdf file)
To Vote or Not to Vote: Why Educators Need to Do More Than Help Students Register to Vote
By Julie Holderbaum, Minerva EA/OEA
On a recent visit home, my 22-year old stepdaughter told me that she wasn’t planning to vote this year, and then she admitted that she never had before, either.
As we talked, two reasons for this came to light. Apathy was not one of them. Instead, not knowing what to expect at the polls, not knowing which local candidates would be on the ballot, and feeling that her vote wouldn’t matter anyway were enough to silence her voice.
She expressed that she was really nervous to go to the polling place because she had no idea what to expect. I have always emphasized the importance of registering to vote to my students. I’ve even helped register several voters in my classes of juniors. But in my haste to register my students to vote, it never occurred to me to explain to them what the actual act of voting would be like.
She wasn’t too worried about not going to vote since the 2016 election convinced my stepdaughter that her vote wouldn’t matter anyway. I can see why she felt that way; Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes but lost the election because she came up short in the electoral college. The fact is, however, that history is replete with elections decided by one or a very few votes. In Vermont in 2016, both a state Senate Democratic primary and a state House seat were determined by one vote[1], and several presidential elections have been narrowly decided as well[2].
My stepdaughter’s revelation to me was heartbreaking. I hated the thought of her not exercising the right that so many people fought so hard to get, the right that gives her a voice in choosing the values and policies of the community and country she lives in.
Many educators discuss the importance of voting with our students. But can we do more to alleviate their anxiety and fear of the unknown, to make them feel that their voice matters? I think we can.
- Share your first time voting story. You don’t have to disclose who you voted for to tell students about where you were and how you felt. Did you vote in person or absentee? Did you feel prepared to vote? What did it feel like if you didn’t know anything about candidates on the ballot? I tell them how I’ve felt when I’ve seen names on a ballot in local races and not known anything about them: do I pick one at random or do I not vote in that race? One seems risky and the other seems disrespectful to all those who have fought for my right to vote. I also tell them that it feels so much better to know I have done the research and am voting for a person (or issue) with intention.
- Explain the voting process. Encourage them to let the poll workers know it is their first time voting; most likely, they will be excited and happy to help them navigate each step of the process. Tell them that they will show their ID and it will be scanned, and they will sign either a paper or an electronic keypad. They will be directed to the voting booth, which may or may not have a curtain like the voting scenes on TV always seem to. They may vote on a computer. They might be given a paper ballot and a pen to bubble in their choice. They may be given a punch card to indicate their choices. Tell them that they do not have to vote in every race on the ballot. Whatever the method, reassure them that it will be private and no one will see how they vote. Discuss the importance of completing absentee ballots thoroughly and correctly, and following all directions precisely.
Discuss the history of the fight for suffrage in America. Only 6% of Americans were eligible to vote in the first presidential election.[3] The other 94% had to fight to get the right to participate in democracy in America. Read articles and show movies about efforts to get the right to vote and the obstacles that still impede efforts to vote for so many Americans. The 2020 Amazon Prime documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy is excellent and gives a history of voting rights and suppression efforts in America. (Preview any film before showing your classes).- Impress upon your students that every vote counts. Read about elections that came down to just a few votes. Share the fact that studies show more people vote when they know lots of other people are voting. Tell your students that publicizing they are voting can remind and encourage others to vote…and all of those votes will certainly have an impact.[4]
- Demonstrate how to find information about the candidates, registration, and polling places. Today’s young voters have advantages that I did not when I first voted. Websites for each state’s Secretary of State and County Boards of Elections have information about how to check if your voter registration is up to date and more. The Ohio Voter Info app [5] allows users to see a sample ballot, making it easy to research the candidates and issues before going to the poll. The app also allows users to check absentee ballot status, see where their polling place is, and view election results. When We All Vote is another great resource, and the website has a toolkit for schools to teach kids of all ages about voting.[6]
- Build excitement for future voting in children. What if we could get kids to look forward to their first time voting as much as they look forward to getting a driver’s license or going to prom? If we start talking about voting with young children, I think we can build a level of excitement and appreciation for the right to vote. There are books for all ages of children that address elections and voting.[7] Make them part of your classroom library.
Along the same lines, take your own children with you when you vote. I have taken my daughter with me since she was four years old, and every time, I have explained to her who I am voting for and why. The familiarity with the voting process has become ingrained in her. Encourage your students to ask their parents if they can go with them the next time they vote so they can see the process of voting in action.
Political conversations in the classroom that promote issues or candidates are never appropriate, but the act of voting is not a partisan issue. It is our duty as educators to prepare our students to become informed citizens who participate in the democratic process. We must remember, however, that it doesn’t matter how many students we register to vote; the only ones who have a voice are the ones who actually exercise that right. We need to go beyond registration efforts and address the concerns and fears young voters have about the actual act of voting.
During that infamous visit, my stepdaughter and I updated her voter registration and downloaded the Ohio Voter Info app. She knows where she is going to vote and which issues and candidates will be on her ballot. She’s ready to vote in one of the most historic elections in American history this November.
The best part? The next time she came home to visit, she had another announcement to make: “You’re going to be so proud of me. I helped my roommate register to vote.”
— Julie Holderbaum is an English Instructor and an Academic Challenge Advisor at Minerva High School, Minerva, Ohio.
[1]Close Elections: Why Every Vote Matters : NPR.” 3 Nov. 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/11/03/663709392/why-every-vote-matters-the-elections-decided-by-a-single-vote-or-a-little-more. Accessed 5 Oct. 2020.
[2]“5 Close US Presidential Elections That Prove Every Vote Matters.” https://www.globalcitizen.org/fr/content/why-every-vote-matters-closest-elections-in-histor/. Accessed 6 Oct. 2020.
[3] “Watch All In: The Fight for Democracy | Prime Video.” https://www.amazon.com/All-Fight-Democracy-Stacey-Abrams/dp/B08FRQQKD5. Accessed 6 Oct. 2020.
[4] “A better argument for why every vote matters – The Princetonian.” 11 Oct. 2018, https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2018/10/a-better-argument-for-why-every-vote-matters. Accessed 5 Oct. 2020.
[5] “Ohio Voter Information – Apps on Google Play.” https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.triadgsi.dev.ohiovotes&hl=en. Accessed 6 Oct. 2020.
[6] “When We All Vote.” https://www.whenweallvote.org/. Accessed 6 Oct. 2020.
[7] “Kids’ Books About Elections and Voting | Scholastic | Parents.” https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/history-social-studies/election-books.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2020.
October/November 2020 Ohio Schools
- COVER STORY: Education Champions – In the 2020 election, support those who will fight for public schools, educators, and our students
- NOTEBOOK: At 2020 NEA RA, Educators Vow to Help Lead Nation Through Crisis
- LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
- In Wake of Barebones 2020 Ohio School Report Cards, OEA Urges Overhaul of Broken Report Card System
- Govenor Signs Civil Immunity Bill
- Bill to Clarify Training Requirements of Armed School Personnel Passed in Committee
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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Ohio’s Educators Expect Education Policy Answers from Presidential Debate
“The president can greatly shape the direction of education policy for the nation, directing national policies for everything from whether to provide schools with crucial COVID-19 relief funding to whether to hold for-profit charter schools to the same level of accountability as America’s public schools,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Ohioans have a right to know where each candidate stands on the educational issues before they cast their ballots in this election.”
Early in his campaign, Joe Biden released a comprehensive plan for K-12 and higher education in the United States, pledging to invest in universal pre-kindergarten, triple the funds for Title I schools to ensure resources go to low-income communities where the need is highest, address racial injustice, and expand community schools. Biden also supports small class sizes and free tuition at community colleges, as well as at public colleges and universities for families making less than $125,000 a year. Throughout his career, Biden has championed America’s educators, including his wife, Jill, and has promised to appoint a teacher to serve as Secretary of Education, if he’s elected.
“Donald Trump’s Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, has no experience in a classroom and no plans for America’s public schools, other than continuing to funnel federal funding to private and for-profit charter schools, which perform poorly in comparison with local public schools serving similar students,” DiMauro said. “President Trump and Betsy DeVos have continued to push for so-called ‘school choice’ on principle, without any consideration for the actual educational outcomes or the damage these voucher programs cause in low-income and communities of color, especially.” Detailed analyses of the disastrous results of Ohio’s voucher program can be found here and here.
Ohioans are also anticipating a robust discussion on Trump’s latest ideological overreach: his proposal for a ‘1776 Commission’ to shove a federally controlled curriculum down our kids’ throats. “Shaping curriculum content is not a federal responsibility; it has always been a state’s right. One would think that Trump and his allies would have remembered parents’ outrage over the Common Core before backing this even greater federal government overreach. It would strip American school districts of their legally-enshrined local control, which is, in itself, concerning. The truly propogandist nature of the Commission’s curriculum is downright alarming, It’s what China does and the Soviet Union used to do, never the United States. Until this President,” DiMauro said.
“As a Social Studies teacher, this attack on public education is personal,” DiMauro added. “I became an educator 30 years ago to provide students the critical thinking and decision-making skills they need to be successful citizens in our democratic society. These skills can only be learned through a well-rounded and robust curriculum that neither hides nor celebrates all chapters of American history. Silencing educators with executive orders that create heavy-handed national commissions and threatening to withhold critical federal funding from schools that don’t fall in line with federal dictates is wrong in every way.”
President DiMauro and several educators across Ohio will be available after Tuesday’s debate to offer their perspectives on education issues raised by the candidates. Please contact OEA Media Relations Consultant Katie Olmsted to arrange interviews.
In Wake of Release of Barebones 2020 Ohio School Report Cards, Ohio Education Association Urges Overhaul of State’s Broken Report Card System
“These latest school and district report cards shine a spotlight on the major problems with the entire report card scheme,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “The fact that the state recognizes that any 2020 letter grades and rankings would be useless without spring testing data proves just how overly-reliant the existing grade card system is on standardized tests. If the essential value of the state’s report card system is standardized test results – which do not accurately represent how a student, teacher or school is performing — the state’s current report card system has no value at all.”
“These tests and the algebraic contortions the state’s report card system twists them into have always been stacked against low-income students, especially. OEA is not afraid of accountability. But the state must design a fair, informative, and transparent accountability system,” DiMauro said.
Spring standardized testing was suspended in Ohio after school buildings shut down in March to protect students and educators from COVID-19. As schools return to session this fall, many Ohio lawmakers recognize the futility of resuming standardized testing in an environment that is now anything but standard.
Not a single educator has indicated to us that missing the spring tests harmed a single student.
If passed, Senate Bill 358 would require the Ohio Department of Education to seek a federal waiver of testing requirements and suspend the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and the fall 3rd grade English test.
Further, SB 358 calls for suspending school and district report card ratings for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years – a measure welcomed by OEA. “Due to COVID-19, school districts will continue to experience barriers to education service delivery and instability in student data (particularly in districts with high concentrations of poverty). It would be misleading and unfair to require report card grades or punitive measures based on report card data during this time,” OEA Vice President Jeff Wensing said in support of SB 358 in early September. Click here to read Vice President Wensing’s full statement.
“Senate Bill 358 is a good start, but much more work is needed to address the foundational issues with Ohio’s current school report card system,” DiMauro said. “The cookie-cutter A-F grades are a meaningless and simplistic way to describe students’ educational experiences. All they accurately measure are a student’s and district’s wealth. Using these tests to punish low-income students by providing cover for taxpayer money to be diverted to worse-performing private and charter schools while undermining local control in poor districts is a stain on Ohio’s education system. The state needs a truly informative accountability system that fairly identifies improvement areas while empowering stakeholders to direct resources where they are needed most. That – rather than punishing poor kids and schools – should be lawmakers’ guiding light.”
More information about OEA’s recommended reforms can be found at ohea.org/oea-calls-for-sweeping-changes-to-state-report-cards/
2020-2021 OEA Member Resource Guide
Use this guide as an overview to help you make the most of your OEA Membership. Within, you’ll learn more about:
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Throughout our more than 150-year history, OEA members have been involved in every struggle and effort to advance the finest of America’s dreams: a quality public education for every child.
If you have additional questions, contact us at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or send us an email to: membership@ohea.org.
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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