COLUMBUS – August 27, 2014 – The Ohio Education Association (OEA) today provided testimony in opposition to House Bill 597, which would repeal Ohio’s voluntary adoption of the Common Core education standards. At the same time, Vice-President Scott DiMauro urged Ohio lawmakers to give schools and educators more time to make sure the new standards are effectively implemented.
“While the OEA supports the Common Core standards,” said DiMauro, “we recognize that there are a range of practical challenges that need to be consistently addressed in order to ensure a smart and successful implementation. For example, schools and teachers need sufficient planning time, resources, professional development and technological capacity to support student learning under the new standards and assessments. Students need up-to-date instructional materials that are aligned with the standards. Further, parents and local communities should be provided access to needed information so that they can fully participate in local decision making surrounding implementation. Laws protecting personal student data should be strictly enforced.”
DiMauro told members of the House Rules Committee that smart implementation means providing Ohio’s schools and educators the time to get it right.
“To this end, the OEA proposes a three-year suspension of high-stakes decisions and sanctions for schools and teachers, beginning this school year (2014-15),” said DiMauro in his testimony. “The OEA supports the steps taken by a number of states, including Kentucky, Maryland, Colorado and Louisiana, which have provided additional time for teachers to create their own lessons and curriculum, get new professional support, and become familiar with the assessments before they’re used as a measure of teacher performance.”
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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.
CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org
