OEA Congratulates Steve Dackin on Appointment as State Superintendent of Public Instruction
“The Ohio Education Association (OEA) looks forward to working with Steve Dackin in his new role as State Superintendent. By virtue of his former position as vice president of the State Board of Education, Mr. Dackin is well-aware of the many education issues facing Ohio’s students and public schools.
It is imperative that Ohio’s educators continue to have a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions that impact their ability to serve their students every day. All Ohio children, regardless of where they come from or what they look like, deserve an honest and reflective education that empowers them to be proud of who they are, develop critical thinking skills, and grow as strong leaders who can create a better future for all of us. The state Department of Education, under Mr. Dackin’s leadership, must lead the way to ensure Ohio’s educators can deliver on that promise of a world-class education for all.
OEA welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with Mr. Dackin to best meet the needs of Ohio’s students. Additionally, OEA thanks Interim Superintendent Stephanie Siddens for her leadership over the last several months.”
Ohio Education Association celebrates STRS Board decision to restore some benefits
“The steps by the STRS Board to restore some benefits is a welcome step forward for all, which was made possible because of the improved funding level of the pension plan,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “It is absolutely essential to ensure reliable retirement benefits for current and future STRS retirees. The promise of a solid pension is a critical incentive to attract and retain high-quality, experienced teachers our students deserve in their classrooms.”
While celebrating the news that some benefits will be restored, OEA also acknowledges the active and retired teachers whose sacrifices over the years, including higher contributions and suspended COLA payments, have helped to return the STRS fund to a healthy position, enabling the restoration of some benefits now. “After the Great Recession, STRS was projected to run out of money, which would have been devastating for Ohio’s teachers and our public schools,” DiMauro said.
“Like many of our members, OEA’s ultimate wish is to have the COLA permanently restored when the fund is able to manage that. Unfortunately, at this point, that would add more than a $13 billion unfunded liability and would put future benefits at risk. Active teachers could again be asked to work longer, pay more and receive less in retirement, and that would not be fair,” DiMauro added. “OEA has high hopes for continued growth in the fund that will allow adjustments that benefit both active and retired teachers.”
OEA condemns latest version of House Bill 327
[February 16, 2022] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) stands with the majority of Ohioans who believe all children deserve the opportunity to receive an honest and reflective education that empowers them to become critical thinkers and strong future leaders.
OEA is appalled by the continuing efforts of certain politicians to force through House Bill 327, which would force educators to whitewash our history and distract from the real issues facing Ohio’s schools. OEA calls on the Ohio House of Representatives to end consideration of the bill.
The revisions included in substitute HB 327, as introduced Wednesday, do nothing to address the irreparable harm this legislation would cause to Ohio’s students. And it actually makes the potential dangers to educators and administrators more confusing. The current version replaces the bill’s original and undefinable “divisive concepts” language with vague references to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, apparently requiring Ohio educators to become constitutional law experts in order to understand what the bill’s sponsors don’t want them teaching.
“Make no mistake, this latest version of HB 327 is just another exercise in smoke and mirrors by some state leaders to deflect their constitutional responsibility to fully fund all of Ohio’s public schools and provide Ohio’s children with the resources they need to succeed,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “The lawmakers behind this horrendous bill can dress it up anyway they want as they continue to do the bidding of a national network of extremists who are looking to control the political narrative at any cost. But this new version is just as outrageous and inexcusable as the prior version. And in some ways, it’s worse.”
OEA will continue to stand up for honesty in education and against government censorship in the classroom. Ohioans must come together and call on their elected leaders to do better for Ohio’s students.
“Educators and parents know children must have the opportunity to reckon with the mistakes of our past in order to create a better future for all of us,” DiMauro said. “Instead of anti-freedom state censorship laws, let’s work on pro-student policies like fair funding and better access to learning opportunities for all students.”
OEA applauds court decision striking down gerrymandered maps
“The Ohio Education Association (OEA) applauds the wisdom of the Ohio Supreme Court in striking down the gerrymandered maps that would have denied Ohioans a real voice in the Statehouse. This is a huge victory for Ohio voters and for Ohio schools, which are greatly impacted by the decisions of the state’s elected lawmakers.
OEA looks forward to seeing newly drawn, fair maps that will reflect the will of the two-thirds of Ohio voters who demanded an end to Ohio’s broken mapmaking process. Ohio voters deserve to choose their politicians, not the other way around. Today’s Ohio Supreme Court decision represents a major step toward making that a reality.”
OEA urges swift Senate passage of Build Back Better act
“The Build Back Better framework will change lives here in Ohio by making enormous strides toward ending child hunger and poverty, addressing a growing nationwide teacher shortage, and investing in early education, job training, and higher education programs to allow all of Ohio’s students to pursue their dreams, regardless of where they’re from or what they look like,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said. “Ohio’s 1.7 million public school students can’t afford for the Senate to wait to act on this plan.”
Among other benefits included in the Build Back Better framework, it will:
- Enable Ohio to expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 151,420 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year and increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled
- Increase maximum Pell Grant awards by $550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, supporting the 172,095 students in Ohio who rely on Pell, to help unlock the opportunities of an education beyond high school
- Invest in Ohio’s 7 minority-serving institutions and the students they serve, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs)
- Ensure that the nutritional needs of Ohio’s children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an additional 153,000 students during the school year and providing 844,631 students with resources to purchase food over the summer
- Provide opportunities for 43 public community colleges in Ohio to benefit from grants to develop and deliver innovative training programs and expand proven ones
- “A high-quality preschool education lays the foundation for a lifetime of success for our students,” said Traci Arway, a special education teacher in Columbus City Schools. “I am beyond excited to know that Ohio will receive funding through the Build Back Better framework to increase early childhood education for our youngest Ohioans!”
“Teachers know that our students need to have their nutritional needs met to be focused in the classroom. The Build Back Better framework expands free school meals so Ohio’s students can focus on their schoolwork instead of how they’ll get their next meal,” said Kara Jankowski, who teaches English Language Learners in West Carrollton City Schools.
“As of now, only about 31% of the three- and four-year-olds in Ohio have access to publicly-funded preschool, and it costs nearly $8,600 per year for those families that cannot access a publicly funded program. This is unacceptable,” said Larry Carey, a preschool teacher in Columbus. “The Senate must do its part and pass the Build Back Better act now.”
“The Build Back Better framework is a smart investment in our children, our state, and our future,” DiMauro said. “The Senate must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a better tomorrow for all of us.”
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.”