Gadfly Bites 10/25/24—And they would have got away with it too…

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1. The Ohio Capital Journal has a really nice piece on voucher applications and awards for the 2024 fiscal year, the first of near-universal eligibility for EdChoice. Lots of numbers in here, but the one I wanted—total vouchers awarded—I had to add up for myself. An incredible 155,401 across all five voucher programs. Love it! (Ohio Capital Journal, 10/25/24)
   
   

2. OEA president Scott DiMauro opines against both the law that requires school districts to transport resident students who attend charter, private, and STEM schools and against Attorney General Dave Yost’s current efforts to enforce that requirement on the notoriously-scofflaw Columbus City Schools. His snarky kick at the end is particularly unhelpful...and I should know! (Ohio Capital Journal, 10/23/24) Singing from the same hymnal is this Columbus City Schools parent, who calls Yost’s efforts to enforce the transportation law “bullying”. On the upside, she does confirm (by my reading) that the district is prioritizing students who attend its own schools over those utilizing school choice. Or at least they were trying to… (Columbus Dispatch, 10/24/24)
   
   

3. Finally today, the trad education blob is raising alarms about a new law going into effect imminently that they seem to have just now realized will cause a giant disruption to the way teachers do their jobs. It is intended to safeguard student data, but the gang says the unintended consequences will be huge. “At the classroom level,” explains the government relations director for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, “we’re going to all have to make sure that no one is using any sort of a technology platform that does not have a contract in place that has been signed by the by the school district to make sure that we’re protecting the privacy of kids.” Umm… Yeah. I say “raising alarms”, but the worst example anyone can seem to think of after five months since bill passage is not being able to use Kahoot and Quizlet for test prep or whatever. So I’m not sure how alarming the issue really is. (Columbus Dispatch, 10/24/24)

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