It seems there are only two education topics worth talking about in Ohio today. Good thing there are a number of perspectives on both.
- First up, charter law reform. So far, a standalone bill and the governor’s budget bill are being heard in their respective House committees and both contain excellent reform provisions, mostly in the “sponsor-centric” realm. A standalone Senate bill with other proposals will likely follow. But yesterday, as promised, State Auditor Dave Yost testified on the House bill and laid out some reform provisions that only an auditor would think of. Things like accounting practice changes, attendance reporting changes, defining the public/private divide inherent in many charter schools’ operations, and some interesting new ideas around truancy reporting. These are all welcome additions to the ongoing debate from a part of state government directly connected with oversight of charter schools, sponsors, boards, and school management organizations. You can read details of his proposals and testimony in the Columbus Dispatch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Dayton Daily News (including input from our own Aaron Churchill), and Gongwer Ohio, among other outlets.
- Hopefully our very knowledgeable auditor is exempt from the concerns raised in the guest column published in today’s DDN. In it, the president of the Ohio Alliance of Public Charter Schools opines that the lack of general knowledge of just what standards and accountability charter schools are held to currently should be dispelled before charter law reforms are pushed in those areas. (Dayton Daily News)
- The second topic commanding attention in the education press around Ohio is standardized testing. As you may remember, State Superintendent Dick Ross presented a report on the state of standardized testing in Ohio to the governor and the legislature some weeks ago, as he was legally required to do. That report dispelled the myth of “testing mania” in the state, but did make some recommendations with regard to cutting certain tests in both number and duration. As we noted at the time, however, there was no requirement for anyone to do anything with the report. But obviously given that Ohio schools are administering PARCC and AIR tests for the first time now and that a small but vocal number of parents are opting their students out of said testing in protest of any number of things, it was really just a matter of time before someone in state government took action on the report. Enter state Senator Peggy Lehner and Senate President Keith Faber, who have created a Senate Advisory Panel on Testing. It is composed of a pretty rockin’ roster of educators, administrators, superintendents, state board members, and others. Of particular note is the presence of representatives from the realms of charter schools, special ed, and private schools. They are to review state testing requirements in light of Ross’ report and advise the Senate Education Committee on whether and how to cut testing numbers and time, and to evaluate whether to keep, toss, or alter the PARCC and AIR testing regimens. You can read more details on the panel, its members, and its charge in the Columbus Dispatch, the Dayton Daily News (including commentary from our own Aaron Churchill and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
