I have introduced legislation in the Ohio House that will improve school choice for Ohio’s disabled students. House Bill 431 , if enacted, would expand the Autism Scholarship Program (ASP), which currently benefits 450 children in Ohio by providing scholarships worth up to $20,000 for educational services, either public or private, to include all disabled children.
At the State Board of Education’s February 13-14 meeting, an Ohio Department of Education official testified that the board has no clear authority, under current state law or board rules, to evaluate, intervene in, or sanction the state’s original 59 community (a.k.a. charter) school sponsors.
Some, if not most, Ohio school districts believe that public charter schools are draining funds from their coffers, but it may be the other way around. Through a little-known process called “flagging,” districts can tie up indefinitely money owed to charters schools for educating the children who choose to be educated there.
The Fordham Institute has released new data on charter schools in Ohio, including their enrollment numbers, operating budgets and contact information. Summary information provides insights into where Ohio’s charters are located, the types of students they serve, the types of school operators in the state, and what types of organizations sponsor charter schools.
Last month, in a recommended reading entitled "No Voucher for You!" (December 22, 2005), the Gadfly was critical of Ohio's new voucher program (Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program, a.k.a., Ohio EdChoice).
There have been big changes in Ohio's education landscape over the past several years, and the flurry of activity won't be slowing in 2006. So, what's in the crystal ball for the upcoming year in education, and how will it affect you? Gadfly presents four education issues to keep an eye on this year.1. Increased accountability for charter schools and their sponsors
U.S. Department of EducationDecember 2005
A distinguished panel of scientists awarded Ohio's K-12 science standards a "B" in a new nationwide review of state academic standards for primary-secondary school science released today.
The previous Ohio Gadfly raised an alarm about citizens' dissatisfaction with their public schools. As Halfway Out the Door reported, 59 percent of those surveyed don't think they are getting their money's worth out of public schools.
How do we foster excellence in Ohio charter schools? That's the key question facing some 250 panelists and participants in the forthcoming "summit," Excellence in Ohio Charter Schools: What it will take and how to get there. The meeting is set for November 17 in Columbus and will be hosted by the governor, senate president, house speaker, and state superintendent.
Nobody doubts that the "powers that be" in Columbus have been busily tinkering with the K-12 education system. Over the past half-decade legislative changes have come on six fronts:
Jay Mathews's weekly online column "Class Struggle" looks inward this week in response to the release of a report from the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute that analyzes the content of education news stories in the state of Virginia.
Regarding Checker's predictions of trends/factors/events that will have a significant impact on the substance and delivery of educational offerings in the next five years (see "The shape of things to come"): I second his insights on the changing nature of teaching and learning.
It's official! Late last week, Governor Bob Taft signed the Buckeye State's biennial budget into law, including a significant statewide voucher program known as the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program (see here for previous discussion of the program).
Charter schools in the Buckeye State face a well-financed and well-coordinated assault. These attacks are playing out in the General Assembly, in state and federal courts, and in the court of public opinion. Charter foes, led by the state's two teachers unions, are spending big bucks.
Philadelphia's public school system, under the leadership of Paul Vallas, has been making so much progress on so many fronts that it's a special disappointment when they blunder. But blunder they are doing.
Ohio's generally risk-averse Governor Bob Taft is expected to astound the Buckeye State today with a budget-message proposal to expand the Cleveland voucher program such that kids trapped in some 70 chronically low-performing public schools elsewhere in Ohio could exit with $3,500 state vouchers in hand, redeemable in participating private schools.
Alexander Russo, The Progressive Policy InstituteFebruary 2005
The President reported last evening on the state of the union. Allow me to appraise the state of America's charter-school movement in early 2005.
In a new policy brief released by the Buckeye Institute, we analyzed the changes in student passing rates on Ohio Proficiency Tests (OPT) made by traditional and charter schools in the Big Eight urban districts between 2002 and 2004. Using a statistical analysis that controlled for the demographic characteristics of race and income, our study found that:
The debate over teaching evolution in schools, which has been going on in America at least since the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925, burst onto the front pages of Ohio newspapers in early January. What's it all about? And where does Fordham stand? Read on.
How do Ohio's charter schools resemble modern Poland's economy? Travel with me across the Atlantic.
Two recent developments in San Diego threaten the viability of reform-minded Superintendent Alan Bersin and his "Blueprint for Change" - a series of worthy district-wide reforms championed by this remarkable public servant and his (until now) 3-2 majority on the school board.
On November 3, we may or may not have a new president, and we know that this election season hasn't seen much action on the education front besides a bidding war on No Child Left Behind. But at the state level, there are a few races worth watching on election night if you're an education reformer. Here are three:
