There was a flurry of activity in Columbus over the last two weeks as the General Assembly ended its session. Pasted below is an OFT update of legislation impacting students, teachers, support staff, and public schools overall. You will note in the section on teacher evaluation that the date of implementation of the new mandated teacher evaluation system has been pushed back two years (December 31,2014). This delay will be helpful evaluating Race to the Top pilot evaluation programs like ours which will be open to voluntary participants in September.
Also, we have attached a more detailed description of the Cleveland Transformation Plan which we reported on earlier in the week. The term "municipal school district" is a specific reference to Cleveland as it is the only Ohio district under mayoral control.
OFT Local Presidents, Officers and Executive Committee, staff --
Last week we alerted you that the bill requiring changes in Cleveland public schools and the bill authorizing changes to the state budget were likely to be approved soon. Both have now been approved and we have some detail to help inform you about the impact of both. We understand that what we reference here most addresses the work of our K-12 members, but we consider it important that all members understand the intent of the legislature and the direction in which politicians are taking Ohio. The following is a brief summary on some points in the bills we think are important. More detailed information is attached - a summary on the Cleveland plan from the Cleveland Teachers Union, Local 279, and an extensive analysis of the budget by the Legislative Service Commission.
SB 316 (the Mid-Biennium Review, which simply means changes made to the state budget half way through its two-year life) went through a flurry of insertions and retractions before the final language was adopted. Successful lobbying by OFT resulted in changes that lessen the negative impact of some proposals.
Planned changes to school and district report cards were delayed until the common core is fully implemented. OFT was concerned that changing now from the Excellent-Academic Emergency rating system to one that ranges from A to F would misrepresent performance while schools are in flux during common core implementation. This delay will give our districts time to fully implement the common core and will give us time to continue working with ODE and others to refine the report card so it is an accurate representation of the work being done in the districts.
Full implementation of the third grade guarantee is linked to the common core. New interventions will be required for students who need additional reading instruction. The cut-off score will gradually raise over time to the "proficient" level. However, districts are already financially strapped and are already making cuts that contribute to larger class sizes, making it harder and harder to provide the interventions that we already knew were needed.
All students deserve to have a high quality teacher in their classrooms. OFT has long advocated for strong professional development and peer mentoring programs as proven methods for increasing teacher quality. OFT addressed this concern during debate about new teacher evaluation proposals. Instead of putting resources into tests that really do not demonstrate a teacher's teaching ability, more emphasis is on professional development that addresses areas where the teacher needs to show growth. Implementation of new teacher evaluations was extended from Dec. 31, 2012, to now go into effect Dec. 31, 2014. Teacher testing will being with the 2015-2016 school year.
The Cleveland plan: OFT is pleased that legislation to raise achievement in Cleveland's public schools passed and that agreements were reached between leadership at CTU and the mayor and his team about how to move forward. There are some big challenges ahead with a fall levy and possible budget cuts. OFT expressed concern about locally voted levy money being doled out to charters. However, the final language in the bill restricts where levy money can go, requiring a charter school to have a partner relationship with the district. We are pleased about this attempt to bring accountability to charter schools in Cleveland.
As always, feel free to contact President Melissa Cropper, Director of Legislation and Political Action Darold Johnson or Director of Professional Issues Deb Tully at the OFT office 614-258-3240, if you have questions.