Governor Strickland’s Education Plan

J. Pari Sabety, Director of the Office of Budget and Management, submitted to the Ohio House of Representatives on February 2, 2009 the “Blue Book,” which includes information about Governor Strickland’s proposed FY10-11 budget. The proposed budget includes a plan to reform and modernize the state’ education system to ensure that students learn the skills to be successful in the 21st century, and, according to Governor Strickland, creates a constitutional school funding system.

The plan uses an “evidence-based” approach, called the Ohio Evidence-Based Model (referred to as OEBM or EBM), to determine state aid, and, when the plan is fully phased in in 8-10 years, the state’s contribution to local schools would be 59%. The plan also increases accountability and transparency through a variety of new reporting requirements and oversight by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).

Governor Strickland and his administration have been developing the evidence-based model with input from business, education, and community stakeholder groups, and from citizens over the past year. The Governor hosted 17 community-based “Conversations on Education” from July through December 2009 to listen to ideas and concerns of Ohioans regarding public education and to share his ideas to create a world-class and relevant education system for all Ohio students in the 21st Century. (See November 2008 and December 2008 Political Landscape for more.)

Governor Strickland’s proposed education plan completely changes the current school funding system, which is now based on a foundation level of per pupil support (base cost per pupil). The new evidence-based system is combined with a new Instructional Quality Index to allocate resources to students to meet their needs. The index addresses factors such as teacher quality, student poverty, community wealth, and the level of college attainment in a community. The Ohio Instructional Quality Index replaces the poverty-based assistance and parity aid supplements currently in the school funding formula.

The proposed budget is expected to increase funding for primary and secondary education by 4.7% in FY10 and 4% in FY11, for a total increase of $925 million for education over current funding levels.

The Governor’s Education Reform Plan will be clarified further through the language of the budget legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the Ohio House over the next few weeks. Based on the information that is currently available, the plan does the following:

• Proposes a new evidence-based model (OEBM or EBM) for allocating resources to primary and secondary schools, including traditional and charter schools, based on student-centered reforms to ensure that students learn the skills required to be successful in a 21st century economy. The plan also funds all-day kindergarten.
• Increases the length of the school year by phasing-in 20 days over the current minimum of 180 days.
• Requires strategic planning and collaboration among state departments, including the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), the Ohio Board of Regents (BOR), the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, Department of Health, etc.
• Requires the ODE to develop a 10-year strategic plan to implement both academic and funding reforms.
• Calls for a number of planning commissions to further articulate, identify, and coordinate recommendations. For example, a commission will be formed to coordinate merging all early childhood education programs into the ODE, and other commissions are proposed to study Educational Service Centers and Joint Vocational School Districts. The State Board of Education will be required to adopt a number of new rules (Ohio Administrative Code) to implement most of the provisions of the plan.
• Revises Operating Standards for Ohio’s Schools, Academic Content Standards, and state assessments. Replaces the Ohio Graduation Test with new graduation requirements (ACT-Plus), which include the ACT, end-of-course exams, service-learning projects, and a senior thesis/project. A composite passing score will be developed.
• Revamps the teacher licensure program, and includes a 4-year residency program, mentors, lead teachers, and a career ladder program.
• Provides administrators the ability to dismiss teachers based on the same standard applied to public employees.
• Expands accountability reporting requirements for schools, requirements for charter schools, and responsibilities of the ODE regarding oversight of schools and school districts.
• Creates a Center for Creativity and Innovation in the ODE to monitor research and inform best practices.
• Requires the ODE/State Board of Education to adopt new standards for innovative teaching formats such as interdisciplinary instruction, project-based learning, service-learning.
• Expands current intervention programs, such as Closing the Achievement Gap.
• Lowers the charge-off from 23 mills to 20 mills.
• Creates a method called the conversion levy, that, with voter approval, will allow school districts that are not at the 20 mill floor to convert millage to the 20 mill floor and experience growth on 20 mills when property values increase. Any millage that remains above the 20 mill floor will be converted into mills that operate like emergency levies.

Back to top