PRESERVING SCHOOL CHOICE FOR OHIO STUDENTS AND PARENTS

• Governor Strickland’s executive budget proposal sought to prevent new

charter and community schools from opening in Ohio until 2009.
o My colleagues and I eliminated this onerous provision.
o Further, recognizing the importance of quality growth in community
schools, members instituted a quality-based growth formula.
 This formula maintains that in order for a new charter school
to open in Ohio, it must be run by an operator that has a
proven track record of success and is operating a school that
is rated in Continuous Improvement or better.

• The governor’s budget also included a provision prohibiting for-profit

management companies from operating schools in the state of Ohio.
o Legislators felt that limiting the options for highly successful
programs to locate and operate in Ohio would further limit the
options available to Ohio students and parents.
 This proposal was removed, opening Ohio’s doors to new
options and learning environments.
 Without this action, highly successful programs,
such as the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP)
would have been unable to open a school in
Columbus as planned.

• Further, Governor Strickland proposed reducing the per-pupil funding for

students in Ohio e-schools.
o The Ohio Legislature has worked d to provide funding and necessary
policies for those students who may require more than is traditionally
provided to them in a conventional classroom.
 Members of the Legislature fully restored per-pupil funding
levels for Ohio e-schools and provided funding levels for e-
school students equal to per-pupil funding for students in
traditional public schools.

• The Ohio Legislature has a strong record in strengthening Ohio’s community school
laws – closing schools that don’t make the grade, instituting safeguards for growth
and increasing standards for e-schools across the state – this commitment is
continued.
o After increasing academic standards for charter schools in the past, the
House proposed to increase fiscal accountability for these schools by giving
new powers to the auditor of state when performing audits of charter schools.

• Governor Strickland proposed the elimination of the Educational Choice Scholarship

Program, an ambitious, statewide voucher program providing options for children
continually underserved by failing schools – a move members of the Ohio
Legislature simply would not allow to occur.
o We worked to retain the Educational Choice Scholarship Program, which
allows up to 14,000 students to attend a private school of their choice.
 o The proposed elimination of this valuable program would have forced
parents to send their children back to chronically failing schools.

• Further, House and Senate members worked to establish the Special Education
Scholarship Pilot Program, which sought to provide scholarships for children with
disabilities to attend special education programs other than those offered by their
school districts.
o This program would apply to any identified disabled child in grades K
through 12 and may be used to pay the expenses of an alternative public
service or registered private service of special education programs for
implementation of the child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
o The Special Education Scholarship Pilot Program was modeled on the
existing Autism Scholarship Program, which has been in effect since 2003
and currently serves more than 500 students in Ohio.
o Unfortunately, to the disappointment of many, Governor Strickland chose to
veto this program. However, I plan to continue the discussion on this issue
and hope to change the governor’s mind. If we can’t we will attempt to pass
it again or override his veto.