Education, long-term policy changes favored by GOP Statehouse leaders

Kasich's budget will likely contain small business and income tax cuts balanced in part with tax hikes on tobacco and oil and gas producers, renewing Medicaid expansion and charter school reforms.

Leaders in the GOP-controlled House and Senate gave some hints of what they want to focus on beyond Kasich's budget.

Newly elected House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, a Clarksville Republican, said he's working on a group of policy changes dubbed "Ohio 2020." Rosenberger said the plan will touch on everything from education to infrastructure to workforce development, with the goal of getting lawmakers to think long-term.

"Take education, for example -- you can't keep moving the goal posts every two years," Rosenberger told reporters after leading his first session. He added he's concerned about the rate at which Ohio high school students take remediation courses in college.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

Racial divide widens in Ohio classrooms. Minority students less likely today to be taught by own race

In a kindergarten classroom in Akron, students eagerly raise their hands as Chelsea Griffin, a recent Kent State University graduate, leads a lesson on her last day of student teaching.

The kids want to be first in everything. And they want to please their teacher.

Griffin, 23, likes to think that she once shared her students’ carefree outlook on life.

She grew up in a supportive middle class family with great friends and teachers. But she first noticed around third grade that her race set her apart.

Her chances of confiding in a teacher who also identified as multiracial were slim. In 2006, only 20 multiracial teachers worked in Ohio’s public schools, according to state data.

In the predominantly white suburb where Griffin grew up, 136 of the 137 teachers remain white.

Griffin admits to internalizing bits of her sometimes confusing search for racial identity. The experience wasn’t all negative, she added, but she figures a few students or, at the least, a single teacher who looked like her might have given her more comfort and confidence.

“You know when you wake up that you’re black. When you’re the minority, you feel like you’re constantly reminded of that,” Griffin said. “And going to not as much of a diverse school, I think you’re reminded of that more. And so that may have been something that I struggled with — not feeling like part of the whole culture of the school.”

(Read more at the Akron Beacon Journal)

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The start of the New Year brings a new requirement for schools

Starting January first, Ohio schools must create a new safety plan.

Administrators have been making these plans for a few years now but the updated versions must follow new parameters laid out by the state. As John Charlton with the Ohio Department of Education explains this creates a better standard compared to previous plans.

“Certain things were included in some that were not included on others,” Charlton said. “So they were really just kind of all over the place as you can imagine with more than almost 4,000 schools in the state you had about 4,000 different variations of what those plans look like.”

Charlton says these plans help build better relationships between school administrators and safety officials in the community.

(More at WKSU News)

ACLU of Ohio says state can't "inject religious criteria" into Gov. Kasich's student mentoring program

COLUMBUS, Ohio, The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is researching possible legal action over a requirement for schools to have religious partners to be part of Gov. John Kasich's $10 million student mentoring program.

Christine Link, ACLU of Ohio executive director, said she is troubled that the new "Community Connectors" program requires that a "house of worship" or "faith-based" organization join with a business and a school before the school can qualify for grants from the program.

As The Plain Dealer reported last Friday, other non-profit organizations that want to mentor students can participate, but only if a business and a religious group are also in the partnership with the school. But the other non-profits are not eligible if no religious group is included.

In a letter this week to Kasich and State Superintendent Richard Ross, ACLU officials say they are "troubled" that the state has "injected religious criteria" into the program and that the requirement may be unconstitutional. Link said the government and schools can have religious groups work with students, just with strong limits, but not give them preferences or include them at the exclusion of other groups.

"The government is not supposed to prefer religion over non religion," said Link.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

Parent Trigger ‘Pilot Project’ In Columbus Has No Takers

Improving low performing public schools is a problem that has troubled educators and parents for decades.

This year, Ohio is trying a new tactic – allowing for parents to take over a troubled school.

Under a ‘pilot project’ set by Ohio lawmakers, nearly two dozen Columbus City schools are eligible for the so-called ‘parent trigger’ option.

With an end of year deadline approaching the state’s largest district has not received a parent petition.

(Read more at StateImpact Ohio)