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Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Education Association president speaks out against bill that could close low-performing schools
(Stock photo from Getty Images) The head of a statewide Ohio teachers union on Tuesday slammed a proposed bill that would automatically close low-performing Ohio public schools, saying it would harm students and communities, and force districts into counterproductive situations and decisions. Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro testified against Ohio Senate Bill 127 Tuesday morning during the Ohio Senate Education Committee meeting. The bill would revise Ohio's public school closure law and require a poor performing school to either close or take remedial action. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'S.B. 127 proposes a heavy handed and overreaching state approach to local schools that receive low ratings on state report cards,' DiMauro said. 'The impact of the actions compelled by S.B. 127 would harm students and communities. The harsh measures required by the bill ignore mitigating factors, forcing districts to make counterproductive decisions that could harm well-functioning schools.' Senate Education Committee Chair Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, introduced the bill last month and no one has submitted supporter testimony for the bill yet. Five people submitted opponent testimony while the Buckeye Institute and the pro-charter-school Thomas B. Fordham Institute submitted interested party testimony. S.B. 127 defines a poor performing school as a school (district-operated, community or STEM), serving grades four and older, that has performed in the bottom 5% among public schools based on its Performance Index Score for three consecutive years, and is in the bottom 10% based on its Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years. A poor-performing school would have the option to close at the end of the school year or replace its principal and a majority of licensed staff. Another option is the school could get the help of an Ohio Department of Education and Workforce management organization, charter management organization, education service center, or an Ohio public or private university with experience in school improvement. Ohio charter schools are automatically closed if they have three straight years of poor performance. 'Instead of offering significant support, S.B. 127 proposes significant punishments that will most likely destabilize schools where many great things are happening, even if those successes are not revealed on data printouts of standardized test scores,' DiMauro said. 'The barriers to learning caused by under-resourced schools and communities do not disappear when a state punishes a school district. Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at the Buckeye Institute, said the bill addresses chronic underperformance in public schools. 'Critics worry that closures may disrupt communities, but trapping students in the status quo cycle of underachieving schools is far more disruptive to students and their futures,' he said. Thomas B. Fordham Institute's Vice President for Ohio Policy Chad Aldis said he would support the bill if a few tweaks were made including revising the growth measure to the Ohio report card one-star rating on Value Added Progress. 'This is a clearer and more stable indicator of inadequate growth, and it better reflects the state's own definition of 'low performance,' Aldis said. 'Combining this with a bottom 5% Performance Index score would ensure that only schools with sustained low achievement and weak student progress are flagged— exactly as intended.' Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate Education Chair introduces bill that could close low-performing public schools
COLUMBUS, Ohio — JUNE 07: State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, speaks during the Ohio Senate session, June 7, 2023, at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal) A Republican bill that could automatically close low-performing Ohio public schools received no supporter testimony this week. Ohio Senate Bill 127 would revise Ohio's public school closure law and require a poor performing school to either close or take remedial action. Senate Education Committee Chair Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, introduced the bill last month and no one submitted supporter testimony for the bill's second hearing this week. 'It is my hope that this bill will help to standardize the law surrounding school closures for public and community schools and help ensure that each student in Ohio receives the best education possible,' Brenner said to the Senate Education Committee earlier this month during his sponsor testimony. The bill defines a poor performing school as a school (district operated, community or STEM), serving grades four and older, that has performed in the bottom 5% among public schools based on its Performance Index Score for three consecutive years, and is in the bottom 10% based on its Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A poor-performing school would have the option to close at the end of the school year or replace its principal and a majority of licensed staff. Another option is the school could get the help of an Ohio Department of Education and Workforce management organization, charter management organization, education service center, or an Ohio public or private university with experience in school improvement. 'This bill leaves open many options, and so whatever option is probably in the best interest of the school district and those buildings and those students is what could be adopted,' Brenner said. The two Democrats on the Senate Education Committee — Sens. Catherine Ingram of Cincinnati and Kent Smith of Euclid — questioned Brenner about the bill. 'Do you have any idea how many schools this could potentially impact or how many districts this might impact?' Smith asked. Brenner didn't have an exact answer. He explained how 5% of the state's total school buildings would be about 180-185 schools. 'Have you run the numbers for academic performance, the performance index and the value added because it's got to be for three years?' Smith pressed. 'Do you have any idea is that number 185? Is it less?' Brenner said the actual number would likely be less than 185 since a school would have to be in both the bottom 5% among public schools based on their Performance Index Score for three consecutive years and in the bottom 10% based on its Value-Added Progress for three consecutive years to be considered poor-performing. 'You may have one year that they're better than that and outside of that zone,' Brenner said. 'So we don't have the exact numbers, but you do know what the maximum number potentially could be based on this, and this is based on the current situation in our schools.' Ohio charter schools are automatically closed if they have three straight years of poor performance. Brenner introduced a similar bill in the previous General Assembly, but it did not make it out of committee. Only one person testified in support of that bill with nearly 20 people speaking out against it. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
