OHIO ACTE 2016 LEGISLATIVE SEMINAR Wednesday January 20

OHIO ACTE 2016 LEGISLATIVE SEMINAR Wednesday, January 20, 2016 Terrence O’Donnell Dickinson Wright PLLC Willa Ebersole Thomas P. Pappas & Associates

2016 Legislative Climate Republicans enjoy historic “supermajorities” in both chambers of the General Assembly. Ohio House is 65 -34 Republican. Ohio Senate is 23 -10 Republican. However 22 legislators – including 15 in the House – face term limits in 2016. Democrats hope 2016 is opportunity to cut into the GOP’s large majorities, especially given the 2016 presidential cycle.

An Election Year Ohio’s primary is March 15, 2016. With many legislators facing primary challenges, anticipate a light legislative calander during the months of January, February, and March. After March primary, expect a busy session during the months of April, May and June, prior to summer break. In addition, expect a very busy “lame duck” session during the months of November and December.

Upcoming Session Dates Ohio House January 26, 27 February 9, 10, 17, 23, 24 March 16, 17 April 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 May 4, 10, 11, 18, 24, 25, 26 June 1, 7, 8, 15 Ohio Senate January 20, 26, 27 February 9, 10, 23 March 2, 9, 22, 30 April 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 May 4, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26 June 1, 7, 8, 15

Leadership in the Ohio House of Representatives House Republicans: Speaker Rosenberger, Reps Amstutz, Sears, Buchy and Pelanda. Reps Amstutz, Sears, and Buchy leaving at the end of 2016. House Democrats: Minority Leader Fred Strahorn, Reps Celebreeze, Boyce, and Antonio. House Education Committee: Reps Brenner (Chair), Hayes (Vice Chair), & Blessing (Ranking Member).

Leadership in the Ohio Senate Republicans: President Faber, Sen. Widener, Sen. Patton, and Sen. Obhof. Sen. Faber is term limited in 2016, but has announced that he will seek the 84 th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Buchy. Sen. Widener and Sen. Patton are also term limited. Sen. Patton has announced that he will seek the 7 th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Dovilla. Term limited Sen. Bill Seitz has announced his intent to run for the 8 th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Louis Terhar. Term limited Sen. Jim Hughes has announced his intent to run for the 24 th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Stephanie Kunze, who is seeking the Hughes House seat. Senate Democrats: Minority Leader Schiavoni, Sen. Tavares, Sen. Brown, Sen. Gentile. Senate Education Committee: Sen. Lehner (Chair), Sen. Hite (Vice Chair), & Sen. Sawyer (Ranking Member).

2016 Presidential Election Governor Kasich running for President. Kasich not “broken through” in national polls but showing momentum in New Hampshire. A strong finish in New Hampshire could provide the necessary momentum for the Governor to make a strong challenge.

2018 Statewide Races All statewide offices are up for election in 2018 and the field of contenders is wide open! It is widely assumed that Republican state Auditor Dave Yost will run for attorney general. Republican state Sen. Frank La. Rose and Democrat state Rep. Kathleen Clyde both appear positioned to run for the office of Secretary of State. Attorney General Mike De. Wine, current Secretary of State Jon Husted and Lt. Governor Mary Taylor are seen as likely candidates for the office of Governor. Treasurer Josh Mandel is considering a run for U. S. Senate against Senator Sherrod Brown.

Policy Implications The election year dynamic and shortened legislative calendar does not foreclose the possibility of legislative change. Already this session we have seen significant activity, and we expect more to come.

Community Schools & HB 2 After much debate, lawmakers provided bipartisan backing for HB 2, which makes significant changes to charter school law. The bill places more accountability on charter sponsors and provides more transparency with respect to charter school spending. The House voted 91 -6 and the Senate 32 -0 to send the bill to Gov. John Kasich, who signed the bill in November of 2015.

Eduation Reform & SB 3 passed the Ohio Senate in March of 2015 and is currently the subject of hearings in the House Education Committee. The bill would exempt higher-performing districts from a handful of state regulations. These districts would no longer be required to follow state limits on class sizes, employ teachers with specific qualifications, or have teachers licensed in the grade levels they are teaching. SB 3 would also allow high-performing districts to hire teachers who do not hold a state educator license, so long as they are qualified based on experience. The bill implements recommendations from the Kasich administration to limit the amount of total time spent on state tests to 2 percent of the school year, and limit practice tests to 1 percent, with some exceptions. The bill would also change the current teacher and principal evaluation systems, reducing from 42. 5 percent to 35 percent the portion of the evaluations based on student growth measures.

SB 3 & RESA SB 3 includes the following language to enable boards to use OTES evaluations in place of RESA: Sec. 3319. 223: . . The teacher residency program shall include at least the following components: (1) Mentoring by teachers who hold a lead professional educator license issued under section 3319. 22 of the Revised Code; (2) Counseling to ensure that program participants receive needed professional development; (3) Measures of appropriate progression through the program. If the state board of education prescribes an assessment for participants in the third or fourth year of the program, each school district or school may either: (a) Require each participant to pass the assessment to successfully complete the program; (b) During the third and fourth years of the program, assess each participant's progression by using the participant's annual evaluation conducted under section 3311. 80 or 3319. 111 of the Revised Code.

Quality Teacher Attraction / Retention The SB 3 RESA change was championed by Senate President Faber, taking feedback received from CTE professionals. Specifically, the feedback from the field has been that RESA is duplicative and burdensome to new CTE teachers, while failing to add value to their skill sets as teachers. Elimination of RESA for CTE teachers is a top association priority and should be emphasized with legislators.

Web Exams Online “web exams” mandated by ODE for CTE students are also a subject of concern. SB 3 could be a vehicle for elimination of the Web Exam requirement in programs of study for which a credential examination or state licensure exam is taken.

TPPT In the recent state budget process, the State is no longer reimbursing JVSDs for loss of tangible personal property tax revenue. In a correction bill, the State has provided reimbursement for traditional districts. We continue to advocate that any “long term fix” to the TPPT issue should not discriminate against JVSDs.

Adult Ed Adult education at Ohio Technical Centers continues to add value to the state, but does not receive the attention it deserves. Ohio ACTE continues to advocate for OTC funding and for successful implementation and promotion of the One Year Option.

EMIS Data Ohio ACTE continues to push for more transparent and accurate FTE data, upon which state funding is based. When the recent school funding formula changes go into effect next year, even schools on the “guarantee” will see revenue impacts from student gains and losses. Accurate data is paramount!

Additional Initiatives This legislative agenda is robust, but we are *always* interested in your feedback and what else we can be doing to make CTE more successful in Ohio. We have a tremendous reservoir of goodwill in the Ohio General Assembly and the Governor’s Office, so please let your Association leadership know how else Ohio ACTE can advocate for you, your school, your community, your industries, and your students!

QUESTIONS Terrence O’Donnell 614. 744. 2583 TODonnell@dickinsonwright. com Willa Ebersole 614. 621. 2000 Willa@tompappas. com