As you may have read, Senator Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) added an amendment to HB7 that sets up a school funding Safe Harbor. This protects districts from losing funding if students do not complete all state assessments, something the state could have done under the Ohio Revised Code. The legislation has passed out of the Senate Education Committee. Contact your legislators and encourage them to support this legislation.
Below is my thank you to Senator Manning for her efforts. She is the Senator from my area, and while I did not vote for her because I play for the other team, she is beginning to win me over.
I simply wanted to send a quick note to thank you for including the Amendment in HB7 providing safe harbor with regard to school funding. Many parents locally (myself and my wife included) and state-wide have made the difficult decision to refuse the test for our children. My son had a host of physical issues while preparing for the OAAs last year, medical, eye, and blood tests - so the idea of having him take three times the amount of assessments under the new system was unconscionable to us. Our schools have made dramatic cuts as it is, and a punishment in funding under these circumstances was of great concern.
As you know, I have been outspoken regarding my desire to implement a more sane and less intrusive system of accountability. (We traded messages about the Elyria Education Forum.) Your amendment and the legislation do well to buy us some time in order to move toward a solution.
Thank you again for your work. I will plan to contact legislators to encourage them to support this legislation.
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