A Republican bill passed in the state Senate would automatically close low-performing public schools in Ohio.
Presented by State Senator Andrew Brenner of Delaware Senate Bill 295 summer, which would change the state’s language regarding automatic school closures. On Tuesday, the bill will be considered for the fourth time in the Senate Education Committee.
The bill defines a low-performing school as a school serving fourth grades and older that has been ranked in the bottom 5 percent of public schools on its performance index for three consecutive years. A school will also be considered an underperforming school if it is in the bottom 10% based on its value-added progress for three consecutive years.
“I hope this bill will help harmonize public and local school closure laws and ensure that every Ohio student receives the best education possible,” Brenner said.
Ohio charter schools automatically close if they have three years in a row of destitute results.
“Right now we have an existing law that says charter schools can be closed if they’re not performing well, and the mere threat of that has forced a turnaround in many of these charter schools,” Brenner said.
During last week’s committee meeting, seventeen people submitted statements of opposition against SB 295. Only one person submitted statements of support.
“Because closure or restructuring requirements are based on the lowest percentages, there will always be schools that meet these criteria, even if they meet state standards,” Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said in her testimony. “As low-performing schools close, other schools with higher rankings will now find themselves in the bottom 5%, even if they do not show a decline in their own rating. This cutoff line is arbitrary, and its potential effect is that ultimately high-performing schools will also close.”
Brenner said an alternative to closing the school could be replacing the principal and 60% of the licensed staff, but Cropper wonders where the replacement teachers would come from.
“Schools are already short of teachers and other licensed staff, and filling positions in low-performing schools is especially difficult,” she said. “It will also further discourage teachers from teaching in challenging schools.”
Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said the bill would harm students.
“SB 295 proposes a harsh and overreaching state approach to local schools that receive low ratings on state reports,” his opponent said in testimony.
The The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce benefits Ratings from 1 to 5 stars in halved increments based on five categories: achievement, progress, early literacy, closing the gaps, and graduation. 10% percent of school districts in Ohio According to the latest data, they are below state standards state report cards ODEW released earlier this year.
Schools and school districts that receive one star need “significant support to meet state standards.”
“SB 295 doesn’t do that,” DiMauro said. “Rather than offering meaningful support, SB 295 proposes significant penalties that will likely destabilize schools where many great things are happening, even if those successes are not revealed in printouts of standardized test score data.”
Sen. Catherine Ingram, D-Cincinnati, asked where students would go if their school closed.
“The school would close and all students would have to transfer to another school, which is what currently happens in our charter school law,” Brenner said.
The two-year General Assembly ends this week, so any bills that don’t pass will die and have to be reintroduced in the next General Assembly.
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