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OSCA 5of8 Rule Updates
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2014-02-04Ohio School Counselor Association

Membership Update on the “5 of 8” Rule

Please stay tuned to this document - it will be updated as we receive new information.

Wednesday 12/10/2014 Update

From Amanda Sines - OSCA/OCA Lobbyist Capitol Action Team

The State Board of Education voted late yesterday to move forward with proposed changes to the school operating standards.  The vote was 14-5.  Among the changes was the controversial elimination of the "5 of 8" rule.  Before the vote the Board accepted an amendment to the rule in an effort to compromise with the opponents of the 5 of 8 rule elimination.  This change, while still not perfect, is far better than the original proposal.  The amended version more appropriately defines "educational service personnel", includes language stating that schools "shall" employ education service personnel, and sets the stage for additional reporting for the state report cards that will enable people to track how many educational service personnel districts are hiring.  Attached [listed below] is a copy of the language added to the rules.

Thank you to everyone who has been engaged in this issue, particularly OSCA President Sara Williams who testified before the Board at their November meeting.

The rules will now have to go through the formal rulemaking process and there will be additional opportunity for public comment.

Rule 3301-35-01 (Definitions)

(B)(13) "Educational service personnel" are specially qualified individuals who possess the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college and career readiness needs for all students. All educational service personnel shall hold appropriate qualifications, including applicable special teaching certificates, multi-age licensure or specific licensure in the areas to which they are assigned.

(a) Educational service personnel that support educational, instructional and college and career readiness programs include, but are not limited to: fine arts, music, and physical education teachers, librarian or media specialists, school counselors and reading intervention specialists;

(b) Educational service personnel that support the learning needs of the special needs student population include, but are not limited to: gifted intervention specialists, adapted physical education teacher, audiologist, interpreter, speech-language pathologists, physical and occupational therapists and English as a second language specialist;

(c) Educational service personnel that support the health and mental health of the student population include, but are not limited to: the school nurse, social worker, school psychologist, and school resource officer.

Rule 3301-35-05 (Faculty and Staff Focus)

(A)(3) The local board of education shall be responsible for the scope and type of educational services in the district.

The district shall employ educational service personnel to enhance the learning opportunities of all students.

Educational service personnel assigned to elementary fine arts, music and physical education shall hold the special teaching certificate or multi-age license in the subject to which they are assigned.

Referral to Accountability Committee

The State Board of Education directs the Accountability Committee to develop a method to report education service personnel on the report card for each area defined in rule 3301-35-01(B)(13). This method shall specify how the data will be reported annually by school, district, and state, including the total number of educational service personnel and the number per 1000 students or less. The Accountability Committee shall direct the Ohio Department of

Education to report this data on the report card as soon as it can be implemented, but no later than the 2015-2016 report card.

Monday 12/08/2014 Update

Here is a good article that summarizes the status of the operating standards rules.  Also included is the latest amendment to the rule, which is MUCH better than the original proposal.

 

Operating Standards Re-Write Set for Center Stage at School Board

The State Board of Education is scheduled to file formal rules next week that would substantially re-write the operating standards it sets for Ohio schools, capping a year-long process that has recently sparked tensions over staffing mandates.

Last month's board meeting saw a short walkout by some members and lengthy public testimony in reaction to proposed elimination of the so-called "five of eight" rule. (See The Hannah Report, 11/11/14.)

The rule requires that for every 1,000 students, a school must hire fire of the following eight staffers: counselor; library media specialist; school nurse; visiting teacher; social worker; and elementary art, music and physical education teachers.

Ron Rudduck, chairman of the committee re-drafting the standards, has said the rule is outdated and elevates those positions over a multitude of other "education service personnel," as the rules call them. The point of the standards overhaul is to simplify the rules and give local districts more flexibility, he has argued.

Critics say the rule change could cost educators their jobs and lead districts to cut back on courses like arts and music in tough budgets.

A public participation session, when people can offer testimony to the board, is set for Monday, and Ohio Friends of Public Education and Public Education Partners, two education advocacy groups, have scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. Mondayoutside the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) headquarters to rally in support of the rule.

In addition, board member Stephanie Dodd said Thursday she'll also press for the operating standards to be amended to include language protecting school employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. (See The Hannah Report, 12/4/14.)

While the full board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on its intent to adopt the new operating standards, that's not the end of the process. The standards will next go to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), a process that includes public hearings, before coming back to the board for final approval.

The board meets Monday and Tuesday at the ODE offices in Columbus. Also on the agenda:

- The board is to review procedures Monday morning for its upcoming organizational meeting next month, when leadership elections will take place. Board President Debe Terhar declined to seek re-election this year, leaving the top job open come January.

- The board will discuss its evaluation of State Superintendent Richard Ross at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

- The Graduation Requirements Committee will continue to fill in details of the new pathways to earning a high school diploma Monday. The committee will discuss exams and dual-enrollment courses that can serve as substitutes for the end-of-course exams required for graduation, including equivalent scores for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on December 5, 2014.  © 2014 Hannah News Service, Inc.

Proposed Amendment to Operating Standard Rules

Thursday 12/04/2014 Update

Tuesday 12/02/2014 Update

Wednesday 11/12/2104 Update

Facts about the “5 of 8” Rule:

The minutes from the April 2014 State Board of Education meeting state:

At the 10/23/2014 Operating Standards Committee Meeting:

FACTS:

What is OSCA doing?

What can YOU do?

Resources:

OSCA testimony was also featured in the Statehouse News publication 

Four Members Walk Out in Tense School Board Meeting on '5 of 8' Rule

Outcry over plans to drop specific staffing ratios in an rewrite of Ohio's school operating standards dominated State Board of Education proceedings for a second day Tuesday, with several people signing up to testify.

Tensions spiked right off the bat Tuesday morning when board President Debe Terhar juggled the agenda to lead off with a presentation on the entire package of operating standards, pushing back the routine public comment period, which had been the first item on the schedule.

When a woman in the crowd started to speak out in protest, Terhar told her she was free to leave, prompting board member A.J. Wagner to stand up and say, "I'll leave, thank you." Members Deborah Cain, Stephanie Dodd and Ann Jacobs soon followed him out.

Wagner later apologized publicly and promised to "stay after school" to talk with Terhar. He and the other three gradually returned to the meeting room once public comments began in the late morning.

Terhar said leading off with the presentation was important to ensuring people were informed in their opinions of the new standards.

The new proposed standards, rewritten with the stated goal of increasing local flexibility and removing duplication and outdated language, would eliminate the so-called "five of eight rule." That rule requires that for every thousand students schools hire full-time employees to fill at least five of the following eight positions: counselor; library media specialist; school nurse; visiting teacher; social worker; and elementary art, music and physical education teachers.

The new standards instead insert the following statement: "Educational service personnel are credentialed staff with the knowledge, skills and expertise to support the educational, instructional, health, mental health and college/career readiness needs of students."

John Richard, an associate superintendent at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) who staffs the Operating Standards Committee, said the rule had become outdated, noting the inclusion of the "visiting teacher," a position created decades ago to instruct very ill or pregnant students.

Board member Sarah Fowler, vice chairwoman of the Operating Standards Committee, noted the elimination of "five of eight" coincided with an expansion of the list of "education service personnel" recognized in the beginning of the operating standards.

"It still doesn't prioritize the necessity of certain things," responded board member Mary Rose Oakar. "I don't criticize everything you've done, but parts sometimes condemn the whole."

As she did Monday, Terhar emphasized the need to give local boards of education flexibility and to trust that they have the best interests of their students at heart.

"We have to get away from the idea that 'only if Columbus tells us what to do' it'll get done," Terhar said.

Individuals addressing the board on the topic Tuesday included representatives of school management, school nurses, counselors, teachers unions and several others.

Scott DiMauro, vice president of the Ohio Education Association, said the five of eight rule already included "significant flexibility" but said eliminating it could give districts the incentive to focus only on tested subjects.

DiMauro also referenced research showing the value of art and music education in boosting children's performance in other academic subjects.

The trio of state school management groups -- Ohio School Boards Association, Buckeye Association of School Administrators and Ohio Association of School Business Officials -- spoke in favor of eliminating the rule. They also cited its outdated nature and pointed to the fact that some districts already contract with hospitals or health departments for school nursing services, for example.

Thomas Ash, government relations director for BASA, said the management groups support continuation and even expansion of art and music programs, but said the fact remains that the state ties its accountability system to core subject and doesn't provide any dedicated funding for arts and music. He also noted statutory requirements for teaching arts, music and physical education that supersede the operating standards.

Sara Williams, president of the Ohio School Counselors Association, said she understands eliminating the five of eight rule doesn't portend the elimination of all counselors but the rule is the only administrative code language that currently speaks to the importance of providing counseling services for children. "Every student in Ohio deserves a school counselor," she said.

The full board is not scheduled to vote on the proposed operating standards until December, with the rules only going into effect after then completing the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review process.

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on November 11, 2014.  © 2014 Hannah News Service, Inc.