Summary

HB 59 (Open States or Ohio Legislature) is a two-year state budget that gives schools $15 billion, a four-percent increase over current appropriations. The bill establishes a Straight A Innovation Fund, setting aside $250 million for a competitive grant process encouraging a wide range of educational initiatives, including digital learning. The bill awards $675,000 in FY2015 to traditional public and charter schools for participation in an electronic textbook pilot project. The bill caps growth on charter e-schools. It allows e-schools to provide career-technical education.

Legislative Analysis

The Straight A Innovation Fund allows Ohio’s public, chartered non-public and community schools, and colleges and universities to enter a competitive grant process together or separately.  The fund is geared towards grants that would: meet the learning needs of its students; reduce the cost of running a school or school district, or drive more dollars to the classroom. The application process begins this fall.

This legislation establishes an Electronic Textbook Pilot Project for public and chartered nonpublic schools. In FY 2015, up to $675,000 will be available for competitive grants to participate in the project. This program will be administered by the Chancellor of the Board of Regents who will establish criteria for the grants, select recipients, and review the courses in the distance learning clearinghouse. By January 31, 2014 the first request for proposals will be issued. By May 31, the grants will be awarded. The Chancellor and Superintendent of Instruction will then submit to the Governor and General Assembly a review of the pilot project by the end of 2014.

This law ensures that chartered nonpublic schools are given freedom in terms of scheduling, clarifying that they may be open for instruction with pupils in attendance on any day of the week, including Saturday or Sunday.

This new legislation places caps on enrollment for “internet- or computer-based community school.” The law has caps for both new and existing “internet or computer-based community schools,” as well as limits on annual growth for those schools. New schools are capped at 1,000 students, while existing schools are capped at the number of students enrolled at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. The legislation also writes in annual growth limits for “internet- or computer-based community schools,” based on their enrollment caps.

• For a school with an enrollment cap equal to or greater than three thousand students, annual growth will be limited to fifteen percent.
• For a school with an enrollment cap of less than three thousand students, growth is limited to twenty-five percent.

The bill also allows “Internet or computer-based community schools” to offer career-technical education to students. The community school can contract with any public agency, board, or bureau or with any private individual or firm for the purchase of any career-technical education or vocational rehabilitation service. The department will pay the community school funds based on the fraction of the time that the student attends classes.

Legislative History

House Vote: Ayes=61   Nays=35   Present Not Voting=0   Absent=0
Date: 4/18/2013

Senate Vote: Ayes=23   Nays=10
Date: 6/6/2013

Detailed Legislative History: Legiscan | Open States

Signed by Governor John Kasich (R) on 6/30/2013