As Passed by the Senate

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
Sub. H. B. No. 342


Representatives Brenner, Driehaus 

Cosponsors: Representatives Bishoff, Adams, R., Amstutz, Anielski, Antonio, Ashford, Baker, Barborak, Beck, Blair, Blessing, Boyce, Brown, Buchy, Budish, Burkley, Carney, Celebrezze, Derickson, Dovilla, Duffey, Fedor, Green, Grossman, Hackett, Hall, Hayes, Henne, Kunze, Letson, Mallory, McGregor, Milkovich, O'Brien, Patterson, Pillich, Scherer, Sears, Sheehy, Slaby, Smith, Sprague, Stebelton, Stinziano, Strahorn, Wachtmann, Winburn Speaker Batchelder 

Senators Balderson, Brown, Coley, Eklund, Hite, Hughes, Kearney, Lehner, Obhof, Oelslager, Peterson, Sawyer, Smith, Tavares, Turner, Uecker 

A BILL
To amend Section 263.325 of Am. Sub. H.B. 59 of the 1
130th General Assembly to permit an educational 2
service center to be a partner or the lead 3
applicant of an education consortium seeking a 4
grant under the Straight A Program, to modify the 5
goals of projects supported by the program, to 6
make other changes regarding the operation of the 7
program, and to declare an emergency. 8


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That Section 263.325 of Am. Sub. H.B. 59 of the 9
130th General Assembly be amended to read as follows:10

       Sec. 263.325. (A) The Straight A Program is hereby created 11
for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 to provide grants to city, local, 12
exempted village, and joint vocational school districts, 13
educational service centers, community schools established under 14
Chapter 3314., STEM schools established under Chapter 3326., 15
college-preparatory boarding schools established under Chapter 16
3328. of the Revised Code, individual school buildings, education 17
consortia (which may represent a partnership among school 18
districts, school buildings, community schools, or STEM schools or 19
educational service centers or county boards of developmental 20
disabilities that provide special education and related services 21
to children with disabilities), institutions of higher education, 22
and private entities partnering with one or more of the 23
educational entities identified in this division for projects that 24
aim to achieve significant advancement in one or more of the 25
following goals:26

       (1) StudentIncreased student achievement or, in the case of 27
an educational service center, increased student achievement in 28
the educational service center's client school districts or other 29
schools or school districts that are members of the consortium;30

       (2) Spending reduction in the five-year fiscal forecast 31
required under section 5705.391 of the Revised Code or positive 32
performance on other fiscal measures established by the governing 33
board created under division (B)(1) of this section;34

       (3) Utilization of a greater share of resources in the 35
classroomclassrooms operated by the educational entity or by an 36
educational service center's client school districts or other 37
schools or school districts that are members of the consortium;38

       (4) Use of a shared services delivery model that demonstrates 39
increased efficiency and effectiveness, long-term sustainability, 40
and scalability.41

       (B)(1) Grants shall be awarded by a nine-member governing 42
board consisting of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or 43
the Superintendent's designee, four members appointed by the 44
Governor, two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 45
Representatives, and two members appointed by the President of the 46
Senate. The Department of Education shall provide administrative 47
support to the board. No member shall be compensated for the 48
member's service on the board.49

       (2) The board shall select grant advisors with fiscal 50
expertise and education expertise. These advisors shall evaluate 51
proposals from grant applicants and advise the staff administering 52
the program. No advisor shall be compensated for this service.53

       (3) The board shall issue an annual report to the Governor, 54
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the 55
Senate, and the chairpersons of the House and Senate committees 56
that primarily deal with education regarding the types of grants 57
awarded, the grant recipients, and the effectiveness of the grant 58
program.59

       (4) The board shall create a grant application and publish on 60
the Department's web site the application and timeline for the 61
submission, review, notification, and awarding of grant proposals.62

        (5) With the approval of the board, the Department shall 63
establish a system for evaluating and scoring the grant 64
applications received under this section. 65

       (6) When determining whether to award grants from among two 66
or more applicants of similar score, as determined by the board, 67
the board shall award grants to applicants that demonstrate cost 68
savings, as reflected in the goal described in division (A)(2) of 69
this section, over applicants that do not demonstrate cost 70
savings.71

       (C) Each grant applicant shall submit a proposal that 72
includes all of the following:73

       (1) A description of the project for which the applicant is 74
seeking a grant, including a description of how the project will 75
have substantial value and lasting impact;76

       (2) An explanation of how the project will be 77
self-sustaining. If the project will result in increased ongoing 78
spending, the applicant shall show how the spending will be offset 79
by verifiable, credible, permanent spending reductions.80

       (3) A description of quantifiable results of the project that 81
can be benchmarked.82

       If an education consortiaconsortium described in division 83
(A) of this section applies for a grant, the lead applicant shall 84
be the school district, school building, community school, or STEM 85
school, or educational service center that is a member of the 86
consortiaconsortium and shall so indicate on the grant 87
application. In order for an educational service center to be the 88
lead applicant on a grant application, at least one of the 89
educational service center's client school districts shall also be 90
included on the grant application as a member of the consortium.91

       (D)(1) Within seventy-fiveninety days after receiving a 92
grant application, the board shall issue a decision on the 93
application of "yes," "no," "hold," or "edit." In making its 94
decision, the board shall consider whether the project has the 95
capability of being replicated in other school districts and 96
schools or creates something that can be used in other districts 97
and schools. A grant awarded under this section to a school 98
district, educational service center, community school, STEM 99
school, college-preparatory boarding school, individual school 100
building, institution of higher education, or private entity 101
partnering with one or more of the educational entities identified 102
in division (A) of this section shall not exceed $5,000,000103
$1,000,000 in each fiscal year. A grant awarded to an education 104
consortiaconsortium shall not exceed $15,000,000 in each fiscal 105
year. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may make 106
recommendations to the Controlling Board that these maximum 107
amounts be exceeded. Upon Controlling Board approval, grants may 108
be awarded in excess of these amounts.109

       (2) If the board issues a "hold" or "edit" decision for an 110
application, it shall, upon returning the application to the 111
applicant, specify the process for reconsideration of the 112
application. An applicant may work with the grant advisors and 113
staff to modify or improve a grant application.114

       (E) Upon deciding to award a grant to an applicant, the board 115
shall enter into a grant agreement with the applicant that 116
includes all of the following:117

       (1) The content of the applicant's proposal as outlined under 118
division (C) of this section;119

       (2) The project's deliverables and a timetable for their 120
completion;121

       (3) Conditions for receiving grant funding;122

       (4) Conditions for receiving funding in future years if the 123
contract is a multi-year contract;124

       (5) A provision specifying that funding will be returned to 125
the board if the applicant fails to implement the agreement, as126
determined by the Auditor of State.127

       (6) A provision specifying that the agreement may be amended 128
by mutual agreement between the board and the applicant.129

       (F) An advisory committee for the Straight A Program is 130
hereby established. The committee shall consist of not more than 131
eleven members appointed by the Governor that represent all areas 132
of the state and different interests. The committee shall annually 133
review the Straight A Program and provide strategic advice to the 134
governing board and the Director of the Governor's Office of 21st 135
Century Education.136

        (G) Each grant awarded under this section shall be subject to 137
approval by the Controlling Board prior to execution of the grant 138
agreement.139

       (H) As used in this section, "client school district" has the 140
same meaning as in section 3311.0510 of the Revised Code.141

       Section 2. That existing Section 263.325 of Am. Sub. H.B. 59 142
of the 130th General Assembly is hereby repealed.143

       Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency 144
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public 145
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to 146
timely authorize educational service centers to fully participate 147
in, and serve as lead applicants for, fiscal year 2015 grants 148
under the Straight A Program. Therefore, this act shall go into 149
immediate effect.150