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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 |
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, | 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) | 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 |
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 | 83 |
(A) of this section applies for a grant, the lead applicant shall | 84 |
be the school district, school building, community school, | 85 |
school, or educational service center that is a member of the | 86 |
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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 | 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 | 103 |
$1,000,000 in each fiscal year. A grant awarded to an education | 104 |
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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 | 126 |
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(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 |