To amend Section 4.18 of Am. Sub. H.B. 282 of the 123rd General Assembly, as subsequently amended, to make an appropriation for the 12th grade proficiency stipend.

Section 1. That Section 4.18 of Am. Sub. H.B. 282 of the 123rd General Assembly, as amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 640 and Sub. S.B. 237 of the 123rd General Assembly, be amended to read as follows:

" Sec. 4.18.  OHIOREADS GRANTS

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-566, OhioReads Grants, $20,000,000 each year shall be disbursed by the OhioReads Office in the Department of Education at the direction of the OhioReads Council, to provide classroom grants to public schools in city, local, and exempted village school districts; community schools; and educational service centers serving kindergarten through fourth grade students.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-566, OhioReads Grants, $5,000,000 each year shall be disbursed by the OhioReads Office in the Department of Education at the direction of the OhioReads Council, to provide community matching grants to community organizations and associations, libraries, and others for tutoring, tutor recruitment and training, and parental involvement.

Grants awarded by the OhioReads Council are intended to improve reading outcomes, especially on the fourth grade reading proficiency test.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE GRANTS

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-570, School Improvement Incentive Grants, $2,000,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to provide grants of $25,000 per building for improvements in reading performance based on selection criteria developed by the OhioReads Council.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-570, School Improvement Incentive Grants, $6,500,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to provide grants of $25,000 each to elementary schools and $50,000 each to middle schools, junior high schools, and high schools that demonstrate significant improvement on proficiency tests, attendance rates, and graduation rates based on standards developed by the Department of Education.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-570, School Improvement Incentive Grants, $500,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to provide grants of $50,000 each to educational service centers and joint vocational school districts for exemplary programs or that demonstrate significant improvement on proficiency tests, attendance rates, and graduation rates based on standards developed by the Department of Education.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-570, School Improvement Incentive Grants, $1,000,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to provide grants of up to $50,000 each to educational best practices award winners selected for superior performance by BEST, Building Excellent Schools for Today and the 21st Century.

Any grants awarded from the foregoing appropriation item 200-570, School Improvement Incentive Grants, shall be awarded to individual school buildings, educational service centers, or joint vocational school districts, as appropriate. Grant awards shall be expended for staff development, classroom equipment, materials, and/or books. The principal or administrator of each grantee shall decide how best to use the grant award, with input from staff members.

TEACHER INCENTIVE GRANTS

The foregoing appropriation item 200-572, Teacher Incentive Grants, shall be used by the Department of Education to pay one-time stipends to qualified teachers of reading, mathematics, and science. To be eligible, teacher applicants must hold a valid teaching certificate; be employed by a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district or by a chartered nonpublic school; and be certified by the district or the nonpublic school as necessary to meet an existing need for teachers with a reading, mathematics, or science credential.

Individuals with an elementary school teaching certificate that successfully complete a program for a reading endorsement, and who successfully complete the examination prescribed by the State Board of Education, shall be paid a stipend of $1,000. Individuals with an elementary or high school teaching certificate that successfully complete a program required to add mathematics or science to that certificate, and who successfully complete the mathematics or science examination prescribed by the State Board of Education, shall be paid a stipend of $1,500. The variance in stipend amounts reflects the variance in requirements to secure the different credentials.

To qualify for stipends, individuals must successfully complete all necessary coursework as prescribed by the State Board of Education by June 30, 2001, and must successfully complete all required practical experience by October 30, 2001.

At the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Director of Budget and Management may transfer any unexpended and unencumbered balances in this appropriation item as of June 30, 2000, to fiscal year 2001. The amount so transferred is hereby appropriated.

CHARACTER EDUCATION

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-573, Character Education, up to $50,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to develop, produce, or otherwise obtain a distance learning program, a video presentation, or other method of offering instruction in character education to multiple school districts. The program, presentation, or other method of instruction shall be made available to all school districts.

The remainder of appropriation item 200-573, Character Education, shall be used by the Department of Education to provide matching grants of up to $50,000 each to school districts to develop pilot character education programs.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-574, Substance Abuse Prevention, up to $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2000 and up to $2,120,000 in fiscal year 2001 shall be used for the Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinators Program. Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-574, Substance Abuse Prevention, up to $300,000 in each fiscal year of the biennium shall be used for the Substance Abuse Prevention Student Assistance Program. The Department of Education and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services shall jointly develop and approve a plan for the expenditure of these funds including, but not limited to, the development of position descriptions and training specifications for safe and drug free schools coordinators. Safe and drug free schools coordinators shall possess or be in the process of obtaining credentials issued by the Ohio Credentialing Board for Chemical Dependency Professionals or other credentials recognized by that board.

12TH GRADE PROFICIENCY STIPEND

The foregoing appropriation item 200-575, 12th Grade Proficiency Stipend, shall be used to fund a $500 scholarship to each student who meets the requirements of section 3365.15 of the Revised Code. At the request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Director of Budget and Management shall, subject to the approval of the Controlling Board, transfer to appropriation item 200-575, 12th Grade Proficiency Stipend, obligated, but unexpended, fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 general revenue fund appropriations made to the Department of Education, not to exceed $17,500,000. The transferred funds shall be used for scholarships for students who meet the requirements of section 3365.15 of the Revised Code during fiscal year 2001.

Within thirty days of After the effective date of this section amendment, the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer the appropriation for this program to the Ohio Board of Regents for its administration.

RIVER VALLEY SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

The foregoing appropriation item 200-580, River Valley School Environmental Issues, shall be used to assist with costs arising from environmental assessment and clean-up of potential environmental contamination of school facilities of the River Valley Local School District.

AUXILIARY SERVICES MOBILE REPAIR

Notwithstanding section 3317.064 of the Revised Code, if the unobligated cash balance is sufficient, the Treasurer of State shall transfer $1,500,000 in fiscal year 2000 within thirty days of the effective date of this section and $1,500,000 in fiscal year 2001 by August 1, 2000, from the Auxiliary Services Personnel Unemployment Compensation Fund to the Department of Education's Auxiliary Services Mobile Repair Fund (Fund 598).

Within 30 days after the effective date of this section, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall certify to the Director of Budget and Management the amount of cash to be transferred from the Miscellaneous Revenue Fund, Fund 452, to the Educational Grants Fund, Fund 620.

COORDINATED SCHOOL HEALTH AND AIDS EDUCATION

The Department of Education shall not commit or spend any moneys from appropriation item 200-625, Coordinated School Health, or appropriation item 200-668, AIDS Education, for activities in preparation for or during the 1999-2000 school year or for the 2000-2001 school year until the General Assembly has approved program plans for these purposes through the adoption of a concurrent resolution. Before the House of Representatives or the Senate votes on a concurrent resolution approving program plans, its standing committee having principal jurisdiction over primary and secondary education legislation shall conduct at least one public hearing on the program plans. Tobacco use prevention programs and dental health programs are exempt from these requirements."

Section 2. That existing Section 4.18 of Am. Sub. H.B. 282 of the 123rd General Assembly, as amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 640 and Sub. S.B. 237 of the 123rd General Assembly, is hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 4.18 of Am. Sub. H.B. 282 of the 123rd General Assembly is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 640 and Sub. S.B. 237 of the 123rd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.