To amend section 3319.23 of the Revised Code, to amend Section 4 of Am. Sub. S.B. 2 of the 125th General Assembly, and to amend Section 206.09.12 of Am. Sub. H.B. 66 of the 126th General Assembly to require the State Board of Education to adopt standards that require the curricula of teacher preparation programs to be aligned with the state academic content standards, the State Board's minimum standards for schools, and the value-added progress dimension developed by the Department of Education; to extend the deadline for the Department and the Educator Standards Board to propose a career ladder program for teachers; and to set aside $247,000 in each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 for the Center for Learning Excellence.

Section 1. That section 3319.23 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3319.23.  (A) The state board of education shall establish standards and courses of study for the preparation of teachers, shall provide for the inspection of institutions desiring to prepare teachers, shall approve such institutions as maintain satisfactory training procedures, and shall properly license the graduates of such approved courses and institutions. If the standards adopted by the state board under this section require an institution also to satisfy the standards of an independent accreditation organization, the state board shall permit each institution to satisfy the standards of either the national council for accreditation of teacher education or the teacher education accreditation council.

(B) The standards and courses of study adopted by the state board under division (A) of this section shall require each institution, as a condition for approval to prepare teachers, to make changes in the curricula of the institution's teacher preparation program, as the state board determines is necessary, so that:

(1) By July 1, 2006, the curricula, including instruction in methods, best practices, and materials, are aligned with the academic content standards adopted under section 3301.079 of the Revised Code and the minimum standards for elementary and secondary schools prescribed by the state board pursuant to division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code;

(2) Within one hundred eighty days after the department of education implements the value-added progress dimension, as required under section 3302.021 of the Revised Code, the curricula, including methods of interpreting data, are aligned with that value-added progress dimension.

Division (C)(2) of this section does not apply to any standards, rules, or regulations adopted, amended, or rescinded in order to comply with division (B) of this section.

Each institution shall allocate money from its existing appropriations to pay the cost of making the changes required by the state board under division (B) of this section.

(C)(1) The standards and courses of study for the preparation of teachers together with the standards, rules, and regulations set for each kind of license and for the renewal and conversion thereof shall be adopted and published by the board in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. Notwithstanding

(2) Notwithstanding division (D) of section 119.03 and division (A)(1) of section 119.04 of the Revised Code, any standards, courses of study, rules, and regulations, or any amendment or rescission of such standards, courses of study, rules, and regulations, adopted by the board under this section that necessitate institutions offering teacher preparation programs approved by the board to revise the curriculum of those programs shall not be effective for at least one year from the first day of January next succeeding the publication of the said change.

Section 2. That existing section 3319.23 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. That Section 4 of Am. Sub. S.B. 2 of the 125th General Assembly be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4. As used in this section, "career ladder program" means a performance-based multilevel system of teaching positions or compensation levels within a school district or district building.

The Educator Standards Board established by this act and the Department of Education jointly shall develop a proposal for a career ladder program. The Educator Standards Board and the Department also shall determine the estimated cost of implementing the proposal and how the Department would reallocate its resources to cover the costs of implementation. Within eighteen twenty-four months after the Educator Standards Board convenes for its initial meeting, the Board and the Department shall make a report to the General Assembly describing their proposal for a career ladder program, including estimated costs for implementation and the manner in which the Department would pay for those costs.

Section 4. That existing Section 4 of Am. Sub. S.B. 2 of the 125th General Assembly is hereby repealed.

Section 5. That Section 206.09.12 of Am. Sub. H.B. 66 of the 126th General Assembly be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 206.09.12. COMPUTER/APPLICATION/NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

The foregoing appropriation item 200-420, Computer/Application/Network Development, shall be used to support the development and implementation of information technology solutions designed to improve the performance and services of the Department of Education. Funds may be used for personnel, maintenance, and equipment costs related to the development and implementation of these technical system projects. Implementation of these systems shall allow the Department to provide greater levels of assistance to school districts and to provide more timely information to the public, including school districts, administrators, and legislators.

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS

There is hereby created the Alternative Education Advisory Council, which shall consist of one representative from each of the following agencies: the Ohio Department of Education; the Department of Youth Services; the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services; the Department of Mental Health; the Office of the Governor or, at the Governor's discretion, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor; the Office of the Attorney General; and the Office of the Auditor of State.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, up to $6,227,310 in each fiscal year shall be used for the renewal of successful implementation grants and for competitive matching grants to the 21 urban school districts as defined in division (O) of section 3317.02 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1998, and up to $6,408,074 $6,161,074 in each fiscal year shall be used for the renewal of successful implementation grants and for competitive matching grants to rural and suburban school districts for alternative educational programs for existing and new at-risk and delinquent youth. Programs shall be focused on youth in one or more of the following categories: those who have been expelled or suspended, those who have dropped out of school or who are at risk of dropping out of school, those who are habitually truant or disruptive, or those on probation or on parole from a Department of Youth Services facility. Grants shall be awarded according to the criteria established by the Alternative Education Advisory Council in 1999. Grants shall be awarded only to programs in which the grant will not serve as the program's primary source of funding. These grants shall be administered by the Department of Education.

The Department of Education may waive compliance with any minimum education standard established under section 3301.07 of the Revised Code for any alternative school that receives a grant under this section on the grounds that the waiver will enable the program to more effectively educate students enrolled in the alternative school.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, up to $422,281 in each fiscal year may be used for program administration, monitoring, technical assistance, support, research, and evaluation. Any unexpended balance may be used to provide additional matching grants to urban, suburban, or rural school districts as outlined above.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, $247,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to contract with the Center for Learning Excellence at The Ohio State University to provide technical support for the project and the completion of formative and summative evaluation of the grants.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, up to $675,000 in fiscal year 2006 and up to $500,000 in fiscal year 2007 may be used by the Department of Education to administer the Educational Choice Scholarship Pilot Program established under section 3310.02 of the Revised Code.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, $75,000 in each fiscal year shall be used to support the Toledo Tech Academy.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-421, Alternative Education Programs, $100,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for the Youth Opportunities United, Inc.

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-422, School Management Assistance, up to $1,315,000 in each fiscal year shall be used by the Auditor of State in consultation with the Department of Education for expenses incurred in the Auditor of State's role relating to fiscal caution, fiscal watch, and fiscal emergency activities as defined in Chapter 3316. of the Revised Code and may also be used to conduct performance audits consistent with the recommendations of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Success, with priority given to districts in fiscal distress. Expenses include duties related to the completion of performance audits for school districts that the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines are employing fiscal practices or experiencing budgetary conditions that could produce a state of fiscal watch or fiscal emergency.

The remainder of foregoing appropriation item 200-422, School Management Assistance, shall be used by the Department of Education to provide fiscal technical assistance and inservice education for school district management personnel and to administer, monitor, and implement the fiscal watch and fiscal emergency provisions under Chapter 3316. of the Revised Code.

POLICY ANALYSIS

The foregoing appropriation item 200-424, Policy Analysis, shall be used by the Department of Education to support a system of administrative, statistical, and legislative education information to be used for policy analysis. Staff supported by this appropriation shall administer the development of reports, analyses, and briefings to inform education policymakers of current trends in education practice, efficient and effective use of resources, and evaluation of programs to improve education results. The database shall be kept current at all times. These research efforts shall be used to supply information and analysis of data to the General Assembly and other state policymakers, including the Office of Budget and Management and the Legislative Service Commission.

The Department of Education may use funding from this appropriation item to purchase or contract for the development of software systems or contract for policy studies that will assist in the provision and analysis of policy-related information. Funding from this appropriation item also may be used to monitor and enhance quality assurance for research-based policy analysis and program evaluation to enhance the effective use of education information to inform education policymakers.

TECH PREP CONSORTIA SUPPORT

The foregoing appropriation item 200-425, Tech Prep Consortia Support, shall be used by the Department of Education to support state-level activities designed to support, promote, and expand tech prep programs. Use of these funds shall include, but not be limited to, administration of grants, program evaluation, professional development, curriculum development, assessment development, program promotion, communications, and statewide coordination of tech prep consortia.

OHIO EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER NETWORK

The foregoing appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, shall be used by the Department of Education to maintain a system of information technology throughout Ohio and to provide technical assistance for such a system in support of the State Education Technology Plan under section 3301.07 of the Revised Code.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, up to $18,136,691 in each fiscal year shall be used by the Department of Education to support connection of all public school buildings and participating chartered nonpublic schools to the state's education network, to each other, and to the Internet. In each fiscal year the Department of Education shall use these funds to assist data acquisition sites or school districts with the operational costs associated with this connectivity. The Department of Education shall develop a formula and guidelines for the distribution of these funds to the data acquisition sites or individual school districts. As used in this section, "public school building" means a school building of any city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, any community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, any educational service center building used for instructional purposes, the Ohio School for the Deaf and the Ohio School for the Blind, or high schools chartered by the Ohio Department of Youth Services and high schools operated by Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections' Ohio Central School System.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, up to $1,700,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for the Union Catalog and InfOhio Network.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, up to $8,338,468 in each fiscal year shall be used, through a formula and guidelines devised by the department, to subsidize the activities of designated data acquisition sites, as defined by State Board of Education rules, to provide school districts and chartered nonpublic schools with computer-based student and teacher instructional and administrative information services, including approved computerized financial accounting, and to ensure the effective operation of local automated administrative and instructional systems.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, up to $769,223 in each fiscal year shall be used for the INFOhio Network to support the provision of electronic resources with priority given to resources that support the teaching of state academic content standards to all public schools. Consideration shall be given by the Department of Education to coordinating the allocation of these moneys with the efforts of Libraries Connect Ohio, whose members include OhioLINK, the Ohio Public Information Network, and the State Library of Ohio.

The remainder of appropriation item 200-426, Ohio Educational Computer Network, shall be used to support development, maintenance, and operation of a network of uniform and compatible computer-based information and instructional systems. This technical assistance shall include, but not be restricted to, development and maintenance of adequate computer software systems to support network activities. In order to improve the efficiency of network activities, the Department and data acquisition sites may jointly purchase equipment, materials, and services from funds provided under this appropriation for use by the network and, when considered practical by the Department, may utilize the services of appropriate state purchasing agencies.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, up to $747,912 in each fiscal year shall be used to provide funds to school districts that have one or more teachers participating in the teachers-on-loan program.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, $150,000 in each fiscal year shall be used by the Department in combination with funding earmarked for this purpose in the Board of Regents' budget under appropriation item 235-321, Operating Expenses. Such funding shall be used to support Ohio's Partnership for Continued Learning at the direction of the Office of the Governor. Ohio's Partnership for Continued Learning replaces and broadens the former Joint Council of the Department of Education and the Board of Regents. The Partnership shall advise and make recommendations to promote collaboration among relevant state entities in an effort to help local communities develop coherent and successful "P-16" learning systems. The Governor, or the Governor's designee, shall serve as the chairperson.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, $1,000,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for Project Lead the Way leadership and management oversight and initial and continuing support of Project Lead the Way workforce development programs in participating school districts. Project Lead the Way is a program that supports students interested in pursuing engineering professions and stimulates growth of career pathways that meet business and industry workforce needs.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, up to $2,600,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for intensive teacher professional development institutes that focus on classroom implementation of the mathematics standards.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, $200,000 in each fiscal year may be used to support the Ohio Resource Center for Math and Science.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, up to $282,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for the JASON Expedition project that provides statewide access to JASON Expedition content. Funds shall be used to provide professional development training for teachers participating in the project, statewide management, and a seventy-five per cent subsidy for statewide licensing of JASON Expedition content with priority given to content aligned with state academic content standards for approximately 90,000 middle school students statewide.

Of the foregoing appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, $285,000 in each fiscal year shall be used for the Ohio Science Institute (OSCI).

The remainder of appropriation item 200-427, Academic Standards, shall be used by the Department of Education to develop and communicate to school districts academic content standards and curriculum models.

Section 6. That existing Section 206.09.12 of Am. Sub. H.B. 66 of the 126th General Assembly is hereby repealed.

Section 7. Sections 5 to 7 of this act, and the items of law of which Sections 5 to 7 of this act are composed, are not subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, Sections 5 to 7 of this act, and the items of law of which Sections 5 to 7 of this act are composed, go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.