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H. B. No. 379 As IntroducedAs Introduced
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Wagoner, Huffman, McGregor, R., Adams, Brinkman, Combs, Stebelton, Bubp
A BILL
To amend sections 3313.60 and 3313.603 of
the Revised
Code to require the
study of specified
historical
documents be included
in the high school
American
history and government curriculum.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3313.60 and 3313.603 of
the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3313.60. Notwithstanding division (D) of section
3311.52 of the Revised Code, divisions (A) to
(E)(D) of this
section
do not apply to any cooperative education school district
established pursuant to divisions (A) to (C) of section 3311.52
of
the Revised Code.
(A) The board of education of each city and exempted village
school
district, the governing board of each educational
service
center, and the board of each cooperative education school
district established pursuant to section 3311.521 of the Revised
Code shall prescribe a curriculum for all schools under their
control. Except as provided in division
(E)(D) of this section,
in
any such curriculum there shall be included the study of the
following subjects:
(1) The language arts, including reading, writing,
spelling,
oral and written English, and literature;
(2) Geography,
the history of the United States and of
Ohio,
and national, state, and local government in the United
States,
including a balanced presentation of the relevant
contributions to
society of men and women of African, Mexican,
Puerto Rican, and
American Indian descent as well as other ethnic
and racial groups
in Ohio and the United States;
(4) Natural science, including instruction in the
conservation of natural resources;
(5) Health education, which shall include instruction in:
(a) The nutritive value of foods, including natural and
organically produced foods, the relation of nutrition to health,
the use and effects of food additives;
(b) The harmful effects of and legal restrictions against
the
use of drugs of abuse, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco;
(c) Venereal disease education, except that upon written
request of
the student's parent or guardian, a student shall
be
excused
from taking instruction in venereal disease education;
(d) In grades kindergarten through six, instruction in
personal safety and assault prevention, except that upon written
request of
the student's parent or guardian, a student shall
be
excused
from taking instruction in personal safety and assault
prevention.
(7) The fine arts, including music;
(8) First aid, including a training program in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, safety, and fire prevention,
except
that upon written request of
the student's parent or
guardian,
a
student shall be excused from taking instruction in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
(B) Except as provided in division (E) of this section,
every
school or school district shall include in the requirements
for
promotion from the eighth grade to the ninth grade one year's
course of study of American history.
(C)
Except
As specified in divisions (B)(6) and (C)(6) of
section
3313.603 of the Revised Code, except as provided in
division
(E)(D) of this section,
every high school shall include
in the
requirements for
graduation
from any curriculum
one
one-half unit each
of American history and government,
including a
study of the
constitutions of
the United
States
and
of
Ohio.
(D)
Except as provided in division (E) of this section,
basic
instruction in geography, United States history, the
government of
the United States, the government of the state of
Ohio, local
government in Ohio, the Declaration of Independence,
the United
States Constitution, and the Constitution of the state
of Ohio
shall be required before pupils may participate in
courses
involving the study of social problems, economics,
foreign
affairs, United Nations, world government, socialism and
communism.
(E) For each cooperative education school district
established pursuant to section 3311.521 of the Revised Code and
each city, exempted village, and local school district that has
territory within such a cooperative district, the curriculum
adopted pursuant to divisions (A) to
(D)(C) of this section shall
only include the study of the subjects that apply to the grades
operated by each such school district. The curriculums for such
schools, when combined, shall provide to each student of these
districts all of the subjects required under divisions (A) to
(D)(C)
of this section.
(F)(E) The board of education of any cooperative education
school district established pursuant to divisions (A) to (C) of
section 3311.52 of the Revised Code shall prescribe a curriculum
for the subject areas and grade levels offered in any school
under
its control.
(G)(F) Upon the request of any parent or legal guardian of a
student, the board of education of any school district shall
permit the parent or guardian to promptly examine, with respect to
the parent's or guardian's own child:
(1) Any survey or questionnaire, prior to its
administration
to the child;
(2) Any textbook, workbook, software, video, or other
instructional materials being used by the district in connection
with the instruction of the child;
(3) Any completed and graded test taken or survey or
questionnaire filled out by the child;
(4) Copies of the statewide academic standards and each
model
curriculum developed pursuant to section 3301.079 of the
Revised
Code, which copies shall be available at all times during
school
hours in each district school building.
Sec. 3313.603. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "One unit" means a
minimum of one hundred twenty hours
of
course
instruction, except that for
a laboratory course, "one
unit" means a minimum of
one hundred fifty hours of course
instruction.
(2) "One-half unit" means
a minimum of sixty hours of course
instruction, except that for physical
education courses, "one-half
unit" means a minimum of one hundred twenty hours
of course
instruction.
(B) Beginning September 15, 2001, except as required in
division (C) of this section and division (C) of section 3313.614
of the Revised Code, the
requirements for
graduation from every
high school shall include
twenty units earned in grades nine
through twelve and shall be
distributed as follows:
(1) English language arts, four units;
(2) Health, one-half unit;
(3) Mathematics, three units;
(4) Physical education, one-half unit;
(5) Science, two units until September 15, 2003, and three
units
thereafter, which at all times shall include both of the
following:
(a) Biological sciences, one
unit;
(b) Physical sciences, one
unit.
(6) Social studies, three units History and government, one
unit, which shall comply with division (M) of this section and
shall include both
of
the following:
(a) American history, one-half
unit;
(b) American government, one-half
unit.
(7) Social studies, two units in accordance with division (N)
of this section.
(8) Elective units, seven units until September 15, 2003,
and
six units thereafter.
Each student's electives shall include at least one unit, or
two half
units, chosen from among the areas of
business/technology, fine arts, and/or
foreign language.
(C) Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the
first time on or after July 1, 2010,
except as provided in
divisions (D) to (F) of this section, the
requirements for
graduation from every public and chartered nonpublic high school
shall include
twenty units that are designed to prepare students
for the workforce and college. The units shall be distributed as
follows:
(1) English language arts, four units;
(2) Health, one-half unit;
(3) Mathematics, four units, which shall include one unit of
algebra II or the equivalent of algebra II;
(4) Physical education, one-half unit;
(5) Science, three
units with inquiry-based laboratory
experience that engages students in asking valid scientific
questions and gathering and analyzing information, which shall
include the following, or their equivalent:
(a) Physical sciences, one unit;
(b) Life sciences, one unit;
(c) Advanced study in one or more of the following sciences,
one unit:
(i) Chemistry, physics, or other physical science;
(ii) Advanced biology or other life science;
(iii) Astronomy, physical geology, or other earth or space
science.
(6) Social studies, three units History and government, one
unit, which shall comply with division (M) of this section and
shall include both
of
the following:
(a) American history, one-half
unit;
(b) American government, one-half
unit.
(7) Social studies, two units in accordance with division (N)
of this section.
Each school shall integrate the study of economics and
financial literacy, as expressed in the social studies academic
content standards adopted by the state board of education under
section 3301.079 of the Revised Code, into one or more existing
social studies credits required under division (C)(6)(7) of this
section, or into the content of another class, so that every high
school student receives instruction in those concepts. In
developing the curriculum required by this paragraph, schools
shall use available public-private partnerships and resources and
materials that exist in business, industry, and through the
centers for economics education at institutions of higher
education in the state.
(7)(8) Five
units consisting of one or any combination of
foreign language, fine arts, business, career-technical education,
family and consumer sciences, technology, agricultural education,
or English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies
courses not otherwise required under division (C) of this section.
Ohioans must be prepared to apply increased knowledge and
skills in the workplace and to adapt their knowledge and skills
quickly to meet the rapidly changing conditions of the
twenty-first century. National studies indicate that all high
school graduates need the same academic foundation, regardless of
the opportunities they pursue after graduation. The goal of Ohio's
system of elementary and secondary education is to prepare all
students for and seamlessly connect all students to success in
life beyond high school graduation, regardless of whether the next
step is entering the workforce, beginning an apprenticeship,
engaging in post-secondary training, serving in the military, or
pursuing a college degree.
The Ohio core curriculum
is the standard expectation for all
students entering ninth grade for the first time at a public or
chartered nonpublic high school on or after July 1, 2010. A
student may satisfy this expectation through a variety of methods,
including, but not limited to, integrated, applied,
career-technical, and traditional coursework.
Whereas teacher quality is essential for student success in
completing the Ohio core curriculum, the general assembly shall
appropriate funds for strategic initiatives designed to strengthen
schools' capacities to hire and retain highly qualified teachers
in the subject areas required by the curriculum. Such initiatives
are expected to require an investment of $120,000,000 over five
years.
Stronger coordination between high schools and institutions
of higher education is necessary to prepare students for more
challenging academic endeavors and to lessen the need for academic
remediation in college, thereby reducing the costs of higher
education for Ohio's students, families, and the state. The state
board of education, the Ohio board of regents, and the partnership
for continued learning shall develop policies to ensure that only
in rare instances will students who complete the Ohio core
curriculum require academic remediation after high school.
School districts, community schools, and chartered nonpublic
schools shall integrate technology into learning experiences
whenever practicable across the curriculum in order to maximize
efficiency, enhance learning, and prepare students for success in
the technology-driven twenty-first century. Districts and schools
may use distance and web-based course delivery as a method of
providing or augmenting all instruction required under this
division, including laboratory experience in science. Districts
and schools shall whenever practicable utilize technology access
and electronic learning opportunities provided by the eTech Ohio
commission, the Ohio learning network, education technology
centers, public television stations, and other public and private
providers.
(D) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, a
student who enters ninth grade on or after July 1, 2010, and
before July 1, 2014, may qualify for graduation from a public or
chartered nonpublic high school even though the student has not
completed the Ohio core curriculum prescribed in division (C) of
this section if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) After the student has attended high school for two years,
as determined by the school, the student and the student's parent,
guardian, or custodian sign and file with the school a written
statement asserting the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's
consent to the student's graduating without completing the Ohio
core curriculum and acknowledging that one consequence of not
completing the Ohio core curriculum is ineligibility to enroll in
most state universities in Ohio without further coursework.
(2) The student and parent, guardian, or custodian fulfill
any procedural requirements the school stipulates to ensure the
student's and parent's, guardian's, or custodian's informed
consent and to facilitate orderly filing of statements under
division (D)(1) of this section.
(3) The student and the student's parent, guardian, or
custodian and a representative of the student's high school
jointly develop an individual career plan for the student that
specifies the student matriculating to a two-year degree program,
acquiring a business and industry credential, or entering an
apprenticeship.
(4) The student's high school provides counseling and support
for the student related to the plan developed under division
(D)(3) of this section during the remainder of the student's high
school experience.
(5) The student successfully completes, at a minimum, the
curriculum prescribed in division (B) of this section.
The partnership for continued learning, in collaboration with
the department of education and the Ohio board of regents, shall
analyze student performance data to determine if there are
mitigating factors that warrant extending the exception permitted
by division (D) of this section to high school classes beyond
those entering ninth grade before July 1, 2014. The partnership
shall submit its findings and any recommendations not later than
August 1, 2014, to the speaker and minority leader of the house of
representatives, the president and minority leader of the senate,
the chairpersons and ranking minority members of the standing
committees of the house of representatives and the senate that
consider education legislation, the state board of education, and
the superintendent of public instruction.
(E) Each school district and chartered nonpublic school
retains the authority to require an even more rigorous minimum
curriculum for high school graduation than specified in division
(B) or (C) of this section. A school district board of education,
through the adoption of a resolution, or the governing authority
of a chartered nonpublic school may stipulate any of the
following:
(1) A minimum high school curriculum that requires more than
twenty units of academic credit to graduate;
(2) An exception to the district's or school's minimum high
school curriculum that is comparable to the exception provided in
division (D) of this section but with additional requirements,
which may include a requirement that the student successfully
complete more than the minimum curriculum prescribed in division
(B) of this section;
(3) That no exception comparable to that provided in division
(D) of this section is available.
(F) A student enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery
program, which program has received a waiver from the department
of education, may qualify for graduation from high school by
successfully completing a competency-based instructional program
administered by the dropout prevention and recovery program in
lieu of completing the Ohio core curriculum prescribed in division
(C) of this section. The department shall grant a waiver to a
dropout prevention and recovery program, within sixty days after
the program applies for the waiver, if the program meets all of
the following conditions:
(1) The program serves only students not younger than sixteen
years of age and not older than twenty-one years of age.
(2) The program enrolls students who, at the time of their
initial enrollment, either, or both, are at least one grade level
behind their cohort age groups or experience crises that
significantly interfere with their academic progress such that
they are prevented from continuing their traditional programs.
(3) The program requires students to attain at least the
applicable score designated for each of the tests prescribed under
division (B) of section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code.
(4) The program develops an individual career plan for the
student that specifies the student's matriculating to a two-year
degree program, acquiring a business and industry credential, or
entering an apprenticeship.
(5) The program provides counseling and support for the
student related to the plan developed under division (F)(4) of
this section during the remainder of the student's high school
experience.
(6) The program requires the student and the student's
parent, guardian, or custodian to sign and file, in accordance
with procedural requirements stipulated by the program, a written
statement asserting the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's
consent to the student's graduating without completing the Ohio
core curriculum and acknowledging that one consequence of not
completing the Ohio core curriculum is ineligibility to enroll in
most state universities in Ohio without further coursework.
(7) Prior to receiving the waiver, the program has submitted
to the department an instructional plan that demonstrates how the
academic content standards adopted by the state board of education
under section 3301.079 of the Revised Code will be taught and
assessed.
If the department does not act either to grant the waiver or
to reject the program application for the waiver within sixty days
as required under this section, the waiver shall be considered to
be granted.
(G) Every high school
may permit students below the ninth
grade to take advanced work
for high school credit. A high school
shall count
such advanced work toward the
graduation requirements
of division
(B) or (C) of
this section if the advanced work was
both:
(1) Taught by a person who possesses a license or
certificate
issued
under section 3301.071, 3319.22, or 3319.222 of
the
Revised
Code
that is valid for teaching high school;
(2) Designated by the board of education of the city, local,
or exempted
village school district, the board of the cooperative
education school
district, or the governing authority of the
chartered nonpublic
school as meeting the high school curriculum
requirements.
Each high school shall record on the student's high school
transcript all high school credit awarded under division (G) of
this section. In addition, if the student completed a seventh- or
eighth-grade fine arts course described in division (K) of this
section and the course qualified for high school credit under that
division, the high school shall record that course on the
student's high school transcript.
(H) The department shall make its individual academic career
plan available through its Ohio career information system web site
for districts and schools to use as a tool for communicating with
and providing guidance to students and families in selecting high
school courses.
(I) Units earned in English language arts,
mathematics,
science, and social studies that are delivered
through integrated
academic and career-technical instruction are
eligible to meet the
graduation requirements of division
(B) or (C) of this section.
(J) The state board of education, in consultation with the
Ohio board of regents and the partnership for continued learning,
shall adopt a statewide plan implementing methods for students to
earn units of high school credit based on a demonstration of
subject area competency, instead of or in combination with
completing hours of classroom instruction. The state board shall
adopt the plan not later than March 31, 2009, and commence phasing
in the plan during the 2009-2010 school year. The plan shall
include a standard method for recording demonstrated proficiency
on high school transcripts. Each school district, community
school, and chartered nonpublic school shall comply with the state
board's plan adopted under this division and award units of high
school credit in accordance with the plan. The state board may
adopt existing methods for earning high school credit based on a
demonstration of subject area competency as necessary prior to the
2009-2010 school year.
(K) This division does not apply to students who qualify for
graduation from high school under division (D) or (F) of this
section, or to students pursuing a career-technical instructional
track as determined by the school district board of education or
the chartered nonpublic school's governing authority.
Nevertheless, the general assembly encourages such students to
consider enrolling in a fine arts course as an elective.
Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the first
time on or after July 1, 2010, each student enrolled in a public
or chartered nonpublic high school shall complete two semesters or
the equivalent of fine arts to graduate from high school. The
coursework may be completed in any of grades seven to twelve. Each
student who completes a fine arts course in grade seven or eight
may elect to count that course toward the five units of electives
required for graduation under division (C)(7)(8) of this section,
if
the course satisfied the requirements of division (G) of this
section. In that case, the high school shall award the student
high school credit for the course and count the course toward the
five units required under division (C)(7)(8) of this section. If
the
course in grade seven or eight did not satisfy the
requirements of
division (G) of this section, the high school
shall not award the
student high school credit for the course but
shall count the
course toward the two semesters or the equivalent
of fine arts
required by this division.
(L) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section,
the board of education of each school district and the governing
authority of each chartered nonpublic school may adopt a policy to
excuse from the high school physical education requirement each
student who, during high school, has participated in
interscholastic athletics, marching band, or cheerleading for at
least two full seasons. If the board or authority adopts such a
policy, the board or authority shall not require the student to
complete any physical education course as a condition to graduate.
However, the student shall be required to complete one-half unit,
consisting of at least sixty hours of instruction, in another
course of study.
(M) Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the
first time on or after July 1, 2006, the study of American history
and American government required by divisions (B)(6) and (C)(6) of
this section shall include the study of all of the following
documents for a cumulative period of time equivalent to at least
one-sixth unit:
(1) The Declaration of Independence;
(2) The Northwest Ordinance;
(3) The Constitution of the United States with emphasis on
the Bill of Rights;
(4) The Ohio Constitution.
The study of each of the documents prescribed in divisions
(M)(1) to (4) of this section shall include study of that document
in its original eighteenth-century context.
The study of American history and government required by
divisions (B)(6) and (C)(6) of this section shall include the
historical evidence of the role of documents such as the
Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers to firmly
establish the historical background leading to the establishment
of the provisions of the Constitution and Bill of Rights by the
founding fathers for the purpose of safeguarding our
constitutional republic.
(N) Before students may participate in courses involving the
study of social problems, economics, foreign affairs, the United
Nations, world history and government, socialism, and communism,
they first shall complete basic instruction in geography, United
States history, the government of the United States, the
government of the state of Ohio, local government in Ohio, the
Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and
the Constitution of the state of Ohio.
Section 2. That existing sections 3313.60 and
3313.603 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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