130th Ohio General Assembly
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Sub. H. B. No. 66  As Reported by the House Education Committee
As Reported by the House Education Committee

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
Sub. H. B. No. 66


Representative Collier 

Cosponsors: Representatives Setzer, Peterson, McGregor, J., Daniels, Evans, Seitz, McGregor, R., Flowers, Hottinger, Stebelton, Aslanides, Webster, Reinhard, Schlichter, Patton, Widowfield, Adams 



A BILL
To amend sections 2151.011, 3313.48, 3313.533, 3313.62, 3317.01, and 3317.029; to enact new section 3313.481; and to repeal sections 3313.481 and 3313.482 of the Revised Code to establish a minimum school year for school districts and chartered nonpublic schools based on hours, rather than days, of instruction.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2151.011, 3313.48, 3313.533, 3313.62, 3317.01, and 3317.029 be amended and new section 3313.481 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2151.011.  (A) As used in the Revised Code:
(1) "Juvenile court" means whichever of the following is applicable that has jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code:
(a) The division of the court of common pleas specified in section 2101.022 or 2301.03 of the Revised Code as having jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code or as being the juvenile division or the juvenile division combined with one or more other divisions;
(b) The juvenile court of Cuyahoga county or Hamilton county that is separately and independently created by section 2151.08 or Chapter 2153. of the Revised Code and that has jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code;
(c) If division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section does not apply, the probate division of the court of common pleas.
(2) "Juvenile judge" means a judge of a court having jurisdiction under this chapter.
(3) "Private child placing agency" means any association, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, that is certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code to accept temporary, permanent, or legal custody of children and place the children for either foster care or adoption.
(4) "Private noncustodial agency" means any person, organization, association, or society certified by the department of job and family services that does not accept temporary or permanent legal custody of children, that is privately operated in this state, and that does one or more of the following:
(a) Receives and cares for children for two or more consecutive weeks;
(b) Participates in the placement of children in certified foster homes;
(c) Provides adoption services in conjunction with a public children services agency or private child placing agency.
(B) As used in this chapter:
(1) "Adequate parental care" means the provision by a child's parent or parents, guardian, or custodian of adequate food, clothing, and shelter to ensure the child's health and physical safety and the provision by a child's parent or parents of specialized services warranted by the child's physical or mental needs.
(2) "Adult" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.
(3) "Agreement for temporary custody" means a voluntary agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the Revised Code that transfers the temporary custody of a child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency.
(4) "Certified foster home" means a foster home, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Child" means a person who is under eighteen years of age, except that the juvenile court has jurisdiction over any person who is adjudicated an unruly child prior to attaining eighteen years of age until the person attains twenty-one years of age, and, for purposes of that jurisdiction related to that adjudication, a person who is so adjudicated an unruly child shall be deemed a "child" until the person attains twenty-one years of age.
(6) "Child day camp," "child care," "child day-care center," "part-time child day-care center," "type A family day-care home," "certified type B family day-care home," "type B home," "administrator of a child day-care center," "administrator of a type A family day-care home," "in-home aide," and "authorized provider" have the same meanings as in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code.
(7) "Child care provider" means an individual who is a child-care staff member or administrator of a child day-care center, a type A family day-care home, or a type B family day-care home, or an in-home aide or an individual who is licensed, is regulated, is approved, operates under the direction of, or otherwise is certified by the department of job and family services, department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or the early childhood programs of the department of education.
(8) "Chronic truant" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(9) "Commit" means to vest custody as ordered by the court.
(10) "Counseling" includes both of the following:
(a) General counseling services performed by a public children services agency or shelter for victims of domestic violence to assist a child, a child's parents, and a child's siblings in alleviating identified problems that may cause or have caused the child to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.
(b) Psychiatric or psychological therapeutic counseling services provided to correct or alleviate any mental or emotional illness or disorder and performed by a licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or a person licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code to engage in social work or professional counseling.
(11) "Custodian" means a person who has legal custody of a child or a public children services agency or private child placing agency that has permanent, temporary, or legal custody of a child.
(12) "Delinquent child" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(13) "Detention" means the temporary care of children pending court adjudication or disposition, or execution of a court order, in a public or private facility designed to physically restrict the movement and activities of children.
(14) "Developmental disability" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.
(15) "Foster caregiver" has the same meaning as in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code.
(16) "Guardian" means a person, association, or corporation that is granted authority by a probate court pursuant to Chapter 2111. of the Revised Code to exercise parental rights over a child to the extent provided in the court's order and subject to the residual parental rights of the child's parents.
(17) "Habitual truant" means any child of compulsory school age who is absent without legitimate excuse for absence from the public school the child is supposed to attend for five or more consecutive school days, seven or more school days in one school month, or twelve or more school days in a school year.
(18) "Juvenile traffic offender" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(19) "Legal custody" means a legal status that vests in the custodian the right to have physical care and control of the child and to determine where and with whom the child shall live, and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, education, and medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. An individual granted legal custody shall exercise the rights and responsibilities personally unless otherwise authorized by any section of the Revised Code or by the court.
(20) A "legitimate excuse for absence from the public school the child is supposed to attend" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) The fact that the child in question has enrolled in and is attending another public or nonpublic school in this or another state;
(b) The fact that the child in question is excused from attendance at school for any of the reasons specified in section 3321.04 of the Revised Code;
(c) The fact that the child in question has received an age and schooling certificate in accordance with section 3331.01 of the Revised Code.
(21) "Mental illness" and "mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order" have the same meanings as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.
(22) "Mental injury" means any behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorder in a child caused by an act or omission that is described in section 2919.22 of the Revised Code and is committed by the parent or other person responsible for the child's care.
(23) "Mentally retarded person" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.
(24) "Nonsecure care, supervision, or training" means care, supervision, or training of a child in a facility that does not confine or prevent movement of the child within the facility or from the facility.
(25) "Of compulsory school age" has the same meaning as in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code.
(26) "Organization" means any institution, public, semipublic, or private, and any private association, society, or agency located or operating in the state, incorporated or unincorporated, having among its functions the furnishing of protective services or care for children, or the placement of children in certified foster homes or elsewhere.
(27) "Out-of-home care" means detention facilities, shelter facilities, certified children's crisis care facilities, certified foster homes, placement in a prospective adoptive home prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption, organizations, certified organizations, child day-care centers, type A family day-care homes, child care provided by type B family day-care home providers and by in-home aides, group home providers, group homes, institutions, state institutions, residential facilities, residential care facilities, residential camps, day camps, public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, educational service centers, hospitals, and medical clinics that are responsible for the care, physical custody, or control of children.
(28) "Out-of-home care child abuse" means any of the following when committed by a person responsible for the care of a child in out-of-home care:
(a) Engaging in sexual activity with a child in the person's care;
(b) Denial to a child, as a means of punishment, of proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or other care necessary for a child's health;
(c) Use of restraint procedures on a child that cause injury or pain;
(d) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic medication to the child without the written approval and ongoing supervision of a licensed physician;
(e) Commission of any act, other than by accidental means, that results in any injury to or death of the child in out-of-home care or commission of any act by accidental means that results in an injury to or death of a child in out-of-home care and that is at variance with the history given of the injury or death.
(29) "Out-of-home care child neglect" means any of the following when committed by a person responsible for the care of a child in out-of-home care:
(a) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical condition, or other special needs of the child;
(b) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical condition, or other special needs of the child, that results in sexual or physical abuse of the child by any person;
(c) Failure to develop a process for all of the following:
(i) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic drugs for the child;
(ii) Assuring that the instructions of the licensed physician who prescribed a drug for the child are followed;
(iii) Reporting to the licensed physician who prescribed the drug all unfavorable or dangerous side effects from the use of the drug.
(d) Failure to provide proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or other individualized care necessary for the health or well-being of the child;
(e) Confinement of the child to a locked room without monitoring by staff;
(f) Failure to provide ongoing security for all prescription and nonprescription medication;
(g) Isolation of a child for a period of time when there is substantial risk that the isolation, if continued, will impair or retard the mental health or physical well-being of the child.
(30) "Permanent custody" means a legal status that vests in a public children services agency or a private child placing agency, all parental rights, duties, and obligations, including the right to consent to adoption, and divests the natural parents or adoptive parents of all parental rights, privileges, and obligations, including all residual rights and obligations.
(31) "Permanent surrender" means the act of the parents or, if a child has only one parent, of the parent of a child, by a voluntary agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, to transfer the permanent custody of the child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency.
(32) "Person" means an individual, association, corporation, or partnership and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies.
(33) "Person responsible for a child's care in out-of-home care" means any of the following:
(a) Any foster caregiver, in-home aide, or provider;
(b) Any administrator, employee, or agent of any of the following: a public or private detention facility; shelter facility; certified children's crisis care facility; organization; certified organization; child day-care center; type A family day-care home; certified type B family day-care home; group home; institution; state institution; residential facility; residential care facility; residential camp; day camp; school district; community school; chartered nonpublic school; educational service center; hospital; or medical clinic;
(c) Any person who supervises or coaches children as part of an extracurricular activity sponsored by a school district, public school, or chartered nonpublic school;
(d) Any other person who performs a similar function with respect to, or has a similar relationship to, children.
(34) "Physically impaired" means having one or more of the following conditions that substantially limit one or more of an individual's major life activities, including self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, and self-direction:
(a) A substantial impairment of vision, speech, or hearing;
(b) A congenital orthopedic impairment;
(c) An orthopedic impairment caused by disease, rheumatic fever or any other similar chronic or acute health problem, or amputation or another similar cause.
(35) "Placement for adoption" means the arrangement by a public children services agency or a private child placing agency with a person for the care and adoption by that person of a child of whom the agency has permanent custody.
(36) "Placement in foster care" means the arrangement by a public children services agency or a private child placing agency for the out-of-home care of a child of whom the agency has temporary custody or permanent custody.
(37) "Planned permanent living arrangement" means an order of a juvenile court pursuant to which both of the following apply:
(a) The court gives legal custody of a child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency without the termination of parental rights.
(b) The order permits the agency to make an appropriate placement of the child and to enter into a written agreement with a foster care provider or with another person or agency with whom the child is placed.
(38) "Practice of social work" and "practice of professional counseling" have the same meanings as in section 4757.01 of the Revised Code.
(39) "Sanction, service, or condition" means a sanction, service, or condition created by court order following an adjudication that a child is an unruly child that is described in division (A)(4) of section 2152.19 of the Revised Code.
(40) "Protective supervision" means an order of disposition pursuant to which the court permits an abused, neglected, dependent, or unruly child to remain in the custody of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian and stay in the child's home, subject to any conditions and limitations upon the child, the child's parents, guardian, or custodian, or any other person that the court prescribes, including supervision as directed by the court for the protection of the child.
(41) "Psychiatrist" has the same meaning as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.
(42) "Psychologist" has the same meaning as in section 4732.01 of the Revised Code.
(43) "Residential camp" means a program in which the care, physical custody, or control of children is accepted overnight for recreational or recreational and educational purposes.
(44) "Residential care facility" means an institution, residence, or facility that is licensed by the department of mental health under section 5119.22 of the Revised Code and that provides care for a child.
(45) "Residential facility" means a home or facility that is licensed by the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities under section 5123.19 of the Revised Code and in which a child with a developmental disability resides.
(46) "Residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities" means those rights, privileges, and responsibilities remaining with the natural parent after the transfer of legal custody of the child, including, but not necessarily limited to, the privilege of reasonable visitation, consent to adoption, the privilege to determine the child's religious affiliation, and the responsibility for support.
(47) "School day" means the school day established by the state board of education of the applicable school district pursuant to section 3313.48 3313.481 of the Revised Code.
(48) "School month" and "school year" have has the same meanings meaning as in section 3313.62 of the Revised Code.
(49) "Secure correctional facility" means a facility under the direction of the department of youth services that is designed to physically restrict the movement and activities of children and used for the placement of children after adjudication and disposition.
(50) "Sexual activity" has the same meaning as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code.
(51) "Shelter" means the temporary care of children in physically unrestricted facilities pending court adjudication or disposition.
(52) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code.
(53) "Temporary custody" means legal custody of a child who is removed from the child's home, which custody may be terminated at any time at the discretion of the court or, if the legal custody is granted in an agreement for temporary custody, by the person who executed the agreement.
(C) For the purposes of this chapter, a child shall be presumed abandoned when the parents of the child have failed to visit or maintain contact with the child for more than ninety days, regardless of whether the parents resume contact with the child after that period of ninety days.
Sec. 3313.48.  (A) The board of education of each city, exempted village, local, and joint vocational school district shall provide for the free education of the youth of school age within the district under its jurisdiction, at such places as will be most convenient for the attendance of the largest number thereof. Except as provided in section 3313.481 of the Revised Code, each Each school so provided and each chartered nonpublic school shall be open for instruction with pupils in attendance, including scheduled classes, supervised activities, and approved education options but excluding lunch and breakfast periods and extracurricular activities, for not less than one hundred eighty-two days four hundred fifty-five hours in the case of pupils in kindergarten unless such pupils are provided all-day kindergarten, as defined in section 3317.029 of the Revised Code, in which case the pupils shall be in attendance for nine hundred ten hours; nine hundred ten hours in the case of pupils in grades one through six; and one thousand one hours in the case of pupils in grades seven through twelve in each school year, which may include all of the following:
(A)(1) Up to four school days ten hours per year in which classes are dismissed one-half day early or the equivalent amount of time during a different number of days in grades kindergarten through six and up to eleven hours per year in grades seven through twelve during which pupils would otherwise be in attendance but are not required to attend for the purpose of individualized parent-teacher conferences and reporting periods;
(B)(2) Up to two days ten hours per year during which pupils would otherwise be in attendance but are not required to attend for professional meetings of teachers when such days occur during a regular school week and schools are not in session of grades kindergarten through six, and up to eleven hours per year for such meetings of teachers of grades seven through twelve;
(C) The number of days the school is closed as a result of public calamity, as provided in section 3317.01 of the Revised Code (3) Morning and afternoon recess periods of not more than fifteen minutes duration per period for pupils in grades kindergarten through six.
The state board of education shall adopt standards for defining "school day" as used in sections 3313.48 and 3317.01 of the Revised Code.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, each day for grades seven through twelve shall consist of not less than five clock hours with pupils in attendance, except in such emergency situations, including lack of classroom space, as are approved by the state board of education. Except as otherwise provided in this section, each day for grades one through six shall consist of not less than five clock hours with pupils in attendance which may include fifteen minute morning and afternoon recess periods, except in such emergency situations, including lack of classroom space, as are approved by the state board of education.
(B) In addition to meeting the applicable minimum hours of instruction in a school year specified in division (A) of this section, each school operated by a city, exempted village, local, or joint vocational school district shall comply with the following:
(1) The school shall be open for instruction for not less than thirty-six weeks in a school year;
(2) The school shall be open for instruction for not less than the number of hours the school was open for instruction during the school year that ended June 30, 2007;
(3) The school shall not be closed for more than one hundred consecutive calendar days.
(C) No school operated by a city, exempted village, local, or joint vocational school district shall reduce the number of hours in each school year that the school is scheduled to be open for instruction from the number of hours per year the school was open for instruction during the previous school year unless the reduction is approved by a resolution adopted by the district board of education. Any reduction so approved shall not result in fewer hours of instruction per school year than the applicable number of hours required under divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(D) Prior to making any change in the hours or days in which a high school under its jurisdiction is open for instruction, the board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district shall consider the compatibility of the proposed change with the scheduling needs of any joint vocational school district in which any of the high school's students are also enrolled. The board shall consider the impact of the proposed change on student access to the instructional programs offered by the joint vocational school district, incentives for students to participate in vocational education, transportation, and the timing of graduation. The board shall provide the joint vocational school district board with advance notice of the proposed change and the two boards shall enter into a written agreement prescribing reasonable accommodations to meet the scheduling needs of the joint vocational school district prior to implementation of the change.
(E) Prior to making any change in the hours or days in which the schools under its jurisdiction are open for instruction, the board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district shall consult with the chartered nonpublic schools and community schools, established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, to which the district is required to transport students under section 3314.09 or 3327.01 of the Revised Code and shall consider the effect of the proposed change on the schedule for transportation of those students to their nonpublic or community schools.
Sec. 3313.481. Wherever in Title XXXIII of the Revised Code the term "school day" is used, unless otherwise specified, that term shall be construed to mean the time during a calendar day that a school is open for instruction pursuant to the schedule adopted by the board of education of the school district or the governing authority of the chartered nonpublic school in accordance with section 3313.48 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3313.533.  (A) The board of education of a city, exempted village, or local school district may adopt a resolution to establish and maintain an alternative school in accordance with this section. The resolution shall specify, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The purpose of the school, which purpose shall be to serve students who are on suspension, who are having truancy problems, who are experiencing academic failure, who have a history of class disruption, who are exhibiting other academic or behavioral problems specified in the resolution, or who have been discharged or released from the custody of the department of youth services under section 5139.51 of the Revised Code;
(2) The grades served by the school, which may include any of grades kindergarten through twelve;
(3) A requirement that the school be operated in accordance with this section. The board of education adopting the resolution under division (A) of this section shall be the governing board of the alternative school. The board shall develop and implement a plan for the school in accordance with the resolution establishing the school and in accordance with this section. Each plan shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(a) Specification of the reasons for which students will be accepted for assignment to the school and any criteria for admission that are to be used by the board to approve or disapprove the assignment of students to the school;
(b) Specification of the criteria and procedures that will be used for returning students who have been assigned to the school back to the regular education program of the district;
(c) An evaluation plan for assessing the effectiveness of the school and its educational program and reporting the results of the evaluation to the public.
(B) Notwithstanding any provision of Title XXXIII of the Revised Code to the contrary, the alternative school plan may include any of the following:
(1) A requirement that on each school day students must attend school or participate in other programs specified in the plan or by the chief administrative officer of the school for a period equal to the minimum school day set by the state board of education under section 3313.48 of the Revised Code plus any additional time required in the plan or by the chief administrative officer;
(2) Restrictions on student participation in extracurricular or interscholastic activities;
(3) A requirement that students wear uniforms prescribed by the district board of education.
(C) In accordance with the alternative school plan, the district board of education may employ teachers and nonteaching employees necessary to carry out its duties and fulfill its responsibilities or may contract with a nonprofit or for profit entity to operate the alternative school, including the provision of personnel, supplies, equipment, or facilities.
(D) An alternative school may be established in all or part of a school building.
(E) If a district board of education elects under this section, or is required by section 3313.534 of the Revised Code, to establish an alternative school, the district board may join with the board of education of one or more other districts to form a joint alternative school by forming a cooperative education school district under section 3311.52 or 3311.521 of the Revised Code, or a joint educational program under section 3313.842 of the Revised Code. The authority to employ personnel or to contract with a nonprofit or for profit entity under division (C) of this section applies to any alternative school program established under this division.
(F) Any individual employed as a teacher at an alternative school operated by a nonprofit or for profit entity under this section shall be licensed and shall be subject to background checks, as described in section 3319.39 of the Revised Code, in the same manner as an individual employed by a school district.
(G) Division (G) of this section applies only to any alternative school that is operated by a nonprofit or for profit entity under contract with the school district.
(1) In addition to the specifications authorized under division (B) of this section, any plan adopted under that division for an alternative school to which division (G) of this section also applies shall include the following:
(a) A description of the educational program provided at the alternative school, which shall include:
(i) Provisions for the school to be configured in clusters or small learning communities;
(ii) Provisions for the incorporation of education technology into the curriculum;
(iii) Provisions for accelerated learning programs in reading and mathematics.
(b) A method to determine the reading and mathematics level of each student assigned to the alternative school and a method to continuously monitor each student's progress in those areas. The methods employed under this division shall be aligned with the curriculum adopted by the school district board of education under section 3313.60 of the Revised Code.
(c) A plan for social services to be provided at the alternative school, such as, but not limited to, counseling services, psychological support services, and enrichment programs;
(d) A plan for a student's transition from the alternative school back to a school operated by the school district;
(e) A requirement that the alternative school maintain financial records in a manner that is compatible with the form prescribed for school districts by the auditor of state to enable the district to comply with any rules adopted by the auditor of state.
(2) Notwithstanding division (A)(2) of this section, any alternative school to which division (G) of this section applies shall include only grades six through twelve.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in division (A)(3)(a) of this section to the contrary, the characteristics of students who may be assigned to an alternative school to which division (G) of this section applies shall include only disruptive and low-performing students.
(H) When any district board of education determines to contract with a nonprofit or for profit entity to operate an alternative school under this section, the board shall use the procedure set forth in this division.
(1) The board shall publish notice of a request for proposals in a newspaper of general circulation in the district once each week for a period of at least two consecutive weeks prior to the date specified by the board for receiving proposals. Notices of requests for proposals shall contain a general description of the subject of the proposed contract and the location where the request for proposals may be obtained. The request for proposals shall include all of the following information:
(a) Instructions and information to respondents concerning the submission of proposals, including the name and address of the office where proposals are to be submitted;
(b) Instructions regarding communications, including at least the names, titles, and telephone numbers of persons to whom questions concerning a proposal may be directed;
(c) A description of the performance criteria that will be used to evaluate whether a respondent to which a contract is awarded is meeting the district's educational standards or the method by which such performance criteria will be determined;
(d) Factors and criteria to be considered in evaluating proposals, the relative importance of each factor or criterion, and a description of the evaluation procedures to be followed;
(e) Any terms or conditions of the proposed contract, including any requirement for a bond and the amount of such bond;
(f) Documents that may be incorporated by reference into the request for proposals, provided that the request for proposals specifies where such documents may be obtained and that such documents are readily available to all interested parties.
(2) After the date specified for receiving proposals, the board shall evaluate the submitted proposals and may hold discussions with any respondent to ensure a complete understanding of the proposal and the qualifications of such respondent to execute the proposed contract. Such qualifications shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(a) Demonstrated competence in performance of the required services as indicated by effective implementation of educational programs in reading and mathematics and at least three years of experience successfully serving a student population similar to the student population assigned to the alternative school;
(b) Demonstrated performance in the areas of cost containment, the provision of educational services of a high quality, and any other areas determined by the board;
(c) Whether the respondent has the resources to undertake the operation of the alternative school and to provide qualified personnel to staff the school;
(d) Financial responsibility.
(3) The board shall select for further review at least three proposals from respondents the board considers qualified to operate the alternative school in the best interests of the students and the district. If fewer than three proposals are submitted, the board shall select each proposal submitted. The board may cancel a request for proposals or reject all proposals at any time prior to the execution of a contract.
The board may hold discussions with any of the three selected respondents to clarify or revise the provisions of a proposal or the proposed contract to ensure complete understanding between the board and the respondent of the terms under which a contract will be entered. Respondents shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion regarding clarifications or revisions. The board may terminate or discontinue any further discussion with a respondent upon written notice.
(4) Upon further review of the three proposals selected by the board, the board shall award a contract to the respondent the board considers to have the most merit, taking into consideration the scope, complexity, and nature of the services to be performed by the respondent under the contract.
(5) Except as provided in division (H)(6) of this section, the request for proposals, submitted proposals, and related documents shall become public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code after the award of the contract.
(6) Any respondent may request in writing that the board not disclose confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets contained in the proposal submitted by the respondent to the board. Any such request shall be accompanied by an offer of indemnification from the respondent to the board. The board shall determine whether to agree to the request and shall inform the respondent in writing of its decision. If the board agrees to nondisclosure of specified information in a proposal, such information shall not become a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. If the respondent withdraws its proposal at any time prior to the execution of a contract, the proposal shall not be a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(I) Upon a recommendation from the department and in accordance with section 3301.16 of the Revised Code, the state board of education may revoke the charter of any alternative school operated by a school district that violates this section.
Sec. 3313.62.  The school year shall begin on the first day of July of each calendar year and close on the thirtieth day of June of the succeeding calendar year. A For a school operated by the board of education of a school district, a school week shall consist of five days, and a school month of four school weeks for a chartered nonpublic school, a school week shall consist of up to five days. A school week may on occasion consist of more than five days only if necessary to make up hours of instruction a school was scheduled to be open but was closed due to hazardous weather or other emergency conditions.
Sec. 3317.01.  As used in this section and section 3317.011 of the Revised Code, "school district," unless otherwise specified, means any city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district and any educational service center.
This chapter shall be administered by the state board of education. The superintendent of public instruction shall calculate the amounts payable to each school district and shall certify the amounts payable to each eligible district to the treasurer of the district as provided by this chapter. As soon as possible after such amounts are calculated, the superintendent shall certify to the treasurer of each school district the district's adjusted charge-off increase, as defined in section 5705.211 of the Revised Code. No moneys shall be distributed pursuant to this chapter without the approval of the controlling board.
The state board of education shall, in accordance with appropriations made by the general assembly, meet the financial obligations of this chapter.
Annually, the department of education shall calculate and report to each school district the district's total state and local funds for providing an adequate basic education to the district's nonhandicapped students, utilizing the determination in section 3317.012 of the Revised Code. In addition, the department shall calculate and report separately for each school district the district's total state and local funds for providing an adequate education for its handicapped students, utilizing the determinations in both sections 3317.012 and 3317.013 of the Revised Code.
Not later than the thirty-first day of August of each fiscal year, the department of education shall provide to each school district and county MR/DD board a preliminary estimate of the amount of funding that the department calculates the district will receive under each of divisions (C)(1) and (4) of section 3317.022 of the Revised Code. No later than the first day of December of each fiscal year, the department shall update that preliminary estimate.
Moneys distributed pursuant to this chapter shall be calculated and paid on a fiscal year basis, beginning with the first day of July and extending through the thirtieth day of June. The moneys appropriated for each fiscal year shall be distributed at least monthly to each school district unless otherwise provided for. The state board shall submit a yearly distribution plan to the controlling board at its first meeting in July. The state board shall submit any proposed midyear revision of the plan to the controlling board in January. Any year-end revision of the plan shall be submitted to the controlling board in June. If moneys appropriated for each fiscal year are distributed other than monthly, such distribution shall be on the same basis for each school district.
The total amounts paid each month shall constitute, as nearly as possible, one-twelfth of the total amount payable for the entire year.
Until fiscal year 2007, payments made during the first six months of the fiscal year may be based on an estimate of the amounts payable for the entire year. Payments made in the last six months shall be based on the final calculation of the amounts payable to each school district for that fiscal year. Payments made in the last six months may be adjusted, if necessary, to correct the amounts distributed in the first six months, and to reflect enrollment increases when such are at least three per cent.
Beginning in fiscal year 2007, payments shall be calculated to reflect the biannual reporting of average daily membership. In fiscal year 2007 and in each fiscal year thereafter, annualized periodic payments for each school district shall be based on the district's student counts certified pursuant to section 3317.03 of the Revised Code as follows:
the sum of one-half of the number of students reported
for the first full week in October plus one-half of the
average of the numbers reported for the first full week
in October and for the first full week in February
Except as otherwise provided, payments under this chapter shall be made only to those school districts in which:
(A) The school district, except for any educational service center and any joint vocational or cooperative education school district, levies for current operating expenses at least twenty mills. Levies for joint vocational or cooperative education school districts or county school financing districts, limited to or to the extent apportioned to current expenses, shall be included in this qualification requirement. School district income tax levies under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code, limited to or to the extent apportioned to current operating expenses, shall be included in this qualification requirement to the extent determined by the tax commissioner under division (D) of section 3317.021 of the Revised Code.
(B) The school year next preceding the fiscal year for which such payments are authorized meets the requirement of section 3313.48 or 3313.481 of the Revised Code, with regard to the minimum number of days or hours school must be open for instruction with pupils in attendance, for individualized parent-teacher conference and reporting periods, and for professional meetings of teachers. This requirement shall be waived by the superintendent of public instruction if it had been necessary for a school to be closed because of disease epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school's operation, damage to a school building, or other temporary circumstances due to utility failure rendering the school building unfit for school use, provided that for those school districts operating pursuant to section 3313.48 of the Revised Code the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance and for individualized parent-teacher conference and reporting periods is not less than one hundred seventy-five, or for those school districts operating on a trimester plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than seventy-nine days in any trimester, for those school districts operating on a quarterly plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than fifty-nine days in any quarter, or for those school districts operating on a pentamester plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than forty-four days in any pentamester.
A school district shall not be considered to have failed to comply with this division or section 3313.481 of the Revised Code because schools were open for instruction but either twelfth grade students were excused from attendance for up to three days sixteen and one-half hours or only a portion of the kindergarten students were in attendance for up to three days fifteen hours, in the case of students attending all-day kindergarten, and seven and one-half hours, in the case of students attending half-day kindergarten, in order to allow for the gradual orientation to school of such students.
The superintendent of public instruction shall waive the requirements of this section with reference to the minimum number of days or hours school must be in session with pupils in attendance for the school year succeeding the school year in which a board of education initiates a plan of operation pursuant to section 3313.481 of the Revised Code. The minimum requirements of this section shall again be applicable to such a district beginning with the school year commencing the second July succeeding the initiation of one such plan, and for each school year thereafter.
A school district shall not be considered to have failed to comply with this division or section 3313.48 or 3313.481 of the Revised Code because schools were open for instruction but the length of the regularly scheduled school day, for any number of days during the school year, was reduced by not more than two hours due to hazardous weather conditions.
(C) The school district has on file, and is paying in accordance with, a teachers' salary schedule which complies with section 3317.13 of the Revised Code.
A board of education or governing board of an educational service center which has not conformed with other law and the rules pursuant thereto, shall not participate in the distribution of funds authorized by sections 3317.022 to 3317.0211, 3317.11, 3317.16, 3317.17, and 3317.19 of the Revised Code, except for good and sufficient reason established to the satisfaction of the state board of education and the state controlling board.
All funds allocated to school districts under this chapter, except those specifically allocated for other purposes, shall be used to pay current operating expenses only.
Sec. 3317.029.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Poverty percentage" means the quotient obtained by dividing the five-year average number of children ages five to seventeen residing in the school district and living in a family receiving assistance under the Ohio works first program or an antecedent program known as TANF or ADC, as certified or adjusted under section 3317.10 of the Revised Code, by the district's three-year average formula ADM.
(2) "Statewide poverty percentage" means the five-year average of the total number of children ages five to seventeen years residing in the state and receiving assistance under the Ohio works first program or an antecedent program known as TANF or ADC, divided by the sum of the three-year average formula ADMs for all school districts in the state.
(3) "Poverty index" means the quotient obtained by dividing the school district's poverty percentage by the statewide poverty percentage.
(4) "Poverty student count" means the five-year average number of children ages five to seventeen residing in the school district and living in a family receiving assistance under the Ohio works first program or an antecedent program known as TANF or ADC, as certified under section 3317.10 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Kindergarten ADM" means the number of students reported under section 3317.03 of the Revised Code as enrolled in kindergarten, excluding any kindergarten students reported under division (B)(3)(e), (f), or (g) of section 3317.03 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Kindergarten through third grade ADM" means the amount calculated as follows:
(a) Multiply the kindergarten ADM by the sum of one plus the all-day kindergarten percentage;
(b) Add the number of students in grades one through three;
(c) Subtract from the sum calculated under division (A)(6)(b) of this section the number of special education students in grades kindergarten through three.
"Kindergarten through third grade ADM" shall not include any students reported under division (B)(3)(e), (f), or (g) of section 3317.03 of the Revised Code.
(7) "All-day kindergarten" means a kindergarten class that is in session five days per week for not less than the same number of clock hours each day week as for pupils in grades one through six.
(8) "All-day kindergarten percentage" means the percentage of a district's actual total number of students enrolled in kindergarten who are enrolled in all-day kindergarten.
(9) "Buildings with the highest concentration of need" means the school buildings in a district with percentages of students in grades kindergarten through three receiving assistance under Ohio works first at least as high as the district-wide percentage of students receiving such assistance.
If, in any fiscal year, the information provided by the department of job and family services under section 3317.10 of the Revised Code is insufficient to determine the Ohio works first percentage in each building, "buildings with the highest concentration of need" has the meaning given in rules that the department of education shall adopt. The rules shall base the definition of "buildings with the highest concentration of need" on family income of students in grades kindergarten through three in a manner that, to the extent possible with available data, approximates the intent of this division and division (K) of this section to designate buildings where the Ohio works first percentage in those grades equals or exceeds the district-wide Ohio works first percentage.
(B) In addition to the amounts required to be paid to a school district under section 3317.022 of the Revised Code, the department of education shall compute and distribute to each school district for poverty-based assistance the greater of the following:
(1) The amount the district received in fiscal year 2005 for disadvantaged pupil impact aid pursuant to Section 41.10 of Am. Sub. H.B. 95 of the 125th general assembly, as amended, minus the amount deducted from the district under Section 16 of Am. Sub. S.B. 2 of the 125th general assembly that year for payments to internet- and computer-based community schools;
(2) The sum of the computations made under divisions (C) to (I) of this section.
(C) A payment for academic intervention programs, if the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.25, calculated as follows:
(1) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.25, calculate the district's level one amount for large-group academic intervention for all students as follows:
(a) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.25 but less than 0.75:
large-group intervention units X hourly rate X
level one hours X [(poverty index – 0.25)/0.5]
X phase-in percentage
Where:
(i) "Large-group intervention units" equals the district's formula ADM divided by 20;
(ii) "Hourly rate" equals $20.00 in fiscal year 2006 and $20.40 in fiscal year 2007;
(iii) "Level one hours" equals 25 hours;
(iv) "Phase-in percentage" equals 0.60 in fiscal year 2006 and 1.00 in fiscal year 2007.
(b) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.75:
large-group intervention units X hourly rate X
level one hours X phase-in percentage
Where "large-group intervention units," "hourly rate," "level one hours," and "phase-in percentage" have the same meanings as in division (C)(1)(a) of this section.
(2) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.75, calculate the district's level two amount for medium-group academic intervention for all students as follows:
(a) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 0.75 but less than 1.50:
medium-group intervention units X hourly rate
X {level one hours + [25 hours X ((poverty index – 0.75)/0.75)]}
X phase-in percentage
Where:
(i) "Medium group intervention units" equals the district's formula ADM divided by 15;
(ii) "Hourly rate," "level one hours," and "phase-in percentage" have the same meanings as in division (C)(1)(a) of this section.
(b) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.50:
medium-group intervention units X hourly rate X
level two hours X phase-in percentage
Where:
(i) "Medium group intervention units" has the same meaning as in division (C)(2)(a)(i) of this section;
(ii) "Hourly rate" and "phase-in percentage" have the same meanings as in division (C)(1)(a) of this section;
(iii) "Level two hours" equals 50 hours.
(3) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.50, calculate the district's level three amount for small-group academic intervention for impoverished students as follows:
(a) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.50 but less than 2.50:
small group intervention units X hourly rate X
{level one hours + [level three hours X
(poverty index – 1.50)]} X phase-in percentage
Where:
(i) "Small group intervention units" equals the quotient of (the district's poverty student count times 3) divided by 10;
(ii) "Hourly rate," "level one hours," and "phase-in percentage" have the same meanings as in division (C)(1)(a) of this section;
(iii) "Level three hours" equals 135 hours.
(b) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 2.50:
small group intervention units X hourly rate
X level three hours X phase-in percentage
Where:
(i) "Small group intervention units" has the same meaning as in division (C)(3)(a)(i) of this section;
(ii) "Hourly rate" and "phase-in percentage" have the same meanings as in division (C)(1)(a) of this section;
(iii) "Level three hours" equals 160 hours.
Any district that receives funds under division (C)(2) or (3) of this section annually shall submit to the department of education by a date established by the department a plan describing how the district will deploy those funds. The deployment measures described in that plan shall comply with any applicable spending requirements prescribed in division (J)(6) of this section or with any order issued by the superintendent of public instruction under section 3317.017 of the Revised Code.
(D) A payment for all-day kindergarten if the poverty index of the school district is greater than or equal to 1.0 or if the district's three-year average formula ADM exceeded seventeen thousand five hundred. In addition, the department shall make a payment under this division to any school district that, in a prior fiscal year, qualified for this payment and provided all-day kindergarten, regardless of changes to the district's poverty index. The department shall calculate the payment under this division by multiplying the all-day kindergarten percentage by the kindergarten ADM and multiplying that product by the formula amount.
(E) A class-size reduction payment based on calculating the number of new teachers necessary to achieve a lower student-teacher ratio, as follows:
(1) Determine or calculate a formula number of teachers per one thousand students based on the poverty index of the school district as follows:
(a) If the poverty index of the school district is less than 1.0, the formula number of teachers is 50.0, which is the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of twenty to one;
(b) If the poverty index of the school district is greater than or equal to 1.0, but less than 1.5, the formula number of teachers is calculated as follows:
50.0 + {[(poverty index – 1.0)/0.5] X 16.667}
Where 50.0 is the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of twenty to one; 0.5 is the interval from a poverty index of 1.0 to a poverty index of 1.5; and 16.667 is the difference in the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of fifteen to one and the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of twenty to one.
(c) If the poverty index of the school district is greater than or equal to 1.5, the formula number of teachers is 66.667, which is the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of fifteen to one.
(2) Multiply the formula number of teachers determined or calculated in division (E)(1) of this section by the kindergarten through third grade ADM for the district and divide that product by one thousand;
(3) Calculate the number of new teachers as follows:
(a) Multiply the kindergarten through third grade ADM by 50.0, which is the number of teachers per one thousand students at a student-teacher ratio of twenty to one, and divide that product by one thousand;
(b) Subtract the quotient obtained in division (E)(3)(a) of this section from the product in division (E)(2) of this section.
(4) Multiply the greater of the difference obtained under division (E)(3) of this section or zero by the statewide average teachers compensation. For this purpose, the "statewide average teacher compensation" is $53,680 in fiscal year 2006 and $54,941 in fiscal year 2007, which includes an amount for the value of fringe benefits.
(F) A payment for services to limited English proficient students, if the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.0 and the proportion of its students who are limited English proficient, as reported in 2003 on its school district report issued under section 3302.03 of the Revised Code for the 2002-2003 school year, is greater than or equal to 2.0%, calculated as follows:
(1) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.0, but less than 1.75, determine the amount per limited English proficient student as follows:
{0.125 + [0.125 X ((poverty index - 1.0)/0.75)]}
X formula amount
(2) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.75, the amount per limited English proficient student equals:
0.25 X formula amount
(3) Multiply the per student amount determined for the district under division (F)(1) or (2) of this section by the number of the district's limited English proficient students, times a phase-in percentage of 0.40 in fiscal year 2006 and 0.70 in fiscal year 2007. For purposes of this calculation, the number of limited English proficient students for each district shall be the number determined by the department when it calculated the district's percentage of limited English proficient students for its school district report card issued in 2003 for the 2002-2003 school year.
Not later than December 31, 2006, the department of education shall recommend to the general assembly and the director of budget and management a method of identifying the number of limited English proficient students for purposes of calculating payments under this division after fiscal year 2007.
(G) A payment for professional development of teachers, if the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.0, calculated as follows:
(1) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.0, but less than 1.75, determine the amount per teacher as follows:
[(poverty index – 1.0)/0.75] X 0.045 X formula amount
(2) If the district's poverty index is greater than or equal to 1.75, the amount per teacher equals:
0.045 X formula amount
(3) Determine the number of teachers, as follows:
(formula ADM/17)
(4) Multiply the per teacher amount determined for the district under division (G)(1) or (2) of this section by the number of teachers determined under division (G)(3) of this section, times a phase-in percentage of 0.40 in fiscal year 2006 and 0.70 in fiscal year 2007.
(H) A payment for dropout prevention, if the district is a big eight school district as defined in section 3314.02 of the Revised Code, calculated as follows:
0.005 X formula amount X poverty index
X formula ADM X phase-in percentage
Where "phase-in percentage" equals 0.40 in fiscal year 2006 and 0.70 in fiscal year 2007.
(I) An amount for community outreach, if the district is an urban school district as defined in section 3314.02 of the Revised Code, calculated as follows:
0.005 X formula amount X poverty index X
formula ADM X phase-in percentage
Where "phase-in percentage" equals 0.40 in fiscal year 2006 and 0.70 in fiscal year 2007.
(J) This division applies only to school districts whose poverty index is 1.0 or greater.
(1) Each school district subject to this division shall first utilize funds received under this section so that, when combined with other funds of the district, sufficient funds exist to provide all-day kindergarten to at least the number of children in the district's all-day kindergarten percentage. To satisfy this requirement, a district may use funds paid under division (C), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of this section to provide all-day kindergarten in addition to the all-day kindergarten payment under division (D) of this section.
(2) Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, each school district shall use its payment under division (F) of this section for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) To hire teachers for limited English proficient students or other personnel to provide intervention services for those students;
(b) To contract for intervention services for those students;
(c) To provide other services to assist those students in passing the third-grade reading achievement test, and to provide for those students the intervention services required by section 3313.608 of the Revised Code.
(3) Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, each school district shall use its payment under division (G) of this section for professional development of teachers or other licensed personnel providing educational services to students only in one or more of the following areas:
(a) Data-based decision making;
(b) Standards-based curriculum models;
(c) Job-embedded professional development activities that are research-based, as defined in federal law.
In addition, each district shall use the payment only to implement programs identified on a list of eligible professional development programs provided by the department of education. The department annually shall provide the list to each district receiving a payment under division (G) of this section. However, a district may apply to the department for a waiver to implement an alternative professional development program in one or more of the areas specified in divisions (J)(3)(a) to (c) of this section. If the department grants the waiver, the district may use its payment under division (G) of this section to implement the alternative program.
(4) Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, each big eight school district shall use its payment under division (H) of this section either for preventing at-risk students from dropping out of school, for safety and security measures described in division (J)(5)(b) of this section, for academic intervention services described in division (J)(6) of this section, or for a combination of those purposes. Not later than September 1, 2005, the department of education shall provide each big eight school district with a list of dropout prevention programs that it has determined are successful. The department subsequently may update the list. Each district that elects to use its payment under division (H) of this section for dropout prevention shall use the payment only to implement a dropout prevention program specified on the department's list. However, a district may apply to the department for a waiver to implement an alternative dropout prevention program. If the department grants the waiver, the district may use its payment under division (H) of this section to implement the alternative program.
(5) Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, each urban school district that has a poverty index greater than or equal to 1.0 shall use its payment under division (I) of this section for one or a combination of the following purposes:
(a) To hire or contract for community liaison officers, attendance or truant officers, or safety and security personnel;
(b) To implement programs designed to ensure that schools are free of drugs and violence and have a disciplined environment conducive to learning;
(c) To implement academic intervention services described in division (J)(6) of this section.
(6) Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, each school district with a poverty index greater than or equal to 1.0 shall use the amount of its payment under division (C) of this section, and may use any amount of its payment under division (H) or (I) of this section, for academic intervention services for students who have failed or are in danger of failing any of the tests administered pursuant to section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code, including intervention services required by section 3313.608 of the Revised Code. Except as permitted under division (J)(1) of this section, no district shall spend any portion of its payment under division (C) of this section for any other purpose. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, no collective bargaining agreement entered into after June 30, 2005, shall require use of the payment for any other purpose.
(7) Except as otherwise required by division (K) or permitted under division (O) of this section, all remaining funds distributed under this section to districts with a poverty index greater than or equal to 1.0 shall be utilized for the purpose of the third grade guarantee. The third grade guarantee consists of increasing the amount of instructional attention received per pupil in kindergarten through third grade, either by reducing the ratio of students to instructional personnel or by increasing the amount of instruction and curriculum-related activities by extending the length of the school day or the school year.
School districts may implement a reduction of the ratio of students to instructional personnel through any or all of the following methods:
(a) Reducing the number of students in a classroom taught by a single teacher;
(b) Employing full-time educational aides or educational paraprofessionals issued a permit or license under section 3319.088 of the Revised Code;
(c) Instituting a team-teaching method that will result in a lower student-teacher ratio in a classroom.
Districts may extend the school day either by increasing the amount of time allocated for each class, increasing the number of classes provided per day, offering optional academic-related after-school programs, providing curriculum-related extra curricular activities, or establishing tutoring or remedial services for students who have demonstrated an educational need. In accordance with section 3319.089 of the Revised Code, a district extending the school day pursuant to this division may utilize a participant of the work experience program who has a child enrolled in a public school in that district and who is fulfilling the work requirements of that program by volunteering or working in that public school. If the work experience program participant is compensated, the school district may use the funds distributed under this section for all or part of the compensation.
Districts may extend the school year either through adding regular days of instruction to the school calendar or by providing summer programs.
(K) Each district shall not expend any funds received under division (E) of this section in any school buildings that are not buildings with the highest concentration of need, unless there is a ratio of instructional personnel to students of no more than fifteen to one in each kindergarten and first grade class in all buildings with the highest concentration of need. This division does not require that the funds used in buildings with the highest concentration of need be spent solely to reduce the ratio of instructional personnel to students in kindergarten and first grade. A school district may spend the funds in those buildings in any manner permitted by division (J)(7) of this section, but may not spend the money in other buildings unless the fifteen-to-one ratio required by this division is attained.
(L)(1) By the first day of August of each fiscal year, each school district wishing to receive any funds under division (D) of this section shall submit to the department of education an estimate of its all-day kindergarten percentage. Each district shall update its estimate throughout the fiscal year in the form and manner required by the department, and the department shall adjust payments under this section to reflect the updates.
(2) Annually by the end of December, the department of education, utilizing data from the information system established under section 3301.0714 of the Revised Code, shall determine for each school district subject to division (J) of this section whether in the preceding fiscal year the district's ratio of instructional personnel to students and its number of kindergarten students receiving all-day kindergarten appear reasonable, given the amounts of money the district received for that fiscal year pursuant to divisions (D) and (E) of this section. If the department is unable to verify from the data available that students are receiving reasonable amounts of instructional attention and all-day kindergarten, given the funds the district has received under this section and that class-size reduction funds are being used in school buildings with the highest concentration of need as required by division (K) of this section, the department shall conduct a more intensive investigation to ensure that funds have been expended as required by this section. The department shall file an annual report of its findings under this division with the chairpersons of the committees in each house of the general assembly dealing with finance and education.
(M)(1) Each school district with a poverty index less than 1.0 that receives a payment under division (D) of this section shall first utilize funds received under this section so that, when combined with other funds of the district, sufficient funds exist to provide all-day kindergarten to at least the number of children in the district's all-day kindergarten percentage. To satisfy this requirement, a district may use funds paid under division (C) or (I) of this section to provide all-day kindergarten in addition to the all-day kindergarten payment under division (D) of this section.
(2) Except as permitted under division (M)(1) of this section, each school district with a poverty index less than 1.0 that receives a payment under division (C) of this section shall use its payment under that division in accordance with all requirements of division (J)(6) of this section.
(3) Except as permitted under division (M)(1) of this section, each school district with a poverty index less than 1.0 that receives a payment under division (I) of this section shall use its payment under that division for one or a combination of the following purposes:
(a) To hire or contract for community liaison officers, attendance or truant officers, or safety and security personnel;
(b) To implement programs designed to ensure that schools are free of drugs and violence and have a disciplined environment conducive to learning;
(c) To implement academic intervention services described in division (J)(6) of this section.
(4) Each school district to which division (M)(1), (2), or (3) of this section applies shall expend the remaining funds received under this section, and any other district with a poverty index less than 1.0 shall expend all funds received under this section, for any of the following purposes:
(a) The purchase of technology for instructional purposes for remediation;
(b) All-day kindergarten;
(c) Reduction of class sizes in grades kindergarten through three, as described in division (J)(7) of this section;
(d) Summer school remediation;
(e) Dropout prevention programs approved by the department of education under division (J)(4) of this section;
(f) Guaranteeing that all third graders are ready to progress to more advanced work;
(g) Summer education and work programs;
(h) Adolescent pregnancy programs;
(i) Head start, preschool, early childhood education, or early learning programs;
(j) Reading improvement and remediation programs described by the department of education;
(k) Programs designed to ensure that schools are free of drugs and violence and have a disciplined environment conducive to learning;
(l) Furnishing, free of charge, materials used in courses of instruction, except for the necessary textbooks or electronic textbooks required to be furnished without charge pursuant to section 3329.06 of the Revised Code, to pupils living in families participating in Ohio works first in accordance with section 3313.642 of the Revised Code;
(m) School breakfasts provided pursuant to section 3313.813 of the Revised Code.
(N) If at any time the superintendent of public instruction determines that a school district receiving funds under division (D) of this section has enrolled less than the all-day kindergarten percentage reported for that fiscal year, the superintendent shall withhold from the funds otherwise due the district under this section a proportional amount as determined by the difference in the certified all-day kindergarten percentage and the percentage actually enrolled in all-day kindergarten.
The superintendent shall also withhold an appropriate amount of funds otherwise due a district for any other misuse of funds not in accordance with this section.
(O)(1) A district may use a portion of the funds calculated for it under division (D) of this section to modify or purchase classroom space to provide all-day kindergarten, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a) The district certifies to the department, in a manner acceptable to the department, that it has a shortage of space for providing all-day kindergarten.
(b) The district provides all-day kindergarten to the number of children in the all-day kindergarten percentage it certified under this section.
(2) A district may use a portion of the funds described in division (J)(7) of this section to modify or purchase classroom space to enable it to further reduce class size in grades kindergarten through two with a goal of attaining class sizes of fifteen students per licensed teacher. To do so, the district must certify its need for additional space to the department, in a manner satisfactory to the department.
Section 2. That existing sections 2151.011, 3313.48, 3313.533, 3313.62, 3317.01, and 3317.029 and sections 3313.481 and 3313.482 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2007. However, to determine whether a school district satisfied the minimum school year in the 2006-2007 school year in order to qualify for state funding under Chapter 3317. of the Revised Code for fiscal year 2008, the Department of Education shall apply the criteria prescribed in the version of division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code in effect prior to July 1, 2007.
Section 4. The amendments to sections 3313.48, 3313.533, 3313.62, 3317.01, and 3317.029; the repeal and reenactment of section 3313.481; and the repeal of section 3313.482 of the Revised Code made by this act do not apply to any collective bargaining agreement executed under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code prior to the effective date of this section. Any collective bargaining agreement or renewal executed after that date shall comply with the changes provided for in this act.
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