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S. B. No. 190 As IntroducedAs Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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Senators Schaffer, Turner
Cosponsors:
Senators Cates, Husted, Hughes, Widener, Grendell, Seitz, Jones, Niehaus, Wagoner, Morano, Fedor, Schiavoni, Strahorn, Miller, R., Sawyer, Cafaro
A BILL
To amend section 3313.603 of the Revised Code to
include Junior ROTC as a permitted elective within
the Ohio Core curriculum.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3313.603 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
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, which shall include both
of
the following:
(a) American history, one-half
unit;
(b) American government, one-half
unit.
(7) 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, which shall include both
of
the following:
(a) American history, one-half
unit;
(b) American government, one-half
unit.
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
division (A)(1) of
section 3301.079 of the Revised Code and the
academic content
standards for financial literacy and
entrepreneurship adopted
under division (A)(2) of that section,
into one or more existing
social studies credits required under
division (C)(6) 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) Five
units consisting of one or any combination of
foreign language, fine arts, business, career-technical education,
family and consumer sciences, technology, agricultural education,
a junior reserve officer training corps (JROTC) program approved
by the congress of the United States under title 10 of the United
States Code,
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 and the chancellor of the Ohio board of
regents 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 department of
education, in collaboration with
the
the
chancellor of 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
department
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 assessments
prescribed
under
division (B)(1) of section 3301.0710 of the
Revised Code
or, to the extent prescribed by rule of the state
board of
education under division (E)(6) of section 3301.0712 of
the
Revised Code, division (B)(2) of that section.
(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. If a high school so permits, it
shall award high school credit for successful
completion of the
advanced work and
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
chancellor of the
Ohio board of regents,
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) 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) 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.
Section 2. That existing section 3313.603 of the Revised Code
is hereby repealed.
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