麻豆影视

Ohio students will soon have more education options and nonacademic supports, thanks to the state鈥檚 new budget, which makes significant investments in education.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine this month the two-year budget that will increase wraparound services for students, provide new funding to high-performing charter schools and make private school vouchers accessible to more students.

Included is $675 million in 鈥渟tudent wellness and success funding,鈥� which will be distributed on a per-pupil basis, with more money going to districts serving large populations of children living in poverty. Schools will get between $20 and $250 per student for fiscal year 2020, bumping up to $25 to $300 the following year. For high-poverty urban districts, that adds up to millions of additional dollars to spend on student wellness and social-emotional learning. Both districts and charter schools, which are in Ohio, will receive the funding. Because most of the state鈥檚 charter schools are in urban areas, they will benefit more than the average district.

Schools the money on a range of programs that address students鈥� nonacademic needs, such as mental health services, professional development related to trauma-informed care and cultural competence, services for homeless and child-welfare-involved students, and programming provided outside the regular school day. Other will mostly stay flat at around $14,000 per student; roughly $6,000 of that comes from the state.

鈥淲e think that was a really important investment in terms of providing some of the nonacademic supports that kids need, especially kids from needier families,鈥� said Aaron Churchill, Ohio research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank that advocated for many of the education-related budget items.

Recent indicates that more spending can make a positive difference for students.

Under the new budget, high-performing charter schools whose populations are at least 50 percent 鈥渆conomically disadvantaged鈥� students will receive supplemental funding. The money 鈥� $1,750 per economically disadvantaged student and $1,000 apiece for others 鈥斅爄s intended to both reward high-performing schools and encourage them to grow, but there are no specifications for how schools can use it. Based in part on state report card grades, about 50 of Ohio鈥檚 more than 300 charter schools will be eligible for the award, Churchill told The 74.

Ohio鈥檚 charter schools receive about per student than traditional district schools, so this funding will narrow that gap a bit for high-quality schools. Advocates hope the incentive will also attract out-of-state networks to open schools in Ohio.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e moving in that direction where there鈥檚 a nice balance鈥� between accountability and incentives, Churchill said. 鈥淚 think that will create a healthier charter school sector down the road, so we鈥檙e really excited about that.鈥�

The budget also expands Ohio鈥檚 existing EdChoice private school for low-income families. Starting in the 2020-21 school year, all K-12 students will be eligible for private school scholarships if their families make 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. Previously, the program had been adding one grade annually since the 2013-14 school year.

In another that benefits charter schools, the budget ends a short-lived requirement that all teachers be 鈥減roperly certified or licensed,鈥� which made it hard for those who enter teaching through nontraditional routes. Under the new policy, teachers in charter schools will not have to meet that requirement, but it will remain for educators in district schools.

In addition to these changes, the makes high school graduation requirements more rigorous, sets aside $20 million for districts to purchase school buses, and requires the state Department of Education to create groups to study the state report card and how Ohio鈥檚 early childhood programs compare with other states鈥� and the definition of 鈥渆conomically disadvantaged students鈥� as it relates to school funding.

Disclosure: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, William E. Simon Foundation and Walton Family Foundation support both the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and The 74.

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