Rep's Corner

All children have their own special features. Some have blue eyes, others brown; some have black hair, others red; some are tall, others short. No one child is like another, even identical twins have their own personality. These distinguishing characteristics also carry on into a child’s educational development. Every child learns at a distinct pace, responds to teaching techniques differently, settles into a specific routine and requires varying amounts of instruction.

Because of these differences, schools have developed special education programs to enable all children to receive the same education opportunities. The Ohio House of Representatives has continued to develop legislation that ensures the educational needs of all Ohio children are met. House Bill 770 includes provisions that expands Ohio’s commitment to children with special education needs.

Changes for special education programs were developed by working with the special education community and addressing their concerns. House Bill 770 provides weighted per pupil funding for special education students served by County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Boards. It also contains $18 million for transition funding for projects upon approval of a plan which will be submitted by the Ohio Department of Education.

In an effort to ensure that districts are providing necessary special education services, HB 770 requires school districts to provide one speech-language pathologist per 2,000 students and one school psychologist per 2,500 students. The bill also requires school districts to comply with provisions of state special education rules that limit the number of students per licensed professional.

The Department will also be required to annually audit a sample of school districts to guarantee that handicapped students are being appropriately reported. The Special Education Review Committee was created in the bill to review the implementation of the new funding system for special education.

In order to address concerns of the vocational education community, HB 770 provides for an additional 200 units and an additional $9 million in funding. The bill also provides an additional $1.5 million for special education students in joint vocational schools throughout Ohio so that the appropriate level of special education continues.

The bill also corrected an error in House Bill 650 that provided GRADS, an in-school program for pregnant and parenting teens that works to keep students in school and to set specific career goals, with an additional $7 million.

Ohio’s commitment to school buildings is also ongoing. Although the bill contains no new money for school building assistance, it allows the School Facilities Commission to permit 12 districts to proceed with plans to place local match issues on the ballot in anticipation of additional funding from the state in the future. HB 770 also requires the Governor and Office of Budget and Management director to recommend at least a $300 million annual appropriation for school building assistance.

The challenge to provide the best possible education to all Ohio children is an ongoing one. We have passed some very valuable legislation that implements great ideas and programs for the special education community. However, we must continue to develop new and improved programs and concepts to keep Ohio’s school children in the best learning environment possible. The progress of these reforms could have a great deal of impact on the future of Ohio. We need to continue to be at the cutting edge of new ideas in order to offer the best education possible for Ohio’s future generation.

If you have any concerns on this, or any issue, please contact me, State Representative Lynn Olman, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43266.


Back to Reps Corner

© Copyright 2008 State Representative Lynn Olman. All rights reserved.