Currently, the Ohio House of Representatives is considering Senate Bill 3. This was introduced by Senators Faber and Hite to reduce bureaucracy, focus on locally driven teacher improvements, and reduce state testing. The purpose of this bill is to reduce state mandates on high performing schools. Western Ohio is home to many high performing schools that would benefit from reduced mandates.
Our local schools are the best in the state and they should be able to run their schools as they see fit. High performing schools, such as ours, know how to gauge student improvement, and they should be given the ability to make practical judgements in regard to diagnostic testing. Not only that, but they boast a track record of good hiring practices and should be rewarded by being allowed the freedom to select the educator they believe will perform the best.
Lowering the barriers for entry to the teaching profession and streamlining the process for a teacher certification will help Ohio fill its need for teachers in high demand fields such as technology, science, and math. Ohio students deserve the best teacher they can have and giving administrators more control over hiring will be a catalyst toward this goal. We must reduce bureaucracy and red tape for school administration when it comes to making changes to our education system. Schools administrators’ time should be focused on education.
We can help reduce the bureaucracy by streamlining Ohio’s teachers and administrator evaluation process. We have to encourage administrators to pat good teachers on the back and allow them to focus their time improving those teachers are who struggling. The state needs to stop tying the hands of administrators and allow them to improve those struggling teachers through honesty and remediation.
Our local administrators are the best in the state and they are operating the most efficient and academically successful schools. Senate Bill 3 will reduce bureaucracy, focus on locally driven teacher improvements and reduce state testing.
There have been multiple bills that passed the Ohio House in the spring that would enact new mandates such as House Bill 85-mandatory sex education and House Bill 410- increasing tardy regulations on schools. I voted no on these bills to stop unfunded mandates. While we work to reduce mandates, we must continue to avoid adding new mandates.
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