Education official outlines reform package

By Marc Kovac

The governor also wants to institute a longer school year.

COLUMBUS — Parents would not be required to send their children to full-day kindergarten under the school reform package proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland, the head of the Ohio Department of Education told lawmakers Wednesday.

Deborah Delisle, superintendent of public instruction, made her first appearance before the state legislature, providing testimony and answering questions before the House’s Finance Committee.

The panel is considering Strickland’s executive budget proposal for the coming biennium, including a requirement that schools offer all-day kindergarten.

“Parents will have an opportunity to opt out of the [all-day kindergarten] ...if they so choose,” she said.

Delisle provided an overview of the governor’s school funding and education reform plan, which will be included in his executive budget proposal.

That legislation, slated as House Bill 1, was not formally introduced before her testimony.

The governor’s plan also calls for a longer school year, the replacement of the Ohio graduate test with the ACT and other requirements for high school students, increased after-school programming for students needing assistance and tougher licensing requirements for teachers. The latter includes mechanisms for removing teachers and administrators who are not meeting state standards.

The plan would be implemented over an eight-year period, and Delisle said she would present lawmakers with a strategic plan outlining how that would be accomplished.