Week in Review – 04/03/2020

Week in Review > Week in Review – 04/03/2020

Posted by BASA on April 03rd, 2020

CORONAVIRUS

Gov. Mike DeWine signed Friday the emergency coronavirus legislation passed last week, HB197 (Powell-Merrin), issuing one line-item veto that he said corrects a drafting error. The legislation waives state testing requirements for schools, provides protection for people whose licenses are set to expire during the public health emergency, and allows delay of the state tax filing deadline to July 15, in line with the new federal deadline.

EDUCATION

Ohio’s public television stations shifted their broadcast schedules Monday to show up to 10 hours of daily programming aimed at helping teachers and students with limited broadband connections get educational content during the mandatory statewide closing of school buildings.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced Thursday that the winter wrestling, basketball and ice hockey tournaments for the 2019-2020 year will not be held, after postponing them earlier in March. The start of spring seasons in softball, baseball, track and field, lacrosse and tennis is still postponed, which coincides with school closures.

Educators are adapting well to the statewide closing of all school buildings, though the situation is highlighting some equity gaps and a reckoning is coming in budget planning, Superintendent Paolo DeMaria said Tuesday. In an interview with Hannah News, the superintendent said peer-to-peer collaboration and a general message of encouragement are evident in his observations of the education system’s reaction to a “sudden and drastic” shift to distance learning.

The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) recently released new guidance and updates to previously existing statutes and rules for the College Credit Plus (CCP) program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidance and changes came at the recommendation of Chancellor Randy Gardner and Superintendent Paolo DeMaria. Updates also came after Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB197 (Powell-Merrin), which granted new flexibility to Gardner, in consultation with DeMaria, to waive, extend, suspend or modify requirements of the CCP program in response to the coronavirus outbreak.