Week in Review – 10/12/2018

Week in Review > Week in Review – 10/12/2018

Posted by BASA on October 12th, 2018

CHILDREN/FAMILIES

The biennial report card detailing the level of physical activity in children and youth across a variety of metrics shows very slow improvement nationwide. The National Physical Activity Plan Alliance’s 2018 U.S. Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth examines nationwide performance in areas such as active play, physical fitness, organized sports participation, and sedentary behaviors.

EDUCATION

Personal finance site WalletHub named Ohio the 10th best state for teachers in a recent report, including high marks for teachers’ average salary and pension. In sub-rankings, the Buckeye State was ninth in “opportunity and competition” and 18th in “academic and work environment.”

As part of its continued efforts to modernize and improve the quality of services provided by Federal Student Aid (FSA), the U.S. Department of Education launched its first-ever mobile application. The myStudentAid app will allow students and their parents to easily and securely complete the 2019-20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) using the app’s myFAFSA component.

After a brief summer hiatus, the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) workgroup developing recommendations for changes to school report cards reconvened Wednesday at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). After a lengthy meeting, members of the stakeholder workgroup concluded the idea of no longer letter-grading the report card’s components in favor of adopting a dashboard approach warrants more investigation before finalizing their recommendations.

EMPLOYMENT/UNEMPLOYMENT

The nation added 134,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate falling from 3.9 percent to 3.7 percent, according to new numbers released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The number of unemployed persons also fell, by 270,000, and is at 6 million, BLS said. There was little change in the labor force participation rate, at 62.7 percent, and in the employment-population ratio, now at 60.4 percent. There were 383,000 discouraged workers in September, about unchanged from a year earlier.

Ohio’s minimum wage will jump 25 cents an hour to $8.55 in 2019, capping a $3.40 increase since the Issue 2 amendment to Ohio’s Constitution passed in November 2006. Specifically, the minimum wage will go from $8.30 to $8.55 anhour on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. The hourly wage for tipped employees will growfrom $4.15 to $4.30 next year.

GAMING/GAMBLING

Net video lottery terminal (VLT) revenues from Ohio’s seven racinos were $85.7 million in September 2018, a significant increase from September 2017’s $79.3 million, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission. The state’s fourcasinos pulled in $66.5 million in September 2018.

POVERTY

With one in five Ohio children unsure of where their next meal is comingfrom, the Ohio Children’s Hunger Alliance released a report Wednesday highlighting new efforts to address food insecurity around Ohio. Information about this report is available at this link: https://www.childrenshungeralliance.org/newsupdates/2018/10/10/impact-report/.