Politics and Education in Ohio: How Much Do You Know?
By Beth Morrow, OTESOL K-12 Advocacy Co-Chair

Whether you teach the alphabet to kindergarteners from Somalia or grammar to ESL undergraduates, the actions of our elected officials impact us all, to some extent, in the classroom.

With 2006 being such an important election year, here's a quiz to see just how much you know about politics, legislation and education in the state of Ohio.

1) Name your local (either where you teach, live or both) elected officials for
a. the US House Representatives from Ohio
b. the Ohio House Representatives
c. the US Senators from Ohio
d. the Ohio Senate

2) Name the main education bill currently before the Ohio Legislature and how, if enacted, one way it would impact public education.

3) Name 3 websites where you can find current education legislation information.

4) Who is the Ohio Education Association endorsing as the gubernatorial candidate for 2006?

5) What are the last three ways you've personally participated on a political level in the last three years?

Answers:
1) Your House of Representative and Senate delegates vary on where you live. To find yours, visit these websites and type in your zip code:
a. US House Representatives from Ohio: http://www.house.gov/
b. Ohio House Representatives: http://www.house.state.oh.us/index.html
c. US Senators from Ohio: Mike DeWine and George Voinovich
d. Ohio Senators: http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/SenateZipSearch.html

This election year is a crucial one for public education and politics. All Ohio House seats will be up for re-election and half of the Ohio Senate will be up for re-election (those senators elected in an even year will remain). Imagine the impact if just half of those new legislators elected are pro-public education.

2) One of the most important bills currently pending in the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee is House Bill (HB) 530, the Budget Corrections and Capital Re-Appropriations Bill.
The Budget Re-Appropriations bill plans to expand the eligibility criteria of the Ohio Educational Choice Voucher Program to include schools that have been in Academic Watch for three years. The original program, under HB 66, provided 18,000 vouchers to only those students in schools designated Academic Emergency for three or more years to attend any other school of their choice. HB 530, if passed, will make students from 50 additional schools across the state eligible for vouchers. The voucher program is slated to begin in the 2006-2007 school year and has not yet been proven to be an effective method of educating Ohio’s students.

3) In addition to the House and Senate sites listed above, you can visit these websites for updates on public education:
National TESOL’s Education Advocacy Center
http://capwiz.com/tesol/home/
Ohio TESOL’s Advocacy page
http://www.ohiotesol.org/advocacy.htm
OEA’s Cyber Lobbying web page, where you can sign up for automatic email updates from OEA regarding current legislation:
http://cyberlobbying.ohea.org/
Connect With Colleagues: National TESOL’s E-Lists, where you can sign up for an email update of educational and legislative issues around the US (must be member of National TESOL):
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=495&DID=694
The US House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce:
http://edworkforce.house.gov/

4) D-Ted Strickland and Lee Fisher

5) There are a variety of ways to become politically active without investing a huge amount of time or money:
• voting for candidates who support public education
• volunteering at a voting precinct after school hours
• write letters to the editor supporting public education
• distribute/display yard signs, campaign buttons, bumper stickers and t-shirts
• visiting, writing, emailing or calling legislators to share with them how their decisions on particular issues will affect your classroom
• participating in a literature drop, phone bank or other volunteer activities to support political candidates

How did you do? The importance of being an active participant in education legislation cannot be underestimated. As teachers, we’re on the front line of education on a daily basis and more aware than anyone of what our students need most. It may be impossible to change the world in one day, but even the smallest step toward political action—which, like everything, begins with education and knowledge—makes a difference.