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Cleveland
Plain Dealer...
Ohio Senate approves
giving schools districts two more ‘calamity’ days
By James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer
Friday, April 08, 2011
The Ohio Senate voted Wednesday night to grant school districts two
snow/calamity days, passing a pared-down version of a bill the House
introduced in March.
The net result is that two calamity days stripped away by former Gov.
Ted Strickland are likely to be back in force. Gov. John Kasich is
expected to sign the bill.
But missing were provisions from the earlier bill that would have added
more days by allowing students to make up lost time by working online.
The final form of the legislation also removed an amendment added by
the Senate that would have compelled public schools to transport
students to charter, private and STEM schools to make up the lost days.
The Senate also cut away provisions that would have allowed some days
to be made up with online work or pre-packaged lessons that students
would take home, according to the office of Sen. Tim Grendell,
Republican of Chesterland, who helped floor-manage the bill.
The Senate axed those amendments it previously had approved to avoid
having legislation that differed from the version passed by the House.
Approved as an emergency measure, the bill will take effect the moment
the governor signs it, allowing school districts to use those extra two
days this school year.
Some educators praised the original form of the bill as a back door to
more online education, while others sounded a note of caution because
some students and underfunded school districts might lack the necessary
computer resources to take full advantage.
Read it at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
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