Q: What is the Ohio Education Opportunity Act (EOA)?

A: The Ohio Education Opportunity Act, also known as HB1, is the school improvement law championed by Governor Strickland and enacted by the state legislature in 2009. The historic education law is recognized as the most comprehensive reform law in the country. Its framework is built on four over-arching priorities: teaching and learning in the classroom; a new school funding system that equalizes opportunity; stronger parent, school and community partnerships; and greater academic and fiscal accountability.

Q: What impact will the Education Opportunity Act have in my community and neighborhood schools?

A: The law transforms schools from pre-K through college to expand opportunities for all children – and all Ohioans – by providing the foundation for a stronger economy. Better schools will lead to better jobs that will keep young Ohioans in the state and create a better quality of life for all communities.

Q: How will these reforms be funded?

A: The law’s passage amid the economic crisis reflects Ohio’s commitment to making school improvement a top funding priority. The law mitigates the immediate impact on the state budget by phasing reforms in over ten years. It also reduces the over-reliance on local property taxes by shifting more funding responsibility to the state.

Equally important, the law increases accountability by linking funding to reforms that are proven to work and requiring school districts to report how they spend taxpayer dollars.

The law’s new school funding system equalizes opportunity for all children in response to a mandate from the State Supreme Court. In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court first ruled the state’s funding system unconstitutional because it failed to provide a “thorough and efficient” educational system. In three successive Supreme Court decisions the court ruled that the inequities in the system remained. Now for the first time in more than a decade the state has a constitutional funding system.

Q. What does the law do to close the achievement gaps between poor and wealthy and black and white children?

A: The law’s foundation is built on the principle that every child deserves a quality education. The historic law makes school funding more equal, regardless of where a child lives. It ties funding to reforms proven to work. It also places the focus on teaching and learning in the classroom by investing in a comprehensive teacher preparation and training program, capping class sizes for grades K-3 and providing all-day kindergarten. The law also provides early interventions in schools where children are most at risk of dropping out.

Q. If it’s true that Ohio schools are improving then why did we need to pass such big education reforms?

A: It’s true that schools have been making steady progress, but we still have a long way to go. We need to make sure that all schools perform at the same level as the best schools. Ohio also needs to transform all schools to better prepare students to be successful in the fast-changing economy.

The nation’s leading education leaders recently honored Ohio with its top award for innovation for the state’s sweeping reforms, which address every aspect of the education system from pre-K through college.

Q: How long will it take for these reforms to be put in place?

A: Some provisions of the Education Opportunity Act have already been set into motion; others will be implemented over the next 10 years. For additional information on the law’s implementation, visit the Ohio Department of Education website.

Q: How will these reforms impact the economy in Ohio?

A: The law transforms the entire education system from pre-K to college and expands opportunities for all children and all Ohioans. Better schools will lead to a better economy, better jobs to keep young Ohioans in the state, and a better quality of life for all communities.

Q: Who supports the Education Opportunity Act?

A: These proven reforms enjoy the support of Governor Strickland and a bipartisan coalition in the Ohio General Assembly, as well as a cross-section of the state’s educators and leading education advocacy organizations. Supporters include The Ohio PTA, The Ohio Education Association, The Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, The Ohio Association of School Business Officials  and The Ohio Federation of Teachers.

Research shows that Ohioans overwhelmingly support the provisions of the Education Opportunity Act.

Q: How do I learn more about the law?

A: Visit www.futureofohio.org for news, fact sheets and other information about the Education Opportunity Act.